The Five Stages of Falling in Love

By: Rachel Higginson

Narrated by: Christine Marshall

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Elizabeth Carlson is living in the pits of hell - also known as grief. Her husband of eight years, the father of her four children and the love of her life, died from cancer. Grady's prognosis was grim even from the start, but Liz never gave up hope he would survive. How could she, when he was everything to her? Six months later she is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and get the kids to school on time. Both seem impossible. Everything seems impossible these days.

When Ben Tyler moves in next door, she is drowning in sorrow and pain, her children are acting out, and the house is falling apart. She has no time for curious new friends or unwanted help, but Ben gives her both. And he doesn't just want to help her with yard work or cleaning the gutters. Ben wants more from Liz. More than she's capable of ever giving again.

As Liz mourns her dead husband and works her way through the five stages of grief, she finds there's more of her heart to give than she thought possible. And as new love takes hold, she peels away the guilt and heartache and discovers there's more to life than death.

©2015 Rachel Higginson (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

A beautiful story

Would you listen to The Five Stages of Falling in Love again? Why?

Yes, absolutely. It was a great story.

What other book might you compare The Five Stages of Falling in Love to and why?

There are quite a few I would compare it to, but I can't think of specific one right now.

What about Christine Marshall’s performance did you like?

It was done wonderfully.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I enjoyed seeing the character finally accept something wonderful in their life after so much sadness.

Any additional comments?

What a beautiful and heartfelt book. I truly enjoyed reading it and I am looking forward to reading more books from this author. I definitely recommend this story and this author.

Beautiful and heart-warming

This is the story of a woman who has lost the love of her life and has convinced herself that there is no more love for her out there. And then enters Ben who won't seem to leave her alone, helping her out on numerous occasions, working his way into her and her children's lives. I love a character like Liz who are stubborn and self-defeating, someone who tries to be strong and do it all on her own. And Ben is too sweet not to love.

I also loved the concept of this book - taking the five stages of loss/grief and entwining it with falling in love. It's beautifully written that will make you smile and cry all on the same page.

loved it

great book. I really enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading more books from this author in the future.

breathtaking and heartbreaking

This was a beautifully written, we'll developed story about love, loss, encouragement, and redefinement. All the feels went into this story surrounding life-changing moments, tears, laugher, and endearments. I loved this book.

Life after death

Such an enotional story about having to start over after the greatest loss of your life. My heart ached listening to this book I can't even fathom the hurt/ heartbreak that the all went through especially Elizabeth. Not only dealing with heartbreak but also survivors guilt. Good book with all the feels!

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book because I went in blind and I wondered after the first couple chapters if this was going to be a heart breaker but for me it wasn't. Yes there was a lot of sadness but this was more about Liz's strength and process following her husbands death and how even if you don't "get over" a death, you can still move on and be find happy. I liked that this was more about how hard it was for her and her kids to move forward than it was her falling in love again.

The narration wasn't my cup of tea. In the very beginning it was an issue but pretty quickly I got used to her. I think for me she over dramatizes things and makes it sound more like bad acting then real emotions.

emotional roller coaster!

This was not my typical book, however it now may be one of my favorites. This made me cry. Tears of sadnees and of joy!!

Second chance romance

Torn between two men. Elizabeth promised one man her forever, yet the other got her forever. She got a second chance at love even though her heart was not ready to love again. This widowed mother of four struggled to find love again after already having found it once. Not only was Elizabeth going through the five stages of grief she was also dealing with a sexy single neighbor who loved her and her children.

Overall:
Each stage of grief offered the right amount of time to process this step. Elizabeth had a wonderful support system. Her four children were a pleasant read. These kids added an additional layer to this story.

Narrator:
Christine Marshall was the solo performer of this second chance romance. This was my first audiobook by Christine. I purchased this audiobook as a companion to the ebook which I read back in October 2015. I was pleasantly surprised with her performance of all these characters given the tones she used for the children.
Her voice was soft and gentle during Elizabeth’s performance. Ben’s voice while not performed with the masculine tone of a man was still a superb performance.

Sweet and heartfelt

Liz has just lost her husband and soulmate, Grady. And while going to the five stages of grief, her new neighbor, Ben, is not only helping her with her four children but also with healing. But how can Liz grieve when she's also feeling something for Ben?

This story is so good! This is one of those rare books that I can't help but to want to know what's going to happen next.

Liz is such a relatable character! And I'm not even a mom, and I'm not even going through grief. She is so human. The way she explained her feelings, and thoughts were just so relatable! Ben is also such a wonderful character. He is definitely a book crush. But he has a tendency of being a perfect guy. So when the book showed his weak points, it was so good! The minor characters like Liz's kids, and the family members are so good too. They're realistic and I like that they help out Liz along too.

The flow of the story is so well written! This is the reason why I wanted to know what happened next! I just really wanted to see how everything will fall into place.

I read this as an audiobook. I listened to many audiobooks, and I wasn't much of a fan of the narrator. I just felt like the performance fell short for me.

Overall though, I really enjoyed going through Liz's experiences. It was sad, funny, and just all around amazing!

Best yet!

This is the best Rachel Higginson book I’ve read yet! And I’ve loved everything so far. It’s absolutely beautiful! Ben is so perfect.