Overseas

By: Beatriz Williams

Narrated by: January LaVoy

Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

A passionate, sweeping novel of a love that transcends time.

When twenty-something Wall Street analyst Kate Wilson attracts the notice of the legendary Julian Laurence at a business meeting, no one’s more surprised than she is. Julian’s relentless energy and his extraordinary intellect electrify her, but she’s baffled by his sudden interest. Why would this handsome British billionaire—Manhattan’s most eligible bachelor—pursue a pretty but bookish young banker who hasn’t had a boyfriend since college?

The answer is beyond imagining - at least at first. Kate and Julian’s story may have begun not in the moneyed world of 21st-century Manhattan but in France during World War I, when a mysterious American woman emerged from the shadows of the Western Front to save the life of Captain Julian Laurence Ashford, a celebrated war poet and infantry officer.

Now, in modern-day New York, Kate and Julian must protect themselves from the secrets of the past, and trust in a true love that transcends time and space.

©2012 Beatriz Williams (P)2012 Penguin

A bit too much cheese/great narration

I’ve listened to all of Williams’s collaborations with Willig and White and enjoyed them all. I then flew through all of Willig’s standalone novels. They were also all entertaining. I then moved onto Williams. Being the neurotic person I am, I always have to start at the earliest book and listen/read in chronological order. So, Overseas it was. The story itself was okay. But there was just, as my subject lines states, too much cheesiness going on. Perhaps if there were quite a few less, “darlings” and the like I would have enjoyed it more. I think I’ll give one of her more recent books a try and see if her style has evolved at all. LaVoy’s performance was great. I’m looking forward to listening to her again.

Chick Lit and Romance plus Sci-Fi

I wasn't ready for the first two (particularly the trembling lips and broad shoulders parts) and it doesn't do for me. The narrator is great and the premise has recently become fascinating to me -Replay in particular. I'd compare and contrast Overseas with The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser which has similar time travel and a female lead; even has fainting, and while it has romance, it's farther from a romance novel. January LaVoy is great!

Worth the listen

Any additional comments?

If you loved The Time Travelers Wife, A Discovery of Witches or any of the books in the amazing Outlander series, then this book is right up your alley.

Nobody does this genre (historical fiction/romance) better than Diana Gabaldon, but Overseas has all the elements of good chick-lit--love, a little danger and some time travel thrown in--to make this a great way to pass the time while traveling or mindless housekeeping.

Julian first met Kate in 1916 when he was just 20 years old. Kate first meets Julian in 2008, when he's 33. How is this possible? Well, it's light on a sound explanation, but the journey of their relationship is sweet and he's kinda swoon-worthy in his devotion to her. Kate's character is a bit undeveloped--she's supposed to be really well read, smart, independent, and pretty, but why would she not be weary of her work rival when she was suddenly so nice to her or jump to conclusions at the word of a man who is a danger to her and Julian (don't want to spoil) Sometimes she reads like a college kid and other times, she reads like a worldly 40 year old--so yeah...she's a bit uneven.

There are also a lot of long, wordy declarations of affection to one another that are kind of annoying and cheesy. January LaVoy does a decent job with the narration. Her English men all sound the same and she makes side character, Charlie, sound like the worst kind of frat boy, but none of them see a lot of page time, so it's not that bad. All in all, I enjoyed it!

a miss

This story was not up to my expectations for this author. Williams is capable of crafting a compelling tale, this had the potential but missed the mark.

Hype didn't meet up to the story for me.

There were so many rave reviews I looked forward to this book. I had trouble from the beginning...I have a hard time wrapping my brain around time travel. I became accustomed to that. I love a good romance but this one became just sappy to me. But it has more story than some of the other books I have purchased. So I think you can enjoy this story.

I would recommend this book to my friends

What made the experience of listening to Overseas the most enjoyable?

The narrator of this book was excellent. I listened to it while sewing and it made the time go by very quickly.

What other book might you compare Overseas to and why?

I can't think of a book to compare it to. The story line was good and the development of the characters was great.

Which scene was your favorite?

The story flowed so well that I can't say there was a particular scene that was my favorite.I could hardly wait to listen to it.

If you could take any character from Overseas out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would like to have a dinner party and invite all the characters from the book. It would be a very lively conversation around the dinner table.

Any additional comments?

I especially liked it that there were no graphic sex scenes. The author is so good, she does not need that to get people to buy and enjoy her books.

Loved it

Original, very sweet and January Lavoy is my favorite narrator. First book by author I’ve tried will try more.

Great Twists and Turns

Would you listen to Overseas again? Why?

Yes. This book was very enjoyable.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Overseas?

The part when Kate was saying goodbye to Young Julian at the train station knowing she would never see either Julian again.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The reader kept up with the pace of the book just fine. And I appreciate the number of male characters that she had to deal with. I just felt that Julians voice didn't fit the image that I had of him.

If you could rename Overseas, what would you call it?

While "Overseas" was the name of the poem, it was hard to relate to the actual story. I am however, unable to come up with a better name.

Any additional comments?

There seems to be a common theme in the last couple of novels I have read. A girl meeting a man who is wealthy, with lots of secrets, a paranoid fear for the girls safety for reasons he doesnt explain. He likes expensive cars (which is rational), has a handy IPOD to plug in with classical music and is an accomplished pianist. And she accidently gets pregnant.
I think this one is the better of the two with a storyline that keeps you hooked without the detailed sex scenes.

Hist. Romance & a touch of time travel-NOT Si Fi

For some reason this was in the Science Fiction department and it's about as much Si Fi as "Outlander" by Diana Gabeldon is..don't get me wrong-I love the Outlander series, but basically they are historical romances and not Si Fi -They have a bit of time travel,but its not necessarily central to the plot. This novel falls into the same category

The bits of flash back to the early WWI era that constitutes the time-travel and the returning to current time were confusing at first-I had to rewind and listen again several times-finally I got the eras correct and my listening smoothed out. The reason for time travel and how it's done doesn't come until the final chapters of "Overseas" and that was irritating..no real reason for it to be held off so long and the explanation is dumb IMO but, then, I'm not the author.

"Overseas" is a real romance though and, for the most, it's adequately done. The plot is one that keeps romances going..rich man meets financially floundering woman and though she insists she can take cafe of herself, he swoops in with jewels and pearls and a unending ticket for private air travel..all of which have something eventually to do with the time travel, but when introduced are dumb and contrived. I had a problem with the female protagonist, who is a dynamic stockbroker and a firm woman in real life but always gives in to her old fashioned and overbearing male lead/protagonist. Granted he grew up in the early 1900s and women were treated differently then, but he's been in current time for quite a while when he meets the female protagonist and I wished the author had allowed him to grow a bit in attitude.

The reading was well done-January LaVoy has a great voice and did a good job on accents and male voices. Her narration added excitement to the book for me.

I call this story average-it's the kind of book I'd rather have read myself and bought at the used book store for $2.00 instead of spending a credit on it here. It's worth a listen if you love, love, love Historical Romance...just don't make the mistake I did and think it's actually Science Fiction-time travel. If you just occasionally enjoy historical romance, put it on a list for the used book store and pick it up there to read for yourself.

I was disappointed.

Super cheesy

Just laden with dramatic expressions of love and adoration. These people have little to talk about other than finding new vocabulary to express even more love. A little overdone to say the least but good enough that I wanted to find out the absurdly & overly sweet ending. "Oh Julian", says Kate. "Oh Kate", says Julian. "Tell me you love me again, and again and again." Come. On.