Acquired Digital Audiobook by: I am a blog tour hostess with Audiobookworm Promotions wherein I have the opportunity to receive audiobooks for review or adoption (reviews outside of organised blog tours) and host guest features on behalf of authors and narrators alike. I have been hosting for nearly a year now and I appreciate the diversity of genre selections and styles of stories to choose from whilst I navigate the audiobook realms!
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Someone to Love” via Audiobookworm Promotions in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
I especially enjoy reading series in order:
When I first signed on for this particular blog tour, I was thankful I could listen to two of the novels in the series – which at this time has three novels. I am unsure if this series will continue or if it will remain a trilogy – the joy for me was being able to start at the beginning. Even in series which are not necessarily inter-connected by characters, there is a lot to be said for going back to the beginning to better understand how the author began the series – you have a better foundation for what is yet to come in next installments. This is why I don’t agree about series having ‘stand-alone’ titles as through my readings of series, each installment builds on the last – even if it is to see the transitions and nuanced changes the writer is making in their style as the series moves forward.
Thereby, this is what my main takeaway was by listening to A Heavenly Christmas:
Despite the few things which wrinkled my brow as I listened to the story, one thing I liked about how Ms Wilton writes her Contemporaries is how she writes gentle stories of where her characters need to come to a personal awakening or fork in the road where they can sort through the things they are allowing to prevent themselves from moving ‘forward’ in their lives. She has a particular style I generally enjoy reading – even if there were a few things which I felt took my joy away here or there, I found myself rooted into the story-line. She’s taken a small towne atmosphere (which I love!) and populated it with a small cast of characters who make this towne called: Heaven come to life! It’s similar to how those tv movies set in small townes give you the impression you’ve spent time there yourself by the time the story ends. In this, the best part is getting caught up in how Jennie and her daughters (along with her parents) find that sometimes the things your thinking your seeking out of life might not be exactly what you need – sometimes, life has a way of switching up your plans in order to give you something to consider you hadn’t thought was necessary.
This is a light-hearted story despite the dramatic obstacles facing Nick and Jennie – even though I had my brow wrinkling here or there, one thing that was lovely was seeing how layered the story had been written – how there were realistic reasons why Jennie and Nick were having trouble sorting out their futures. The story ambled through their transitions – of allowing the reader time and space to understand why they couldn’t see the future they wanted as readily as you might have hoped they could have realised sooner – there was a lot of growth stitched into this novel and the author gives you plenty of insight into why Nick and Jennie needed the ‘extra time’ to resolve what conflicted them.
-quoted from my review of A Heavenly Christmas
A Heavenly Christmas
Subtitle: Book Two in the Heavenly Christmas series
First came A Heavenly Christmas and now we have the riveting sequel, Someone to Love. This book is light on suspense and heavy on romance, and a perfect listen any time of the year!
Allison Cornwall was forced to leave her hometown in Connecticut and live life on the run from an ex-boyfriend turned stalker. She changed her name and hunkered down in Heaven, PA.
The small, idyllic town was a safe haven where no one could find her. And yet, after a year and a half of peace, he did. Police Chief Ian Brown is determined to keep crime out of Heaven. When Ally fears for her life, he's there to protect. Recently divorced, he's not looking for love, but this innocent young woman touches his heart. Can they put their pasts behind them and open themselves to the miracle of Christmas, learning once again to trust and to love?
Places to find the book:
ASIN: B01M5FBGFC
on 26th October, 2016
Length: 6 hours, 41 minutes (Unabridged)
Self Published Audiobook
A Heavenly Christmas series:
A Heavenly Christmas (Book One)
Someone to Love (Book Two) (Synopsis)
Christmas Wish (Book Three) (Synopsis)
Formats Available: Paperback and Audiobook
why I am choosing to spotlight this audiobook:
After listening to A Heavenly Christmas, I was looking forward to returning to Heaven, Pennsylvania – as this is the kind of towne where second chances and new beginnings thrive for it’s residents. It’s a place where you can re-affirm your own destiny, meet salts of the earth in the community and find a way towards building a life for yourself in a place which simply feels like the right place to put down your roots.
However, I became dearly distracted by a rather graphic opening scene – which continued on for quite a bit of the first chapters – more than I was inclined to listen too. I decided to give this story a chance to make or break whether or not I would enjoy listening to it.
I’m not one for animal cruelty or graphic animal death scenes – what happened to the skunk wasn’t something I wanted to be hearing as I settle into the second installment of a series. For one thing, there wasn’t anything even remotely this graphic in the first novel of the series – which is what surprised me the most! I was truly quite gobsmacked because although I do appreciate a wicked good Rom Suspense – this one was testing my tolerance levels early-on to where I wasn’t even sure what to think about the rest of the story! It just wrecked the joy of hearing a second story in a series I had struggled a bit the first time round.
Due to a recent reading of mine, I was especially sensitive to finding new scenes akin to the one which affected me already – I might enjoy reading Mysteries and Suspense, but when it comes to content – if there are scenes which evoke a visually graphic depiction of animals in jeopardy or outright cruelty therein – I’m simply not the kind of reader who appreciates those inclusions. Thus, I had a rocky start to listening to this audiobook.
It took me a bit to realise – we’re re-entering Heaven, through the eyes and heart of one of Nick’s waitresses – a woman who stumbled into towne and decided to stay longer than she originally projected she might. She had felt the pull on the towne, others who found themselves in Heaven had felt too – it was the kind of place where second chances and new beginnings were able to thrive. Allison was shocked with herself for being scared straight into the police station – even though, Ian (the police Chief) was thankful she had stopped by – reckoning it was better to be safe than sorry, as dead animals being left on your doorstep had a way of being a warning.
Once the focus swung back into Nick’s restaurant – I liked seeing the continuity restored – of the atmosphere I enjoyed at the restaurant in A Heavenly Christmas. Nick’s voice felt like an old familiar friend whilst Allie sounded frustrated but tried to remain hopeful this incident wasn’t a foreshadow of events yet to happen. She’d been trying to distance herself from an ex-boyfriend but this new incident had her questioning if she was truly as safe as she felt she had been.
Yet, despite the story-line resuming the pace and tone I had remembered in A Heavenly Christmas, I couldn’t shake the feeling there could be more in store for me lateron in the audiobook which wouldn’t suit well with me – as I just felt like this was the wrong choice for me overall. I might have had a few grievances with the first novel – but at the heart of it’s story, was a compelling drama. This story – for some reason it just felt like I couldn’t trust where it might take me, and for me as a reader, if I feel like I’m moving into waters I’m not comfortable reading, that is the time to pull out of story – whether it’s an audiobook or a print edition.
This blog tour is courtesy of Audiobookworm Promotions:
Whilst participating on:
{SOURCES: Cover art of “Someone to Love”, book synopsis, author & narrator biographies, photographs of Patrice Wilton and Rita Page as well as the Audiobookworm Promotions badge and the audiobook tour badge were all provided by Audiobookworm Promotions and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Spotlight Banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2017.
Comments via Twitter:
Audiobook Spotlight | "Someone to Love" (Book 2 of the Heavenly Christmas series) by Patrice Wilton… https://t.co/vFoZqae6nH via @joriestory
— The Audiobookworm ? (@AnAudiobookworm) November 14, 2017
Thank you, Ms Wilton for your note of understanding! ? @PatriceWilton I will enjoy re-listening to Nick & Jennie's #Romance. #audiobooks ??
— Jorie Story | #amwriting?? (@joriestory) November 15, 2017
Thanks for taking the time to listen and review my books. Sorry if you didn’t care for the second one, as it has had some wonderful reviews. I appreciate your honesty and comments.
Thank you, Ms Wilton for understanding why I felt pulled out of the context of Someone to Love; I truly did enjoy listening to Nick & Jennie’s story. I think if this one had started similar to the first, I would have been more inclined to listen to it. Also, it was such a startling opener, I simply never recovered due to the graphic nature of that scene with the skunk. Many blessings to you and thanks for giving me one story set in a small towne atmosphere I love to visit.