Homebound

A Heartbound Novel, Book 1

By: Alyssa B. Cole

Narrated by: Em Barger

Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

Abby Doyle is perfectly fine without a soulmate. Her parents have matching soulmate Marks and their marriage definitely isn't great, so she's content living Markless with her boyfriend in New York. Sure, she might have slight self-esteem and anxiety issues, but hey, she's getting by.

Until she receives a Mark, and he doesn't.

After that devastating blow, Abby returns to her hometown of Lake Redwood, Minnesota. There she reconnects with her older sister's best friend, Ethan Perry - who also happens to be Abby's childhood frienemy and middle school crush. He's annoyingly wonderful, and still out of Abby's league. And apparently, he is also Marked.

Can Abby find a place where she belongs and allow herself to be loved?

©2019 Alyssa B. Cole (P)2020 Alyssa B. Cole

Don't mix up this author with Alyssa Cole

This writer, Alyssa B Cole, is a different person from Alyssa Cole, an African American writer of both historical and contemporary romances. My mistake. It is not ABC's fault that she isn't the same person and she of course has the right to use what I assume is her own name. So I will not criticize her for what she is not. Just alerting others who may also be confused. I went ahead and finished the book to give it a fair try. I will not be reading more books by this author.

marked love

Can Abby return to her hometown to meet her soulmate, the one with the same mark that she just got? she doesn't believe in it after seing their parent's marriage fall apart from the beginning. sweet love story

Enjoyed very much!

My first book by Alyssa Cole and I am pretty sure it won't be the last. This story gives a fun twist to life in today's world by bring in the possibility of receiving a soulmate mark...or not. I enjoyed the story from start to end, although I feel that the author probably could have delved into more details with the soulmark, the relationship with Abby and her boyfriend, and her relationship with Ethan. With that, I would have liked to have known more about Ethan's thoughts regarding everything. The ending came rather quick and I sure wasn't ready for the book to be over...but that is because I was REALLY enjoying the story. I definitely want more from this author. I listened to the audiobook version of this story and this was my first with the narrator, Eb Barger, as well. She did a fantastic job of bring all of the characters to life and helping us to understand how each were feeling and helped us to get to know them. Great acting, as well, with the character voices. I highly recommend this book

Very Sweet Romance

This is a very sweet clean romance.
Abby and Ethan are going to be great together.
I always wanted to know who my soulmate is!

Em Barger does a good job with the narration.

This is a review copy and this is my honest review.

Cute.

So I really enjoyed the slowly unfurling story, but then it felt like the ending was rushed. I liked the characters and setting, but the rush to the end threw the pacing off. Still loved the concept, and it was a cute story.

Good Story!!!!

I had some what mix feelings for this audiobook. I really liked the story, but the end part, ended so quickly like it needed more. Unless their story continues to book 2. Overall it’s a good book.

Review Homebound

This is awesome book and I am curious about the author’s original version of these characters given that she revamped it with a full development of the characters in this contemporary setting. I wish the author would have explored the “marked” soulmate angle more. I also would have liked to know what Ethan was thinking and feeling during there encounters with each other ..

Sweet & fun!

Do you think your soulmate it out there? Abby is happy with her boyfriend, and since neither has received their soulmate mark is thrilled to know she can be with her love. Until one night when the mark appears on her and not on him. Now she is home, as the two come to terms with this, and is able to hang out with her sister, Beth and her sister’s best friend, Ethan. Ethan has recently returned from the military, helping his ailing mother and is the one that Abby has always loved to hate. This enemies to lovers story is beautifully told in an original way. It shows that there is someone for everyone, that what you see as flaws may be what someone finds attractive. Abby and Ethan are regular people, with flaws they find unlovable, but are really the things that make them unique. And the mark may be the push that they need.

Narrated by Em Barger, the story flows. This is my first narration by her, and she has distinguishable voices and brings out the insecurities and true passion the characters have. She includes just the right amount of angst, and adds a thread of familiarity with her voice. I will be looking for other performances by her.

Sweet, easy listening story

I was given a free copy of the audiobook version of this story in return for an honest review and here it is! This story was so easy to listen to. I finished it so quickly! It is a sweet story about second chances. The characters were believable and likeable. The narrator did a great job! I would recommend this story and will look out for more by this author.

Enemies to lovers

Well this was a twist I did not expect. Imagine it is as easy to find your soulmate as a simple mark. Abby is perfectly content with her boyfriend. But they have not determined if they are soulmates or not because their marks have not appeared. Until Abby returns home and her mark appears suddenly. Not matching with her boyfriend anymore, Abby tried to fight the system, only to struggle with family and friends about it. When Abby discovers who she does match with, the twist of fate adds a turn in the story. I was so engrossed in this story that I could not put it down. I cannot wait for the next installment of the series.

This is my first listen of Em Barger. I enjoyed her narration. She has an easy to listen to voice. Her male and female character voices are smooth. Em brought her characters to life through her narration. I really enjoyed the production of this story.

fantastic

im not a fan of romance but I did enjoy this audiobook from the pen of Alyssa B Cole and brilliantly narrated by Em Barger. I'd be happy to listen to more of this series xxxxx

A easy read/listen

I enjoyed listening to the narrator Em Barge.

I enjoyed listening this book. I found the characters are good and likable. I thought it was quite a sweet well-written read.

Surprisingly warming

I wasn’t convinced I liked the character at first, but then again, she wasn’t convinced about herself either. You embark on a voyage of discovery with her. I love the hint of romance based sci fi too with the soul mate mark, and the difficulties as well as bliss it could bring. A good ending. An enjoyable 5 hours of listening. The front cover doesn’t do it justice, it’s a modern, young audience read...(although I am 40 and still enjoyed it!)