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

Blah

Abby and Ethan’s story was way to redundant for me. It just kept going in circles. I truly enjoy Alyssa Cole’s books but the way it was read was very stop and go and at parts it felt like it was skipping parts or not completing the chapters. Abby was undecided the entire story until the end which made this a hard listen. It might have been a better read if the narrator hadn’t read it so choppy or if Abby and Ethan’s relationship didn’t seem super juvenile the entire book. I like the soulmate concept but the storyline needed some work for me.

Beautiful Story

This was a beautiful story about second chances and love and it captured my interest from the very beginning.  The storyline was well-written and the characters were well-developed and endearing and you can't help but fall in love with them. A very nicely told, unique enemies to lovers story that had me completely engrossed and I became invested in Abby and Ethan's story. The narration was well done and it was easy to imagine each character as the narrator portrayed them.


I received a complimentary copy from StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving my review. 

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.

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.

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

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 ..

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.

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.