Wonderful Christian Romance😊

I enjoy Christian romance novels but I sometimes shy away from them because they can get too "preachy". This author, however, has a wonderful way of showing faith through lessons learned along with a believable heartfelt story and likable characters. A truly sweet journey that no one should miss.💕

The wonderful narration added to the enjoyment of this book. Definitely putting both Author and Narrator on my list of "keepers".

If you're looking for a quality Christian romance, give this Author a try. I was given this book for my unbiased review but would have gladly used a credit. 😀

11 people found this helpful

Sweet Romance

This was my first Christian Historical Romance. Yes all of those lol. And honestly, I enjoyed it. It was good to take a break from my normal listening genre and try something new. So glad I did.

Barb writes a story that has several layers. It is listed as Christian becauae of the references to God, forgiveness and the church. It is just enough not to be overbearing for those who may not be of the faith. The story also deals with race, and acceptance and a few "never saw that coming" moments.

This is a love story and I enjoyed how the characters were developed and how Jonas's and Ivy's relatiinship grew overtime.

Tom Jordan performs this book and as it being his debut did a wonderful job. Great tone, differences in characters were evident, and he has great pacing. I felt the emotions he provided and gave me a deeper understanding of what they were facing. Well done and looking forward to more of his work!

~The Audio Flow

4 people found this helpful

Clean, sweet romance

I got this book in exchange for an unbiased review, and I loved it.

Barbara's books are wonderful, really, and I love how she always gets new narrators as main characters change from book from book. Tom did a wonderful job as a narrator and when reading the lines, injecting just the right amount of emotion.

I love romances, and it's so amazing to find gems that hold precious values and also have a dreamy narrative!

2 people found this helpful

Wow... What a wonderfully-warm, fun listen.

This story took me to a simpler time and place and led me on a journey with the two main characters, Jonas and Ivy. So many great lessons in this book, but it presented them without being preachy at all! Great storytelling works on at least two levels - the surface story, and the underlying motivations behind the characters actions - not always easy to portray, but Barbara nails it. You followed their tale and understood why they did the things they did - perfect storytelling.

Tom Jordan's narration was warm, smooth, consistent, and the audio quality was top-notch. What a great voice to listen to for several hours. I can't wait to hear him in her next book.

2 people found this helpful

Loved the message and romance

Any additional comments?

The title sure does fit this book which is full of surprises, is spiritual but not over powering, a clean read, excitement, learning to forgive yourself, those around you, learning to love in so many ways, along with starting over and hopefully able to love again. There are a few things I never saw coming along with a thrilling read with an important message.

This was the first time I have listened to any of Mr. Jordan’s work. I was very impressed from his even tones to his character voices. I had no trouble feeling what each character was going through. Mr. Jordan had no trouble delivering the important message that the author gives in a way that pulls you in as it breaks your heart. He had no trouble carrying off female or children voices they are a delight that makes you smile as he puts so much emotion in them that you can really feel the excitement, pain, sorrow and thrills as he delivers an outstanding audio. There are no background noises, no repeat of words, no changes in volume, if any breaks were taken I could not tell. This is a very clean, clear and crisp audio that I got lost in from the deliverances to the plot it was an outstanding listen. I found his tones to be right on the money delivered with such emotion and feelings. His male voices are just as wonderful as his female ones. This was an outstanding audio that I just loved. The narrator has a very pleasant voice that you can get lost in making you forget you are listening as he pulls you in to the plot. I look forward to listening to more of his work.

What really pulled me into this story is the plot and the message it sends. All people are equal and should be treated the same. There are so many powerful messages here that are not over powering but meaningful. To tell you too much would give the whole surprise of the plot away. I loved how the message of God is delivered in a meaning way but not over powering. It is part of the plot but not the big part which makes it very nice to hear. I went through my childhood with a grandmother who went overboard with religion that it is nice to really get the meaning and not feel overpowered. I find Ms. Goss books to be a delight with meaningful message you can relate to that really pulls you in without getting heavy. In this one she gives you one man who makes many mistakes that caught up with him, making him make more mistakes which he cannot forgive his self for. One lady who tries her best to make him get over his past in return giving her the love she so wants. We all make mistakes yes God forgives but the hardest part is forgiving ourselves. This was a delightfully clean romance that has meaning, ups and downs, which will just about bring a tear to your eye with one small child and all she goes through. It is a story you have no trouble relating to as I am sure some of you have gone through something of this nature yourselves. I totally enjoyed this from start to finish and can’t wait to listen to the next in this series.

2 people found this helpful

Surprisingly good, a fast read, hooked in for more

At only four and a half hours long, lots of ground is covered, yet you don't feel rushed. I can appreciate this as occasionally books really only have this much material but stretch it out into much longer. That said, this is part 1 of a series, so more is coming, but I feel like I went on a journey with the characters just in this initial book. Initially I wondered if I would keep up and catch the plot, but the story quickly settles in and you're not letting go. There were only a couple free moments to catch your breath, but otherwise the story is a great way to commute or binge in your free time.

Some stories make a mental image so clear and original in your head that I think it's better than any movie Hollywood could hope to string together, with all the necessary sexiness or action to keep some men or short attention spans interested.

This story was not something I would've sought out on my own, but was offered a copy in exchange for an honest review, and now I'm very glad I did. I blasted through the story in a day and am looking forward to seeing more of Tom's work. The story does well on its own, but the diction, seamless transitions between accents for characters, and pace were excellent. This is important when it's not explicitly pointed out who's talking in the story. Hard to believe this is Tom's first major work here on Audible. He already just released Book 2, so I look forward to hearing more.

I feel like others who've already written reviews have done a fine job of summarizing the story so I'll refrain from that redundancy, other than to say this was a more tasteful and moving experience than I knew to expect.

I received a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

2 people found this helpful

One of THE Best Inspirational Romance Westerns

Shadow of Shame was such a fantastic listen. I'm so glad it's book one in the series. The story was a good solid one with characters I cared about and one not so much. I loved Ivy and Jonas and the other supporting characters were great as well. The little one Zoe was precious. And then there was Boyd the baddie.

Barbara Goss did an excellent job writing this story. It was perfection. I look forward to more in this series. Definitely recommended.

Tom Jordan was the perfect narrator for this story. His tone was even and he had great voice inflections. His character voices were the best. They were just right, not overdone or underdone. Perfectly done. I'll listen to him again.

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

2 people found this helpful

Enjoyed this book!

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good book. Barb is a wonderful writer And Tom is Avery good narrator. I totally recommend this book!

2 people found this helpful

Enjoyed the story

I got this book via audiobook boom. This was a story of love, blackmail, forgiveness, and acceptance. Josh and Ivy have a road to travel to get to their HEA and it is filled with complications. Both of them know and trust God and they are willing to do what it takes to do God's will. I listened to this story in one setting and was glad I did. The story showed love in it's purest form and told a story of romance without all of the explicit descriptions. I enjoy all of Ms. Goss' books. Sad to know that Book 2 is not in audio yet.

2 people found this helpful

Shadow of Shame

I loved it. Tom did a great job. Jonas never forgiven his self from when he was younger.

2 people found this helpful