All That Lies Within

By: Lynn Ames

Narrated by: Emily Beresford

Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

How far would you go to hide who you really are inside? And what do you do when you find the one person from whom hiding your true self isn't an option?

Glamorous movie star Dara Thomas has it all - an Oscar nomination, dozens of magazine covers proclaiming her the sexiest woman alive, and people of both sexes clamoring for her attention. She also has a carefully guarded secret life.

As Constance Darrow, Dara writes Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction, an outlet that allows her to be so much more than just a pretty face. Rebecca Minton is a professor of American Literature in love with the work of the mysterious, reclusive author Constance Darrow, with whom she strikes up a correspondence. A chance phrase in a letter leads her to a startling conclusion about the author. What happens next will change the course of both of their lives forever.

©2013 Lynn Ames (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Really good book.. not a good ending

i really enjoyed the book overall . it just seem a little bit rushed in the end. it could have been drawn out a little long to give Tara's revelations more depth and an epilogue who have been great part to put Jessica giving Tara the ring.

Good good good

This is the first of this author I have listened to and also the first by this narrator. It will not be the last. The premise of the story is different and unique whilst taking the celebrity and ordinary person trope to a new level. I hope other readers will enjoy this work as much as I did.

Could have been better

The premise was good but follow through lacking. First half of story was good but Second was just a bunch of over dramatic cliche glom of repetitive language without substance.

Really enjoyed this book

I’ve listened to this audiobook about 10 times now. I really enjoyed the storyline. The narrator did a great job. I’d recommend this book.

Different but Familiar

This book was great, it had an air of familiarity, like Jodie Fosteresque but enough differences to make this book incredibly appealing. I loved it.

A great addition to the series

This was a great addition to the series. It gives you backstory on two of the characters from one of the other books. It was a slow burn romance that I found very enjoyable. The narrator did a fabulous job with the multiple voices that she had to do.

3.5 for innovation w/slight spoilers

The story started off as a breath of fresh air from you normal whirlwind romance. The characters seemed fully flushed in the fact that they had their own lives and weren't just waiting around for love (or a good lay).

Synopsis: Dara Thomas is Hollywoods sweetheart moonlights as Pulitzer Prize fiction writer Constance Darrow. After finding out her estranged mother is dying, she flies to NYC to see her for the last time. She has to navigate her way through her mothers last apology and what it means to love again. Rebecca Minton is a collage professor obsessed with Constance's work and low key crushing on Dara. Once her and Constance's correspondence beings it's typical "I don't know why I feel so close to this person I barely know" flirtationship. After connecting to dots Rebecca and Dara form an "unlikely bond" to save the script of Dara/Constance's movie.

Sex: I honestly I couldn't tell if their flirting went over my head or if they had no chemistry from the letters. The most memorable scene for me was there second in person meeting after Dara chased after Rebecca. That was several hours into the book! The sex was very straight forward and more on the romantic side. I defiantly wasn't fanning myself but all in all a decent scene. Not notably cringe worthy until her dead mother pops up.

Plot: I was initially intrigued with the seeing angels aspect but how it was written was more of a last min plot device to try to bring interest. The explanation of how it stopped and why it started again felt like a transparent attempt at tying lose ends. Being a sensitive soul I am, I liked that the mothers death wasn't dwelled on but I do think it should have been more highlighted than it was.

On to narration:
The narrator gave Dara a husky sultry voice. That, along with the almost indifferent dialogue after her mothers death, chipped away at the character I felt Dara was in the beginning. I'm all for two fems but I think Rebecca's voice was too chipper for someone so supposedly scored... maybe switch the voices???

At times the writing was nothing more than literary bragging making the dialogue flat and impersonal. In the end I did believe these characters could love each other.

TL;DR- A basic book

Impossibly wonderful love story

This book brought tears to my eyes as I listened to it. The story was interesting and charming and yet surprising. The characters were real, the performance superb. I must admit, this is one of the finest novels in the romance category.
A truly worthwhile read

Great believable story

sometimes these romance stories are a little unbelievable. This one is very on-point. The narrator was also excellent.

Did a 16 yr old write this?

The plot was very cute but the overall story was predictable and sounded like a teenage girl’s fantasy. Characters not fleshed out well, corny predictable dialogue, and a basic supernatural element. The love story was rushed and even skipped their entire first 3 months together and other large chunks of their life. Overall, I don’t recommend this.