Clarissa

The Chronicles of the Hudson River Valley, Book 1

By: Jean Jacobsen

Narrated by: Sandra Murphy

Tragedy brings them together. Will love tear them apart?

New York City, 1832. Clarissa Tanner is carefree and lighthearted until the sudden death of her parents. Forced to pay off family debts or lose her horse farm, she’s given one choice: auction off her beloved horses or reluctantly enter 1830s New York Society social season to face the dreaded marriage market.

Nicholas is a man on a mission, searching for his missing brother. Fearing Liam may be the victim of foul play, Nicholas needs to keep a low profile while conducting his search. He takes a position as a dance instructor, providing refresher lessons to the beautiful but distracted Clarissa.

Clarissa and Nicholas find a connection through grief and movement as they fight their attraction to one another. Will they give in to their desires and find true love, or will family obligations keep them apart?

©2020 Jean Jacobsen (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

did not like the narrator!!

The story seemed to be good I'm from upstate NY so enjoyed hearing the places around me. it seemed good because I really couldn't get past the narrative. The best I can say for her is she has ni e voice but she reads like she's reading to a child. over exaggerating some words and the grandmother's accent wasn't ever the same. sounded Irish, Russian and Scottish at different times. won't buy another book read by her. no matter if the story sounds good

Missing Details

The story was okay and had some interesting parts but other places it was vague and seemed incomplete. I did not enjoy the narrator
her Scottish phrase sounded more Slovic than Scottish.

Terrible narrator

The story was good, but it was a hard book to get through because of the narrator. It needs to be recorded and released again.

Disappointed ending

They rushed the ending , it should be a good book but left me with the sensation of missing something!

okay if free

I just could not get emotionally invested in these characters. I am not sure if it was the writing or the reading, but there was no sense of urgency to any of the dangerous scenes, and no real chemistry with the couple. The couple don't know each other at all, decide they don't like each other, and experience no growth before they kiss. Relationship based on physical appearance and proximity.

Clarissa came a cross as a bit whiny and vague. I am not a daddy's girl, so hearing her lament about how they will go on without her father's guidance fell flat for me. Meanwhile, she "hasn't thought about" her mother "for months". Hard to imagine when she has only three months from their deaths to marry. That's really quick to forget a parent, even the obviously less beloved one.

The hero has little to recommend him. likes the heroine, doesn't want other men to have her, kisses her thoroughly despite that being a major taboo, but doesn't step up for the majority of the book.

I realized I felt no sense of urgency the second time thugs showed up, and I just stopped. I have less than an hour to go, but I can't finish this. might be good to sleep to, and I mean that in a good way. sometimes it helps to listen to something very chill while falling asleep.

The story was sweet

Though the story was sweet, it felt very rushed at the end with a quick gloss over to tie up lose storyline.

it was a charming read! nice story .

the reader left a lot to be desired.
she made Gram sound like a yiddis
old lady rather than a woman from Ireland and read with very little emotion and sounded like she was reading in a classroom. very disapointed in the naration.

it was alright

I prefer an European accent over American. While I am an American myself I just do not care for the pronunciation of words and the tone of American accents in historical romance. That does not mean a story is necessarily bad though. In this case, the story was ok but could have been a lot better. There really was no climax for me. I like lots of detailed romance and this book definitely did not provide that. I am afraid I will not bother with the remaining books in this series for these reasons.

Did a computer read this?

I felt like the narrator was reading to a kindergarten class. Very little feeling and even some of the words were mispronounced.
The story was fairly interesting, and maybe it was the narration that made it seem like it was a computer generated story-but it didn’t flow smoothly.

Awwwk sweet but difficult to listen

Narrator really struggled. I love this genre of books but the narrator couldn’t remember what voice she wanted to Abigail- one time she sounded Scottish, one time like an old woman and at others like a young woman. It was very difficult to follow. But like like this clean and slow romance which is why I gave it 4 overall stars.