Nothing to Lose

A Lesbian Romance

By: Clare Lydon

Narrated by: Gabrielle Baker

Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Nobody would ever describe Scarlet Williams as a ray of sunshine, but that doesn’t mean she deserves the flood that wipes out her basement flat, making her temporarily homeless. Enter Joy Hudson, local mayor & sunshine specialist, who opens her house to flood refugees and ends up with Scarlet on her doorstep. Two more opposing characters you couldn’t fail to meet, and yet, somehow, they strike up a friendship. But when the rain stops and the sun comes out, could that friendship blossom into something more?

©2017 Clare Lydon (P)2017 Clare Lydon

Enjoyable, sweet story

I read the ebook last year and I was gifted the audiobook. I was asked but not required to review the audiobook.

When I read the ebook I gave it 3 stars (average, liked the book). Today for the audiobook, I'm giving it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. I really liked the characters - pessimistic Scarlet; Joy, the Mayor who recently embraced that she is a lesbian, but not out publicly; Joy's grandmother Clementine, who says what needs to be said, and Scarlet's football buddies Matt and Eamonn, whom I don't think Scarlet appreciated what true friends they were before the flood.

Most of the book takes place within one week - starting Scarlett fleeing her home just before the flood waters wipe out her basement apartment. She fandangles to stay at the Mayor's house (rather than at the community center) while they wait for the waters to recede. During that week, she and Joy become good friends then more than just friends with predicable angst along the way that is eventually resolved - after all this is a romance with the requisite HEA. As the flood waters receded, so does Scarlet's pessimistic attitude due mostly to her friendship with Joy.

The narrator, Gabrielle Baker does a fine job with the various voices and accents. As an American, I can't comment on the authenticity. The one quibble I have is that she has a slight lisp that was distracting. I thought it was just me, but I found other reviewers who also mentioned her lisp. I guess some listeners don't hear it or it doesn't bother them. Your mileage may vary.

Sweet story

Where does Nothing to Lose rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's in the top 10.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The grandmother because I liked her acceptance of Joys sexuality

Which scene was your favorite?

I think the scence where Scarlet sees her flat for the first time since the flood was absolutely heartbreaking but very well written

Any additional comments?

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Wowzer

Great voice that added to the story, listened at regular speed, ha.

Really enjoyed the dynamic of Lyndon's characters. Refreshing. Looking forward to future projects! Oh and Thank You!!!

Excellent Audio!

I loved Nothing to Lose by Clare Lydon. I really enjoyed Scarlet and Joy. It is nice to stumble on someone in life who will give you a hand up or just hold your hand during a rough time. Gabrielle Baker does an excellent job with the narration.

slow start

I started it and stop.... it warm up after I decided to take it on and listen. I like the suttle humor and the reference to classic lesbian tv show and movies.... just beautiful.

Enjoyable book!

Great book. This was a first time read from this author and I found it pleasantly surprising. While I initially hesitated with the plot, it turned out to be a great story. Highly recommended if you're looking for a light romance.!

Predictable but a sweet tale

This was a very well written book and easy to follow along. I don't think enough time was logically taken for Joy to come around. Having been in both their positions, the story moved too fast to be really real. I've never encountered a situation that fixed itself with such ease and speed but it was mostly believable and truly a LOVE STORY.

Charming romance

I really liked this story it was a charming romance that started with a life altering event they turned into a heartwarming love story

Sweet story of finding oneself

A very sweet romance about finding happiness amid disaster. The story starts off rather depressing but hang in there because the turn around is worth it.

Memorable characters and a wonderful set of side characters, friends and as is typical with Lydon a great sense of the location.

Fantastic narration and great audio quality. A worthwhile addition to any audio library.

More like a pity party for the ultra pessimist

Spoiler Alert. I got about half way into the book and just couldn't proceed any further. The book is literally set around one event, a flood, and stays focused on the effect the flood has on the town, which wasnt even much. The main character is extremely dramatic, super pessimistic, negative and just plain pathetic. I literally spent half this book listening to her complain about how she lost her things, which she expressed she really didn't even care about in the first place. All the while, all this could have been avoided if she had not been neglectful in renewing her flood insurance. Really? Who lives in a basement flat near a river and chooses to delay getting flood insurance. Honestly it makes it extremely hard to feel sorry for her. I mean yeah she had a tough life but come on... The relationship between the Mayor and the main character doesnt make any sense what so ever. Why would a strong successfull woman, who runs business being a life coach, want anything to do with a middle aged woman who has commitment issues, cant do something as important as get flood insurance when she lives on an island, and cant have a conversation without shoving an unessecary pessimistic comment in. I think the author expects us to suspend reality all the way towards the dysfunctionally unrealistic. I won't be finishing this book. Money wasted.

Throughly enjoyed this audio book by Clare Lyndon.

Where do I start!
Although a little slow to start, once the two main characters meet, Scarlet and Joy, things soon became clear that this book was indeed a worthy listen.
I found it very wholesome, is that the word?
The characters, normal down to earth people. Refreshing that you don’t have to be CEO of a huge company and be dripping with wealth.
The British humour also was a very welcome touch, the banter between the two main characters brought a smile to my face more than once.
The love scenes were breathtaking, Gabrielle Baker truly bringing the characters to life.
The story also reflected part of my own life having only come out in my forties. Knowing that feeling of being true to oneself and having no option but to change course, with consequences that you know are going to hurt people you love. The feeling of excitement but also the very daunting life changing passage one has to take to become who you really are.
Also my ex is called Steve and like Joy we are
good friends.
Ok, rambling over.
Listen to this book, it’s a bloody good story, you won’t be disappointed.

A beautiful story from the amazing Clare Lydon!

When the town floods and Scarlett's flat is deluged by water she ends up homeless and in despair. Life hasn't been great for her for a while but this is the final straw. She ends up living in the house of the local mayor Joy, a closeted lesbian, while her home gets dried out. Their attraction is powerful and being together brings huge changes to both of their lives. Can they ever be more than friends? Will love win out?
Clare Lydon writes the most beautiful love stories, filled with humour, wit and romance. She is also the most skilled creator of the hottest sex scenes imaginable. One in particular is epic and hearing it read out in the sultry tones of Gabrielle Baker made it even better. This was a tale of hope and the realisation that sometimes what appears to be the worst day of your life might turn out to be the best. I adored this audio book and highly recommend it.

Another hit from Clare Lydon

Scarlet has no real life to speak of, after the loss of her parents a relationship break up. Work and home for Scarlet.
Then she gets notice to leave her flat as it is about to flood!
With only a bag and her guitar she is left homeless.
This is how Scarlet finds herself at Joy’s. Joy is the town’s Mayor who opens her house to some of the flood victims. From the start you can feel the chemistry between the two women.
Can they both overcome the hurdles they believe are there?
One who needs to see that sometimes life is good and another who has to learn to be herself with the whole town watching.
Clare yet again has written a great book with characters that we can all relate too. There is something of all of us in Clare’s characters. It is brilliant to read a book that has great British comedy timing. A sharp wit in characters always brings me further into the book.
Love has a way of finding you when all it seems is lost.
This was actually my first time at listening to an audio book. I was very pleasantly surprised at how I was drawn into the story. The narrator had excellent timing and her accents worked well with the different characters. I am now pretty hooked on audio books.

Everything to gain...

I've reviewed Nothing To Lose before after reading the book and I really enjoyed it. To now hear it so brilliantly narrated has been a pleasure, bringing the characters to life and seeing them differently in my head. This is my first audio book and I highly recommend it.

Enjoyable!

I found the narration excellent. The story was engaging and positive. Definitely worth a listen.

A lovely listen, a bit mushy for me but nice story

A nice story, a bit too mushy for me, but I really liked the story and characters.

Not up to what I expect from Clare Lydon

Not up to the standard I have come expect from Clare Lydon but guess it's an early novel because the writing is quite clunky at times.
The narrator, unfortunately, makes this production far worse than it need be. Her delivery is very uneven and compounded by reading painfully slowly much of the time. , losing the intonation that gives meaning and feeling to spoken word audio. This narrator is not suited to getting audio narrative across and certainly not to improving one that is not very well written.

Very nice and positive lesbian story

I really loved the book. I listened to it late in the evening before I got to bed. Unlike many other lesbian stories, this one was a very positive one and avoided all the bad cliches. The narrator has a very soothing voice and rhythm and even changed accents depending on the character she was reading! We need more books like this.

Could Get Beyond First Chapter

I couldn't really rate the story as I couldn't even finish chapter one. Dreadful narration. Almost robotic in nature. Just awful.

Poor performance and okay-ish storyline.

The narrator sounded like a newsreader and the story should've ended 10 chapters ago.