Over the Fence

By: Melanie Moreland

Narrated by: John Lane, Tatiana Sokolov

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

Two neighbors - strangers - with one thing in common: they share a fence. But is that the only thing they share? Nathan Fraser lives a solitary life, never letting anyone get too close. It's safer that way. Kourtney Whyte hides from the world and behind her work, too afraid to really live her life to the fullest. Rejection is what she knows best. But one night, the sound of her soft voice and the tantalizing aroma of her evening meal prove too enticing for Nathan to ignore. So begins their unconventional relationship - talking, learning, texting, and gradually opening up to one another, all over the fence. That is, until the day Nathan braves the high fence to protect Kourtney from her past, and changes everything forever. Can they move forward together, without the buffer of the fence? Or will their pasts prove to be too much of a barrier? Contains mature themes.

©2015 Melanie Moreland (P)2017 Tantor

Mixed review

When I think about this audiobook, I will forever think of it fondly and will most likely listen to it again at some point.

Melanie Moreland took such a simple idea of neighbors meeting over the fence and added so many interesting layers that I just loved it. There was drama, hot romance, humor, action, sweet love... so much good.

The part that I had took issue with was the main female character. I can understand not having self confidence and, after having it beat into your head your whole life, having a hard time believing differently when you meet someone who sees you as you truly are. However, a good 1/4 of the book was repetitive in nature with this theme. I think it could have been dealt with once and then we could have moved on. To have it be such a prominent theme of the book when there was so many other amazing things going on, it felt redundant and disingenuous.

That being said, it's totally worth a listen. I sped it up to 1.25 through the middle when it was lagging but after 3/4 of the way through, I was completely hooked again and couldn't wait to finish. I especially appreciated the epilogue with the texts seeing as that was their beginning. It was so sweet and funny.

John Lane and Tatiana Sokolov both were fantastic. My only issue is with John Lane and his penchant to pronounce the -ES at the end of a word like -IES. For example; messages was messagies. And it was like that for every -ES word and it absolutely drove me batty. Take that away and I really enjoyed both of their performances.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

I'm nuts for GNat and his ChefGirl!

When I saw the cover of this book, I sort of thought it was going to be a cute RomCom. And although there is definitely plenty of humor, I was pleasantly surprised to find so much depth and emotion in this story.

Nathan and Kourtney are neighbors who get to know each other from across a tall fence. Without seeing each other or meeting in person until Nathan has to jump to Kourtney's defense.

"I could hear the emotion behind her words. Why was she so overwhelmed by a simple gesture of kindness? She handed them out to me daily without even thinking."

Kourtney seems painfully shy, but underneath her shyness is so much hurt and pain. As I read and got to know her story, I realized how amazingly strong and resilient she really is. And when Nathan needs to lean on her, Kourtney's true strength comes to the surface.

"I’m amazed how giving and loving you are; how selfless you are to those you don’t even know. It’s so instinctive with you. You’re exactly what I need.”

I loved Nathan's quiet protectiveness and caring. He didn't need to be aggressive to prove his alpha male-ness. He supported Kourtney and guided her, to help her see her own worth.

*"Nuts. You are still nuts."

**"About you—yes, I still am. Always will be. I love you, Chefgirl."

*"I’m so lucky."

I borrowed this book with my Kindle Unlimited subscription and then added the audiobook upgrade, so I was able to switch back and forth between reading on my ereader and listening to the audiobook. I loved this awesome book and completely enjoyed the great narration!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Never give up

4.5 star Review Over The Fence by Melanie Moreland

This was a beautiful love story. Neighbours Nat and Kourtney have a fence between them that seems insurmountable, until one day it isn’t.

Both Nat and Kourtney are strong characters whom I found easy to relate too and very likeable. Kourtney has little to no self esteem and although Nat has his own demons he is focused on helping Kourtney. I really fell hard and fast for Nat and my heart just about broke for Kourtney on occasion.

As a conversation over the fence morphs into texting (and some of them were funny) then more, it was heart warming to see the confidence build in Kourtney but can she fully trust Nat?

When Nat jumps the fence to protect Kourtney, everything changes. Can they forge a path and move forward together or will their pasts keep them apart?

The contract

I love this book , I now have read all of your books ,the book that just came out on the 19 of September I
Got it thank you ,I love that audible,I came listen to them and rest my eyes.

ADORABLE STORY

Where does Over the Fence rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

CUTE STORY AND WRITTEN WELL. I LOVE ALL MELANIE MORELANDS BOOKS! ANOTHER GREAT ONE! SUPER ADORABLE!

AWSOME STORY

I love this story and can't get enough of it. I lost count of how many times I have read the book an love that I can listen to it now too.

Mediocre Love Story

What would have made Over the Fence better?

This book had a slow plot and whiny, overwrought characters. There was so much repetition that the audiobook become droning.

Which scene was your favorite?

The first third of this book was great and I was engaged in the story. Once the characters meet, it goes downhill. Nathan becomes obsessive and stalker-ish from that moment forward.

Any additional comments?

I can't understand how this book has such a high rating on most review sites. It's slow-moving with cheesy dialogue. This book is drivel.

Very unique storyline!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I love Melanie Moreland's writing. Her "thing" seems to be two wounded and scared souls protecting each other once they find one another. It's charming, and her prose is very good - you can picture scenes she paints with her words. I liked that this hero and heroine are not the dashing dramatically good looking couple on romance novel covers. He's a tall, lanky "ginger" which is a rare hero type guy in one of these books... and she is a "curvy girl" who wears size 16-18 and has two different color eyes... their personalities and kindness to one another is the real winner here.

What other book might you compare Over the Fence to and why?

Her other books are similar themes. All of hers.

What does John Lane and Tatiana Sokolov bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

John Layne's attitude and smarmy sense of delivery was perfect for Nathan. Tatisana's timidity was good for Courtney... aka chef girl.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. It was intriguing!

A very sweet story

Would you listen to Over the Fence again? Why?

I would listen to it again and probably will at some point. It's a very sweet story about 2 people who have their own very deeply embedded hang ups and past and how they help each other overcome those obstacles. The story moved along at a nice pace; I wasn't tempted to move on to another audio books as I do with ones that become stagnate

Have you listened to any of John Lane and Tatiana Sokolov ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I tend to listen to audio books with duel artists or a solo female artist. I've very familiar with Tatiana Sokolov and she never disappoints. This book was primarily John Lane - 95%, whom I've not listened to before. Had I known that going in, I probably would have passed and that would have been a huge shame. John has an amazing voice - in fact, I would rate him up there with Sebastian York (whom I love). It's deep baritone which makes me all squishy inside. He's female voice is not the sickly over the top that male artist sometimes do. He projected emotion that was very believable. Great work from both artists!

My cheeks hurt from smiling!

Over The Fence is a wonderful story told with heart, humor and hotness!!! I love Melanie Moreland's writing - she brings such great stories to life. My cheeks literally hurt from smiling at the character's banter. I highly recommend this story!!

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Over the fence

This was a wonderful love story!
I loved every minute of it.
The readers were exceptional John Lane and Tatiana Sokolov. If you are looking for an emotional story with a happy ending this is the one.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Disappointed

Didn’t really go anywhere. Disappointing slow and monotone. Several chapters just sex. Okay if that gets you going 😳