Stepping Down

By: Michelle Stimpson

Narrated by: William Butler

Mark has been pastoring New Vision church for six years now, and all his hard work is about to pay off as the church approaches mega-church status. But while Mark has been busy building the church, his own household has been crumbling to pieces. After ignoring divine guidance, Mark finds himself caught up in the appearance of a scandal that threatens to tear the church apart. And his wife's secrets only add insult to near-fatal injury. Sharla would have done just about anything to be a mother and, actually, she did. She was willing to pay the price for her mistakes, but she never dreamed someone else might have to suffer instead. How close can she come to confessing her past without jeopardizing her future?

Stepping Down is the eighth full-length novel from national best-selling author Michelle Stimpson. As the granddaughter of a pastor and the great-granddaughter of a bishop, she explores a conflict many spiritual leaders still encounter today. Listeners will enjoy this fast-paced, hard-hitting novel that addresses the ageless question: How can a man run the church if he can't run his own household?

©2013 Michelle Stimpson (P)2013 Michelle Stimpson

Great Story, Not So Great Performance

I enjoyed the story and the characters...this was expected in a Michelle Stimpson book. The voice talent took away from the story because he disrupted the flow. It was hard to differentiate between character speech and the narration. There were errors...not one or two, but many. I don't mind an occasional error in an audibook because there is a lot of reading involved. He had many errors in a row and didn't even try to cover it up. You could hear him mumbling under his breath trying to get back on track. I might try reading a print version because it was over hard to concentrate on this audio book.

Average

Unique story, because I haven't read many Christian fiction where the pastor was faithful. I really liked it when the pastor visits his relatives, and I LOVED the tone of the readers voice he really sounded like a pastor, but I only gave his performance a 2 because he repeated himself a couple of times and he cleared his throat and sinuses, YUCK!!

Narrator

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The book was a good read. The narrator was rereading the book. He was taking deep breathes as well as talking while reading the book. Who doesn't re-record before submitting narration so without doing it right?

Narrator.

He didn't bring each person alive, no energy-efficient to distracted in his reading, poor ddeliver.

Nara

The narrator is HORRIBLE. This takes away from the book. Constantly making errors and correcting them but worse is he speaks to someone telling them he’s making mistakes. I hv come to like this author but if I see this narrator will NOT PURCHASE that audible book

Very dissapointed

Worst narrator EVER!..Made many mistakes in his reading. Even was coughing n gagging while reading, and saying "Oh I messed up"! Very unprofessional n needs to stop being a narrator. I couldn't believe they let him put this out for people to buy.

Narration very disappointing

Would you try another book from Michelle Stimpson and/or William Butler?

Not the narrator -- I may purchase another of the author's books.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Family unity and overcoming communication issues.

What didn’t you like about William Butler’s performance?

There were major problems with the clarity of narrator's speech. Inexcusable issues with (mis) pronunciation and enunciation of words. Lacked the appropriate inflections of the voice that would be expected of someone reading a book aloud. Unpolished, unprofessional.

What character would you cut from Stepping Down?

None

Any additional comments?

N/A

The Reader

The story line great!!! The reader was horrible. The reader messed up the entire book. Absolutely the worst experience of Audible.

Narration :-\

This review has to do more with the narrator than the book. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it possible to correct recorded errors before posting them to be purchased? This narrator stumbled over words, grossly cleared his throat, and restarted sentences more times than I cared to count. My stomach turns when I hear someone hacking up phlegm and guess what? This narrator treated me to a stomach turning event. I really want my money back. The narrator made it difficult to listen to this book. I'd rather read it myself. If it's possible to correct this matter, I strongly suggest you do so. The storyline was great! Just as in other books by Michelle Stimpson, there is a wonderful lesson to be learned. I'm encouraged by her books. This is the first Audible book I've purchased from this author and I certainly won't be purchasing another if it's narrated by William Butler. I'd say four stars for the book and zero for the narrator.

Story was good and held my interest but narrator took away from story

The story was very interesting and held my attention. However, the narrator took away from the quality of the story at certain points in the story. He was clearing his throat extensively, and there were several times where things were repeated multiple times.