Broken Wide Open

By: Susan Griscom

Narrated by: Tor Thom, Charley Ongel

Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

When your heart is broken, sometimes all you need is a gentle smile.

Grace Davidson didn't have the smoothest childhood, but now, years later, she's ready to start her new life with her amazing new husband - until she discovers his infidelity...with her best friend. Hurt and betrayed, Grace takes off alone for the exotic resort where she should be spending her honeymoon, only to realize it's as lonely as it sounds. Until her hunky next-door neighbor says hello. Leo was just a man Grace met while enjoying her un-honeymoon. They became friends, but that's it. Yet even after she returns home, she can't get him out of her head. Too bad she'll never see him again. Starting over in a new town after finding her dream job, Grace suddenly runs in to Leo in the last place she expects. But is he the man she believes him to be? Or is her heart in danger of being broken wide open?

©2017 Susan Griscom (P)2017 Susan Griscom

Entertaining Listen

Any additional comments?

Broken Wide Open is a very entertaining story of betrayal, secrets and second chances. Grace and Leo meet when she is still reeling from her husband's betrayal. Her vulnerability keeps Leo from acting on their attraction and they part, never expecting to see one another again. Grace is thrown for a loop when she discovers that her new employer is Leo's father. As a romance develops, Leo's devastating secret is revealed. Will everything that he thought he knew tear them apart or has he also been betrayed? Will they get their second chance at happiness? You'll have to listen and find out!

Broken Wide Open was a well written emotional journey for both Grace and Leo. The plot twist near the end was one that I didn't see coming. I liked the dual narration and the way that it flowed between the characters. I really enjoyed the story and would recommend Broken Wide Open.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This review is my honest opinion.

4 people found this helpful

Entertaining and Enjoyable

Any additional comments?

The combination of the story and narration pull me in immediately and kept my attention from start to finish. Even though parts of the story are predictable, it has several twists that were really unexpected and several "wow, didn't see that coming". You know the" wait, what? Did that just happen?" moments. It's a very entertaining and engaging story that I finished in one afternoon. On top of that it's a standalone with No cliffhanger. Yay

Betrayal, friendship, a second chance at love, heartbreak, secrets, forgiveness, a little steamy romance and a HEA. All woven into a very enjoyable listen.

I had never heard the song Broken Wide Open, it took me a bit to find it, but I did. Even though the words to the song are spoken in the beginning of the story, the song itself will give you chills, it made the emotions that Grace and Leo go though at different times throughout the story that much more real and heartbreaking.

Even though there are times the story is a roller-coaster ride of emotions, it's also a sweet romance with a friendship forming first, even though there is an instant attraction and they both would like more the timing isn't right. I really enjoyed that they didn't jump right into a relationship.

If two people are meant to be together the universe is going to find a way. Fate is a fickle thing and will not be thwarted. Sooner or later it will have it's way and fate has a plan for Leo and Grace.

Tor Thom and Charley Ongel are a great team. They compliment each other perfectly. Narrators can make or break a book, this is a case of the narrators making the story come to life with fantastic narration. The back and forth between characters flows smoothly and seamlessly. They both have great voices that are easy to listen to for long periods of time and the narration is clearly spoken with a nice even pace. The characters come to life and you can feel every emotion they are going through in their narration.Tor Thom…now that's a bedroom voice….smoldering, deep and smooth. You can't help but be captivated by that voice. Very enjoyable.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review.

4 people found this helpful

Betrayal

I liked this story. It was about how betrayal cannot be hidden forever. It seems Leo and Grace are meant to be together . After a tragedy is brought to light from something that happened many years ago, Grace cannot deal and leaves Leo heartbroken. Even though I feel Grace was selfish and it turns out that Leo is the pawn in the tragedy, things will work out. I received a free audio and I am reviewing voluntarily.

3 people found this helpful

Broken Wide Open

I loved the use of male/female narrators it really brings the male and female characters out. The story seems to be from one crashing event in Grace's life to the next. You wonder when she or Leo are going to catch a break. Their are a few moments in the book when some big secrets are revealed that were really unexpected and great moments in the story! Great job!

2 people found this helpful

Enjoyed Broken Wide Open

This was my first book by Susan Griscom and I enjoyed everything about it, from the storyline to the plot twists to the easy listening narration. This is a story about love and betrayal.

Grace is betrayed by her husband of only a few hours when she walks in on him cheating on her with her best friend. To help overcome this incident Grace goes on her honeymoon trip alone but she ends up spending most her time with Leo, the guy next door. They develop a friendship on the island that could lead to more but sadly doesn't. After Grace returns home she must find a job and ends up with her dream position. Then she runs into Leo! What happens next is an up and down emotional ride of love and maybe more betrayal. There were definitely some twists that you don't see coming which are great for a reader / listener!

Tor Thom and Charley Ongel are a wonderful narrating team. Their duet style flows easily for the listener and they both bring the emotional side of the characters to life.

2 people found this helpful

So many twists!

There is something about books with surprise twists that I really enjoy. Susan Grisom starts out this book with a twist at Grace's wedding, and it doesn't end there! from start to finish, this book will wrap you up into Grace and Leo's world. How they meet and separate, how they meet again and how their relationship grows and changes...and then the plot twists that completely changed the life of both of them. The secret that Leo carries since his childhood will come back to haunt them both, but will it be able to be overcome and get their happily ever after? This story is heart warming and heart wrenching and will keep you on your toes the whole time! You just cannot keep from listening just to hear how things turn out.

The duet narration of Tor Thom and Charley Ongel is spot on. The two are able to play off of each other in a way that gives the listener the ability to be in the story at that moment. Their narration is full of love and such emotion, the feelings are felt right to your core. You can't ask for more when you get lost in a book!

2 people found this helpful

Not for me

The writing is horrible. Couldn't finish. I couldn't stand the lead female. If I were the lead male, I would have found someone else before it started. She was rude and heartless. And that was just at the beginning since I didn't finish the book. But I didn't like the over all writing. I'm just glad this book is part of the romance package. The narrators were good though.

1 person found this helpful

Beautiful Love

Beautiful love story! I loved the poem in the beginning. Was a lovely story about a second chance at love. I enjoyed the adventures that Leo takes Grace on and how they both help each other heal from pain.. As always I enjoy the narrators very much so. I always look forward to listening to them and am loving Susan's stories and look forward to reading more! Hope there is more to this series! xo

1 person found this helpful

Broken

I want to say that you can’t make stuff like this up, but apparently you can.

Twists, surprises, and occasionally no surprise.

The narrators were each ok. But paired were too jarring in contrast. At first I couldn’t tell if the two parts were recorded separately at different locations and then spliced together ... his tone is bold and deep and louder than hers.... not the best fit.

So glad it was in the romance package.

A SLOW BUILD TO A REAL RELATIONSHIP

BROKEN WIDE OPEN is a stand-alone contemporary romance.

The author mentions that this book is inspired by a song by the same name, written by Alex Woodard. I didn’t know the song, so I went to searching for it. I found this performance by For the Sender. Take a moment and enjoy; it is beautiful.

I liked the way that Grace and Leo allowed themselves to be friends when they first met. This was not a vacation fling. Because Grace is not a risk-taker, the relationship was forced to go slow. To become a fantasy. To be reunited in an unexpected time. To be put on hold … until it could not be denied.

I read the Whisper Cape series several years ago, but this was completely different. Different, but equally enjoyable. I loved it and would love to see more of this type of story from Ms. Griscom.

Narration: The narrators are perfect. Their voices melded well and were relaxing but did not sleep-inducing.

Note: while I was given this book as a gifted audiobook copy, my opinions are my own and are given freely.


Title: BROKEN WIDE OPEN
Series: N/A
Narrator: Tor Thom, Charley Ongel
Length: 6 hours and 9 minutes
Category /Genre: Contemporary Romance
Recommended for: 18+ due to sexual content
Listenability: NSFW
Received from: Susan Griscom (as an Audible gifted copy)

Amazing!!!

I really enjoyed this book, it was very emotional at times. Leo had a major trauma in his past that Grace (unknown to them) was linked to. There were a couple of great twists towards the end of the story! It had me hooked from start to finish and I did shed a few tears at the emotional scenes! I adored them as a couple though and had my fingers crossed for them the whole time!