In the Case of Heartbreak

Fern Falls, Book 2

By: Courtney Kae

Narrated by: Kyle Burrow

Ben has been baking his grandma's cinnamon rolls at the family cafe for years. He's been quietly in love with Adam Reed, his musician-slash-mechanic neighbor, for just as long. But Ben's done waiting behind the pastry case. He's entered a make-or-break competition to show off his own recipes. He's going to buy his overprotective family out of the business. And he's going to ask Adam out. TONIGHT.

Except his big plans get punched down before they even half-rise. Soon Ben is dashing down the coast to his grandma's eightieth birthday party, hiding his broken heart in Maywell Bay, California. Sun, sea, and fresh breezes should blow in something new—except they don't. They blow in Adam Reed, grinning like a pirate and stealing the show as the musical entertainment hired by Grandma for her big bash. Grandma's signature Heartbreak Tea is the only remedy, and Grandma's tea could take the paint off a fence.

But there's a burn of truth along with the booze in his bottle, and Ben has a decision to make. Can he take the sweetness in front of him, and brave the bitterness that comes after? Or is a little sea salt just what this cinnamon roll needs?

Salty cinnamon rolls? Ew. Ben would never.

©2023 Courtney Kae (P)2023 Tantor

Sweet story, but struggled with the narration

The story was super cheesy and mostly predictable, but I really enjoyed it. I really liked the character development and love story. The characters felt like dear friends, which is my favorite part of stories like this. However, the narration was really difficult for me. Every word was slow and overly enunciated in a way that felt really unnatural. I sped it up, 1.2 to 1.3x and that helped. I would have preferred a different narrator, but I was still able to enjoy the extremely adorable story.

It’s a cute book., cleansing your pallet? This will do just that .

Overall the plot is ok. It’s a cute story , soft . Warm and cozy. It will get you out of a reading slump for sure.

weak storyline, poor narrator wish I hadnt speak $ on it

first, the narrator was terrible. slow, robotic sounding. I sant tell if the dialogue was as cheesy as it sounded or if it was just the bad narration.

the story itself was ok, but the conflict seemed extremely contrived (did it really matter that a person's father was trying to claim rights? ownership ? (I'm not even sure what the claim was) to a family ? especially when said father wasnt trying to sell it. the who thing was dumb.

unfortunately I didn't use a credit so I cant teutnr
tester otherwise, I would have given up on this after a chapter or two. instead I listens )at 1.2' btw) to 2/3 of it...but I just couldn't take it anymore