Audio Review: A Prairie Dog's Love Song by Eli Easton - Narrated by Michael Stellman

Author: Eli Easton

Narrator:: Michael Stellman

Run Time: 2 Hours, 5 Minutes

At a Glance: If you loved the book, then you’re in for a treat with the audio version.

Blurb: Ben Rivers always was a showman. He won awards in 4-H and rodeo competitions from the time he could walk, and he’s happiest in the spotlight. So when he got the chance to be a star—in porn—he took it. He still loves Montana and everything about being a cowboy, but when news of his alternate identity leaks out, he figures he’s lost the town’s goodwill forever. Clyde’s Corner would never accept an openly gay cowboy, even a hometown boy born and bred.

Joshua Braintree always had the notion that he and his best friend’s kid brother, Ben, would end up together. Ben’s always been a diehard cowboy, just like him: they need the land and its freedom as much as they need air. So when Joshua learns Ben moved away from their small Montana town to be a porn star in Vegas, he can hardly believe it. He’s determined to finally declare himself and bring Ben home.

Despite his longtime crush on Joshua, Ben won’t be as easy to tame as Joshua’s “lost cause” horses. It will take a lot of heart and holiday spirit for Joshua to convince Ben that even old prairie dogs can learn new tricks in the name of love.

Review: Our very own Jackie did an awesome review of A Prairie Dog’s Love Song over a year ago, and I was so impressed by it that I immediately went out and got my own e-copy of the book. I simply adore Eli Easton’s stories a majority of the time, but this one didn’t hit me like her other Christmas stories. For me, it didn’t work because I really love to see my characters intermingle with each other throughout the book. I had mixed feelings because I love to see the good, the bad, and the truly ugly when two people start to admit their feelings. In A Prairie Dog’s Love Song the two characters, Joshua and Ben, are together briefly at the beginning and a little bit towards the end. Mostly the story was about Joshua coming to grips with going public about his sexuality. Which is fine. Like I said, my problem was more in missing a connection with both characters.

Now, I know mood can sometimes affect a story, so when I saw that this book had come out on audio I thought to myself, what am awesome way to give a story a second chance. Believe me when I say this: I’ve changed my mind about A Prairie Dog’s Love Song thanks to the change in perspective I’ve been given. By listening to the story, and it being given a different voice, it was a heck of an improvement over the voice I’d given it in my imagination. I got more out of A Prairie Dog’s Love Song than when I read it, so it’s moved up a notch in my opinion, and I can finally agree with Jackie’s review.

Michael Stellman has become one of my many favorite narrators, and I can’t seem to get enough of him. I love how he brought A Prairie Dog’s Love Song to life, and even though the characters didn’t mingle that much together, at least I got to know them better individually through Michael’s narration.

If you’re like me and didn’t like the book, you may want to give the audiobook a chance. It sure changed my original opinion. If you loved the book, then you’re in for a treat with the audio version.