The Next Always

Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy, Book 1

By: Nora Roberts

Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews

Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

The historic hotel in Boonsboro has endured war and peace, the changing of hands, and even rumored hauntings. Now it’s getting a major face-lift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect in the family, Beckett’s social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there’s another project he’s got his eye on: the girl he’s been waiting to kiss since he was sixteen.

After losing her husband and returning to her hometown, Clare Brewster soon settles into her life as the mother of three young sons while running the town’s bookstore. Though busy and with little time for romance, Clare is drawn across the street by Beckett’s transformation of the old inn, wanting to take a closer look… at both the building and the man behind it.

With the grand opening inching closer, Beckett is happy to give Clare a private tour - one room at a time, in between blueprint meetings and kindergarten pickups. It’s no first date, but these stolen moments are the beginning of something that could arouse the secret yearning that resides in Clare’s independent heart - and open the door to the extraordinary adventure of what comes next....

©2011 Nora Roberts (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Love Love Love

If you could sum up The Next Always in three words, what would they be?

Great love story

What did you like best about this story?

The love and friendship relations between all the characters

What about MacLeod Andrews’s performance did you like?

He did an okay job on the women voices. However loved the men voices.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes,it made me laugh and cry.

Any additional comments?

I love Nora Roberts books. She's a wonderful author!!

classic Nora - so perfect

Loved this - Nora is by far my favorite writer. And her Trilogies were always the best. This is the start of a good one I so cannot wait to read the rest!

Better to read yourself

Just couldn’t do it. The reader makes the women sound silly and dumb, the kids are annoying and although I enjoyed this when I read it, I had to give up. Just couldn’t handle it.

Even better the second time

Can’t wait to stay at Inn Boonesboro. I kind of sort of even want to move to Boonesboro. Nora Roberts created such a wonderful town with interesting characters. It is a great and up lifting story. I did have to speed up the narration to a 1.2. It drug just slightly. Other than that I enjoyed the book from the beginning to the end

Great story wonderful performance

I have read many of her books and through Audible I’ve listened to quite a few.
This is the first time I’ve listened before reading the book.
It was a wonderful performance and I will pick up the book to read on the next flight I take.

Narration sucks!

I couldn't even get a grasp of the story, because the narration was so bad. The very annoying voices of the children.

Great story

I loved the characters in the story. Wonderful trilogy. Narrator was pretty good. I can't wait to hear the second and third books

A Great Kick-off to a Trilogy

The story flows well and hits many of the notes we love in a NR trilogy - a community with a heart; male and female leads that feel like you could know them and would like them, that have real issues they deal with and who aren't too perfect; well-written kids; dogs; and even a ghost! I loved the mirroring of the 3 Montgomery brothers in Claire's three boys and the relationship that develops between Beckett and the boys is lovely. This is well written and easily re-readable NR! I Have read all three in this series and enjoyed them immensely. If I revisit the next two in audio though, I'll be getting them from the Libby App as MacLeod Andrews performace makes these non-keepers / one time listening for me. I love his narration voice, and his performace of men's voices, but he should never, ever try to voice women (and rarely children). His female voices are either one note (making it difficult to discern who is talking during certain passages), or sound like Mrs. Doubtfire or Bosum Buddies. His children's voices sometimes devolve into PeeWee Herman and too often sound whiny. One screech literally had me cringing. He is a good narrator. Just not for books where the female voices are so important.

Classic Nora Roberts

This book is a classic example of how narration can hurt a story. I really liked the story line and can't wait for the others, but the performance was just so bad. MacLeod Andrews made Nora Roberts' characters seem flat.

Overall Worth it, but the narration was a bit odd.

What made the experience of listening to The Next Always the most enjoyable?

Nora Roberts books are always easy listening.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of MacLeod Andrews?

I think a woman would have done a better job narrating. It was odd listening to a man to women's and children's voices.