Audiobooks: Island Flame by Karen Robards

I have come to the conclusion that I have lied to you all. Yes, I go into a novel with expectations. However, my expectations aren't really that high for romance. All I expect is that they leave me with that warm fuzzy feeling that I crave from a romance. With that said, I finished listening to Island Flame by Karen Robards.

I purchased this audiobook for a swashbuckling good time for my road trip, instead I ended up bitter and angry through most of the book. Even the ending didn't appease me with a warm-fuzzy feeling.  When I purchased the book, I saw that it was an alright price for an unabridged audiobook and I enjoyed another book from this author, so I thought why not. First off this will be one review where I'm pretty sure there will be spoilers, because there is no way around it.

Now you wonder how this story chaffed me the wrong way, so let me tell you: First off, the hero is an @ssh*le. I have seen a lot of jerk heroes, but they usually win me over in the end. I'm sorry when you keep calling the heroine a B*t@h in pretty much every chapter that gets kind of old and that's never going to win me over. Even if you are pirate, it won't cut it for me. Next thing that really chaffed my hid was he raped the heroine. Yes, I said RAPE. I don't care how much the hero says that heroine "wanted it", it doesn't give the right to rape. Those are pretty big issues with the story. Plus, you wondering why I continue to listen to the story; well, the simple fact is I hadn't gotten another book at the time. So, I endure the story hoping it would get better. There were times I had to stop listening to the story, because it just grated on my nerves.

I can honestly say that the hero, Jonathan Hale, didn't win me over. He did some nice things, but they don't outweigh the horrible things he did and said. Lady Catherine Adley was a bit annoying. Granted she was 17 when she met Jon. I have no issue with him being half her age, because that actually happen in life. I just couldn't understand why she tolerated his abuse. I mean he was cruel to her.

Another issue I had with the book was the father. He was another @ssh*le. When he finally found his daughter, he had Jon locked up and beating after the marriage. Not only that the father basically told Jon that it was Cathy wishes that he suffer. WTF, kind of father does that. He really did think he was doing what was best for his daughter.

I rarely give one stars for a book. The cruelty of the things that happen in the story was horrible. I was really sad that I endured the story for more than 12hours. Twelve hours I will never get back. You are probably wondering why, I didn't listen to the sample. To be honest, I wouldn't have known about the rape until about a half an hour into the story. Otherwise, I would have stop. I truly did hope that Island Flame would get better. I can't recommend the story, because I have issues with rape and calling the heroine a b*t@h in practically every chapter. I hope my next audiobook will be better than this.

Rating:
1 Star