Safe at Home

Warm Springs Trilogy, Book 1

By: Christina Kirby

Narrated by: Maryann Carlson

Driven by fear and desperate to protect her family, Samantha is forced to leave Chicago and everything she's worked to achieve, only to start over by tossing a dart at the map. The Georgia town's folk true Southern charm is the unexpected prescription needed to heal her soul, and the sexy carpenter who touches her heart is a distraction she didn't plan on, but they might offer her a chance at a new life, if she can let go of her past.

Town heartbreaker Spencer Malloy isn't looking for anything serious. His days are perfect working as a contractor, attending his nephew's baseball games, or taking him fishing. He never expects to fall for the big city girl, Samantha. She's not his type, timid and closed off, but in her unguarded moments, he's intrigued by the woman he can't get out of his mind. The urge to get closer to her grows stronger each day, and when the shadow of evil resurfaces, he vows to protect Samantha, even if it means abandoning his home and joining her on the run.

When confronted by the man who's bent on revenge, Samantha must choose between running again to save the people she loves, or, if she has the strength, to stay and fight for her new life.

©2015 Christina Kirby (P)2017 Christina Kirby

Story Possibilities Hidden Behind Narration

Unfortunately, I can’t really comment on Ms Kirby’s writing because it’s hidden behind and under the narration; it’s completely overwhelmed. I tried skipping around different sections and chapters with no respite. To give Ms Kirby her due, I’ll be checking out the book through Kindle Unltd.

While Carlson has a very pleasant voice, which lends itself well to audio; she reads, not narrates. Too many sentences and scenes all run together; then when you think she’s giving you emotions, it ends up being sing song-ey and then there are miscues, where the emotion is missing altogether...? You’re in a different scene, different character; dialogue, then exposition- it’s like trying to watch a scene unfold under a strobe light....
LikeIsaid,runstogether...
Whether the cause was poor reading, editing, or production, it completely distracted me from the story.

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

Sweet and Suspenseful

Loved the suspense aspect, and loved the overall plot of Safe at Home! I love stalker books, and this one was an interesting one. Entertaining story that kept me interested till the very end! Sam has left her old life behind, and is restarting in a small town. An incident happened where she used to live, and because of it, she's in danger. Sam doesn't want to drag anyone else into the mess her life has become, so she's sort of closed off, but when the contractor comes over to help fix up her house, she can't deny the attraction she feels. Spencer and Sam's relationship is a bit of a slow burn, and it's also a sweet one. I liked seeing them grow more intimate with each other. I liked Sam, but I do think with how affected she is by the past, that she would've taken more precautions and figured out certain things quicker. I don't really get why she doesn't call the police when a certain major thing happens, and also why she feels such guilt over the past, since it seems that the events were already in progress, but I suppose it's tough to see straight sometimes. The author actually went pretty intense with some of the scenes, which I was a bit surprised by since the story felt more on the wholesome side at times, but I think the intensity of the scenes helped the suspense element. I listened to the audio book for this story, and the narration was good, but a little robotic and lack a bit of emotion. It's clear though, and the quality is good, so I'd still recommend getting the audio if you could. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to more from Christina Kirby!

Southern

It is a mistake to have a northerner read a book that’s supposed to be taken place in Georgia because they cannot pronounce the cities correctly

Awesome Story

I really enjoyed this romance/mystery! Narration was great. Great story and highly recommend it. I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The fact that I was gifted this book had no influence over my opinion of it.

Really good!

Wow! I was not expecting the suspense/thriller aspect of this romance! Very well written and I didn't want to stop listening to this one. Great story!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The fact that I was gifted this book had no influence over my opinion of it.