The Writing Desk

By: Rachel Hauck

Narrated by: Windy Lanzl

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

This happily ever after romance tells the captivating story of two women bound together across time by a shared dream and a mysterious writing desk.

Tenley Roth's first book was a runaway best seller. Now that her second book is due, she's locked in fear. Can she repeat her earlier success, or is she a fraud who has run out of inspiration?

With pressure mounting from her publisher, Tenley is weighted with writer's block. But when her estranged mother calls asking Tenley to help her through chemotherapy, she packs up for Florida where she meets handsome furniture designer Jonas Sullivan and discovers the story her heart's been missing.

A century earlier, another woman wrote at the same desk with hopes and fears of her own. Born during the Gilded Age, Birdie Shehorn is the daughter of the old-money Knickerbockers. Under the strict control of her mother, her every move is decided ahead of time, even whom she'll marry. But Birdie has dreams she doesn't know how to realize. She wants to tell stories, write novels, make an impact on the world. When she discovers her mother has taken extreme measures to manipulate her future, she must choose between submission and security or forging a brand-new way all on her own.

Tenley and Birdie are from two very different worlds, but fate has bound them together in a way time cannot erase.

“Rachel Hauck enchants us again! Tenley and Birdie are bound together by the understanding that creativity is a guiding force and that their stories must be told. A tale both bittersweet and redemptive, The Writing Desk is your must-read.” (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times best-selling author)

This sweet, split-time listen is a stand-alone novel, though characters in this story appear in Rachel Hauck’s The Fifth Avenue Story Society. Includes discussion questions.

©2017 Rachel Hauck (P)2017 Zondervan

Really creative story

Love this story so much. It took 2-3 chapters to be okay with the reader/narrator though. Too much of a southern and relaxed accent. Really hard to get past but once I did I enjoyed the story so much. I loved the weaving in with the past and present and the culmination of the story portraying such grace. A clear picture in the end of our human failings and how God weaves it all together. I loved this book and it touched me on so many levels.

She did it again!

Rachel Hauck when is your next masterpiece? This is a good for the soul book. Excellent from beginning to end.

Loved the story.

I loved the dual stories and had no trouble following along. The surprises kept things interesting.

Needs Audio Redo

The Writing Desk is an excellent story, with a large cast of well developed, believable characters, which I think, deserves a redo by a more expressive narrator. With this version, the voices of the characters all sound pretty much the same, especially during conversations between couples, and that’s too bad. The author’s personalities are fully described, as are the settings and situations in which her characters live. Her telling of this story is spare yet meaty, in my opinion.

Good story, good writing

I really did enjoy this book. The story was an engaging and complicated intertwining of times..ages if you will. The ending was perfect, the thread of events wonderfully unpredictable.

The narration did keep jarring me out of being engrossed in the tale as it was told. I was called upon to discern who was speaking, which I found distracting...very minor changes in tone from one character to another, but the written dialogue did help clear that up....however it was not “my job” to have to do that. The mispronunciation of Marquis, (“markwiss”) etc. kind of ticked me off since the producer, author AND narrator never bothered to look up the pronunciation (and it really isn’t a “rare” word, it is actually “markee”.

So 5 stars for the story, well done. Suggestion for producer and narrator? Well, the tracks were free of distraction, but the narrator needs more professional coaching.

Slow but steady

After "The Weddiing Dress" I was hooked on Rachel's writing style! Get this book and found it slow going, then her magical gift kicked in. I was hooked ..again!!

Could not get enough

Great book and this is my second Rachel Hauck and I enjoyed them both. I felt like I was part of the story. I highly recommend this 5 stars

So Good!!

Almost cried through more then one part of this book! Loved it beginning to end!!!!!

Inspiring book

Well written book with an inspiring story of a women’s love an accomplishment. Great narration too.

Lovely story of God’s love

Lovely story with a strong Christian message of overcoming loss and trusting God as well as about God’s love. The twist in both storylines was interesting and unexpected.

Both the contemporary and historical storylines had a heroine and hero’s point of views (four total), which is standard structure for romance, but I feel it is a bit too much for split time since you already have two storylines to keep track of and it’s harder to connect more deeply with the two heroines.

Overall, the story was well written, inspirational and enjoyable though. The narrator was okay. Her British accent wasn’t good though.