Treading Water

Treading Water Series, Book 1

By: Marie Force

Narrated by: Holly Fielding

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Love is the last thing on Jack Harrington's mind when he sets out to meet Andi Walsh's flight. Recently back to work after spending more than a year tending to his comatose wife, Jack is focused on getting through each day and caring for his three daughters. However, the moment he sets eyes on Andrea Walsh, the interior designer who has come to decorate the hotel his company is building in Newport, Rhode Island, Jack begins to wonder if Andi might be his second chance. After a disastrous marriage, Andi, single mom to a hearing-impaired son, isn't exactly looking for love, either, but that's what she finds with Jack.

The two embark on a long-distance relationship fraught with challenges as they balance the needs of their children and dueling careers while Jack continues to care for his wife, Clare. Just when Jack thinks his life is once again settled, he is confronted with a new challenge that tests him in ways he never could've imagined, leaving him to wonder if "happily ever after" is in the cards for him.

©2011 HTJB, Inc. (P)2013 HTJB, Inc.

Good story ruined by narration

It's a pity that a good story has been spoilt by the narration

When you cannot tell the gender of who is talking let alone what character it is, combine that with basically an emotionless delivery and its hard to get into what would otherwise be a good book.

As an ebook I would have given this a 3-4

A good narrator should pull you into a book . . .

The art of the blending a good or excellent narrator with the RIGHT good to excellent book to become a much listened to beloved audio book should be a collaboration between the author and publisher.

I struggled to listen to this, even over multiple sessions and I nearly gave up the ghost many times due to the narration.

With a decent narrator I would have given this a much higher score - if fact a good narrator can lift a book to greater heights adding to your enjoyment of and involvement in a book.

Narrator sounded bored with the story. Terrible!

If you could sum up Treading Water in three words, what would they be?

Challenges of life

What did you like best about this story?

The commitment to marriage and yet, being able to love again when things take a dramatic and heartbreaking turn.

What didn’t you like about Holly Fielding’s performance?

Nothing. She sounded bored from the start with the story. It was a challenge to continue listening to her

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

The moment Claire awoke from her coma

Narrator made it really boring. Monotone...

Besides terrible narration the story was really rushed. Could have made for a great story but the speed of the relationship was just not realistic. Character development was kind of non-existent.

AWFUL NARRATION

What disappointed you about Treading Water?

I will never read another book narrated by Ms. Fielding

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The story line was good but....

How did the narrator detract from the book?

She was monotone and breathy you could also hear the mike on and off as well as background noises.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Treading Water?

none

Any additional comments?

no

Good Story - Should be a Lifetime movie

Narration was horrible. Even the sound quality wasn't good. But if you like Marie Force, you'll enjoy the story of Jack, Audi and family.

Awful narration

HATED narration, a breathy want to be sexy voice.... failed.
The story overall was good and narrated by anyone else would have been enjoyable but after just a few hours I couldn't take it any more. I love Marie Force but this narrated is better suited for some other genre/author.

Good story

Any additional comments?

I know I have heard this exact same story before, but Audible says it was just added. Does anyone know of the same exact plot from a different writer? I would definitely recommend this book if I didn't feel robbed.

MIGHT HAVE BEEN BETTER IF I JUST READ IT

This was a "just okay" story ... brought low by the narrator. I usually like Marie Force, but this one just didn't sit well with me.

And I definitely won't be purchasing more of the series. Holly Fielding has gone onto my "never purchase" list. Wow. The entire 9+ hours was done in such a hushed, boring monotone, I had a really hard time focusing my attention on the story. Dreadful.

NOT recommended.

Reader not good

Unfortunately this reader made it difficult to distinguish one character from another. In addition, her sporadic, very audible gasping in breaths were distracting. Reading the rest of the series will be painful.

Better than expected

Treading Water (Treading Water 1) Marie Force/Holly Fielding

This is a difficult book to describe. It's dramatic but not heavy, romantic but not sappy, cute but not comedic. This book is real life but total fiction, romantic fantasy but plausibly realistic. I had this book in my Audible wish list for a couple of years and then kept it in my library for another couple of months before I finally got into it. I had skimmed the reviews and since they were quite mixed, I wasn't sure if I would like it or not and was on the fence about even giving it a listen. This story had a very interesting set of circumstances. It's as if the author had an internal discussion where she tested her belief that infidelity is always wrong by creating a situation in which it would not be wrong at all without demonizing the person being cheated on. I kept waiting for the evidence that Claire wasn't as sainted as everyone thought, but you know, she kind of was. She, Jack and Andi were all just good people. The whole thing was actually pretty awesome. I loved it. The sexual heat factor is around 4-ish on a scale of 1-10.

The Listen: In the recording itself, I noticed some low volume but persistent background white noise which would occasionally abruptly stop and then slowly ease back in which lost a star in performance which should not be attributed to the narrator. Holly Fielding is a totally professional narrator who has good male and female voices and mostly good inflection with just a couple of minor mistakes, including a weird pronunciation of Auld Lang Syne, but no major distractions from the listening experience.

Overall, this is a great escape. While, I'm not sure I would part with a credit for it, I would definitely get it on sale, BUT you don't even have to wait for a sale because this is a total bargain with the Whispersynch Kindle/Audible combo option, currently only a $1.99 total cash investment.

Wow

What an emotionally beautiful story. This book broke my heart. So sad but uplifting too. Once you start you can’t stop reading and listening until you finish. Perfect narration too