Winter Oranges

De: Marie Sexton

Narrado por: Nick J. Russo

Jason Walker is a child star turned teen heartthrob turned reluctant B-movie regular who’s sick of his failing career. So he gives up Hollywood for northern Idaho, far away from the press, the drama of LA, and the best friend he’s secretly been in love with for years.

There’s only one problem with his new life: A strange young man only he can see is haunting his guesthouse. Except Benjamin Ward isn’t a ghost. He’s a man caught out of time, trapped since the Civil War in a magical prison where he can only watch the lives of those around him. He’s also sweet, funny, and cute as hell, with an affinity for cheesy ’80s TV shows. And he’s thrilled to finally have someone to talk to.

But Jason quickly discovers that spending all his time with a man nobody else can see or hear isn’t without its problems—especially when the tabloids find him again and make him front-page news. The local sheriff thinks he’s on drugs, and his best friend thinks he’s crazy. But Jason knows he hasn’t lost his mind. Too bad he can’t say the same thing about his heart.

©2015 Marie Sexton (P)2023 Riptide Publishing

I fell in love...

I fell in love with this book during the first chapter. Ben and Jason were wonderful characters. Their love story was sweet and poignant. This book is beautifully written, and Nick Russo did an excellent job with the narration. Nick captured the essence of each character's emotions perfectly. I laughed. I cried. And I found myself invested in the outcome of the story.

This book has all the feels. I am looking forward to reading more of Marie's books.

Very sweet

An interesting (yet terrifying) idea, someone getting trapped inside of a snow globe. But it works! This is one of my favorite books and the audio version is awesome!

Maybe the best Holiday Audiobook This Year!

When Jason Walker, a B list actor finds himself in a small town “re-thinking his life”, he’s shocked and amazed to find he’s not living alone.

Ben is the boy who “haunts” a snowglobe he finds in the house left by a previous tenant.

Jason, ironically a B list horror film star, is either crazy or Ben is real and a “ghost”.

I don’t want to give away big secrets but I will drop these morsels:
Ben and Jason find a way to “touch” one another
Jason is the only one who can see Ben
Neither knows a way other than death for them to be together in “real life”
This book ends with a delightful HEA

**

I think this may be my favorite Marie Sexton book (after her Coda series). Her writing is gorgeous and evocative and really draws the reader in from the first page.

The way she “solves” the main dilemma is both terrifying and wonderful!

I highly recommend this story to fans of the belief that love conquers all, for people who believe that there are Christmas miracles, to believers in magic and to fans of sweet and sappy romances everywhere!

5 of 5 stars

Audio

Nick J Russo does another amazing job. He’s easy to listen to and really carries the emotion well. My only disappointment was that he didn’t give Ben an “old fashioned” voice or any sort of voice inflection or accent. He sounds just as anyone else would in our day in time and I guess – in a way that makes sense – but I was hoping for something a little different. Just something to remind us that his voice is coming from a music box…

In any case, it was still wonderful and a fantastic way to experience this amazing story!

4.5 of 5 stars

Overall 5 of 5 stars

Pleasant Surprise!

I downloaded this on the strength of its positive reviews, and WOW! I have to admit after reading the synopsis, I was a bit skeptical. I hate all things Hollywood, and I'm not much of a supernatural listener, but this story was so sweet, and so well written, it had me by the heart strings until the end. I remember looking at the time left and couldn't imagine how it would all resolve, but I needn't have feared. Marie Sexton carried this whole thing off with sensitivity and grace. I absolutely loved it.

The narration was great, but unfortunately for me, I'm OCD...and from Idaho. So the whole mispronunciation of Coeur d'Alene and Spokane made my teeth hurt every time, and my OCD couldn't let it go. Certainly not a deal-breaker, just a perfect storm for me that I found irritating.

Overall, I found this listen to be one of the best this year for me, and will likely be an annual thing during the holidays.

Perfect!

Wow! I’m not sure I have the words to describe how perfect this story is. The story is amazing, the characters are amazing, the narration is amazing! It’s sweet and emotional and thrilling and paranormal all at the same time. I kept putting the book off because for some reason I thought it was set in the past but decided it was time to try it now that it’s on audio. I am so glad I gave it a chance and it isn’t set in the past at all (just in case you were wondering that too). I loved this story so much and I bet you will too.

Slow Burn But Worth It

This was a slow burn but so worth the wait. It was recommended to me and I'm very glad it was. The love story between Jason & Ben and the way it developed is so sweet. It is worth reading. Its even better with the audio. Nick J Russo makes it amazing.

A Solid 4 ****

Time travel romances are a favorite trope, and this one has a unique spin.

Safely trapped in a snow globe since the beginning of the Civil War, Ben has accustomed himself to a world of silence.

For 150 years, the snow globe has passed from hand to hand coming to rest on the mantle of a fully furnished home. Jason, an actor from LA, purchased the home as a restful spot from the lack of privacy in Hollywood.

Finding the snow globe, Jason is shocked to see a man there that no one else can see. Learning how to communicate is a challenge.

Nick J Russo brings this tale the spark it deserves.

good story, marred by mispronunciations

Enjoyed it, but the narrator consistently mispronounces Coeur d'Alene (should be core da lane, more or less, not lean) and Spokane (spo-can, not cane), as well as a few other words here and there.

Fun and fluffy

I usually go for darker, grittier fare than Winter Oranges--a good detective story or a supernatural thriller--so it was with some trepidation I began listening to Marie Sexton's novel. So I was pleasantly surprised that I really loved it, once I got past the suspension of disbelief required to enjoy it. Ben is a well-realized character, very likable, and so is Jason, and so (despite an earlier reviewer damning him as one of the worst monsters in all of fiction) is Jason's friend Dylan, who, though he has some character flaws, really only wants what is best for him and reacts the way any normal human would to an unbelievable situation. There's a bit of angst, but it's generally resolved before it causes too much trouble, and things don't really go south until just before the end of the book, when the angst is quickly and decisively vanquished. Again, you have to just go with the ludicrous premise, but if you can do it (and I know you've read crazier stuff), it's so worth it.

I always love Nick J. Russo's narration, and I generally give him five stars, but there are some unforgivable pronunciation mistakes he makes consistently as well as more than a couple instances where the emphasis is on the wrong word in a sentence and makes things briefly unclear. Nothing earth shattering or immersion breaking, but enough that it doesn't exactly deserve five stars from me. However, he manages to emote believably without ever dipping into melodramatics, which is good for a script that could EASILY dip into melodramatics, and I feel confident listing him as one of my favorite audiobook narrators.

enjoyed it

Would I listen to it again: yes
Did the story keep me engaged: reasonably
Was I invested in the characters: mostly

📖 Story comment: easy pace, likeable characters, sweet story.
I enjoyed Winter Oranges, the concept was clever (although I would have liked more background on Ben's sister), I wasn't completely drawn in, but I was invested in the (somewhat predictable) outcome.

Was a good book for a lazy weekend listen, I was able to have it playing while doing other things and didn't lose track of the story.

🎧 Narrator comment: I enjoyed Nick J. Russo narration, he suits the characters, has good cadence, inflections and intonations and it's easy to distinguish the characters from each other. Overall an enjoyable performance and he bought the book to life.

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if I'm in the mood for the narrator • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in multiple formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]
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