Shiver

By: Karen Robards

Narrated by: Shannon McManus

If driving a piece-of-crap tow truck through the seediest part of town with a Smith & Wesson beside her means putting a roof over her son’s head, then Samantha Jones is going to be the best damn repo woman on the books. The streetwalkers, the drug pushers, the bands of looking-for-trouble punks haunting the mean streets at midnight don’t intimidate her. These are her people. The guy she finds bound and bloodied in the trunk of her latest conquest, a flashy new BMW, is a different breed entirely.

Daniel Panterro was certain he was going to die. Instead, by a stroke of luck, he was beaten to within an inch of his life and left for dead. But if he’s having a bad day, Sam’s day is about to get way worse. Danny knows he hasn’t seen the last of the vicious drug runners who kidnapped him from protective custody. His only recourse is to take his pretty savior hostage and force her to help him. There’s no going back for Sam and her four-year-old son, Tyler. They’re in way too deep.

With ruthless killers stalking their trail, Sam’s only choice is to trust this handsome, menacing stranger. But as she relinquishes control, Sam feels an unmistakable desire. Could she be tempted by Danny, who seems intent on protecting her and Tyler from even his own darkest secrets? And what is the price of falling in love with a man who operates on the edge of danger — her heart, her life... or both?

©2012 Karen Robards (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Underwhelming

What did you like best about Shiver? What did you like least?

I thought the blurb for this story didn't match it.

What was most disappointing about Karen Robards’s story?

Many moments of this story 'jumped the shark...' Surviving a plane crash on a snowy mountain after their safe-house blew up? I couldn't suspend my disbelief.

What didn’t you like about Shannon McManus’s performance?

It was fine.

Could you see Shiver being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Probably.

KR has written another solid thriller

Where does Shiver rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I enjoyed this book but in some places it seemed like she went too far with the descriptions and you are left thinking hurry up I get it.

What other book might you compare Shiver to and why?

It was good but not as good as Shatterred

I couldn't put this one down!! Part II is needed

Would you listen to Shiver again? Why?

This book was on the edge of my seat, and I just couldn't believe the ending. It left me wanting a book II.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shiver?

The best memory ever in this book is how tender hearted this man was to her son.

Which scene was your favorite?

When they could not take the desire between them anymore and always wanting more to happen such as a future between these two lovers.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me almost cry at times when they were on the run and nearly got themselves killed. It was so awesome how they would fight their passion. The ending was more than I could ever have hoped for that she finally will get a good life with a man who deserves her and will she marry him already!

I love a good love story.

Good story. Mostly romance instead of multiple grafic sex scenes. I hat ebooks that are basically soft porn. Characters were engaging, intelligent, realistic. No 'to stupid to live" scenes. performance was great too.

shannon

enjoy listening to Shannon McManus, she has a nice tone and something interesting about her performance. thanks doll

A great read!

This was a great read! The story was good and moved along with no weird lulls.

you are in for a really good listen!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

for sure...this book gives you everything!! no kidding... around about that...

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shiver?

how do you pick one part above any other???

Which character – as performed by Shannon McManus – was your favorite?

I never single out one.. it is not fair to the book... or the reader..

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

maybe... there would be a lot of people that would go see it .... action brings in the people

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this read .. it covered everything you want in a book... good story... great excape for the reader.. and you want to go to the end of the book to see what happens... GOOD JOB AND WELL DONE!!

Good mind fluff.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Depends on the friend. Not a substantial story, so not for everyone.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tray but he had several names through the book. He was a romantic.

Have you listened to any of Shannon McManus’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Romantic with unexpected action

Good story but sooo slow!

Shiver is the story of Sam, a hard working single mother who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The book follows her frantic efforts to keep herself and her young son one step ahead of a ruthless drug gang. Thrown into this mix is the undercover FBI agent who Sam must learn to trust in order to stay alive.

This is a great storyline but the writing itself is so wordy and slow that it had me to the point of frustration. Every facet of the story is described to the nth degree - it was so frustrating listening to a ten minute description on the furnishings in the lounge room. At times the description of a scene was so long that I lost track of what the story was actually about.

I really enjoyed the narration - Shannon McManus was excellent and I look forward to listening to more of her work

Shiver is an exciting book that keeps you wanting to know what's happening next - it is just such a pity that the book has been spoiled by being padded out with some much unnecessary dialogue.

Good story. Lots of suspense and action.

But I did not like the heroine being angry all the time.

The author artificially stretches out suspense scenes which bothered me. For example: someone is coming and Sam has to do something fast, but she stops to talk, the other guy says hurry, she thinks about something else for a minute, and then finally she gets back to doing what she is supposed to do. The reader is thinking come on come on get it done. The author drew it out to prolong anxiety, which is ok as a writing technique, but this was excessive. I didn’t like it. Another example: a killer enters the house. The good guy is aware of the killer and needs to escape out a rear window. But the author goes on and on for several minutes inside the good guy’s head thinking and pondering instead of quickly fleeing out the window. I’m thinking come one come on get out of there. I think reading the physical book might be better than the audiobook, so you can skip over these ponderings.

Bottom line, there’s a lot of suspense and some good action. It’s mostly one long chase. Drug cartel thugs are chasing and torturing people. They are after Sam and Marco. Sam does some neat things. So does Marco.

You need to suspend disbelief at the end. I’m usually willing to do that, but this one bothered me.
CAUTION SPOILER:
Two characters’ hands are bound with plastic zip ties. They are in a helicopter which crashes. They both are thrown from the helicopter with no injuries and the zip ties were conveniently gone. I’ll accept the no injury part, but I think the author should have had them find something to cut the zip ties. Those things are stronger than seat belts. I can’t believe the zip ties just fell off - with no injuries to the wrist. Also Dan had some help nearby that seemed too convenient.
END SPOILER.

The thing that bothered me the most was Sam. She was angry, annoyed, and sarcastic toward Marco and others for 99% of the book. It was not fun to read. Here are some of the words ascribed to her: vibrating with hostility, fierce look, stern look, dark look, dirty look, stiff, irritable, truculent, scowl, glaring, tense, angry. Sure, Sam had good reasons to be angry, but I would have preferred a different way of reacting or different conversations.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
I had problems with the narrator Shannon McManus. Her reading was fast and kind of staccato. She didn’t use enough emotion or pauses. She needs to perform, not read. The weakest parts were the passionate scenes. She showed no feeling, like she wanted to quickly read through it. Also, her voice sounds like a teenager which is not bad but might not be the best fit for this book.

Genre: romantic suspense