The Accidentals

By: Sarina Bowen

Narrated by: Kate Rudd

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

Never ask a question unless you’re sure you want the truth.

I’ve been listening to my father sing for my whole life. I carry him in my pocket on my MP3 player. It’s just that we’ve never met face to face.

My mother would never tell me how I came to be, or why my rock star father and I have never met. I thought it was her only secret. I was wrong. 

When she dies, he finally appears. Suddenly I have a first-class ticket into my father’s exclusive world. A world I don’t want any part of - not at this cost. 

Only three things keep me going: my a cappella singing group, a swoony blue-eyed boy named Jake, and the burning questions in my soul. There’s a secret shame that comes from being an unwanted child. It drags me down, and puts distance between me and the boy I love. 

My father is the only one alive who knows my history. I need the truth, even if it scares me.

©2018 Sarina Bowen (P)2018 Sarina Bowen

🌟🌟 5 Stars 🌟🌟

Oh Sarina Bowen knows how to pull on all my heart strings! I loved this book! I really liked Rachel, she is such a realistic character but she is pretty quiet and most of her emotions are locked tight on the inside! She goes with the flow and she doesn't really have great communication skills but hey she is young and her life was completely upended. I felt like she was a character I connected with from almost the first page. While I did enjoy the love story, I have to say the relationship between Rachel and Freddy is the best part of this book for me but that's because it hits home a little and I loved hearing their relationship grow. I especially loved that Freddie didn't just all of a sudden change, he had his set backs which made him real to me. This is a beautiful story about love, loss and a new overdue connection.

The narration was great! Kate Rudd is an awesome narrator and she not only give them all their own voices, does great with the accents but she also brings the characters to life and pulls you into the story completely!

Where Everything Wrong Turns Right

This is such an incredibly heartfelt and wonderful YA coming of age story. Even though I read the ebook, listening to the story made the emotions and moments so much more powerful. This is the first title I have listened to narrated by Kate Rudd, but I really enjoyed it. She performed male and female voices very well and was able to switch seamlessly between youthful teenagers and adults. My favorite voice was definitely Rachel's roommate, Aurora. I did find the pacing of her narration a little slow overall, however, so I did end up listening to this title at 1.25x.

What I loved most about The Accidentals, is that it's such a relatable story. The situations and challenges may not be the same, but the emotions and feelings will resonate with readers/listeners. Haven't we all felt lost and confused? Angry and overwhelmed? Wanting all the answers, but scared of the answers we seek? This book is a love story, but not just in a romantic way. It is also a love story between parent and child, between friends - new and old, and to those we call family - by blood or by choice. The beauty of this book is that each character is so wonderfully human. They make mistakes and horrible decisions. They're sometimes selfish and clueless. They hurt others when that's the last thing they want. What makes these characters endearing though is that they get back up and keep trying. They may not get it right the first time (or the 20th), but they don't give up. Add in a wonderful cast of secondary characters (loved Jake, Ernie, and Aurora!) and you've got something pretty darn close to perfect.

The relationship between Frederick and Rachel evolved through the entire book in such an honest and realistic way. Both had their lives flipped upside down and irrevocably altered so quickly. When we first meet them, there is so much baggage from the past and a minefield of questions and secrets they have to wade through. I loved seeing both characters grow, change, and mature. Hard truths had to be faced and yes, there were some heartbreaking moments as the past and present came together. Through it all though, Sarina Bowen weaves a tale of hope. Hope that where everything wrong turns right. Can't recommend this title enough!

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

A great mix of NA romance and family

Sarina Bowen is an automatic buy for me so I have had this audio in my library for a long time without listening to it. The Accidentals was unlike the sports romance books that I have grown accustomed to from Sarina Bowen, but man did it tug on the heart strings just like all her other books! This is an amazing coming of age book that follows Rachel as she navigates life after losing her mother, meeting her famous dad for the first time and moves away from the only people she’s ever known. I felt so much emotion when it came to Fredrick and Rachel, there were times when I hated Fredrick for his previous lack of interest, times when I wanted to cry for everything Rachel went through while idolizing her missing dad, but also times when I wanted to shake Rachel and tell her to put Fredrick in his place! The journey was rough for them, but I was so happy with their moment of honesty (finally!) and where they ended up at the end. The side characters were great, I loved the new friends Rachel made at school… I wish I would have had Aurora as a college roommate! Her friends and college life were typical of New Adult romance books with a little angsty love triangle thrown in.

Kate Rudd did a great job narrating this story. She did take a little while for me to get used to, I kept thinking she was yawning when speaking as Rachel’s mom… which would in turn cause me to yawn (maybe that was caused by listening while working the third shift). By the end I loved her portrayal and voice as Rachel, she had a deeper voice than some and it worked well with her character.

Amazing story

The Accidentals was my first Sarina Bowen story and I absolutely loved it. I was hooked from start to finish and was totally engrossed in the story. This YA novel was told from Rachael's POV as we see her struggle with getting to know her absentee father. It will tug at your heartstrings and give you all the feels.
I loved all the characters in this story. All flawed in some way or the other the all were endearing and fully supported each other.
This book was Narrated by Kate Rudd who did a fabulous job of portraying the different characters, most especially Aurora. I loved it and would highly recommend it.

Five Stars....and more if I could give them!

I love all of Sarina Bowen's books and this was right up there among my favorites. Her characters are wonderful and so real. I loved Rachel and her Dad and how they find their way together. I also loved and appreciated the relationship Rachel had with Jake and how well Sarina handled their more intimate moments. Sarina set a good example for young female readers for how things should go at that age. It was mature, but also realistic, and provided just the right amount of information. I'd feel comfortable letting my 14 year old read it. The characters face problems and situations that seem very organic and not manufactured to up the angst. One of my pet peeves is characters making poor decisions simply to drive the plot, and that never happens in Sarina's books. The story had a very satisfying ending, and yet I still wanted more, more, more! I wasn't ready to let these characters go, which is the highest compliment I can give. Kate Rudd was an excellent narrator.

Anti-climactic

Going in, I knew this would be an angsty book, but I was left feeling like there was no resolution.

semi spoiler - -

She never ended up actually communicating with her father, really, and I don't feel like he redeemed himself particularly. Very rushed ending


If I had known this would leave me with unresolved frustration I would not have bothered purchasing this book. The only reason I'm giving two stars is that I did care about the main character, and did finish the book, which is not always the case when books anger me. ...Though I kept listening because I thought satisfying resolutions would happen before the end. Maybe this will be a series or something, but I won't bother with any subsequent books even if so

The kind of book that's easy to love.

By turns sweet, sad, and kind of messy (like all families are), this book is a musical adventure about learning how to love, taking people off of pedestals, and finding family. A gorgeous read.

Loved this

I enjoyed this book and the narration was perfect for the story. Sarina Bowen always creates excellent characters you care about. This is marketed as young adult but I' m way past that age. Very enjoyable.

The Accidentals

I have no words for this book it is utterly heartbreaking and mending as well. Another book I couldn’t stop listening to I stayed up late listening because I couldn’t stop.

I am not going to review the book's content because I am sure everyone already has. I am going to review how I feel about it.

At first, I was saddened you feel her pain, her frustration and hurt. Then you feel her utter sense of loss from the person she is to who and what she is. She doesn’t know how to express any of this and you feel that.

I felt that and it not only made me connect to her but want to be her friend.
You also feel for the other major character in this story and how he feels and his sense of hopelessness but his sense of wanting to do what is right. Even what was right before wasn’t, that might not make sense if you haven’t read the book and that is ok. Maybe I intrigued you enough to want to pick it up for yourself because for real now people this book is meant to be read.

I loved loved Kate Rudd’s performance she does an outstanding job I am in awe of her and her talent she is well I don’t have the right words to describe her.

An Elfster Gift

I received this in paperback just yesterday as an elfster gift in a book group. I thought it sounded amazing so being an audiobook lover I immediately pulled up audible to see if it was there. It was! So I started listening to it right then and I just finished it today....not even 24 hours later. OMG I loved it!!! What an amazing story. I felt the emotion. The narrator did an amazing job! I can't wait to listen to some other books written by this author.

WOW!!!!

Wow, this was such a great listen. This is a story about a father and daughter navigating a relationship that should and is in certain ways fraught with difficulties, but coming out the other side of it for the better.

For a debut into YA, this is definitely worth spending a credit on and I personally can't wait for Sarina Bowen to write more in this genre.

Kate Rudd did a great job narrating and bringing the story to life.

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Five stars across the board - I loved it

A wonderful young adult read following 17 year old Rachel as she is thrown into a new life with a rockstar father she doesn’t know. As well as dealing with the death of her mother and the lack of a relationship with her father she also has to deal with all the drama that comes with being a teenage girl - school, college, friendships, and of course boys. Told entirely from Rachel’s perspective I was totally inside her mindset, I understood her fears, her desires and her mistakes. Her friendships are strong, which says a lot about her character. The relationship between her and her father is strained to say the least, but I so admired Frederick for finally manning up and trying to become the father she deserved. An emotional read that kept me engrossed from the first chapter. A beautiful coming of age drama with a far from perfect father who it seems is also dealing with becoming an adult, proving that it’s never too late to do the right thing. A perfect five star read with a couple of added twists. The audio version of this book proved to be one of my favourites so far this year. Kate Rudd is a new narrator to me and one I will definitely be looking out for in future audios. Five stars across the board.

Loved it!

Fabulous story which mingles grief, joy and the quest to find yourself, beautifully narrated by Kate Rudd. Excellent all round 💖💖💖💖💖

5 Accidental Stars

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Accidental stars

WOW!!!!

I listened to this bad boy all in one sitting, and i loved every single guitar picking second of it!

Rachel has always known that she had a famous father, her mother told her when she was very young, however she never told her any of the important information, like how they met, or stories about him.
The only thing she knew is that her father didn't want her, and her mother didn't like him, or men in general for that matter!

This unfortunately fuels Rachel's fire and she uses this as a weapon against her mother by downloading all of his tracks, and putting posters of her father on her bedroom walls.

Rachel has never met, seen, or spoken to her father, but after her mother dies she has the chance of moving out of the Social Services children's home, and moving in with her father, who turns up to meet, and claim her.

This story takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions, from the sweet grin that you give when she exchanges emails with Jake .......*swoon* to the fist pump in the air when she decides that maybe Freddie isn't a complete douchebag after all!

I love the fact that Freddie didn't turn into "superdad" all of a sudden and he had his fair share of f*ck ups, and i love the relationship between Haze & Rachel (Could be Hayes, not sure of spelling as on audio)

Considering this is the authors first step into YA she did a brilliant job made it seem like it's her normal genre, for anyone that's read any of Sarina Bowen's other books you would know that it isn't 😉

🎧🎧 Narrated by the always awesome and talented Kate Rudd, this book was brilliantly narrated and I would recommend it to anyone.

This one is well worth a credit get ready for those feels.

Vicci

let your song play

Wow a new author to me and I absolutely loved listening to this audio book! When Rachel's mum passes away she finally meets the dad she never knew, well the one she didn't know other than by articles and music videos and cds, but second chances aren't always easy and Freddy has ALOT of making up to do , with 2 new friends aurora and Jake can she finally learn to let her song play
Can't wait to read/listen to more of this authors and narrator's work

The narrator captured the characters and the story perfectly !

Good book

This is very different to Sarina Bowen’s other books. It’s more about a father and daughter developing a relationship after not being in each other’s lives throughout her childhood. There’s a light side romance too which is quite sweet, but nothing like Sarina’s other books. It’s a pretty sad and lonely listen for a lot of the book, and although it comes good in the end I still have a lingering feeling of dissatisfaction and feeling her sense of loss and abandonment. Well written, and I enjoyed it, but don’t listen to it if you’re after a romance book. It’s more of a coming of age and healing relationships story.