Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Love in the Present Tense  By  cover art

Love in the Present Tense

By: Catherine Ryan Hyde
Narrated by: David Coburn, Jeremy Redleaf, Duana Speights
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.48

Buy for $13.48

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

For five years Pearl has managed to keep the past from catching up to her and her bright, frail five-year-old son. Life has given her every reason to mistrust people, but circumstances force her to trust her neighbor Mitch with watching Leonard while she goes off to work. Then one day Pearl drops her son off, and never returns.

They are an unlikely pair: Mitch is a young, unattached business owner; and Leonard is a precocious, five-year-old boy. But together they must find a way to move forward in the wake of Pearl's unexplained disappearance. Their bond as parent and child shifts and endures, even as Mitch must eventually surrender Leonard to a two-parent home.

Is it possible to love the people who can't always be there for us? The answers will surprise and move you. As their lives unfold, profound questions emerge about the nature of love and family. Ultimately, this novel's richest reward is watching Mitch and Leonard grow up together, through the power and the magic of the human heart.

©2006 Catherine Ryan Hyde (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Brutally lyrical....Hyde movingly conveys the toll of years of emotional damage." (Publishers Weekly)
"Hyde is a remarkable, insightful storyteller, creating full-bodied characters whose dialogue rings true, with not a word to spare." (Library Journal)

What listeners say about Love in the Present Tense

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    128
  • 4 Stars
    45
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    8
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    128
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    118
  • 4 Stars
    36
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    7

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I’m a CRH fan!

Another beautiful story of love and relationships from CRH. People step up in the most unexpected ways.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

This was very tastful

I thought about pearl and lenord for days, Mitch was a real man who did what was right .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a story!

OMG! What a story! Yet another perfect book by Catherine Ryan Hide. Thank you for the great performances too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

Catherine Ryan Hyde is such an inspired writer. The book touched me in ways I have no words to explain.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great audiobook!

I didn’t like the way this book started, but I’m so glad I stayed with it..one of catherine Ryan Hyde’s best!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

So so

Wasn't enthralled with this story. I was driving so I was a captive audience, otherwise probably would have stopped.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Devotion

Love in the Present Tense by author Catherine Ryan Hyde was a touching novel of connection, devotion, and trust. Mitch, an adult, and Leonard, a five-year-old boy, make a lasting relationship that endures all. I found this novel to be a touching, warm, and charming story. Narrators David Coburn, Jeremy Redleaf, and Duana Speights all did an excellent performance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible - quit very early in the book.

It just felt too trashy and evil - right from the start. Quit early on - couldn't continue. I'll spend my reading time with something more uplifting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

I have read most of her books and I’ve them. This one was mangled, disconnected and just not interesting!! She can do better, she has done better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Hyde disappoints

I've enjoyed all of CR Hyde books until this. Didn't finish. Not up to her quality.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!