Loved it!

This is Eli Easton at her best! Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride is a historical western with plenty of wit, humor, and romance. Full of interesting characters, a terrific plot, and suspense - this book has it all. Marry the story with Matthew Shaw's fantastic narration and you have a fabulous listen that's so entertaining I went back and listened to it all over again! I loved the way Shaw performs the dialogue and brings the locales and settings to life. This listen is a perfect example of how an audiobook can absolutely feel like a complete experience. Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride is a truly fantastic audiobook - clever, fun, funny, sexy, suspenseful, and absolutely recommended!

6 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Wonderful Story & Matthew Shaw is Perfect!

Eli Easton writes some of the most charming romances I’ve ever read and Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride hits the mark in the best possible way. The connection she creates between her characters is engaging and there’s no end to the interesting situations they find themselves in. Between Eli Easton’s captivating story, and Matthew Shaw’s stunning narration, this is one gosh darn terrific audiobook! This story takes place in the mid 1800’s and Eli Easton manages to completely capture the mood of the period. The old-timey expressions she digs up are hilarious and add so much to the overall feel of the book. There’s a perfect blend of humor, romance, and action in this one. Fast paced and clever, I enjoyed every minute of Robby Riverton. I love the delightful and very colorful cast of characters, though they’re all a bit stuck in their slovenly ways. In addition to their appalling manners, they don’t treat their women-folk well at all. As Robby infiltrates the Crabtree family as Rowena, he uses the talents he’s honed on the stage to wrap them all around his little finger. Thankfully they see the error of their ways once Rowena gets up the gumption to insist on some changes. The attraction between Robby and Trace is immediate, and both men are surprised by its intensity. With everything they have going against them, waiting to see how Eli Easton was going to find a way for them to be together was the sweetest kind of torture. There’s not a ton of sex, but what’s here is raw and hot and incredibly intimate, and I loved watching them fall in love. Matthew Shaw’s character voices are always creative, and his range never fails to impress me. He has the most wonderful variety for each person in Robby Riverton. Pa-Pa’s craggy cackle, the perfect drawls for the uncouth brothers, and I could listen to Trace’s smokey, sexy, sultry voice all day. The high pitched girly voices he uses for “the gals” and his Rowena voice, are just what I’d think a man would try to emulate, and it was hilarious. Like all the Eli Easton novels I’ve read, Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride is a wonderful, feel good story. I think this might just be her best one yet, and delivered with Matthew Shaw’s impeccable narration, it’s a winner!

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Absolutely brilliant!

From the title and cover, I expected this one to be funny, and I certainly found that. What I didn't expect was the level of emotion and the complete sweetness of Robby and Trace together. The whole story is just absolutely brilliant. Some things, like the Crabtree family's table manners, may have been over the top, but somehow they were just right for this story. And the characters! Each and every one felt real enough to reach out and touch. Eli Easton has taken handfuls of humor, drama, emotion, scorching hot sexy, and a bit of danger, mixed them all up, and created a charming story that is absolutely unputdownable. Then she put it in the very capable hands of narrator, Matthew Shaw, who did a wonderful job conveying all the emotion and excitement this one deserved. This may be my first experience with this author, but it certainly won't be my last.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A western with hidden depths and lots of laughs

I had read this book a few months ago and absolutely loved it! Hearing it was coming out on audio with Matthew Shaw's narration I was so excited to get it, as his narration on Easton's Howl At The Moon book series was wonderful. Shaw really gets into his performance, making animal sounds and singing. He puts a wide range of emotions into his voice and brings this story to life wonderfully. He started the book with a song which was surprising and delightful, he nailed the accents and tones of voice. In a way Robby, the actor running away from the thugs after witnessing a murder, is a very fitting character for audio narration. Not unlike the narrator himself, Robby takes on many roles and characters to hide is identity and it just fits the audio format so well. Every character is well rounded, interesting and funny, there are many funny moments but also, hidden depths. Despite this book being a typical western the characters have a deeper sense of humanity and the men in particular a vulnerable side. Trace seemed at first a lazy selfish man, but the scars he carries from the past are much deeper and show his complexity. His family, PaPa and his brothers and sisters in law have secrets themselves but they are kind and loving people once Robby gets to know them. I liked the change he brings into their lives and they to his, and the way Easton managed to bring some of the emotional toll a gay man had to endure in that time. There are a few moments of quite talk between Trace and Robby that touched my soul with the longing these men had for a free life to be who they are. Thrust into this dangerous situation and forced into a web of lies and deceit the passion and chemistry they share seems transient or that it will not last after Robby's pursuers are taken care of. There is also a lot of action, gunfights and the very real fear for Robby's life. This book has everything a western should have with the added depth of emotions Eli brought into the story and two very real men who just want a place in the world to call their own. I enjoyed this book very much and the narration only enhanced it.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A fun story, great narration.

Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride is the first audiobook I've listen to by Matthew Shaw. He does a fantastic job with the different voices needed in this story. His voice has nice deep tones (higher, of course, when necessary) and is extremely easy and pleasing to listen to. Eli Easton's writing is great. The story is both funny and serious and really kept my attention while I was listening to it. Forced to disguise himself as a woman in order to avoid the bad guys who are after him, Robby becomes Rowena, the mail order bride of Clovis Crabtree. Robby/Rowena catches the eye of Clovis' brother, Trace and he is puzzled by his reaction to her (he has never been attracted to women) until he finally figures out who Robby/Rowena is. In his role as Rowena, Robby challenges the Crabtree men to behave better and stop treating their women as servants. There is a deliciously funny secret about an activity that the family enjoys which had me in stitches when it was revealed. Robby/Rowena's interactions with the Crabtree family are probably my favorite parts of the book. This is due, in no small part, to the great voices done by Matthew Shaw. Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride was a seriously fun story to listen to and I'll be looking for more audiobook performances by Matthew Shaw as well as more stories from Eli Easton. An copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author. ***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A Diverting Romance

Full Credit to Shaw for bringing the characters of Eli Easton's book to life. Robby (our Male Mail Order Bride) flees New York after witnessing a murder to take refuge in the territory of New Mexico. He is resourceful, quick-witted, and the way he balances Rowena (the woman whose place he takes) and himself is a lot of fun. Trace, distant from his family, and brother to Rowena's fiancee (and the object of Robby's desire) is another great character. While the romance between Trace and Robby did feel a little rushed in places, it was still enjoyable, and I am a sucker for historical M/M stories. The ending is also incredibly sweet. I was able to finish listening in 3 days or so, and would listen again, especially for Shaw's excellent narration.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

So many voices

The narrator did a good job with different voices for different characters. I felt like I always knew who was speaking. The author was respectful in her description of why members of the Crabtree family had bruises. In one scene I felt that Robbie was TSTL, but it worked out in the end. The epogue surprised me in a good way.

Wonderful little story

I admit I liked this audiobook WAY more than I thought I would. The premise sounds ridiculous but somehow--God only knows how--Eli Easton makes it work. I liked every character, every plot development, everything about it.

Unusual romance

I enjoyed this book. The wild west element was unusual for m2m romance in my experience. It was sweet, suspenseful and took one on an adventure.

More historic fiction than steamy romance

I was expecting a story where the romance was the main focus (like most Eli Easton books) but the historical fiction side of things really was the main point of the story. I thought it was an interesting concept and I did enjoy the book, but for me the romance was a little bit of a let down. It didn't feel as developed as some of the author's previous couples, and in that way it felt a little tacked on. Honestly you could have just taken the relationship out of it and the story wouldn't be much different. Despite that, and the really terrible book cover, I enjoyed this read.