When We Were Worthy

By: Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Narrated by: Joshilyn Jackson

Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

A win brought them together, but loss may tear them apart.

When the sound of sirens cuts through a cool fall night, the small town of Worthy, Georgia, hurtles from triumph to tragedy. Just hours before, they'd watched the Wildcats score a winning touchdown. Now, they're faced with the deaths of three cheerleaders - their promising lives cut short in a fatal crash. And the boy in the other car - the only one to survive - is believed to be at fault. As rumors begin to fly and accusations spin, allegiances form and long-kept secrets emerge.

At the center of the whirlwind are four women, each grappling with loss, regret, shame, and lies: Marglyn, a grieving mother; Darcy, whose son had been behind the wheel; Ava, a substitute teacher with a scandalous secret; and Leah, a cheerleader who should have been in the car with her friends, but wasn't. If the truth comes out, will it bring redemption - or will it be their downfall?

©2017 Marybeth Mayhew Whalen. (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

The narration was not worthy!

This was my first book by this author and I think unfortunately the narrator ruined it for me. It was supposed to be remnant of big little lies but I think it read more like a young adult novel. It was predictable about where the football player and one of the girls was gonna come in to play as well. I also felt they didn’t need all these other concurrent stories running which is probably where the big little lies comparison comes in.

Wow. Loved it!

I absolutely loved this novel told from the perspectives of two adult women and one teen. All these stories blended together seamlessly to let us in on life in a small southern town, where football IS a religion.

I will be reading/listening to more from this author.

Narration killed it

Couldn’t get past the first ten minutes. I tried. I was excited to read the book.

Great performance

I love Joshilyn Jackson books and was excited to stumble over something she narrated. The story was good and surprisingly similar in style to what Joshilyn writes. If you are a Joshilyn Jackson fan, dive in, this one’s good!

GREAT BOOK!!

This is a GREAT BOOK! I thought it was going to be good when I listened to the sample, and I was not disappointed. I was hesitant to take a chance since there are quite a few negative reviews. I’m glad I ignored them!

This book is very well written with a number of themes occurring simultaneously including untimely teenage deaths, privileged “jocks” acting despicably (and almost getting away with it), the role of extreme peer pressure and the repercussions of such, young love, family pressures, etc. It was humorous and poignant, as well as deeply emotional and quite sad at times. Really, what is there not to like??!

In addition to all of the above, the narrator was absolutely terrific! I love, love, loved her southern accent and listening to her was a real treat!! I realize this narrator is an author as well and I have several of her books on my ‘to listen to’ list.

I was able to listen to this book for free with my Kindle Unlimited subscription but I just might buy it outright the next time it is offered on sale. I will do this on occasion, but only with books that I think are particularly outstanding, and I really believe that this one is! Definitely one I would like to keep in my personal library to have and listen to again and, maybe even again, and again!

Another Author I Will Look Out For

I stumbled across this book because I was checking for any books I may have missed by Joshilyn Jackson, one of my favorite authors. She narrates her own novels and I love to listen to her. I was so surprised to see some negative things said about her performance, I love the way she brings out the quirkiness in the characters she is reading about. I had never heard of Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, but Ms. Jackson as narrator was enough to sell me on giving it a try. I’m so glad I did. Besides the great performance, the book was wonderful. Great characters and a story that kept me interested from beginning to end. I hope to hear more from the two of them again.

Great story but...

I loved the story about a small town and how the lives of four townspeople intertwine and are affected by a deadly car accident. However, I hated the fake southern accent put on by the narrator. Her normal voice was fine.

Great story!

The narration and writing are top notch! So glad I read this book by an author new to me!

Surprisingly Good

I wasn't sure if I would find it engaging but the surprising turn of events as I read, kept me engaged! Stories within stories made me pay attention to the details even more

Long and drawn out

Story was OK, but took too long to unfold. Narration was not the best for my taste. I would have returned if it was not a free book.