Backseat Saints

By: Joshilyn Jackson

Narrated by: Joshilyn Jackson

Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Rose Mae Lolley is a fierce and dirty girl, long-suppressed under flowery skirts and bow-trimmed ballet flats. As "Mrs. Ro Grandee", she's trapped in a marriage that's thick with love and sick with abuse. Her true self has been bound in the chains of marital bliss in rural Texas, letting "Ro" make eggs, iron shirts, and take her punches. She seems doomed to spend the rest of her life battered outside by her husband and inside by her former self, until fate throws her in the path of an airport gypsy - one who shares her past and knows her future. The tarot cards foretell that Rose's beautiful, abusive husband is going to kill her. Unless she kills him first.

Hot-blooded Rose Mae escapes from under Ro's perky compliance and emerges with a gun and a plan to beat the hand she's been dealt. Following messages that her long-missing mother has left hidden for her in graffiti and behind paintings, Rose and her dog Gretel set out from Amarillo, Texas, back to her hometown of Fruiton, Alabama, and then on to California, unearthing a host of family secrets as she goes. Running for her life, she realizes that she must face her past in order to overcome her fate---death by marriage---and become a girl who is strong enough to save herself from the one who loves her best.

Backseat Saints will dazzle listeners with a fresh and heartwrenching portrayal of the lengths a mother will go to right the wrongs she's created, and how far a daughter will go to escape the demands of forgiveness. With the seed of a minor character from her popular best-seller Gods in Alabama, Jackson has built a whole new story full of her trademark sly wit, endearingly off-kilter characters, and utterly riveting plot twists.

©2010 Joshilyn Jackson (P)2010 Hachette

Jackson needs to stay in the south.

Any additional comments?

Perhaps because of the very dark subject matter, this was not quite as enjoyable as previous Jackson books. In the first half there was the familiar edgy southern sass that I so love from this author, but as Rose Mae hits the road and reaches California, the charm is quickly diminished. Jackson's narration suffers as she tries to voice Rose Mae's mother's affected non-southern accent. The mother's character is less well developed, and is not very sympathetic, which is problematic considering the pivotal role she plays in Rose Mae's own development. The violence she has experienced makes this somewhat understandable, but difficult to warm up to. Still, the story is compelling and has a ring of authenticity regarding the family violence. Just not as strong a recommendation as her other books in my opinion.

So VERY good !!!!

I highly recommend this audio. I've listened to almost all her other books and loved them all she also does a great job narrating, she had Rose May, Ro Grandy and Ivy Wheeler's voices perfect. I absolutely love Joshilyn Jacksons books. .

Another winner!

My 2nd book with this Author. It's like living in someone else's shoes! Loved it!

Riveting!

I have to say that I love Audible.com! And listening to the actual author read her words brings such a depth and breadth to the story that you just don't find anywhere else. This was one of the first stories that I could not put down. I listened to this from start to finish, I wanted to know what was going to happen next. The author holds you spellbound from one chapter to the next, weaving you seamlessly through the lives of her characters, so you forget where one ends and another begins. Very richly told. Would recommend to all as a cautionary tale of the perils of the "perfect romance".

It was okay

I didn't like the main character much and couldn't care less if her abusive husband got the better of her. The abusive husband was as detestable as Rose May. Same with the gypsy mom who abandoned her. Even the dog was boring

This book has potential but lacks something too

I read the reviews of other readers before I purchased several of Joshilyn Jackson's books, and I purchased this one because it had some great reviews. My mistake.

I was on the edge of my seat during the 1st part of it. When she ran away from Texas on the search for the gypsy, I thought that it was really going to turn out good. However, I was wrong. It just left this reader wanting more. The way that it ended was just wrong. I wanted to see her actually develop a relationship with the characters towards the end of the book. I wanted to see her finally have a relationship with the mother that didn't raise her. I wanted to see forgiveness for several family members that she refused to give. I wanted her to find a really good man who treated her good, spoiled her, didn't always accuse her of things that she wasn't guilty of.. One who would love her until the end of time.. There was the possibility of such with the landlord, but this wasn't ever explored enough to satisfy this longing for her. She needed to explore things with him so much deeper than the author wrote about. There was just a lot left hanging, perhaps for a new book.. I don't know.

To sum it up, Rose Mae Lolly just has a lot of anger in her soul that she refuses to let go of. Anger can be a good thing in some cases, but in this one she had so much potential, and the author just ends the book in such a way that you know she will always be angry and unfulfilled. I was disappointed in this book by the end of it. Unfortunately, I purchased several of her books at the same time, and I have had some trouble getting through "A Grown Up Kind of Pretty," but that is another review for another day.

The book would probably have been a bit better if another narrator was chosen for it. The author doesn't lend anything to the reading. She doesn't change her voice for male voices, and all of the women have some variance of the same voice for Rose Mae. She really should have let the narrators at the publishing house read the book. I think it would have been a bit more exciting and edgy if she did.

I won't say that the book isn't worth your credit. The content is decent. It is just slow in parts and plain boring in others. I think it could have been way more exciting given the excerpt that lures one into buying it.

Loved it!!

Highly entertaining, couldn't stop listening. Humorous and dramatic all in one book. Loved Joshilyn's reading of her book. I would highly recommend this book.

Great great story, not so great narrator

If you loved gods In Alabama this is such a satisfying reappearance of the Alabama characters. I’d give this a straight up all 5s except why oh why does Ms Jackson love to hear herself read? This nasal whine is not the same as the beautiful southern drawl of Catherine Taber. I’m not usually this abrupt in any review about which I feel negatively but please please PLEASE Mrs Jackson. Use that brilliant brain of yours for telling the stories we love and let the professional voice actresses bring them to life. I only wrote so frankly because I heard Jackson in an interview saying how much she loves performing the books so much.

gorgeous

It is such a treat to have the author narrate her own book. This is another fabulous read/listen from Ms Jackson.

Wow! What a great book!

At first I was hesitant to select this book because of its subject matter--domestic violence. However, the story is beautifully written and exquisitely well read by the author. Several times, I wanted to pick up the phone to quote a particularly brilliant line or two to my daughters. Joshilyn Jackson surprises me with every new book. I loved the characters and hated to come to the end.