Saving Toby

Save Me, Book 1

De: Suzanne McKenna Link

Narrado por: Willa Jaymes, Gomez Pugh

A man forced to go home to the town that gave up on him.

A woman who fights to look past his reputation.

A love affair no one saw coming.

After leaving his notorious family’s reputation in the rearview, Toby reluctantly returns home to care for his ailing mother. When his old school crush takes the job to help him care for his mom, coming home suddenly has one hell of a silver lining.

Claudia knows all about Toby’s bad-boy reputation and has no intention of falling under his spell. But the handsome, kind, caring man she sees with his mother is not the same troublemaker she grew up with. Fight it as she does, Claudia cannot resist her blossoming feelings for the town bad boy.

When Toby’s past catches up to him and he’s falsely accused of a despicable hate crime, he’s shocked when Claudia, the daughter of a policeman, is the only person in town to stand up for him. Toby might be innocent, but he’s hiding an awful secret that could endanger Claudia and cost him everything he's ever cared about.

Can Toby and Claudia trust their hearts, clear his name, and find their way to love?

Saving Toby is the first standalone novel in the stirring New Adult romance series, Save Me. If you love deeply drawn characters, emotional roller coasters, and fierce devotion, then you’ll adore Suzanne McKenna Link’s story of star-crossed lovers.

©2014 Suzanne McKenna Link (P)2024 Pink Flamingo Productions

Emotional Journey

I'm not sure I know how to feel about this book. I felt like it was an emotional journey and young love for sure. Toby came from such a troubled upbringing that he had a lot of issues he needed to work through. Claudia was someone that made an impression on Toby at a young age. When they meet again it's interesting but nothing comes easy. Toby gets sucked back into the "old friend" vortex until he realizes that he can't just go along to get along anymore. Claudia seems like she's the mature one in the relationship to start with but then it seems like neither of them really is ready for a real relationship. So after a lot of work, drama and changing between who is all in they maybe able to end up with HEA but we'll have to wait to see if it sticks.

It was like I was watching a TV teenage drama

I'm kind of all over the place with this book. It is definitely a story of overcoming, personal growth, and has a lot of angst and heartbreak. It covers a pretty big timeline, which I don't mind...but the story still isn't complete. I feel like Toby and Claudia switch sides...a tennis match just came to mind...with who is all in, etc. I know they're young and so I suppose that's to be expected. There are some things I totally disliked about Toby, but then he seemed to grow. Then there are things I disliked about Claudia. It seems they belong together, but we have to wait to see them finish their journey. It was like I was watching a TV teenage drama (I'm going to date myself, but Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, The OC era...), and that isn't a slight but gives you an idea of the angst and drama you'll find. Narrators brought it to life.

Saving Toby

Saving Toby is the first book in the Save Me series. This book is about Toby and Claudia. Claudia and Toby knew each other from high school, but weren't really friends.

Now years later Claudia is a caregiver and helps those who are sick. She helps an sick lady, and realizes it's Toby's mother. Toby has always had feelings for Claudia, but Claudia didn't feel the same. Now with them spending so much time together feelings start to develop between the two.

Both Claudia and Toby have their own battles they are working through. Can they help each other get their happy endings? Will they be able to survive everything that is thrown at them?

I would continue listening to this series.

Excellent performance!

🔷 What I liked:
Likable, hard-working female lead, in grad school.
Loveable best friends (hers, not his).
Heroine’s father I loved to hate.
The crime twist/ side plot.
Hero’s super sweet mom.


🔷 What I didn’t love:
It’s very religious, but not advertised/presented as such.
I struggled with plausibility—the female lead has a curfew, has to seek ‘permission’ to do things like tattoo her own body, go on dates, take adult jobs, etc., despite being in her twenties. I found this extremely implausible.


🔷 Included tropes / tr!ggers:
🔹 V!rgin heroine.
🔹 ‘Bad boy’ hero, though he doesn’t actually do anything bad.
🔹 Racism and xenophobia.
🔹 Old (sort-of) friends to lovers.
🔹 New adult
🔹 Blackmail.
🔹 Workplace romance.

Overall:
This was a quick, sweet listen. I struggled with plausibility through much of it, but there were aspects to enjoy as well.

3 stars.


🎧 Audio:
Both narrators were great, both opted to perform and the overall sound quality is perfect. 🦩
5 stars.

Young Infatuation, Growing Up to Determine Who They Are

We meet the MMC Toby on his 16th birthday following a fight with his older. The dynamics of his relationship with his brother and his mother (quiet, docile and religious) and his friends (not positive influences) and his attraction to The MFC Claudia that has lasted for years
We meet Claudia after her first 2 years of college and her desire to work in geriatrics, living with her divorced law enforcement over protective father.
Tony and Claudia meet when Claudia is hired help care for Tony’s ill mother. So begins the turbulent relationship of Tony and Claudia. The reader and listener need to remember the ages of this couple, the dynamics that they have grown up with and how they need to grow and figure themselves out
My heart went out to each at different times and frustrated me at others, but keep listening and you get to the HFN. Hoping to see where these two go from here
This is a new author for me and worth following
Enjoyed the narration.