Enduring Promises of the Heart

By: Valerie Loveless

Narrated by: Dallin Bradford, Valerie Loveless

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Fully dramatized romantic comedy adventure audiobook!

"What if I told you there is a way that we could all be happy? That if I were to propose to you, your father couldn’t deny us?"

"What is it, John? Tell me!"

Just then, the basket hit the water and the sea began to stream in through the spaces between the reeds. This was the end.

The year is 1887, and the small community of Pleasant View is abuzz over Penelope Pottifer’s serialized romances in the local paper. Since the release of the first volume, the thrilling story has captured the hearts and minds of the entire town - and several towns over!

Each successive edition of the Pleasant View Gazette spins a breathtaking tale of kidnappers, pirates, and forbidden love. Between volumes, however, Pleasant View resident Mary Clarence, the story’s toughest critic, hears a rumor that Penelope Pottifer is not, in fact, the author’s real name. Determined to uncover the mystery, Mary drags her friend Elizabeth Black into a hunt for the elusive author’s true identity. But fiction and reality seem to entwine when, along the way, Mary and Liz discover unexpected truths, exciting adventures, and dramatic romances of their own.

©2019 Valerie Loveless (P)2020 Valerie Loveless

Such a Fun Read

I laughed through this entire book. The narrators were great and brought the story to life. The book within a book idea was a lot of fun.

Fun romantic action packed adventure!

This is the first book I’ve read or listened to by this author and I’m excited to read the next book in the series! This story is unique in that it’s two stories in one.

Set in the small town of Pleasant View in 1887, the community is waiting with bated breath to get the latest installment of the romantic serial Enduring Promises of the Heart by Penelope Pottifer, published by their local Gazette. But who is Penelope? When Mary discovers Penelope is not the author’s real name, she sets out on a mission to discover who Penelope is.

Juxtaposed with this story are the exciting adventures of Lavender and John, the main characters in the serial. There are pirates, treasures, princesses, Egyptian mummies, and romance as the story unfolds with each edition of the Pleasant View Gazette.

The audiobook was fun to listen to as it had great sound effects added in especially when telling the latest serial story. Sounds of the ocean, boats, music, etc. are all added to the story to make listening a treat. There were two narrators who did a fabulous job. The female narrator was a bit over the top at first, but when I remembered that the serial was supposed to be overly dramatic, I began to really enjoy it.

The romance between Liz and Peter in the “real life” story was lovely. Mary, Liz’s friend is definitely a drama queen, but this kept the story interesting. The serial is a fun dramatic nod to the dime store novels of that time with lots of action and adventure and each “installment” leaves on a cliffhanger.

All in all, a fun to listen to audiobook that I think YA readers would especially enjoy. With sweet romances and plenty of action, this story will really suck you in. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from Cedar Fort Publishing for my honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not required to leave a positive review.

Sweet, romantic, and adventurous

The story was sweet and quirky with plenty of romance and surprising adventure. It was also very heartwarming and easy to relate to the main character as she struggled with finding herself and love.