✫✫5 Stars ✫✫

What a great story! I loved Jeremey and Emmet, they have daily obstacles to deal with and together they find a way. Not only is this story about young men with Mental Illness and Autism, it's about love and finding the one person who gets you and even when they don't it's ok. As with most MM romance, we are reminded that it's still love no matter who they are and that everyone deserves to find the one. I also loved the side characters in this book, including Emmet's parents, Darrin and David! Seriously this book was a reminder for me that "normal" is just a word!

Iggy Toma was AMAZING! He brought Emmet to life perfectly. I liked his narration before but after this I think I'm in love!

12 people found this helpful

Heidi Cullinan + Iggy Toma = Excellence !!!

I knew from Amazon reviews this would differ from what I think of as a Heidi Cullinan story and still be Amazing!

Loving & Living w/ your quirks & complications and finding the people to help you flourish is pure Heidi. What's different is how little sex/sexuality is the focus of that process here. There is a dark edge in Special Delivery / Love Lessons series that has been replaced w/ a sweetness reminding me of TJ Klune's Bear, Otter & Kid.

In other words, this is a REALLY good book!

As Heidi started exploring w/ "Baz" in Love Lessons, these characters have different mental/physical complications making them hypersensitive and unable to react the way people w/ average sensitivity do. Heidi manages to get across that people under umbrella terms like Autism Spectrum, Depression/Anxiety & Quadriplegia vary not only from person to person, but within each individual's experience over time. She has written very realistic portrayals of these experiences and the benefits/detriments of the visibility/invisibility of the problems involved. She gets across the depths of their difficulties, joys of love without angst & wallowing.

Carry the Ocean is brilliant and memorable, a surprisingly enjoyable book, definitely worth reading! The abundance of characters and media are handled Beautifully by Iggy Toma.

Like Heidi's Love Lessons series, this is a New Adult book.
Also, while her books often head past R into NC17, this just barely escapes PG13.
It gracefully achieves 5 stars anyway.

12 people found this helpful

RECOMMENDED!

Any additional comments?

I was really impressed with Iggy Toma's performance. I thought he did a good job portraying Emmet's ("almost robotic") and Jeremey's (sometimes anxious) particular tones of voice.

I loved the audio. Sure, it's definitely an extension of the love I feel for this story (which topped my faves of 2015 and remains one of my favorites of all time), but I think even if you hadn't read the story and only listened this still completely works.

I was a little worried because there is a lot of texting in the story, but Toma handles it all organically and brilliantly.

This is a terrific love story about finding acceptance in (sometimes) the most unlikely places. I love this story even more with the narration.

If you were in the fence about it? Don't be! Absolutely recommended!

7 people found this helpful

Brilliant

Iggy Toma has done a remarkable job narrating this amazing story by Heidi Cullinan. He has captured Emmett in a way I didn't think would be possible however his intonations and mannerisms are SO Emnett I could not imagine another narrator doing half as well.

This story is already one that is special not only for its' characters but also for its' heart. I dare you to listen to this and not feel, to not get that hitch in your breath or that wonderous smile on your face.

Just brilliant.

5 people found this helpful

This book just guts me.

Every single time I've read it, I've cried and smiled, sometimes simultaneously. I adore Emmet and Jeremy. Their story is a beacon of hope.
Iggy Toma did a great job on the narration. I have heard him narrate other books by Heidi Cullinan and was confident I would love the narration of this book, but he far surpassed my expectations.
I hope he'll soon be narrating Shelter the Sea.

3 people found this helpful

'A-' rating...

My Review:
Overall: 4.25
Performance: 4.75
Story: 4.25

Wow, talk about an unexpected story. I honestly wouldn't have expected to enjoy a story written about two characters like Emmet and Jeremey. They are most definitely the most unlikely heroes, but they were wonderful. The story was wonderful. The romance was wonderful. The story line is unexpected, but it was fabulous. Heidi Cullinan (the author) and Iggy Toma (the narrator) both did a phenomenal job with the book. BUT huge, HUGE kudos to Heidi Cullinan for writing such a wonderful, heartwarming, eye-opening story.

Both Emmet and Jeremey have issues holding them back in life. Emmet is incredibly intelligent, but he's also autistic, which makes it very difficult to interact in the world. Jeremey has crippling anxiety and depression, which make it difficult for him to interact in the world. But together, they work. Emmet sees Jeremey and is so open and honest that it makes it easier for Jeremey to be with him.

They definitely don't have an easy life, but they work together. Their commitment to one another works and makes for a great read...as they transverse some huge obstacles to being together. Gah, and those obstacles are not small. I hated Jeremey's family and the way they make his life so much worse. After every interaction, my heart just hurts for him. He's such a good guy.

Note: Iggy Toma was an INCREDIBLE narrator. OMG, so much love for his narration on this novel. It couldn't have been easy and he ROCKED it! I highly recommend it...and most definitely in audio!

2 people found this helpful

Awesome narration, unbearable book

What disappointed you about Carry the Ocean?

I usually love Heidi Cullinan, but I found this unbearable. I kept listening because I was impressed with Iggy Toma's narration, but eventually Cullinan's depiction of depression had me rolling my eyes. I couldn't relate to it as a reader or as someone with clinical depression. Also, though I've loved Cullinan's books in the past, I found this one uncomfortably close to fetishizing both autism and depression. It also seemed like the author was trying to dump a lot of knowledge and research about autism onto the page, like she was saying, "See? I know about autism! I know about depression!" and I was too annoyed with the depressed character to care.

Would you ever listen to anything by Heidi Cullinan again?

Yes. I've listened to pretty much everything she's written, some multiple times, and I've loved all but this one.

What about Iggy Toma’s performance did you like?

Everything. He is an awesome narrator.

2 people found this helpful

Brilliant

Thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this book; when I was done listening, it left me longing for more.

2 people found this helpful

Perfection!

Would you listen to Carry the Ocean again? Why?

I would, I would make sure to have tissues handy the second time around though...

Who was your favorite character and why?

I'm not sure I could pick a favorite character between Emmet and Jeremey. They are both very good characters & excellently written. The emotions are so well described you can almost feel what they are going through.

What about Iggy Toma’s performance did you like?

I really enjoyed the different narration he did for the 2 main characters. He did a very good job changing the timing for Emmet's narrative to illustrate the different cadence an autistic brain travels at.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it really was, I flew through this in 2 days.

Any additional comments?

The feels..... so many feels

This was a very good book & touched on so many emotional issues. I think there are many mental illness issues discussed in this book that many can relate to. Some of it was very enlightening.

2 people found this helpful

Carry The Ocean

This book is Phenomenal!
God, I seriously just loved every Single Thing about this book.. OMG and don't even get me started on the Incredible Audio Narration that goes along with it...
The story between Emmett and Jeremy was literally Perfect! I'm not sure how Heidi Cullinan does it but every single book I've read of hers has just been Fantastically well written.
Emmett is on the Autism Spectrum and just wants to find a Boyfriend-someone to love and some Independence. Jeremy has Clinical Depression and Anxiety and is mesmerized by All of Emmett from basically the minute they meet. They are sooo perfect for each other you can feel it in every word. This book tore me apart. Made me Laugh. Made me want to Cry. I was feeling all the emotions with every word written/said in this book. This is such a cute straight forward romance between the two men and you get such an insight on what its like to be in their positions, the author obviously put in a lot of effort to make these characters feelings lifelike. I am pretty sure this is going to be one of my top 5 books read this year, maybe even one of my all time favorites (well have to wait and see). And I cannot wait to get my hands on the next in this series.
Audio - *sigh* I have no words for how much I absolutely positively LOVE Iggy Toma's Narration. It is literally Perfect. More of a monotone type feel for Emmett's Autistic voice and more emotion put into Jeremy's, to where you can hear the anxiety laced into parts. All the supporting character voices seemed to be on point as well. I already feel like I need to re-listen to this one right after finishing it, I just don't want to be done yet.

1 person found this helpful