good story but narrator ruined it for me

What did you like best about The Great Escape? What did you like least?

SEP always involves past book characters in her story, and Great Escape was no exception. The secondary romance between Bree and Mike took too long to develop, but was resolved very nicely.

How could the performance have been better?

I think that we all miss Anna Fields who was Phillips' go-to narrator until Fields' tragic death. While Shannon Cochran is a competent narrator, I finally decided why she was ALL WRONG for Great Escape. Her voice is too old for Lucy, and secondly, most importantly, she never conveyed the joy that SEP imbues in all her books.

Was The Great Escape worth the listening time?

No, I wish I had read it instead of listening to it.

20 people found this helpful

Better than the last one

I was so disappointed with Call Me Irresistible that I was prepared for disaster with this one. In spite of that, I stayed up until 3am waiting for the Audible download to go live. Diehard SEP fans do that.

THE GOOD: The story was satisfying in the way some of the older books were - good characterization, a couple of side stories, an interesting location, and some interesting bits about various "locale" things that made it easier to visualize the setting.

THE IRRITATING: Like so many successful fiction writers, SEP seems to feel it her duty to jump on social and political issues as part of the storyline. This is not a terrible thing. I suspect that authors employing these devices do make their readers stop and think a bit, but in this book, as in many others I've read in recent years, the preaching is just a little bit too much to the forefront and takes away from the story, rather than adding to it.

THE MEDIOCRE: I came away knowing more about the secondary characters and their motivations than I did the Hero. His story is held back for much of the book. The sexual tension between Lucy and Panda is not quite as hot as I might have wanted, and I''m not talking about explicit sex scenes here, but the ongoing sizzle. SEP is capable of this, as seen in Match Me If You Can and as far back as This Heart of Mine.

I'm hoping her next book will have less social consciousness and more romance.

Would I buy it again? Yes

Will I listen to it again? Yes

28 people found this helpful

Bummer....terrible narration.

I love SEP's books and actually about despised the characters by the time I was finished listening because of the nasal, odd voices they were given by the narrator. Gotta go read it now so I can enjoy it!

8 people found this helpful

Sub Par SEP

What disappointed you about The Great Escape?

The story was not up to SEP's normal standards. Less detail, less compelling characters and no witty repartee.

Would you ever listen to anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips again?

Well, I've liked several of her books, but this one is really not up to her usual standards. I'd hesitate before I plunge into the next one.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator sounded quite old - WAY too old for the main characters. Also, not enough nuance between narration and character voices. Kid voices also not well portrayed. Too squeaky and not believable. Child in the book for 12 not 4.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment. It feels like a novice ghost writer wrote this instead of SEP. There was a little bit of the familiar finesse with the Bri/Mike storyline, but nothing was developed enough - false stakes, not enough genuine tension. SEP phoned this one in. Don't bother.

8 people found this helpful

stupid

Would you try another book from Susan Elizabeth Phillips and/or Shannon Cochran?

yes, but I'd think again. She usually has good books, but this onei dumb....the narrator is so old.

What do you think your next listen will be?

dunno

How could the performance have been better?

a younger narrator....better story... it was a hugh task to get through it

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Great Escape?

Luci playing Viper. Period..

Any additional comments?

sucks!

8 people found this helpful

A monumentally sad disappointment

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The narrator has a hard act to follow. No-one can match Anna Fields. Taking that into account, and making allowances, this is still not good.

Would you ever listen to anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips again?

I have all SEPs books. I have loved most of them but this was a great disappointment. The characters didn't develop. It was impossible to care about them. Lucy was just awful. What grown woman of 31 behaves that badly. Who on earth would name a grown man Panda? Ridiculous. The other characters in the book, especially Mike were one dimensional. I truly hope SEP has not lost IT.

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

The accents were bad, the tone was whiny. No enjoyable. Such a shame.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I hate to say this, but no.

6 people found this helpful

not one of her bests

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

I am shocked by the high rating this is getting. I am a huge SEP fan and love most of her books, but this one was just not up to par. There was so much going on that you never really get attached to her to Lucy or patrick. Thenshe tried to throw every thing she could in. It turns out panda has everything and anything that he can. Plus, he is an orphan and then sayssonething about having his mom in a senior center. The voice usedfor Lucy sounds like a 50 year old woman and not a 30 year old lady. It just was very long without being really good.

Just too much!!

What could Susan Elizabeth Phillips have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Eliminate some of the issues with Patrick, it was too much!!!! We get it, SEP believes in gay marriages. Stop pushing itdown our throats!! I am not reading these books to debate serious topics.

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

No way!!"

10 people found this helpful

Disappointing!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Although I generally like SEP's novels, and have been waiting for this one, this book was way long - with too much side details. The development of story-line and characters this time was below her other novels. I kept thinking just finish the book already. It was actually boring at parts, annoying at others and the end was hardly convincing!

What could Susan Elizabeth Phillips have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

make it shorter.

What three words best describe Shannon Cochran’s voice?

was better with her last SEP novel

4 people found this helpful

Fabulous old school S.E.P

The Great Escape follows on from the events that kicked off Call Me Irresistible. Starting from Lucy's abrupt departure from her wedding to Ted, the plot continues to explain Lucy's time on the run.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one of my favourite authors and I am yet to find one of her books that I didn't enjoy. Having said that, I have noticed that her older works (Fancy Pants, Honey Moon, Dream a Little Dream) lack some of the light hearted crazy humour of her newer publications (Match Me if You Can, Natural Born Charmer and Call Me Irresistible), which at times had me laughing so hard I cried. The Great Escape, while still demonstrating S.E.P's typical wit, seemed to lean more towards her older more serious style. Never the less, the story included all the elements I have come to love in a Susan Elizabeth Phillips Novel. It has a great plot with equal amounts of drama and romance.

I loved Anna Fields narration of these novels and I think any narrator who follows in her footsteps has some pretty big shoes to fill. It took me some time to adjust to Shannon Cochran in Call Me Irresistible but I feel she did a great job on both that book and The Great Escape.

All in all I feel anything by S.E.P is worth my credit and The Great Escape was no exception, I loved it from start to finish.

12 people found this helpful

I wasn't crazy about it.

Most good authors seem to reach a peak at some point in their body of work, and then gradually subside into lesser quality. This seems to be the case with SEP. Her last few books haven't been terrible, but they haven't been great either. Even a lesser SEP book is worth a read. But I feel like she hasn't really found a new story in a long time. She just seems to be recycling elements from her best books to make her new ones.

I haven't given up hope. I will get her next book. I may even reread this one occasionally, but if you are new to Susan Elizabeth Phillips, know that there are much better books in her body of work than this one. Go back to her earlier stuff if you want her best.

16 people found this helpful