Sweetbriar Cottage

By: Denise Hunter

Narrated by: Julie Carr

Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

When Noah and Josephine discover their divorce was never actually finalized, their lives are turned upside down.

Following his divorce, Noah gave up his dream job and settled at a remote horse ranch in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Northern Georgia, putting much-needed distance between himself and the former love of his life. But then Noah gets a letter from the IRS claiming he and Josephine are still married. When he confronts Josephine, they discover that she missed the final step in filing the paperwork and they are, in fact, still married.

Josephine is no happier about the news than Noah. Maybe the failed marriage - and botched divorce - was her fault, but her heart was shattered right alongside his, more than he would ever believe. The sooner they put this marriage behind them, the better for both of their sakes.

But when Josephine delivers the final paperwork to his ranch, the two become stranded in his cottage during the worst spring snowstorm in a decade. Being trapped with Josephine is a test of Noah's endurance. He wrestles with resentment and an unmistakable pull to his wife - still beautiful, still brave, and still more intriguing than any woman he's ever known.

As they find themselves confronted with each other and their shared past, old wounds surface, and tempers flare. But when they are forced out into the storm, they must rely on each other in a way they never have before. Josephine finally opens up about her tragic past, and Noah realizes she's never been loved unconditionally by anyone - including him. Will Noah accept the challenge to pursue Josephine's heart? And can she finally find the courage to trust Noah?

©2017 Denise Hunter (P)2017 Thomas Nelson Publishers

Critic Reviews

" Sweetbriar Cottage is a story to fall in love with. True-to-life characters, high stakes, and powerful chemistry blend to tell an emotional story of reconciliation." (Brenda Novak, New York Times best-selling author)

" Sweetbriar Cottage is a wonderful story, full of emotional tension and evocative prose." (Francine Rivers, New York Times best-selling author of Redeeming Love)

struggled to finish

Narrator is monotone and very difficult to listen to. I almost quit listening in the first chapter. But the storyline was good enough that I suffered through the who book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Listened in One Day!

Really kept my attention! I don't understand all the complaints about the narrator. She was fine! Listen to the sample. That's what you get. The only reason I marked her down a bit was at times I couldn't distinguish the male voice from the female so I didn't know who was talking. Other than that, she wasn't annoying or anything. I will listen to this book again. Loved it!

A wonderful story of love and growth!

Sweetbriar Cottage follows a couple who find out that their divorce, 18 months ago, was never filed with the court. It weaves the story of Josephine and Noah and how they handle this information. Josie has some very bad baggage that she kept secret. This story is a real page-turner. The narration is excellent, too. Highly recommend!!!

Tedious

I made it about half way and decided my time is too precious to waste any more of it on this book. The story drags and it's made so much worse by the awful narration. A big 'Miss' for me.

I cried...

The story was good. Excellent actually. The narrator was a drag though. I haven’t cried in a long time, especially while reading a book. Well, I cried and cried toward the end of the book. When that happens I have to say awesome job!

I listened to this book almost in one sitting.

I loved the message that is woven throughout this book. You will not regret getting it.

Great book! Worth listening again!

Gifted writer... very clean, wholesome book even though one of the main characters has a less than wholesome past. The writer really knows how to bring characters to life and keep readers wanting the next page. The book has a very strong message of showing others love and compassion, even when they don't seem worthy because sometimes that's the time when they need it the most. The writer also does a great job of showing the consequences one girl suffers after being abused and neglected by family, then taunted and ridiculed by her high school peers. Although these things happened in her past, they continue to haunt her and cause her to feel unworthy of her husband's love. She in turn does something awful without understanding why and wrecks her marriage. It takes God and some pretty extreme circumstances to begin putting the pieces of her life back together. I rarely read a book twice, but I expect I will be reading this one again in the very near future. Definitely a keeper! I will look for more by this author.

Great story, but...

I think it's great how the author teaches about the psychological effects of childhood abuse into adult hood. So many of us need to be more aware, and to look past people's facades. Try to understand the why of their behaviour instead of just focusing on it. However it seemed it lacked a little something and I can't explain what. Depth maybe? A bit typical some of the events? Where I come from a 4 wheels drive with good tires cud go anywhere snow, ice or whatever... I thot that was a little weak, and maybe a teeny bit focused on the physical. Otherwise a great book!

Loved it

This is the first book I've read by this author, it was great. It shows you that love can conquer all. The narration was very well done. If you haven't read this book I highly recommend it

I loved this story!

Would you consider the audio edition of Sweetbriar Cottage to be better than the print version?

I always prefer to read a print version of a book but lately haven't had the time. Fortunately, with the audio books I can work at my desk while listening to a great story.

What other book might you compare Sweetbriar Cottage to and why?

I have loved all the Denise Hunter books I have read especially "Driftwood Summer" Her characters are real and she draws you in to the story.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Julie Carr?

I felt the narrator went too fast at first and the tone didn't seem accurate to what she was reading, but as the book went on it was better and I was so involved in the story I didn't care any more about the performance being perfect.

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

I listened to this story in 2 days and really enjoyed it.

Any additional comments?

I felt Denise handled the background story in the perfect way. There was enough detail to understand the characters but not too much to make the story hard to read.