Hope Over Fear

The Over Series, Book 1

By: J. A. DeRouen

Narrated by: Cassandra Richardson

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Today is the day; the day that the man I love marries someone else. I don't deserve pity or sympathy. I've made my bed. I left Mason and ripped his heart to pieces as I ran away. The guilt and sorrow consume me, threatening to choke me everyday.

But today is a new beginning. Today is the day I will wake up with a renewed resolve and determination to do better...to be better...to be worthy. My name is Sara Preston, and this is my story about what happens after.

Hope over Fear is the first novel in The Over Series, a group of interconnected standalone novels. Warning: This is a new adult romance. It is not intended for listeners under the age of 18.

©2014 J.A. DeRouen (P)2017 J.A. DeRouen

There IS a Silver Lining

This is the only book in the series with this (I'll be generous) and say Narrator . Odd having a Male character with a high voice with a bit of valley girl twang.
The story isn't bad IF you can get past every voice being the same. The rest of the books have a dual narrative format. So try to get past the voice, the story is worth it.

WOW, JUST WOW

This story was amazing and so touching. I really felt for Sarah. And oh my gosh, Adam's story was heartbreaking and loving all in one. This book had me crying, laughing, and feeling the emotions right along with them. The narrator did an amazing job and got every emotion right on! If i could give this more tham 5 stars I would!!

Addictive read!

This book gripped me from the very beginning, and it only got better from there! The characters were incredibly well written. I felt like I knew them in and out. I felt their emotions, and cheered them on. The story had me hooked, and I didn't want to stop for anything.

The narration was perfect! All the emotions came through. I can't wait to listen to the rest of the series. This group of friends is not to be missed!

Wonderful Story of Redemption and Love!

I absolutely loved everything about this book! It is a beautiful story of friendship, love, and redemption. Sara, at a moment of weakness, made an innocent decision that has haunted her ever since. She is a big hearted, loyal,and caring nurse who works tirelessly for others. When she meets Adam, a sexy, tattooed fellow volunteer at their clinic, they get off on the wrong foot. They have a fiery attraction that soon becomes more. But they both have a past and deep secrets that threaten any happiness they could have together. I loved both Sara and Adam, they are very giving, funny, and protective of those they love. They also have a great group of friends who were intriguing, funny and supportive, adding depth to this story. I look forward to finding out more about each of them as well.
Narrator, Cassandra Richardson, is new to me and I really enjoyed her work. I was a bit confused at first on who was talking, when 3 female characters were all together, but after that it was much easier. Her voice changes between genders were fluid and her inflections were perfect, making me feel every emotion. She had just the right balance between vulnerability and strength as she brought Sara to life.
This is my first book by J. A. DeRouen and she is a new favorite author. She created a beautiful story that flowed effortlessly from past to present, revealing a poignant and sexy story that made me laugh and cry and many emotions in between. I am looking forward to listening to more books by this author. I highly recommend this moving, heartwarming, funny and steamy story.

Great Audible!!

I loved the story of Adam and Sara. Their story was so heart felt and I fell in love with them instantly. The performance for this audible was very good and kept my attention throughout. Five stars!!

Loved it!!!

The narrator did an amazing job of bringing Sara and Adam to life! What a great all around story that is made even better by the narrator. You can't help but fall in love right along with Sara and Adam and cry with them as well.

Amazing!

I absolutely loved every thing about this book. The narrator was above par! She captured the emotions of Sarah so well, I felt beyond immersed in the story as it was told. A beautiful story of overcoming insecurities and self doubt, finding yourself and finding where you belong. I'm completely in love with every character and definitely did not want this to end but I am happy with how it ended and would recommend to anyone! This was my first time reading J.A. DeRouen and I can't wait to dive into her other works.

5 I Carry Your Heart With Me stars!

What did you love best about Hope Over Fear?

I love that the issues Adam and Sara face are realistic and relatable. They both had to grow and accept themselves and each other to really move forward. I also loved the overall message that families come in all different shapes, sizes, and combinations, and that loving yourself is just as important as loving someone else.

Who was your favorite character and why?

As much as I loved Adam and Sara, it was their good friends Marlo and Cain who were my favorites! They are loyal and supportive, but also call things as they are. They added the perfect blend of humor and sass to some of the heavier moments in the book.

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

Listening to audiobooks always heightens the emotions and feelings for me. Things that may be painful to read in a book, become excruciating to listen to. Cassandra Richardson did an amazing job narrating both characters, especially Sara. I could feel her pain and guilt much more than when I had read the book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

We Are All Works in Progress

Any additional comments?

This was an amazing start to the interconnected stand alone Over series and I can't wait to listen to the other books on audio as well!

Mixed Feelings

I have mixed feelings on this book.. Sometimes I felt it was too real, if that makes sense? For a romance novel, I want to forget the real world and get lost (without too much cheese), but this is intense real world stuff, haha and I could relate to a lot of it personally, so, like I said, mixed bag.. BUT having read and finally gotten the ending I wanted, I can say I loved it.. I love that it "happily ended", which, with all the real world shit happening in it, I was worried it could go either way!

Also, I wanted to touch on just a couple of comments others have said about the narration and what mean things Adam said to Sara.. 1) I hated, hated the narration! It was so hard to tell who was talking, male or female.. and 2) I did not feel that what he said to her was so unforgivable.. Shit happens, people get hurt and angry and say things they don't mean.. You have to forgive and forget, that is love and acceptance..

Narration brought the story to life

I loved reading the book when it was released and now listening to the audio book, I'm just left in awe. Cassandra Richardson did a fabulous job in bringing this already 5 star read to life. She has a great ability to change her voice between the different characters and adds in the laughter, tears, and other emotions the characters are experiencing. Between the author writing a story that has realistic characters and a narrator adding to that this was an audio book that was very difficult to turn off. You really felt like you were a part of this story. Hope Over Fear is about Sara yet the way the story is written there is so much interaction with the supporting characters and each character was narrated so you knew when the different characters were speaking. I look forward to listening to more books by this narrator as well as continuing reading more books by this author.