The Stuff that Never Happened

A Novel

By: Maddie Dawson

Narrated by: Teri Clark Linden

Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

What if you were married to someone for 28 years but in love with another? What if you were in love with them both? 

Annabelle McKay knows she shouldn’t have any complaints. She’s been in a stable marriage that’s lasted almost three decades and has provided her with two wonderful children, thousands of family dinners around a sturdy oak table, and a husband so devoted that he schedules lovemaking into his calendar every Wednesday morning. Other wives envy the fact that Grant is not the type of man who would ever cheat on her or leave her for a younger woman. The trouble is Annabelle isn’t sure she wants to be married to Grant anymore. The trouble is she’s still in love with someone else. 

In the early tumultuous years of her marriage, Annabelle carried on a clandestine affair with the one person whose betrayal would hurt her husband the most. When it ended, she and Grant found their way back together and made a pact that they would never speak of that time again. But now years later, with her children grown and gone, and an ominous distance opening between them, she can’t help but remember those glorious, passionate days and wonder if she chose the right man. 

Then, when called to New York City to help care for her pregnant daughter, Annabelle bumps into her old lover. Offered a second chance at an unforgettable love, she must decide between the man who possesses her heart and the husband who has stood squarely by her side.

©2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Don’t pass this one up.

Beautiful. Heartbreaking. A real love story. I couldn’t have loved this book more. 10 stars.

Boring reader

I'm not a fan of the narrator's voice. She's very glat and bland. Great author, but boring book.

My second book by Maddie Dawson

I loved this story so much! Such real characters and all likable….well, almost all of them. Definitely worth the listen.

Horrible reader

This book would have been so much more enjoyable if it were read by someone else, or even if I were to have read it myself. This reader’s inflections and delivery sounded flat and almost computer-like. I will not purchase another Audible book read by this reader.

So boring

The book screamed middle-class privilege this woman complained about a great life and about a man who loves her I had to push through it and in the end decided it wasn’t worth it and changed the book

Good book

A good fast past story. The performance lacked inflection at times as if it was merely being read without emotion.

The Best!

This is the best audio book I've ever listened to! I laughed and cried...I loved it!

A performer can ruin the entire story

So many people noted that the performer for this audiobook was good that I fell for it. I am two hours in, the story hasn't grabbed me yet, but the performer has ruined any chance that it will with this version of the book. She reads 50% of the lead character's sentences with an upward lilt, which is such a female chiche and pulls me right out of the story. so that last sentence would read: she reads 50% of the lead character's sentence with an upWARD liLT?? and pulls me tight out of the stoRY?? What a shame.

Update. Thinking maybe I was in a bad mood when I started listening, I gave it another try. It turns out that it's worse than I imagined. It's like nails on a chalkboard. I wonder if the story is any good. Wish I had bought the book. Three hours and 36 minutes of torture, and I have to stop.