The Lovely Return

By: Carian Cole

Narrated by: Brandon Francis, Dani California, Shiloh James

When I was three years old, I started drawing a house with a red door. Next to the house I drew a happy family—a husband, a wife, a baby, and their dog. For years I cried every night, clutching the drawings, begging my mother to take me home to my real family.

I was labeled odd—a child with an overactive imagination. But one day I wandered straight to that house with the red door, and I found the man and the dog.

Alex was quiet. A sexy, brooding artist. A recluse hiding behind an eye patch. A grieving widower, suspended in time, never moving forward.

As I grew up we developed an unlikely friendship, bonding over our love of art. He felt familiar. But as the years passed I found it harder and harder to ignore not only my growing feelings for him, but the odd visions that played through my mind.

Dreams, reality, and sanity began to blur until I came to a startling revelation. I wasn't having visions. I was having memories.

Alex fights our connection, believing I'm off limits. He tries desperately to do what's right—pushing away the one and only thing he's been wishing for.

He was mine, once upon a time, in a prior life. And I'm going to make him mine again.

©2023 Carian Cole (P)2025 Tantor Media

It's Beautiful

Carian Cole delivers another emotionally charged story in The Lovely Return. This book is full of angst, heartbreak, and beautifully raw emotions that pull you in from the very first chapter. The push and pull between the characters is intense and keeps the pages turning, and I found myself completely hooked, unable to put it down.

That said, I do wish the romance had come together a little sooner. The buildup takes almost the entire book, which at times felt frustrating because you’re rooting for them so hard. Still, the slow burn is part of what makes the payoff so satisfying once it happens.

If you’re a fan of deeply emotional, angsty romances that make you feel every high and low along the way, this is definitely a book worth picking up. Even with my small gripe about the pacing, I’d recommend it without hesitation because once you start, you’ll want to see it through to the very end.

Heartwarming and soul consuming!!!

Every moment of this book was narrated to perfection! The story just makes your soul smile. I absolutely love every moment!

Interesting story!

I loved this story. I had some questions, about if there were two spirits inside the fmc. But the story explains stuff in the end. The narrators were excellent.

Perfection

This is my second review in over 1000 books.- And that says it all: I loved every second of it and as there were only 2 hours left I dreaded the end of the story as I've fallen in love with the characters and didn't want to loos them. Carian has this uncanny ability to bring characters to life and no matter their flaws or situations - you will have nothing but understanding for their actions and you can't help but falling in love with them and their unique storys. This is perfection, Carian. Congratulations!

Same goes for the narrators: Perfection. Thank you for bringing this book to life.

The narrators were excellent story tellers!

This was an amazing book. Every time I stopped listening, I couldn’t wait to get back to it. This book had me from the first chapter all the way to the last. I need to find another audible book that holds my attention like this one did.

Unique Age Gap Love Story

Beautiful, emotional storytelling of a love story in the most unique way. I have never read a book with this reincarnation theme. I had some many feelings throughout the journey. But in the end from the prologue to the epilogue, this story tied everything up into the most beautiful bow!

2nd chance, reincarnation romance

Great story! Very slow burn, a little repetitive but overall the love story was very sweet. I wish that we could see the Alex and Penny together and happy more.

This was amazing

What can you say about a book about reincarnation? What can you say about a Carian Cole book? There aren’t enough words to explain how much this book broke me in the best ways. I will gladly cry all the tears from a Carian Cole book and this one hurts the best! Brandon Francis as Fox is wonderful. He brings a softness to this character that could be all hard edges but he is a broken man who is still lost and trying to find himself. Then Dani California was Laura Rose was wonderful as well this is a character that at first when I read it I didn’t like very much however Dani made me see her in a different light. Then Shiloh James makes Penny a wonderfully beautiful FMC and I loved every minute! You NEED to read this one.

Amazing!

What an amazing book! The story goes deep in your soul and stays there until the very end. I highly recommend all of her books.

Everything about this book is amazing!

I loved everything! A wonderful thought provoking story! The real world of mental health medication was written by someone who actually knows the feelings!