Love In Cardwell

A Christmas Romance

By: Mark F. Geatches

Narrated by: Sterling LeGrand-Carney

Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Just when Jason is settling into a new, self-imposed lifestyle that does not include romantic love or even the prospect of dating, a chance encounter on Main Street makes him question his solitude and willpower. Karen is a firebrand that has her sights on Jason for sexual conquest, while her best friend, Lucy, a girl-next-door sweetie, is interested in him for a meaningful relationship. At first Karen wins out and a relationship is born, but her mysterious silence about anything personal makes Jason worry she only cares about sex. Even while their up and down relationship develops, deep down Jason realizes that Lucy has always been the girl for him, and though the route to their relationship faces many obstacles, they are finally brought together under the most unusual circumstances.

©2020 Mark F. Geatches (P)2020 Wordwooze Publishing

Love i Cardwell

Love the story was a feel good story that took you away from your problems. The narrator made the story interesting.

Military Vet Hero Chased by Several Cafe Regulars

A former military guy, broken by losing several life loves, is chased by several regulars from his new business, a small town Southern cafe. Good narration that would have benefitted from more differentiation between characters and a few Southern accents. Good for any time of year...not too Christmas-y.

Wrong

In the beginning the old lady said that Jason Cat was a female but throughout the book the reader kept saying it was a he so I think there was a typo there also Jason was a little naïve when it came to Karen, I wish he would've went with his first instinct

All The Feels

I loved this book. It’s the perfect happily ever after for the holiday season. The only thing that was a little off putting was how often one character called another “big boy”. Once you get into the story it isn’t as noticeable. It was nice to hear a romance novel from the male perspective. Didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did. Will be looking for more make main characters in romance for sure.

I’d love to read more by this author.

Love that's hard to find

This writer purposely pointed out that the hero is dumb when it comes to relationships and understanding women. He repeatedly let his 'little heads over rule his sensibility and intelligence. This is a clean Christian novel. Jason overlooking sweet Lucy for sexy sexually aggressive Karen taught him a hard lesson.
The narrator has a sweet voice. She did a good job.

Great story

I’m not big on romances but this one got me! Glad he found Lucy in the end

I wanted to love this.

I'm a sucker for a romance, especially a holiday romance.  After the first chapter, I expected this to be a Christmas themed love triangle.  It wasn't quite that.  

In comparison to most holiday romance books, there isn't much of a holiday theme.  Usually, the Christmas books hit you over the head with the holiday theme.  This book does not do that.  In fact, I often forgot it was a holiday themed romance.  

As far as romance books I've read, this book doesn't have the fun, witty banter or even that sexy chemistry you often find in great romance books. I didn't find any of the three main characters as relatable or likable, and I found myself not interested in any of them and the final "payoff." 

The Pros:  The story/plot wasn't a typical romance where I knew exactly what was going to happen.  (I certainly didn't see the ending coming.)

The Meh: As mentioned earlier, the characters are just not terribly likeable.  I wanted to like Jason.  He has the "meat" to be a fantastically interesting character.  He's an ex-Navy Seal who is new to a small town, and he's dealing with a lot of hurt from past events.  Unfortunately, he falls flat and just feels like he is incapable of making a decision (which seems really out of character for a guy who is high-level military).  The two female friends, Lucy and Karen, are equally problematic.  Karen is downright mean and bitchy. I'm not quite sure why Lucy would stick with her as a friend (maybe it's because it's a small town? maybe because she has her own self-esteem/confidence issues?)  

I feel fairly mixed about Sterling LeGrand-Carney, the narrator.  This is my first book with her narrating.  Some of her cadence seems off, like she's overly aware of pronunciation or struggling with the writing itself.   I also didn't care for her distinction between characters.  To be fair though, it was hard for me to separate the narration from the other issues with the writing.  I would love to hear her read another romance audiobook.