Straight from the Hip

Lone Star Sisters, Book 3

By: Susan Mallery

Narrated by: Julie Francis

Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Izzy has always been the fearless Titan sister. But when an oil rig blows up, leaving her barely able to see, her sisters find themselves as concerned by her emotional withdrawal as by the possibility that the explosion was no accident. Are the mind games their long-lost brother Garth has been playing turning physical? Or is someone else out to get them?

When her sisters enroll her in a survivor training camp, Izzy is not happy. Nick, her instructor, is determined that she won't be left in the dark - in more ways than one. But if he tells her the terrible truth behind why he's helping her, he'll never see her again. Unless they're both willing to take the biggest risk of all.

©2009 Susan Mallery (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"When you think of passion, drama and heartwarming stories, think Susan Mallery." ( Romantic Times)

Very good book! (spoilers**)

Izzy has always been the daredevil in the family, the tomboy if you will. She is injured in an oil rig blowup and loses most of her sight, she becomes withdrawn. Everyone believes it is their half brother who blew up the rig. Her concerned sisters enroll her is a special camp to help her deal with her disability. The obstacles in her path brings out her competitive nature.

A thoroughly enjoyable story watching Izzy overcome her fear, and deal with Nick, who has ghosts of his own. These two broken souls come together and heal each other.

Straight from the Hip

Another piece of the puzzle has snapped into place. Garth doesn’t seem to want to hurt the sisters just Jed and if he has to use the sisters he will... But I think there is more to the story.
The Nick/Garth connection was interesting and how he wanted to help Izzy makes me think he isn’t all bad.

The concertation with Garth and Jed blew me away as well as the one with Jed and Izzy she surprised me in the best way how she stood up for herself.

He is going to push all his kids away and where will that leave him with his big house and his big pile of money how lonely that would be. Why Garth can’t just let it frustrates me.

Izzy and Nick together made sense and I liked their story.

The narration was great.

Excellent story. Believable and likeable characte.

Susan Mallery is an excellent author with a knack for creating enchanting funny, caring characters. This series needs to be read in order; the storyline developes as the series continues deeper with each story.

My husband and I enjoyed listening too the full series together on a long road trip.

Pretty good melodrama

If you like the old TV show Dallas, you’ll like this book.

The characters are interesting. The drama is a bit over the top.

Finally, a good one!

This is the best book in the Lone Star Sisters series by far. I didn't really care for Izzy's character in the two previous books, but this book give you a bit more insight about her. She is also the only sister to really stand up to their horrible father, which was well worth the wait! Nick's character had lots of issues but was still likable. And more light was shed on Garth's character, which was quite interesting. I can SO see a romance brewing between him and the deputy, which I hope will be explored in the final book. The first two books were a bit flat to me, but this one is a lot better. Enjoy!

Pretty good

This is the third book in the series and out of the three I would say it came in second. The first book was the best. Okay for a simple summer romance, narrator is not my favorite.

Story is good but narrator is terrible

This is one of those cases where a bad narrator was paired with a good story. The narrator speaks too slowly and her attempts at doing different voices for the characters fail miserably. I recommend the story if you can handle the poor narration.

Good listen, Wonderful characters!

Would you listen to Straight from the Hip again? Why?

Yes. The whole series is worth listening to again.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Straight from the Hip?

When Izzy finds out the truth about Nick.

Have you listened to any of Julie Francis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

It's as good as the other's

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not one big emotional moment, no. There are a many good moments that grab the listeners/readers attention though. One's with Jed in particular. Nick and Izzy battling with each other as they fall in love.

Any additional comments?

This book has two strong characters coming together during a lot of turmoil in Izzy's life. it makes for a good listen.

He met her stroke for stroke.

Stroke stroke...stroke.
Ok people. Do tounges stroke? No. The caress, and do other stuff. Stroke, makes me envision a backstroke. Also, smirk, chuckle, as well as stroke should be banned from all romance genre herin. As well as "SWORE SOFTLY"
Who swears softly? Not me. Another cookie cutter, story. Safe & FREE. Keyword: free. It's ok, not fabulous