Narrated by Christy Sassman
*Mild spoilers possible in discussion
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Heat level: sweet/flirty
Summary:
Cathy Matthews wants to prevent some woods near her house from being turned into a shopping mall. The developer, Danny Marsden, is young, handsome, and rubs her the wrong way at every turn.
Additional Comments:
- It’s a fairly typical illogical romance story. The heroine spends 90% of the book claiming to hate the hero before declaring herself in love. He spends 90% of the book doing his thing, trying to be a nice guy, getting into verbal fights with her, and then does something really nice in the end.
- The blurb makes it sound like he’s got an attitude problem, but it’s not really coming through clearly.
- Characters 3/5: Cathy’s attitudes and actions come across as reckless and stupid. I like how she’s passionate about saving the animal shelter she works (volunteers?) at, but the random friends she has and their grand plans are highly irresponsible.
- Side characters 3/5: They kind of even out. Everybody connected to Cathy came across like a cardboard cutout. But Danny’s parents and Amanda both came through like real people with realistic struggles
- Plot 3/5: Danny’s reaction to her scheme seems nonchalant. That would likely have cost him a lot of money. I get the whole turn your life around and get priorities straight, but it would have been more realistic to have him genuinely be angry. I think he showed anger like twice in the book. Cathy concluded he’s sweet but can fly off the handle easily. Just didn’t seem genuine or natural.
- Performance 3.5/5: The narrator did fine, but I’m pretty sure this was a story set in England and there was no hint of a British accent in the story. While fine, it feels like a missed opportunity. I would listen to the narrator again. She’s got a nice voice.
- Romance isn’t my go-to genre, so you may conclude that my take is biased by just not being into this kind of story. There’s a turnaround in one of the character’s actions, but there’s no great mystery or action throughout the story.
Conclusion:
If sweet romance is your thing, this is a decent story to check out. Not exactly heart-pounding action, but it’s got some family drama.
Associate links to follow…
Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.
New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.
Shadow Council Book 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter – A midnight summons calls FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek into a fight for a young girl’s life.
Shadow Council Book 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos – The FBI agent gets a strange ally in the quest to prevent chaos from rocking a lot of people’s holiday season.
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…
Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.
Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms.
5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions
