Confessions from the Heart

By: T.B. Markinson

Narrated by: Lori Prince

Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

Cori Tisdale fears she'll never find a woman who loves her for her and not because she has a famous mother and rich uncle.

In an attempt to protect herself, she fills the void in her life with a "friends with benefits" relationship. That is until Cori meets the beautiful and mysterious Kat Finn.

Cori quickly falls for the artist, and not everyone in her life is happy about it. Will Cori be forced to choose between love and friendship?

Confessions from the Heart is a smart and funny prequel to the best-selling lesbian romance series. If you like quirky characters, witty dialogue, and well-crafted prose, then you'll love T. B. Markinson's heartfelt series.

Buy Confessions from the Heart and fall in love with falling in love.

©2018 T.B. Markinson (P)2018 T.B. Markinson

Nope, not for me

I voluntarily received a review copy of this because I am a fan of the narrator. I still am. She's quite good and has a voice that fits really well with women in their 20s. Plus she's "wicked smart" when it comes to accents.

Had this been a different narrator, though, I would have put this on DNF. I just didn't like it. Cori was an unsympathetic lead character to me. She slept around, even if she didn't think of it as such. Her love interest Kat had her own oddities. They met in a store where she was short on money. I get that it would happen, but later she's seen as having a shopping habit.

I didn't like these people. I didn't like this story. It felt a little like "rich white lesbian problems." Really, the best part of it was that in this world LGBT characters just ARE. There isn't bit of surprise or censure about lesbians. Other than that, no thanks. I don't plan on picking up other books in this series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Engaging characters; fantastic narration!

“Confessions From the Heart” is presented as a prequel to “The Confessions Series”. I’m not sure why the series is numbered 0,1,2 instead of 1,2,3…but as long as we read/listen in the correct order it probably doesn’t matter…though I am almost curious enough to ask the author. But, I digress. More on point - this is a very enjoyable book, with absolutely wonderful narration by Lori Prince.

I know, I know, I always applaud Lori’s narration…but she deserves it, and I want to do my part to let author T.B. Markinson know that the choice of narrator can absolutely make or break an audiobook. In “Confessions”, Lori’s range is showcased particularly well: MC Kat the artist purrs with a sultry sex-kitten voice, former jock MC Cori has a perfectly wry voice, sort of MC Annie has the perfect “no R Boston accent”, and other characters, both male and female, are given voices individually and terrifically as well.

Well, as my Goodreads friend know, I LOVE audiobooks, and it pains me when a bad narrator ruins a great story, so I enjoy a great story all the more when a narrator absolutely enhances the story. But even a great narrator can’t save a poor story, so I’m glad to let you know that Markinson provided a wonderful story; they make a great combination!

The book is filled with wonderful banter between characters, much of it will cause people around you to look at you oddly as you laugh while walking around with headphones. Oh…and do be sure to wear headphones in public…the sex scenes are erotic and wonderful, and you just may rewind and replay a few parts once or twice….you may.

The showcase romance is between Cori and Kat, but as in real life, there are complications. Cori has a Friends With Benefits relationship with BFF Annie, and as mutual friend Sheila observes, sometimes mixing sex with friendship can become messy. And, sometimes, one friend/lover falls in love while the other doesn’t even notice. Uh oh. I liked that tension between characters felt completely realistic and natural. So often lately, even lesfic books with HEA endings introduce some completely unnatural character behavior, or unnecessary new character, just to create turmoil that we are expected to accept and then be glad for the make up after the break up.

I really liked Sheila, by the way; she’s very caring as well as smart. Cori’s family members are included in the book, and her attitude toward relationships is influenced by them, of course. Kat’s parents are included only through Kat’s POV, and we learn how they have influenced who she is, and how she views self and relationships. The family members are realistically nuanced.

Cori’s path to participating fully in a relationship….a relationship she wants….is sometimes frustrating, and I felt she was sending mixed messages to Kat for too long. Kat is described in the blurb as “mysterious”, and I found her very interesting. She’s sexy and sensual, playful and serious. She teases, and she participates. There is major chemistry between Kat and Cori, and as dominant as Cori appears…Kat clearly is in control!

“Confessions” could have been made into a standalone book, with a typical HEA or HFN ending, and with some of the family issues that were raised left as unresolved, having been important only to the behaviors of Cori and Kat. But….it’s not a standalone, it’s the “prequel” to two more books, neither of which are currently available on Audible. (I do hope that Lori Prince is chosen once again as narrator!) I applaud T.B. Markinson for continuing with these characters, and I look forward to the sequels….but….reading the blurbs does make the next two sound much darker than did this first….sorry, prequel….book.

But, as much as I’m not a fan of angst in my lesfic, even for me it would become boring if all stories featured rainbows and unicorns. If any fictional couple can weather some real life drama…I’d bet on Cori and Kat. Markinson has created characters to care about, and I look forward to continuing their story. 5* for the prequel, “Confessions From the Heart”!

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

My rating and my review was not in anyway affected by my having been provided a review copy.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent!

Another fantastic story by T.B. Markinson and another incredible narration by Lori Prince! Well done!

Great story

Anything from this author is worth listening too it’s a good love story that kept me engaged I look forward to more from this author

I was given a free copy<br />

I found the narration very good. The story was a light predictable ending .Forgetable book.

Left me wanting more

I was hooked from the start...maybe because it's set in Boston and the Red Sox are mentioned quite a bit. Cori, the self-assured, and witty but intimacy-phobic main character evolves before our eyes through her relationships with her friends, family and ultimately with Kat, her smart, intuitive, creative and beautiful love interest. The characters are fun, from the fiery Annie, who is Cori's best friend..with benefits to Cori's famous mother who doesn't let her get away with much. It has everything you want in a romance novel: fate bumps these two together, sparks fly, intimacy begins, not with sex but with quite an erotic scene and inevitably love blossoms. Lori Prince's performance is exquisite.

Excellent!

I really enjoyed this audio book. I highly recommend it.The narrator did an amazing job with all the accents.Looking forward to the next installment.I provided this review in exchange for a complimentary copy of the audiobook from the author, narrator, or publisher.

Fantastic

T.B. Markinson has a way of pulling me in and keeping me captivated. The story hits every emotion and left me wanting more. My love of baseball and Boston made it even better. Lori Prince is fantastic as always! One of my favorite narrators.

Great Read

Confessions from the Heart was another great read by T.B. Markinson. Cori is a woman who is looking to find someone toe with that isn't in it to meet her mom or her uncle. Cori then meets Kat who she knows will be the one for her. I loved reading this book and Cori and Kat's story.

REALLY ENJOYED IT!

I really enjoyed the story. The story was full of humor, sex and romance. The narration was good and kept you entertained. This author did a great job with her character builds and plot. This was my first book by this author but definitely will not be my last. I am looking forward to reading the other books in this series! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Another solid book by TB Markinson

I really enjoyed this book, looking forward to listen to the next chapter in Cori's and Kat's lives. Lori Prince does an excellent job as the narrator and each character has its own distinti voice.

Witty writing and a great narrator

What I expected was some run-of-the-mill lesbian smut I could laugh at. So I was pleasantly surprised to find myself laughing with the book. There's a humour and character throughout that is really sold through both the quality writing and narration. There is genuinely emotional stuff covered here (although arguably not covered enough but I'm glad it's been mentioned nonetheless).

Lori Prince does a great performance and brings these people to life, I have put this audiobook on repeat mostly thanks to her.

Now, for those curious, this focuses more on quality than quantity. Make of that what you will.

It's certainly well-written and I am pleased with my purchase. I hope there's more to come (with Lori Prince returning). And thanks T.B. Markinson for writing one of my favourite romantic couples (that thankfully isn't Lesbian-Stereotypes The Book TM).

Could of been better.

Most of the books I listen to have me gripped and excited. This book was the opposite, I couldn't wait for it to end. There was very little story, it was all about sex and family drama, money and status. I'm really sorry but it felt really tacky. It might be alright for some but it definitely wasn't my cup of tea.