Narrated by Kaleo Griffith
Carnal Gift is part historical romance and part history lesson. Pamela Clare set her novel in 1754 during the penal laws era in Ireland and on the eve of the French and Indian War in the Colonies. Clare did her research and the crushing laws described throughout Carnal Gift moved the action forward.
Living in rural Ireland, our heroine Bríghid Ní Maelsechnaill and her family are proud, poor, and persecuted. We meet the Maelsechnaill family mere moments before they are torn apart by the penal laws enforced by the earl, Sheffield Winthrop Tate III, Lord Byerly. But Bríghid and her three brothers, Finn, Ruaidhri, and Aidan, are strong and they manage to hold the family together after the loss of their father – that is until the hated earl once again focuses his attention on the family. Ruaidhri, the brash middle son, dares to challenge him but the the earl is persuaded by his friend Jamie not to harm Ruaidhri. Bríghid is not so lucky.
Jamie Blakewell is a wealthy tobacco plantation owner visiting from the Colonies and an old university friend of Lord Byerly. Jamie is struck by Bríghid’s beauty so, true to form, Lord Byerly abuses his power as the overlord to kidnap Bríghid and present her as gift to Jamie to be used in whatever fashion he desires. Understanding the danger Bríghid is in, Jamie is forced to play along with the earl’s disgusting game while secretly vowing to keep Bríghid safe.
The romance builds gradually as Jamie implements his plans to keep the earl away from Bríghid. Those plans thrust the two together and the spark lit the night when Jamie kisses and touches Bríghid for the first time grows into desire and then passion. When they realize what they feel is love for each other, they face challenges, both internal and external that aren’t solved easily but through communication and sacrifice the two find a way to be together. This is what I look for in a good romance. It’s realistic and shows a depth to the characters. Bríghid and Jamie are more than raging hormones.
Kaleo Griffith’s narration adds a layer to an already multifaceted book. The reader knows that Bríghid and the entire country of Ireland hates the English, but the listener of Carnal Gift hears and feels that hatred. From the first night when Bríghid meets Jamie and he pretends to rape her, Bríghid’s voice drips disdain when she speaks of the earl and the hated English. Over time, when she comes to understand, respect, and finally love Jamie, her voice changes and becomes softer and quieter. Our hero Jamie, the alpha male with a strong moral code, is powerful, refined, and thoughtful. He speaks in short, clipped tones when he’s defending Bríghid’s honor or arguing with Ruaidhri. As Jamie recovers from an injury sustained in his efforts to keep Bríghid safe, we hear his strain with each movement and his short, shallow breaths. When advocating for the frontier families in the Colonies, he speaks with passion and determination. And Ruaidhri, unable to rein in his temper, always talks with a sharp edge, especially when speaking to Jamie or questioning his sister on her feelings for the Englishman. Griffith includes every groan, growl, and yell. Ruaidhri sounds like the argumentative and angry sixteen-year-old that he is. All characters receive Griffith’s close attention as he distinctly performs each with accents that match the characters’ homelands and upbringings.
Listeners of the audiobook miss out on the acknowledgements, author’s note, and Clare’s explanation of her usage of Irish Gaelic. Clare gives the reader the backstory of her writing Carnal Gift and the struggles to get the complete version of the book published. I am so glad that Pamela Clare persevered and I was able to listen to the book the way she intended. Her note on Gaelic added to my understanding and enjoyment of the audio.
I recommend fans of Clare and Griffith pick up the eBook along with the audiobook. Griffith is talented, but when you see the complicated Gaelic names in print while listening to those same words roll off of Griffith’s tongue, talented is too mild a word. Kaleo Griffith is brilliant.
The epilogue of Carnal Gift may be a little too perfect, but I was so wrapped up in the characters that I forgot to be skeptical of how well all of the pieces came together. While the graphic violence throughout the book was hard to listen to, it felt real and because of that, Bríghid and Jamie’s victory felt all the more sweeter. Griffith’s portrayal of this final scene brought tears to my eyes and I savored Bríghid and Jamie’s happy ending and the promise of a bright future.
[section label=’Audiobook Information’ anchor=’Audiobook Information’]
Jessica
AUDIOBOOK INFORMATION
TITLE: Carnal Gift
AUTHOR: Pamela Clare
NARRATED BY: Kaleo Griffith
GENRE: Historical Romance
STEAM FACTOR: Glad I had my earbuds in
REVIEWER: Jessica [button type=’link’ link=’http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QXWD7MW/?tag=audiogalsnet-20′ size=’btn-lg’ variation=’btn-default’ target=’blank’]Buy Carnal Gift by Pamela Clare on Amazon[/button]
I spent my monthly credit on Pamela Clare’s Sweet Release. I guess the next one will go to Carnal Gift. i love Pamela Clare’s historicals narrated by Kaleo Griffith.
At this rate, I will never get caught up on my Pamela Clare TBL pile :-)
Thank you for the lovely review! I’m so glad you enjoyed the story.
Kaleo deserves every bit of praise you’ve given him for his work on this book. I’m in the middle of listening to it now, and I’m so impressed with the nuance he gives it. He’s not reading the book to us; he’s living it for us.
One frustrating thing… Because CARNAL GIFT was published, the publisher cut roughly 100 pages out of it to make it adhere to their maximum limit on page length. That forced me to make changes to RIDE THE FIRST, the next book in the series. When I finally got the rights back and published the original version of CARNAL GIFT, it was no longer in sync in some details with RIDE THE FIRE. Changing RIDE THE FIRE has been impossible, not only because I don’t own the rights but also because those changes are threaded throughout the story. So the two have some discrepancies between them.
Thanks again! When this book first came out, I had a broken heart because of the cuts. It’s been reclaimed for me now, and with Kaleo’s narration, it is everything I hoped it could be and more.
I know it must be embarrassing for you but I’m fangirling out here, Pamela. I love everything about your books: the beautiful prose, the setting, the characters, the stories and, most of all, how much heart each book has. Please be reassured that fans won’t mind the discrepancies and new readers will be captivated by your voice. Thank you for writing these amazing books and caring so much about the quality of the audiobooks. I’ll stop now, I promise. Wish you all the best!
Bea, I don’t feel embarrassed when someone loves something I wrote. I put more than a year into writing that story. I certainly don’t mind when people flip over Kaleo Griffith’s narration because I’m right there flipping with all of you. I got SO lucky when Tantor put the two of us together. :-)
That’s a long winded way of saying “Thank you!” :-)
See? Even your long winded ways of saying ‘Thank you’ are unique :-). I’ll return to my flipping over Kaleo’s narration now…
Thank you for this terrific review Jessica and Audiogals! I’m humbled by your words. I’m glad the work resonated with you. Pamela’s material is always a romp! Ahem- tsk tsk. Okay, all kidding aside.. It’s always interesting, provocative, thrilling, soulful, real– and always, always filled with extraordinary love. To walk into my studio and press “record” for the day is pretty darn exciting. I’m lucky to be but a part of her extraordinary world.
Again, thank you for this.
Warm Regards,
Kaleo
Thank you for coming by and sharing, Kaleo! It’s always a gratifying experience when authors and narrators show up and talk about their work.
I am very glad to hear you enjoy narrating these audiobooks. We certainly enjoy the end results :)
Wish you the very best
I see that this is the second book Of the Blakewell/Kenleigh series. Have any of you listened to the first book, Sweet Release, and if so, have you reviewed it? When I know it is a series, I really like to read/listen in order and this review was so good, I want to listen to Sweet Release also.