Shanna

By: Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

Narrated by: Robin Miles

From New York Times bestselling author Kathleen E. Woodiwiss comes one of her most iconic and beloved romances of all time....

A pact is sealed in secret behind the foreboding walls of Newgate Prison. In return for one night of unparalleled pleasure, a dashing condemned criminal consents to wed a beautiful heiress, thereby rescuing her from an impending and abhorred arranged union.

But in the fading echoes of hollow wedding vows, a solemn promise is broken, as a sensuous free spirit takes flight to a lush Caribbean paradise, abandoning the stranger she married to face the gallows unfulfilled.

Ruark Beauchamp’s destiny is now eternally intertwined with that of the tempestuous, intoxicating Shanna. He will be free...and he will find her. For no iron ever forged can imprison his resolute passion. And no hangman’s noose will keep Ruark from the bride—and ecstasy—that he craves.

©2009 Kathleen E. Woodiwiss (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Still one of the best bodice-rippers ever, but...

I have loved this book since it first came out. I've read it many times. The story is still epic and sweeping & one of the best. However, the performance of this novel was just horrible. The voices given to various characters was awful. Shanna & Ruark were both done in about the worst way ever. Shanna was presented as an old fuddy-duddy. Ruark's "accent" was a mixture of things, as if the reader couldn't decide just what to do with it. Her pronunciations of names was all over the place, sometimes different within a single paragraph. Many of the other accents were just as bad; sometimes garbled to the point of being indecipherable. There were words missing in some places, as if she forgot to read the last word or two of a sentence. (This only happened 3-4 times but it was distracting.)
It was pretty hard to get through, given how terrible it was. I struggled through it and finished it, but it was such a disappointment. The story pulled it through, barely. This could have been such a great audio book if the reader had been chosen carefully. I can't imagine what possessed them to choose this woman.

Excellent story but the narration ruins it

I read this back in the early 80's and love the story. While I'm quite sure the narrator would be fine with another story, her pronunciation of Ruark Beauchamp "Roo-ark Beechim" set my teeth on edge and several times she pronouncesShanna as "Shawna". Ugh. Also, she sounds like she's at least in her 50's, so not the best choice for this type of romance novel.
I usually listen to a story straight through but had to take days between listens just to get through it. If I could return it, I would, as I will definitely not be listening to it again. Lesson learned - Do not preorder books with unknown narrator. I will in the future wait and listen to the sample before purchasing.

Love this author!

I love this author, own all her books and have reread them many times. I waited months to get the Audible version. This particular book is one of my personal favorites. The story is wonderful! That said, I have never been so disappointed. The narrator spoiled the whole experience for me. Her accents were terrible, her male voices wrong and Shanna sounded like an old woman not the energetic 20-something she is in the book. I was so distracted by the poor narration that I had to force myself to finish. I could never just get into the wonderful story. I’ve listened to this narrator before and those were well done. This was not the book for her to read. Someone made the wrong choice and Woodiwiss’ story deserves better.

Oldie but a goodie!

I enjoyed reading this story more than 40 years ago. This time I listened to a wonderful narration by Robin Miles and enjoyed it all over again.

Katherine woodiwiss

Love these books I’ve read the books many years ago
She is one of my favorite authors

Wonderful Historic Fiction at its Finest

I've read this novel several times, but to hear it brought to life by the narrator is truly a treat. what a great tale! The author has a gift for character development and setting the seen in our imagination!

Like watching a good movie!

An entertaining book….. so much adventure and a good love story!
One of my favorite authors!

I wish I’d read the reviews…

I read this book many years ago and loved it. In fact I love all of the authors works.
I’ve been waiting over a year for the audible version and was so thrilled when it was finally available. However, I wish I would’ve read the reviews first because as soon as the story started I was disappointed!
I can certainly respect the narrator’s talent but she was not the best pick for this work. Shanna is supposedly a 19 year old girl and I felt like I was listening to Angela Lansbury tell a story. Why in the world would the author chose an obviously older narrator?! I also feel like the story would’ve read better in dual narration with a male counterpart as there were a lot of different male characters.
I finished it because I paid for it and loved the original story but, for me, it was just “ok.”
I learned my lesson and will read the listener reviews going forward.

The narrator 🙁

Loved the book but the narrator is way too old sounding!! I so wish they picked another one

Excellent book - poor narration!

I love this book! I have read it many times since it was released in the seventies and I was so looking forward to to listening to it since I pre-ordered it in January of 2022. The story is still great; however, the reader really messed it up. I do not understand why narrators think they should attempt to