Hummingbird Lane

By: Carolyn Brown

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

The healing powers of art and friendship work together in this inspiring and heartwarming novel by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.

Ever since childhood, Emma Merrill and Sophia Mason were bound by a passion for painting. Like all young best friends, they promised to never lose touch. But the girls came from different worlds, and their paths diverged when Emma went to an elite college and Sophie worked her way through state school. 

After a decade they’ve reconnected, both in a time of need. Emma has been struggling with depression since her college years, and she’s lost herself under the suffocating influence of her controlling and manipulative mother. Sophie, under pressure to prepare for an upcoming gallery show, whisks the fragile Emma away to a small artist’s colony in south Texas. It’s a raw and beautiful landscape where wildflowers bloom - and perhaps Emma can bloom there, too. In the company of such nurturing and creative strangers - especially Josh Corlen, the openhearted manager of the commune - Emma allows herself to breathe again.

For Sophie and Emma, it’s the perfect place for reflection and to finally share the secret burdens each has carried. Most of all it’s a chance to rediscover their true selves and to make good on the old promise that their friendship would last forever.

©2021 by Carolyn Brown. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

“Brown’s (The Daydream Cabin) gentle story of a woman finding strength within a tight-knit community has just a touch of romance at the end. Recommended for readers who enjoy heartwarming stories about women overcoming obstacles.” —Library Journal

Interesting

Narrator as always is great. The storyline has timely issues. Way too long though and filled with some unnecessary filler. I do have a hard time with the main characters being in their middle thirties and behaving as they do. If someone is that old and the parents control every aspect of your life including what you wear and how you live, therapy probably is in order. That part of the storyline was not very strong or believable to me. Secondary characters were good. If some of the Emma problems had been taken out or condensed, the story would've flowed and mixed in with all of the other characters better. The reader doesn't need to listen to every little catch of breath, near panic attack, nightmare or "what would my mother think, say or do" quite so often. We already know these details from the beginning of the story. Otherwise, Brown's stories are filled with humor, romance, drama all mixed in together for pleasant listening.

Carolyn Brown is Hit or Miss

This one is a miss for sure. The story is entirely implausible, and actually a little boring. And Sophie’s issue? secret? was uncharacteristic and unnecessary. She would have told her mother, no doubt. Basing that on the characterizations the author portrayed for Sophie AND her mother. I just didn’t buy the spiral it created 15+ years later.

Because she’s hit or miss, and because the one’s I like I REALLY like, I’ll still keep trying. But this one goes in the ‘Pass’ pile.

Great story

Definitely a different story line than most Carolyn Brown books. A little more serious but no less enjoyable. Sweet love story. Family comes in all different forms. These friends are sisters of the heart and the little community on Hummingbird Lane is so loving and supportive. We all need this kind of family.

Brittany always brings Carolyn's books to life!!

Another heartwarming story by Carolyn Brown. Such wonderful characters brought to life by Brittany Pressley. I felt as if I was sitting right there at the table listening to their stories of the day.

Tedious

I started to write a review and stopped and started again due to not wanting to be too harsh. I didn't like the book. The characters are too sweet and too eager to tell each other how amazing they are at everything. In my opinion there are too many clichés used. I get annoyed while listening to this book at the amount of "poor me" and "my poor life". The young people in this book are typical of today's young people who are raised with everything and are so very unhappy about it. The mother of the main character is an ogre and has no forgiving qualities. I haven't finished listening so maybe she changes. I'm not sure I will continue to the end as it is not capturing my interest enough. Maybe it's because we are just coming out of Covid and the world is in such a "I'm more important than anyone or anything" attitude. I hope the future books from this author are an improvement.

Just Right

This book is everything I expect from Carolyn Brown. Well developed characters excellent story and a hea.

Love the stories!

I really like all her books. They are all so down to earth and make me laugh and smile !!

Another Winner!

I have read many of Carolyn Brown’s books and this is wonderful! She does such a remarkable job in her characterizations. You always feel drawn in because she has made them so real! Thank you Carolyn Brown!

Family of the Heart

Wow, just wow!! Enjoyed this immensely!! Narration was perfect, in my view, because if you can forget the narrator and just hear the story while still keeping the characters apart, it's perfect. Carolyn Brown knocked it out of the park in this story about mental health, control freaks, mothers & daughters for better and for worse, friendship and healing in this "family of the heart." Spectacular!!

Loved this book

The kind of book that makes you feel good even when story is sad. loved it.

Whingy Women

Two immature women, age thirty plus with 'poor me' attitudes towards their lives. Lots of teenage type whinging from characters supposedly old enough to know better. If the main characters had been written as 8-10 years younger the fictional situations they were coping with, and how they were coping, would've been more believable. However they were very supportive of each other, kindred spirits, which is what held the story together.