Fading

By: E. K. Blair

Narrated by: Piper Goodeve

Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Can a guilty conscience keep wounds from healing? Fine arts major, Candace Parker, grew up with a mother who thinks image is everything, and her daughter’s perfection will never be good enough. About to graduate college and pursue her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina, Candace decides it’s time to let go and have a little fun. But fun is short-lived when a brutal attack leaves her completely shattered. The memories that consume and torment Candace are starting to destroy her when she meets Ryan Campbell, a successful bar owner. He feels instantly connected and tries to show her that hope is worth fighting for. But is Ryan harboring his own demons? As walls slowly begin to chip away, the secrets that are held within start to become painful burdens. At what point do secrets become lies?

©2013 E.K. Blair (P)2014 Audible Inc.

13:41 of Painfully Emotional Perfection!

Narration - Piper Goodeve - Fabulous! One of the better narrators out there (IMHO) She has several characters of both sexes and they all sound legit with nothing over the top.

This book...oh this book...
This is a hard listen. It's almost a stressful listen.

Candace suffers a brutal attack and like many victims she finds a way to make it all her fault. I think that one could listen to this and probably whine and complain about Candace and the actions she took (or didn't take) or the choices she made or you could listen and feel your heart breaking over and over again.

My heart is sort of aching, but I've found an author who I will definitely read/listen to again. This is just really a book filled with emotion from start to finish. The characters were just delicious, the pain was real (partly thanks to the narration, I'm sure) and the relationships were beautifully portrayed (both the good and the bad)

Why not 5 stars? Well, it was close, oh so very close, but I just couldn't get over the handsome and incredibly sexy Ryan calling Candace "Babe" all the the time. Never anything else and it grated on me a bit. He was amazing and loving and sweet and fun and romantic and such a gentleman. But the Babe just didn't do it for me.
Otherwise, this was 13 hours and 41 minutes of painfully emotional perfection.

Don't Fade Away from Fading

This is a book I have read on my Kindle a year or so ago; it's not the best book I've ever read but it's a pretty strong story with a female lead (Candace) who, for pretty good reasons, cries and sobs most of the book. I got tired of that. However, Piper Goodeve so brought her to life for me that the audio version was a standout. Candace, the victim of a horrific incident, is plagued with self-doubt and insecurity. Enter Ryan who slowly wins her trust and eventually, her love UNTIL she discovers information that he has withheld from her. The book is primarily Candace's struggle to work through, process, deny, hide from and otherwise NOT deal with what happened to her and Ryan's efforts to bring her to life. I was so impressed by Ms Goodeve's interpretation of all the characters, her nuanced reading of the dialogue and her emotional connection with both Candace and Ryan that really made this listen a worthy one. No amount of great narration could help with a rather rushed ending but I can live with it. Now on the the second book in the series...I sure hope it's as well done as Fading and I have NOT read this one (Falling).

Loved all the relationships

What made the experience of listening to Fading the most enjoyable?

Piper Goodeye did an absolute amazing job!

Would you recommend Fading to your friends? Why or why not?

I'm not sure because although I really did enjoyed this story, it was the extra fluff that I didn't like so much and I'm not sure how others would like it.

What does Piper Goodeve bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She brings the story alive and all the characters. She made me feel the story.

Any additional comments?

3.5 StarsI have to say that I really liked this story and look forward to continuing the series. I especially enjoyed the slow build to Ryan and Candice’s relationship and then just completely and utterly fell in love with their connection. Now I appreciate when an author gives as much detail as possible because it really helps to get to know the characters and that’s what I want but the one thing I didn’t like about this one is the fluff, the filler parts that I just didn’t think were needed. I felt as though there were a lot of similar parts repeated. Shout out to Piper Goodeye who did an amazing job narrating this book!

ME ME ME

Clearly, this is a story that can only be enjoyed by a teenager. I found the narrator to be very annoying. I've never met any adult who says, 'did ent', or, 'would ent,'etc.' It was very distracting. I need to understand or even empathise with the main character; but I found nothing with this character. She seemed to be obsessed with herself and extremely, clingy. Even with a possevive mother and a wimp of a father; she kept lamenting about their failure to support her in her dream of becoming a dancer. And, yet, she allowed herself to be financially supported by them as she lived comfortably away from them. She made all the wrong choices in her personal life and was shocked with the outcome.She gave mixed signals to her date when she allowed herself to be fondled and moaned when he kissed her. At a social gathering, she was aware that he was innebriated and out of control. But, she allowed herself to be dangerously compromised and became a victim of rape. Against everyone's advice, she chose not to bring her attacker to justice. Instead, she clung to others to lead her about like the weak-minded, spoiled child she appeared to be. Nowhere did she actually stand up for herself and express her outrage and frustration until it was too late. Was there a better need for this woman to seek psychiatric help? I did not return this book because I wanted to stick with it, wanting to believe that she would eventually find her own power to control her life. She didn't. Instead, she kept whining about her 'pitiful life,' throughout.

believable characters but sthap...

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

People who lay around and cry all the time.

What was most disappointing about E. K. Blair’s story?

The main character cries in every scene!

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narrator did the best she could with what she had. The 15th time you say your crying.....I don't know how you could make every time emotional, but the voice actor does a good job regardless of the fact that that's all there is.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The characters are believable, even though I don't want to spend another awful second with them. Descriptions are well done. The act of rape is well constructed and accurate, as well as the feelings of anxiousness. If the author was trying to reach a certain amount of words....they probably did it.

Any additional comments?

I have parents very similar to the parents in this book and I can say from experience it gives you thick skin. You're forced/trained as a kid to look "okay" all the time. You keep your face together. The neglect hardens you. It's like she's this oversensitive person who's been dropped in their care in her 20's! God damn it, pull yourself together!!! So frustrated with this book but I'm so far in now I feel like I can't return it. She just cries and cries and does nothing to get better or seek help. Either go to therapy or shut up already! 3 hours left.....I don't know if I can make it to the end. She's so obnoxious. I'm glad I bought it on sale.

Intense but long

This book has an intense subject matter. It is well written and handles the subject well. I only wish she found that inner strength to do something about it. Having said that, she shows great fortitude to continue moving forward with her life. The relationship between Candace and Jase is great and unique. The characters are great but I hate that she does not trust her best friend. I also wish the book went a little faster in telling the story. Overall it is a good read.

Intriguing !!

I loved how the narrator told the story. How she put so much emotion into it. Ryan was so wonderful and understanding of the whole situation he fell in love with her so deeply. I was so taken by this story, I loved it.

No Fading cant end!

This story rock me from the bottom up, it been a while since a book hit me so hard. I just loved it!

Fading

I have trouble with stories with this subject matter, but it was so good and I loved the end! I cried last 75% of the book

Finding yourself shrouded in darkness

Fading is about finding love in the darkness. Piece by piece Candace loses herself. Her relationship with her parents isn’t great. She’s an only child. Her only family is Kimber and Jase, the two friends she met at university.
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After reading Falling I’ve come to the conclusion that Fading and Falling are essentially the same story told from differing points of view and should’ve been combined with dual points of view to both reduce the word count and clean up the unnecessary details of the day-to-day activities. Both are long drawn out story’s both focusing on Candace’s ability to heal after being raped. This is a character driven story with the minor characters taking up a good portion of the storyline. There’s a lot of overlapping information between the two books.
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Candace’s character was exhausting to listen to. Par for the course this is the way Blair intended her character to sound. She thrived off of seeking comfort from her friend Jase running to him at every turn avoiding the inevitable situation. Candace wanted to forget what happened to her so she tried to maintain a normal routine of school, work and dance. Dance is the only relief from the pain.
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Back in 2013 and 2014, it was common for some authors to write dual points of view books dedicating separating books for each perspective. I’m glad it was a temporary strategy. I much prefer when the dual points of view is in the same book.
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It’s a slow burn romance where Blair incorporated many layers to help build the connection between them. Each of the layers revolves around the topic of intimacy. Candace suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Flashbacks, Sleep Terror Disorder, and Nightmares.
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#agegap #rapevictim #parentalissues #collegestudent #dancer #washington #gayrelatiinship #Oregonlifestyle #abusivebackstory #secondchances
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Piper Goodeve performed Fading in its entirety. Piper’s voice was ideal for Candace’s character. I listened using the audible app while following along with the ebook. I’m an eyes and ears person needing both. This was a revisit. I had hoped listening to the audiobook would’ve enhanced my reading experience from years ago. Unfortunately, it solidified my solid three star experience.

Fading into obscurity

The story starts off well - tension, anticipation - it's all there. As it unfolds, it loses some pace.

There are many, many books just like this out there. Beyond patches of brilliant writing, the rest is flat. The opportunity to really delve into a rape victim's pain isn't fully explored and the love interest (I've already forgotten his name) is wooden and one dimensional. Even the 'betrayal' is inconsequential, its only purpose appearing to be the opportunity to write about the make up sex.

Overall, it is entertaining but really, there are better books out there if you're looking for mild, bland erotica. If you're looking for drama and angst promised by the rape victim, you'll get some, but not enough to make you snivel, let alone have a good cry.