Author: Vicky Loebel
Narrators: Emily Beresford
Length: 5 hours 6 minutes
Series: Brides of Paradise, Book One
Publisher: Pentachronistic Press
Released: Nov. 28, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
When Anna Williams lands a spot on the Vacation Bride reality show, she's hoping to give her sick father a break from the Milwaukee winter, not win a rich husband. Which is good, because the hunky maintenance man whose broad shoulders and clear blue eyes have caught her attention is neither rich nor part of the contest, is he?Chris Andersen was a disinherited resort brat until his uncle's family crashed their private helicopter during an argument over money. Now Chris is a secret billionaire, determined to make the Paradise Resort a success on its own. To pay for improvements, he's hosting his cousin's Internet reality series, Vacation Bride, a show where women compete to win a rich husband. The women are silly and the show's a lot of work, but the publicity seems worth it. At least until Chris finds out he may be entering the contest himself as first prize.
Vicky Loebel began her professional life as a systems programmer for NASA and moved through successively more challenging careers before settling in as a writer of tightly-plotted, romantic fiction. She lives on the slopes of Mt. Lemmon, AZ with her sister, three dogs, a rotating assortment of children, and a husband who has the patience of a saint.
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Emily Beresford is a professional audiobook narrator who is a nerd for books, no matter the genre. In 2013 she was nominated for an Audie Award and received an Earphones Award from AudioFile magazine, for her work on the Multi-Voice title October Mourning. She lives in Michigan with her wonderful husband, and two amazing children.
Anna Williams best friend has signed up to be on The Vacation Bride reality internet show and won a spot. Problem is she broke her leg and had to have surgery to repair the break. There is no way she can go on the show. She gives her spot to Anna. Anna has no desire to go on the show but she does love the idea of an all expense paid vacation with her Father. Her father has recently had heart surgery, and she is excited to get him out of the Milwaukee winter.
Chris Andersen is a secret billionaire. He was raised as a resort Brat. Now that he is an adult he wants to make his resort the Paradise Resort. His cousin Ryan Anderson has agreed to be the bachelor on Vacation Bride, and internet reality series. Chris has agreed to host the show at Paradise Resort in order to pay for some improvements he wants. Sounds cut and dry right? Nope!! Ryan has eloped and now he cannot be the bachelor. Ryan talks Chris into taking his place.
Anna and Chris have a chance meeting. Anna plays off she is just a resort guest, and Chris plays as the Maintenance man at Paradise Resort. When they both realize they have been deceived by the other they try to be done with each other, problem is sparks have already flown.
Chris is now looking for a way out of being 1st prize in Vacation Bride. Anne and Chris come up with a plan. Where they will all win.
Vicky Loebel has done a great job with this book. I really liked th though and backstories she put into her characters. The book was sweet and clean. There were no strong sex scenes and no strong language. This is book one her new series Brides of Paradise. I will be watching for book 2.
Emily Beresford has also done a great job with the narration of the audiobook. She really brought the characters to life. You could hear the smiles and frowns in her voice. It was a pleasure to listen to her narrate this book. She kept the story flowing nicely and did not bore me with mechanical reading. If felt like she was getting into the story as much as I was.
I was gifted my copy of this book from the Author and AudioBookWorm for review purposes. The thoughts are my own.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Vicky Loebel. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Q&A with Author Vicky Loebel
- Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook.
- I was extremely lucky making an audiobook of “Vacation Bride” because I knew Emily Beresford from working on two previous audio projects. All I had to do for this one was email Emily to get on her production schedule and deliver the book file. She took care of the rest.
- Do you believe certain types of writing translate better into audiobook format?
- Humor is a challenge because you’ve got to find a narrator who can read your mind and telepathically figure out the right comic timing for the narration. I was lucky enough to find Emily before I realized how tough this is, or my fingernails might have been a lot more chewed.
- Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
- Since this is my third audiobook, I actually did think about how well it would translate into audio while I was editing and polishing the manuscript. Specifically, I tried to keep the sentence construction a little simpler so the poor narrator could catch her breath.
- Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
- Turquoise water :) I took a lot of inspiration from research into the Caribbean and the US Virgin Islands -- gazing longingly through webcams, watching Caribbean shows on cable TV. My secret hope is to inspire a lot of future tropical vacations.
- Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?
- I love audiobooks! I started checking them out from the library (remember CDs?) years ago to listen to while commuting, and they quickly expanded to brighten chores, exercise, and rocking babies at two in the morning. Along the way, I saw the added dimension a great narrator brings to a story and discovered many new authors while sampling books by beloved narrators. In my opinion, it’s perfect,
- Is there a particular part of this story that you feel is more resonating in the audiobook performance than in the book format?
- Emily really provides the sense of wonder that my heroine Anna feels exploring the Virgin Islands and encountering unexpected luxuries, like her visit to a megayacht.
- How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
- Well, let’s see, there was the megayacht cruise to the US Virgin Islands...oh wait...that was a dream. In real life, we threw a terrific Facebook launch party with games, gift cards, and tropical-themed prizes. It was a hoot!
- In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series?
- I think that both as a writer and reader, there’s nothing more satisfying than to fall in love with a place and group of characters and then go back and revisit them for additional romance and adventure. On the other hand, stand-alone novels sometimes have a little more freshness and energy.
- Have any of your characters ever appeared in your dreams?
- They like to show up at the end of a project and tell me all the much wittier things they would have said if I’d listened to them in the first place. Thank goodness for revisions!
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Set in the heart of New Orleans MOONLIGHT SINS, the first book in the all-new de Vincent series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout, invites readers to enter the world the de Vincent family.
JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT is the #1 international and #1 New York Times bestselling author of over 40 books, including the Wait for You, Lux series, the Dark Elements series, and Til Death. She is published with Tor, HarperCollins Avon and William Morrow, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion, Harlequin Teen and writes steamy and fun New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. Jennifer is also the founder of Apollycon, a yearly reader event that brings in over 1400 readers and authors together each year. She currently lives in West Virginia with her husband and two dogs, Loki and Diesel.
