Michelle

Did everyone read the same book as me?

Revisado: 01-08-25

Sleep-inducing boring. The female narrator’s lack of any spark didn’t help. So, so, so, soooo boring.

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Tell me you have a machine behind your career without telling me

Revisado: 12-13-24

The amount of 5 star reviews this book has should be your first tip-off. There’s no book in the world that should have so many rave reviews about how “transformative” it is, let alone this one. This is a woman using nothing but buzzwords and aspirational phrases in between narrating a carefully curated depiction of how adultery worked to help her rediscover herself after her choices landed her in an unhappy place. This is not someone who has been through any external conflict that has shaped her. Every obstacle she overcame was self-inflicted, and somewhere in there, she never even learned basic independence like buying her own plane tickets. This is not an adult I aspire to be like.

What’s more, her pseudo-therapeutic recommendations reveal how little she understands about the complexity of suffering. Telling people to sit down and listen to the god inside of them to find peace is something you would say only if you don’t have things like massive childhood trauma to unpack. It’s so insanely privileged and condescending that my jaw hit the floor.

The only reason she has a career as a memoirist is because she has a publicity machine behind her and dissatisfied suburban moms in her fan base. This was a huge disappointment.

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Cute, maybe too cute?

Revisado: 12-16-23

This is a good book. I enjoyed much of it. It was hard to slog through the last one fourth because I found it cheesy. The storytelling kind of sped up then slowed down and at times I was a little unsure of the timeline. Angela Dawe’s performance shows she’s still one of the best. I didn’t think she made Beatrice’s son sound anything like a teenage boy, so I had to kind of had to mentally focus to see the kid in my mind’s eye during his scenes. Other than those small gripes, it’s a cute story.

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Thank god for Abby

Revisado: 11-17-23

It’s authors like this one who make it worth it to slog through the slim pickings of decent writing in the romance genre. Abby’s books are funny, modern, sincere portrayals of the kind of people who actually exist in real life. Not the cardboard cutouts you get in other books. The love stories she writes are free of stupid tropes or angst or ridiculous misunderstandings. The connections between her characters are sweet and tender and, most of all, mutually respectful. (No a-hole alpha males or self-centered heroines here.)

And I love how she always elevates her work by telling honest stories of important issues like mental health and taboo medical conditions.

Ugh. There are just no words for how much I adore this woman’s books. Her narrators are always on point, too!

If you’re wondering if you should take the leap and listen to this audiobook, TAKE IT. Obviously everyone has different tastes, but most people will not regret treating themselves to anything Abby Jimenez writes.

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Another disappointing and formulaic romance

Revisado: 11-15-23

I’ve determined that most romance authors are not writers. They’re content creators that paint by numbers. I’ve never read anything from this author before, and yet this is the exact same book I’ve read a million different times, using the exact same formula and the exact same immature characters who make stupid decisions, act like they can’t have a normal adult conversation, and then finally, FINALLY make a practical choice at the twelfth hour. I think I’m done with this unimaginative genre. And for the record, doe-in-the-headlights, weak-willed Emily was not worth all that fuss. I would have let Dillon have her, gladly.

Also, I agree with another reviewer that it’s annoying this is a two-book series and that’s not disclosed when purchasing the first book. I will not be wasting my time or a credit listening to the sequel.

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ESH

Revisado: 10-26-23

I have a confession to make. I skipped several hours of this book, from chapter 13 to chapter 19. Why? Because I simply could not do it anymore. I did not give a fig about the hero and heroine or their poorly written insta love. I did not care at all about any of the boring, poorly developed side characters. The villagers were written as a completely one-dimensional, unreasonable mob of assholes who conveniently showed up every time the heroine needed a sprinkling of first world problems. Every single storyline was more and more implausible, and the author kept hinting at big reveals that - surprise surprise - ended up being entirely predictable or lame. If this book was the AITA subreddit I would vote ESH - Everybody Sucks Here.

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Frustrating read

Revisado: 10-18-23

Very well written and well performed. Just kept waiting for these two women to grow a spine and it never happened. It’s incredibly frustrating to see two grown people let themselves be pushed around like they have absolutely no agency. The word “pathetic” crossed my mind more than once, unkind as that is. It’s my understanding there’s a second book and, hopefully, they’ll grow into stronger people in that edition. On the fence about whether I’ll read it.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Just can’t finish it

Revisado: 07-23-23

I tried to finish this book because I used a credit on it. I have 3 hours to go till it’s over, but I can’t keep listening to something that lost my interest so quickly into this experience. I read/listen to a lot of romance. Lately I’ve been on an Abby Jiminez kick, and Audible compared this author to her, so I gave it a chance. But this author, despite having talent, somehow just doesn’t do it for me the way Abby does. This is one of the least engaging books I’ve listened to recently.

Part of the problem (for me) is the one person POV. First, I don’t find the female MC all that interesting or well developed, so being stuck in her head is tedious. But mostly I just much prefer being able to get the perspectives of both MCs in romance.

Eventually, it also occurred to me that the lack of variance in the setting is killing the vibe for me. Most of the book takes place at this beach house, and let’s be honest: not a whole lot happens in romance. This is not a genre known for being all that eventful or particularly plot driven. So you really need to break up the monotony by moving settings regularly. With this book, it honestly felt like nothing happened for like 7 hours, and it was the same musings from the same character over and over again, and in the same location. Even when the characters did actually leave the beach house, there wasn’t much effort put into describing the new settings, so it was like this whole story was taking place in a general void. Unfortunately, I was bored to tears.

Regarding the performance, to me it was fine. Sometimes the reader seemed just as uninterested in the story as I was. Even the sex scenes were read without much enthusiasm. Maybe that contributed to my lack of interest. IDK.

I hate that this was my experience, as I understand objectively that this was a good book and the narrator is, according to many fans, top notch. I just never really got it.

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Story drags, but could have been better with the right narrator

Revisado: 06-17-23

Let’s just get this out of the way, this book is silly. It’s classic KA with the rough alpha male who is never wrong about anything and his clueless lady love, who both end up in ridiculously implausible situations. And the first half drags on and on with unnecessary details and angst. It’s not her best work, but it’s not her worst.

The bigger issue here is the narrator. The other reviews are right, she was NOT the right choice. This narrator voices High like he’s your goofy, stoner, 20 something-year-old boyfriend who is really sweet, but kind of stupid. Which makes sense for the flashbacks. But when he’s 40? Not so much. And what’s with the yelling every time he talks? Makes him sound, again, like kind of an idiot who has no “inside voice.” It’s all wrong for the cool, hardened, alpha biker guy you’re supposed to take seriously. Definitely not my favorite narrator for KA’s books. Won’t be listening to any of the rest of the series if she’s the narrator.

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Excellent narration

Revisado: 06-06-23

First, the duet style narration in these books is excellent. Both narrators are incredible.

As for the book, it was fine, I didn’t see any reason why it should have been banned. At its worst it talks about child trafficking (which honestly should have more awareness brought to it) and features S&M scenes that are a little edgy. But for anyone who is interested in the series as a whole, be aware that the NEXT book (Hunting Adeline) is probably what got the series banned. It features scenes of extremely graphic sexual and physical violence inflicted on the main character as well as mental torture. If you’re not down with that, maybe plan on skipping this book entirely or just not advancing to the next one. I didn’t have the stomach for it myself, so I returned it and got a credit back.

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