A throughly enjoyable story, expertly narrated

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this story – in fact, I enjoyed it so much, I could have listened to it in one sitting if I hadn’t had other things to do! The descriptions of the Cornish landscape and villages are very evocative, the writing style is quite lyrical, and the story is well-paced. The author takes the time to establish her settings and characters, and to develop a strong story outside of the romance while also giving the romance prominence and the time to evolve in a way that felt organic and naturalistic. Sebastian and Julia have great chemistry, the love scenes are sensual without being overly explicit, (although the author does occasionally indulge in the odd bit of purplish prose!) and most importantly, we see them getting to know each other, falling in love and working together to build something – a home and a marriage. It’s not all plain sailing (!) as there are secrets and other obstacles to be overcome, but they don’t throw petulant tantrums or blame each other; refreshingly, they adapt and try to find a way to work things out. There is a dash of adventure in the latter part of the book, too, as Sebastian’s schemes come to threaten both their marriage and their lives.

Rosalyn Landor’s performance in terms of both characterisation and narrative is every bit as good as I’ve come to expect from her. Every character is distinctly and appropriately voiced and she employs a wide variety of English regional accents as well as authentic-sounding French and American ones, switching seamlessly between them all on numerous occasions. Sebastian and Viscount Senwick, appear in many scenes together, but are always easy to tell apart, and Ms Landor once again exercises her talent for portraying smarmy villains in the form of Mr Adolphus Lynton, a former suitor of Julia’s, who is now an Excise Officer determined to smash the local smuggling rings.

The female roles are all similarly well-differentiated and the narration is smooth, nuanced and beautifully delivered. Ms Landor’s considerable vocal range and her ability to find the emotional heart of the characters continue to impress, and I’d recommend Smuggler’s Moon to anyone who enjoys an historical romance with a spot of derring-do and high-seas adventure.

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1 person found this helpful

Light entertainment hol reading.

Good story. Light reading ok for hols or beach. Escapism! No need to concentrate. Enjoyable.

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Very Impressive

If you could sum up Smuggler's Moon in three words, what would they be?

Exciting, Passionate, Enthralling.

What did you like best about this story?

What did I like best about this story, EVERYTHING! The characters were either lovable or detestable, their stories made you laugh and/or cry and the whole story line was captivating. Definitely a book that you can get fully engrossed in as are all the books that Cynthia writes.

What about Rosalyn Landor’s performance did you like?

Rosalyn has the smoothest reading voice I think I have ever heard, it was a pure delight listening to her read. More importantly though the voices she uses to portray the characters are perfect. From a very deep voiced man, to a young toddler, to a mewing cat. I had to remind myself that there was only one person narrating the book because the difference in each voice was unbelievably good. I hope she will work on more of Cynthia's books because she makes a great story even better.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did want to listen to this in one sitting, but at the length of it, it was impossible to do. 3 sittings though and I managed it.

Any additional comments?

I am new to audio books, but if they are all as beautifully done as this one I will be a committed listener :D

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1 person found this helpful

Loved it

Loved every second of the story. The narrator was good but I couldn't bear the voices of Sebastian, Andre, Tristan and Gabriel, they sounded like pompous fops not the rakes/ pirates/ smugglers they're supposed to be. Their voices didn't match the hunks they were at all, but i still finished it. I had only listened to Rosalyn Landor once before and I thought I would never listen to any of the books she narrated again, because of the hero's voice. In fact I had returned that book. But as for this book I love Cynthia Wright's books, I'm a big fan and I wanted to listen to the whole series, and I won't be returning it, because the story was fantastic like all of Cynthia Wright's books, and I will definitely listen to it again.

I have listened to many many books and there are quite a few narrators I really like but unfortunately Rosalyn Landor is not one of them until she improves the heros' voices. But I must say that all her different female and the other male voices are very very good, and the Cornish accents were brilliant.

Now on to the next book of the series which is narrated by Tim Campbel one of my favourite narrators. I love his voice for both male and female.

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