Beautifully Broken Pieces

Sutter Lake Series, Book 1

By: Catherine Cowles

Narrated by: Maxine Mitchell, Aaron Shedlock

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

A woman who's lost everything.

Taylor is looking for peace and quiet away from the memories of all she's lost. A small mountain town where no one knows her seems like the perfect escape.

A man battling the ghosts of his past.

Walker loves his life just the way it is. His town, his family, his brothers in blue. Everything simple and easy - until a chance encounter changes it all.

When Taylor's solitude is interrupted by the rugged cop, they find that the very thing they were avoiding might be just what they both need. As their iron wills clash and passion flares...a killer lurks.

And you never know who might be caught in the crosshairs.

©2018 Catherine Cowles and The PageSmithLLC (P)2019 Tantor

Beautiful story brought to life

Maxine Mitchel and Aaron Sherlock brought this story to life. Hearing Taylor struggling to cope after her mom passed away and building a new life in a new town with the deputy chief, Walker Cole, of the police department of the small town and someone the whole town adores. Walker’s eccentric grandma will make you laugh with her schemes and lack of filter.

Sutter Home is a usually sleepy town that gets hit with a serial killer. With that comes unexpected turns and Walker with the help of his best friend Tucker do everything they can to keep their town safe and bring justice to whoever is killing the innocent women.

This book will warm your heart and keep you wanting to know what happens next especially when there are more killings and they get more personal.

Beautiful Mix of Romance and Suspense

“Life doesn’t always take us on a path we understand, but I know that even with the moments you think will break you, there’s always something beautiful waiting. If you keep pushing on.”

This was such a compelling story about grief and the different ways we cope with it in order to heal ourselves. Taylor and Walker have both suffered unthinkable loses, something that has shaped their future and relationships in different ways. And not only is this a beautiful romance story it has the unexpected suspense elements of missing women, dead bodies and mysterious hunters - so this story ticks all the boxes for a great audiobook. Maxine and Aaron bring Walker and Taylor to life in such a way that I got chills from several of the scenes.

Pushing everyone away so she can deal with the grief, Taylor is especially hesitant to let anyone new close, including the town cop Walker Cole. Yet Walker isn’t one to let someone suffer alone when he knows similar grief. Building a friendship with Walker, Taylor didn’t expect to want or need him but he ended up being the exact solace her heart was looking for. I absolutely loved his unending support for Taylor and could only hope for someone like him in my time of need.

Amazing!

I didn't think it was possible to love this book any more than I already did until I just listened to it and it came alive even more.

Very disappointed

Story -
The plot is weak. The main characters are supposed to be adults in positions of authority, but they often act like 12 year-olds.
Taylor has recently lost her mother to cancer after a three battle with the disease. The loss of her mom debilitates Taylor to the point that she is pushing everyone away, decides that the pain of death is greater than the joy of love. She is also almost unable to function when others are around experiencing joy.

I know the loss of a loved one is hard, but Taylor is in her mid to late 20's. She taught 5th grade in LA long enough to make four very close friends and then went home to Texas to nurse her mom for 3 years.

The male character is deputy chief of police in a small town in Oregon. Instead of telling Taylor that she shouldn't go on her 10-mile runs alone in the wilderness because two women in the area are missing, one who was found dead, he tells it isn't safe because she is a city girl and there may be animals.

When he discovers he cares about Taylor deeply, instead of telling her his feelings, therefore doing away with pages of angst, he thinks the only way to make her love him in return is to take it very slowly and treat only as a friend. It produces mixed signals that could have been solved with a short conversation.

My biggest problem with the man is his love for the f-word. I am no prude and have no problem with judicially placed 'four letter words'. But I got sick and tired of him saying, "She is so f-ing beautiful, or she is so f-ing this or that." Thinking back I don't think another character in the book uses strong language at all. It felt very out of place.

Performance:
There is an 8 year-old child in the book and the voice for him is terrible.
The book is told from the point of view of the two main characters. When it is Taylor a woman speaks when it is the male, a man speaks. Often in the sections where the man is speaking he carried the conversation for a male and a female. This does not work at all. The man's female voice sounded childish.

I would not buy any of the other books in this series after reading this one and would return it if I could.

To the Moon and Back

This was my first Catherine Cowles book. Before I even finished it I bought the other 2 in the series. Grief takes different paths for each of us and Catherine captured this beautifully. This was a sad break your heart then make you pump your fist in joy book. Walker was pretty fantastic- swoon worthy and I enjoyed his relationship with his family and Tucker. I enjoy a book even more when secondary characters make you fall in love with them too! This book has done that too..., I look forward to going back to Sutter Lake💙

Great start to the series!

4.5⭐“I want you. You’re mine, remember?” Review: This is book 1 in the Sutter Lake series. This is my second series by Catherine. I always love the small town romances Catherine writes with the added element of suspense. Taylor just lost her mom to cancer and movies to Sutter Lake, Oregon for a fresh start. Walker is the Deputy Chief of Police in Sutter Lake. He is a sweet, protective Country Boy just trying to prevent the past from repeating itself. Taylor gets a job at the The Kettle and meets Walker. The two get to know one another the more she gets to know Jensen, Walker's sister and her boss. Taylor and Walker begin a friendship of their own. Taylor is struggling with her grief though and has no plans to let anyone in. Walker is trying to move past his guilt from the past. Both protecting their hearts from everyone until someone sneaks past that wall. I did struggle some to connect to Taylor and her fears. Overall though I liked the storyline, plot twist and element of suspense I did not see coming! I loved it! I loved Walkers family and the side characters that I can't wait to learn more about them. I absolutely loved Grandma Irma! She always brought a smile to my face and cracked me up! I'm excited for Tessa and Liam next!

5 Beautifully Broken Stars.

Beautifully Broken Pieces is Book 1 in the Sutter Lake Series. A small town romance with the perfect balance of mystery, suspense, emotion, and heat. Taylor recently lost her mother after caring for her the past couple of years throughout her sickness. Thinking Taylor needed to get away for a little while, Taylor’s friends plan a vacation to Sutter Lake. Needing a change of scenery and thinking the fresh air will do her some good, Taylor decides to make Sutter Lake her home for the next year.

Walker, Sutter Lake’s deputy sheriff, is no stranger to pain and loss—so it’s no surprise he’s able to see both reflected in Taylor’s eyes the first time he meets her. Walker can’t help but be drawn to Taylor, even though he resists at first. He eventually gives into the chemistry between but Walker knows he’s got his got his work cut out for him when it comes to breaking down Taylor’s walls and defenses.

Just when Walker has those walls crumbling down, tragedy strikes the normally quiet town of Sutter Lakes. It seems Taylor pulling away may not be the greatest challenge Walker is facing, not when there’s a serial killer on the loose and she just might be caught in their crosshairs.

Narrators can make or break an audio for me. Aaron Shedlock and Maxine Mitchell did not disappoint. They did an excellent job bringing both Walker and Taylor’s characters to life.

This book was the first I had read by Catherine Cowles and I immediately fell in love with her writing style. I was blown away when I discovered this was only her second published novel. I’ve since read all of her subsequent books and am now working my way through the audio versions. I must say even after reading every other book she’s written this is still one of my absolute favorites.

Catherine Cowles is an author I will one-click time and time again. Zero hesitation. I don’t even have to read the blurb. I don’t say that lightly as I read/listen to 200+ books a year and there are only 2 other authors that fall in that category for me. I can confidently say there is no book Cowles could ever write that I would regret reading.

Loved it!

My first Catherine Cowles novel and definitely not my last. I loved the suspense element because it had me guessing all along and I never got it right. That plot twist was crazy. I loved Walker so much. Taylor pissed me off at times but I still liked her. Can’t wait for Liams story next.

terribly quivery narration but cute story

the story was fun, but the guy narrator was too husky/dramatic and the girl narrator was so quivery it was grating to the ears. sounded like she was about to sob or throw up when it was supposed to be an angry or sexy scene...very off-putting!

Very slow & drawn out

Struggled to the halfway mark. It started sweet then seemed to really drag out. It was not very exciting for me.