Sterling Clay

Sterling Falls, Book 4

De: L.B. Dunbar

Narrado por: Willa Jaymes, Oliver Highpoint

Love doesn’t break us; it makes us whole, my nana used to say.

However, one minute, my world is set on fire, literally. The next, I am raising a six-year-old as a single mom without a clear path ahead of us. No place to live. No job. No money.

I’m returning to Sterling Falls to claim what’s mine, then there will be no looking back on this beloved small town, a place I consider a handful of sand in the hourglass of my life.

Then again, Clay Sylver has shaken up that ancient time clock. The silver fox in his forties is a bit cocky, but solid in every way that matters. He loves his siblings. He works hard. He owns an honest business. Honest, the emphasis here. He also suffers from damsel-in-distress syndrome with a savior complex for lost causes, like stray animals and down-and-out women.

And I have a secret crush on him.

When I see Clay stranded on the side of the road one dark, stormy night, I stop to offer assistance. Burning with fever, Clay is sick, and my mom-instincts kick in to give him comfort. That decision throws me off course again. While my past lurks everywhere, I find myself falling in love with Sterling Falls once more and falling harder for the man giving my son and me a safe haven.

Love is a risk, according to Clay, but he’s slowly rescuing my heart while I’m saving his.

©2024 L.B. Dunbar (P)2024 L.B. Dunbar

You Are My Deep Sigh

Wow! The narrators performance was truly wonderful. I could really feel all the emotions of the characters and felt emersed in their life. This is a wonderfully written book about finding family, love acceptance and home. Both Clay and Mavis have endured loss and are guarded but have always been attracted to each other. I truly love their story and how accepting and open they are with Dutton. They find their safe place in each other. Love the epilogue and their hea. This is truly one of those books I will go back and listen to again and again.
I was sent a free audiobook from HCB and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Loved it

I love my visits to Sterling Falls and I couldn’t wait to read Clay and Mavis’s story, adding in Mavis’s son six year old Dutton just made it spot on.

I enjoy L. B. Dunbar writing style. .Her characters are engaging and so easy to relate to; probably because her characters are more mature and I find that so easy to relate too.

From the first chapter, I was hooked on the story and the addition of the suspense element just added to my enjoyment. There was a good balance of romance and suspense.

They have both been through so much. This is a beautifully written, witty, emotional story that ticked all the boxes for me. There are equal amounts of passion, romance, and angst in this story which had me tearing up and smiling, sometimes at the same time.

Narrated by Willa James and Oliver Highpoint who did a brilliant job in their narration. They brought all the drama, suspense and romance out . Their performances did justice to the wonderful story.

Clay and Mavis

Clay and Mavis Dutton

Narrators did a good job. I enjoyed listening to it but I will listen but ain't a fan of when they take turns doing chapters which then means the characters are given different voices every other chapter.

I found this to be cute, hot, intriguing, funny and entertaining. Mavis is on her way back to the town she left after a house fire with the intent to sell her property before her and her 6 year old boy move on. She meets Clay as he is on the side of the road trying to fix his car. When she drops him off before she leaves he collapses and she finds herself taking care of a sick Clay and staying with him. Clay had been attracted to Mavis right from the first time he saw her before she disappeared and now under his roof he gets a chance. Love how Clay is as he tries to break down Mavis's walls. He goes from being tender to her and Dutton and when she needs to have control he submits to her let me just say so Hot. Mavis so caring and loving and how she is fierce and protective she is when it comes to Dutton. Dutton an unusual cute and funny six year old, reminded me of my nephew when he was around that age. Loved it!

A great listen!

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Willa James and Oliver Highpoint in dual narration. I believe it was my first time hearing either of them narrate. They did a fantastic job. The voices were appropriate for the characters, pleasant to listen to, and the pacing was perfect. As a side note, I really appreciate that the different books in the series are done by different narrators. I hate it when you get the same voices over and over again for different main characters in a series.

This is a single mom, Mavis, running from an abusive relationship trope. She has a six year old son who has definite leanings toward things that are considered "girly". A big part of the story is acceptance for this little guy. Clay scores big points in that area. Sometimes it seems like that is a bigger part of the story than the actual romance between Mavis and Clay. The romance developed pretty quickly (but then she did get to strip down the sick Clay at the beginning of the story).

Clay is a mature guy that is very protective of those he cares for. The narration of his part was low and rumbly--perfect. Mavis put her child above all else and loved him to pieces. Overall, a very nice story. If you like authors like Melissa Foster, I think you will like this book.

Another Silver Falls

Clay is in need when Maevis and her son, Dutton see him on the side of the road and take him to his house. She nurses him through his fever. He has Maevis and Dutton stay. Clay had crushed on her when he saw her several years ago when she Sterling Falls but thought she was married. Now is his chance with her since he knows she's not married. I really liked how Clay took care of Dutton and didn't demean his choices. Maevis has a crush on Clay, too but wants to stand on her own. Both need each other. I like this series about couples in their 40's. The Sylver family stands by each other. The narrators were perfect and brought the book to life for me.

Tender, Heartfelt and Steamy Romance!

This latest in the Sterling Falls series is a sweet and steamy romance with a bit of suspense. Mavis and her sweet little boy, Dutton, are driving back to Sterling Falls to start over after her life fell apart. She finds Clay on the side of the road with a broken down truck. She rescues him only to realize he is very sick. She takes him home and nurses him back to health. Clay is the one who takes care of and rescues everyone in his life. This is the first time anyone has taken care of him. Clay and Mavis have always admired each other from afar. Now she is in a place that they can act on their attraction. But there is someone who is in the shadows, waiting to make their move. I really enjoyed this tender, heartfelt, and oh so swoony romance. I loved how Mavis found her confidence, and how Clay helped her do that as he accepted sweet little Dutton. I loved watching Clay, Mavis and Dutton grow into a beautiful, sweet and strong family.
The narration by Willa James and Oliver Highpoint was amazing. I thought they nailed these characters perfectly, making me feel all the complex emotions they experienced with the perfect amount of suspense. This is my first listen to both narrators and I really enjoyed their dynamic voices and was completely lost in their moving performance.

I definitely like this gentleman

there is something about this male character clay that just makes him such a gentleman granted he's in his 40s and he just worked all his life didn't really fall in love had some you know arrangements and whatnot but I really like him I like the character and I liked the female character for him because even though she kind of needed saving she was still very independent it was a good story I enjoyed it. I will say that this was the first time for both these narrators for me I enjoyed both of them but the mail narrated there was something that kept happening through the story it was like he would change his voice or I don't know if it was a real change or if I was just hearing him different like his microphone was different or something something was off and it kept bothering me because one time he be talking Gravelly and kind of gravely or whatever and then all of a sudden he would be loud and clear and it just I don't know it threw me out of the story a bit. other than that I enjoyed those narrators

Clay and Maevis

Clay and Maevis
This is an older couple and by that I means in their 40’s and I want to say second chance romance as well. I do enjoy the realism and sexiness of a mature couple. This story has a great family connection to the series but also stands alone on its own. I love this storyline which also includes some angst, sex and family. Narration was on point. I highly recommend this book. Sisters Spotlight 💕

Mama Bear, Little Bear/Cub, Papa Bear

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧
Overall: ⅘
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5)

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 The narrators have enjoyable voices and tell the story beautifully.
🤩 Single mama bear. 🐻
🤩 The caretaking.
🤩 That first kiss with so much honesty and respect and swoon.
🤩 Such tender, beautiful, and steamy intimacy.
🤩 The resilience despite traumatic pasts.
🤩 The added suspense in the plot.
🤩 Sweet and supported child gender identity exploration.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 I don’t love the nicknames (butterfly & hunny), but I usually like other ones.
💫 I don’t love her wishy washy-ness—one day she’s asking to sleep in his bed & the next she’s saying she should find her own place.

The Best For Last

Sterling Clay is a small town, and some dreams come true kinda romance. I just love these brothers and the women that came into they're lives . I like the way L;B; Dunbar writes, I like that her writing has just the right amount of everything. This book is so good, there's not too much steamy but just enough.

Clay stole my heart right away,, and he couldn't have picked a better woman than Mavis. I liked how he treated her a gentle as glass, It was great to see her take control of everything. It was so dang s*xy to see him that way, I like that he accepted the things in her life. These two seem good together.

Willa James and Oliver Highpoint did an amazing job, they brought the whole book to life.