So good

This book was amazing! I couldn't put it down. Listened to it in one day. The love story is great and the back stories of the characters we intriguing! The narrator's voice was awesome for this story. I could picture it in my head like I was watching it with my eyes! Can't wait to listen to more

2 people found this helpful

Sweet story

A truly sweet and clean romance story that is so enjoyable to listen to. Two people suffer heartache and let no one know about it. Elizabeth not able to have children and Jake, whose wife left him and his son for another life without them. It took Jake's son to bring them together. The author did a fabulous job with this story and I certainly will look for more written by her and the narrator did a great job in the telling of it.

2 people found this helpful

A Sweet Romance Novel

This audio involves the romance of two main characters, Elizabeth Temple and Jake Ryan. Elizabeth,a teacher from the northeast decides to settle in a Southern town and begin a new life. Having never been married,she struggles with her feelings when she meets Jake, a divorced father who has custody of his young son. The challenges between Elizabeth’s past and Jakes ex wife cause friction within the relationship. In addition, both characters have significantly different temperaments which lend to further complications.
Elizabeth Kelly does an excellent job narrating this story- by providing various voices to depict each characters successfully. She makes it easy to follow the storyline and it is clear as to which character was saying or thinking at any one time. Her voice had proper inflection relative to the emotion of the story. All in all, this novel was an easy and enjoyable listen- highly recommend. I received access to this audio for the purpose of review however, the insights and opinions were not solicited but derived from my own account.

2 people found this helpful

Charming

I really enjoyed this sweet and clean story. The characters had so much depth and likability. The narrator was great and I look forward to reading and listening to more from this author in the future.

1 person found this helpful

Marvelous tale of sweet romance

Chester and Kelly masterfully brought a beautiful story of romance to life. Even my son, 18 yo, enjoyed it so much when he heard it playing while I drove him to work. A new Queen of Sweet Romance for my family. This story is suitable for even kids. Great love story about Elizabeth who has a deep secret which she keeps while she fall head over heal for the father of her student.

Lovely!

Elizabeth is running from her old life and a secret so hurtful that she is content to live as a spinster. She takes a job in an elementary school and lives in a boarding house with a host of fascinating women around her. Jake is a WWII veteran and is heartbroken over the fact that his wife ran off, leaving their son alone with him. He has to find her to get her to sign the divorce papers, but he needs outside help to locate her. His son, Charlie, is Elizabeth's student who she has grown to adore and she's able to see the hurt in his eyes. As Jake and Elizabeth grow closer, she is haunted by what she needs to tell him before they can continue and Jake tells Elizabeth all about the divorce that isn't happening. This is a particularly touching and sweet romance that does a wonderful job of allowing the reader to feel the emotions of the main characters, to suffer and rejoice with them.
The narration is beautifully done by Elizabeth Kelly. The cadence, intonation and clarity of her voice give each of the characters a unique personality as she brings them to life.

I don't like romances, but I loooved this book!

I have to admit that romances haven't been my thing since I was a teen (and now I'm 32). I only chose this book because I thought the cover was very beautiful and because the book blurb mentioned that the main character is "hiding a painful secret that haunts her". In the end, I am incredibly happy with my choice, this book is definitely worth it! I loved that it's mid 20th century, southern small town, so the relationships and society were simply lovely. The main characters is wonderfully written and we don't get to find out her secret right away - it builds up.

I will not reveal the secret here, I don't wanna give spoilers, but I just want to say it is a problem that many women face these days and in the past it was all hushed-hushed. Some people have the hush-hush reaction even today. So, for me, it was a breath of fresh air to see a woman with this "secret" in a book. We, as a society, need to talk more about the "secret" precisely because of how Elizabeth Temple (the main character) felt because of it - no woman should suffer it alone, in silence.

Back to the actual book, I also loved the plot and the way it twisted and turned, it was quite entertaining. The narrator is also very fitting, somehow I feel Elizabeth Kelly is the perfect voice for the story.

My only complaint is that we get only one book about these characters! When I saw it was part of a series, I was hoping for more about them, but the books are stand-alone. I guess some people will like that.

All in Good Time

A clean romance where the relationship isn’t straightforward. There’s definitely attraction between Elizabeth and Jake, but they both have trying situations they need to work through and accept.

M.K. Chester did a lovely job of presenting the story. I enjoyed the characters and how they worked through all the issues.

Elizabeth Kelly’s narration was well done. I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to more of her performances.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

This Book Had Me Hooked!

I adored this book. I devoured it quickly, too impatient to wait for what would happen next. I was caught up in the drama, invested in each character's story, and rooting for the 2 main characters. The excitement and nervousness that comes with love was well portrayed and mimicked that of my own love story. It was a wholesome, feel-good story, that felt real. We all go through tragedy, all of us. The characters were no different and their stories felt both believable and interesting.

The narrator was wonderful! I thought she did a fabulous job. I gave 4 stars for only a few reasons and they are: a lot of weird background noises during recording, her child's voice for Charlie was grating against my brain, and the recording wasn't quite fluid throughout (weird pauses, obvious changes in recording times, etc.)

I think my favorite part of the story was the Willow tree in the rain scene. It was beautiful and, as a southern girl myself, a believable refuge.

Thank you for a beautiful story. I look forward to more.

Read it, y'all.

3.75★s

Sweet but not deep romance. I felt for the length of the book there could/should have been a lot more character development. They weren't shallow or anything.. Just don't feel like I know either of them very well. I did connect well and believe Molly's character as secondary was quite a bit more fleshed out. 

I'm not quite sure how the historical culture would handle the particular situations (no spoilers) presented here but that's okay. However, to me the drama felt like it was being forced. And there were several colloquialisms from our verbiage today that don't fit into the 1948's language. I really wanted to explore their relationship. Now, it did drag out so their wasn't any instant love nor sex before marriage. So, that was appreciated! 

There was a satisfying & happy ending. :-) 


My star ratings include these 5 elements:

.75★ story line
.50★ engaging characters
.50★ use of world building/descriptions
1★ the ending
1★ narration or editing


"I was given this free review copy/audiobook at *MY* request and have voluntarily left this review."