Don't Let The Narration Make You Miss This Wonder

This story of strong unwavering women in the wild prairie of 1907 Alberta, Canada is wonderful. I am so glad that I listened!

The only flaw was the decision to have the author narrate the book. This was a mistake. Her voice is difficult listening at first--but gradually I grew use to it. Other reviewers have complained about it. But, I am so glad I didn't listen to them and stuck with the book because the story is a true winner.

Brimming with harsh realities, unending strength and endearing hope this book allows the beauty of the prairie to shine through. It captures frontier life in Canada perfectly. The writing is completely engaging and had me hanging on every word. Definitely worth the effort. Not to be missed!

29 people found this helpful

Performance issues

I enjoy it when authors read their books. This seems a good story. But the author reads it as if at a book reading without inflection or character voices. At times, I don't think she heeded punctuation. Because of this, I only listened for 15 minutes and then deleted the book. This is one to read from the book. (I think I am spoiled by the great Audible performances.)

4 people found this helpful

Poor reader!

What would have made For a Modest Fee better?

Someone else reading the story for starters!

What didn’t you like about Freda Jackson’s performance?

Her speech pattern and tone of voice. Very monotonous.

Any additional comments?

Wasted my money on this book.

2 people found this helpful

The book is a very typical fictional romance

The author was the narrator. There was pages rustling, beeping and she fumbled with words quite often. The story was average in length, characters and plot. Not bad if you want an easy title to listen to.

1 person found this helpful

Surprisingly beautiful

A beautiful story representing brave, compassionate, and real people told beautifully and concisely.
Loved the setting, the theme and the characters.

Narrator ruined it for me

I was interested in the book. The story had potential. The writing wasn’t bad. The narrator’s reading and voice made the book intolerable

Great story horrible narration.

The story itself was great. The Canadian wilderness was interesting as was the trials of nursing. On the other hand - the narration was just awful! You could hear the narrator catch her breath between just about every sentence. The sound was inconsistent and you could hear back ground noise. If the story wasn't so good I would have stopped listening after an hour. It was painful.
I wish they would redo this book with a professional narrator and audio company. I would buy it again!

Couldn't make it through

I realize the author is the narrator, but this was a poor choice. A different narrator, who allowed for inflection in their voice, would have been a better fit and would have told the story better. As is, I couldn't finish, or really start the book fully as I would have fallen asleep.

Such an interesting book.

I loved this book and I will be looking for others by Ms. Jackson. She has an amazing insight into the lives of women pioneers.

The first thing you notice when listening to this novel is that the recording is not of very good quality. It is narrated by the author, herself, and she does a really good job but the production quality is really bad. It seems that no one thought the book deserved a professionally produced recording. That said, this is a VERY good book and it deserves a second release with a more professional quality recording. Even with the amateur sounding recording, it is well worth sticking with it. I think you will find that this book will be one of your favorites.

Dry Narration

While I'm sure the book is a good one, I couldn't continue past chapter 2 because of the narration. The narrators voice was monotone and grating.