“All I know is that I love you. I’ve loved you my whole life. This is where I belong. This is home.”Tomboy Cam belongs to football hero, Jake. After all, he announced she was coming before Cam’s mama even knew she was pregnant. And now, whether they’re out at the lake listening to crickets, or in the tree house counting stars, they’re always together. All Cam needs is him at her side. Even when … All Cam needs is him at her side. Even when he drives her crazy flirting with the girls that chase after him like he’s some boy band star, she never wants to be without him. It’s like she isn’t quite herself until somehow their day brings them next to each other again.
But what happens when they grow up, and it isn’t just the three years that separates them that’s slowly tearing at the fabric of them?
What happens when it’s the illness he hides that’s threatening everything?
What happens when he kisses her and leaves?
How will Cam came ever find where she truly belongs?
Inspired by Taylor Swift songs, comes the AWARD-WINNING novel about aching love and loss and learning to live again.
The first novel in an interconnected, standalone series.
“Love is messy, it’s raw & imperfect…this novel shows that real love is worth all the fuss.” – Amazon Reviewer
“LJ Evans is a master storyteller.” – Dreamland Book Blog
“A beautiful tale of young love and adult heartache.” – Goodreads Reviewer
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This is the first audiobook that has made me ugly cry, seriously, big fat tears running down my face, red eyes, everything….I just got so sucked into the story and love the characters so much that what happened just got to me. In fact I’m not sure how I’m going to cope now that it’s finished.
Sarah Puckett has a beautiful voice and her accent suited this book really well. I felt so comfortable listening to her and settled into the book straight away. I would happily listen to her again.
When the story started my heart stopped and I thought that I had somehow missed the whole thing (listen to it and you’ll see what I mean). That foreknowledge of what was going to happen made me listen with an ache in my heart. That’s never happened to me before. And strangely it didn’t affect my enjoyment, it almost enhanced it somewhat. The characters are so realistic I really love them. I did happen to guess the ending, but it was more a hope I had than a definite knowledge. This is a really good book, just have some tissues ready.
If you’re looking for a tear-jerker, check out My Life as a Country Album by LJ Evans.
My Life as a Country Album is a heart-breakingly beautiful story that you will not be able to get off your mind. This story consumed me and I listened to it all in one go. I really could not put it down.
This young adult novel is the story of Cami and Jake and their life together from childhood, as narrated by Cami and from her point of view. It was inspired by Taylor Swift songs and every chapter was titled after a country song followed by one or two of the song lines relevant to the chapter.
This is a story about friendship, love, and loss, a coming of age novel that will evoke a range of intense emotions from you. From the start I loved these characters. They were so likable and you became invested in their story in no time. A story that was so well-written, you felt each and every emotion the characters were going through. I’ve never had a book affect me as much as this novel did. This story broke me. I could not stop crying. But then it made me smile and gave me a HEA ending I did not expect but was so overjoyed to get.
I listened to the audible version of this novel. It was narrated by Sarah Puckett whose voice perfectly suited this story. She was able to shift from one character to the next effortlessly, was able to capture the emotions of the characters with ease and she really brought the story to life.
This gut-wrenching novel was captivating and unforgettable. I was a phenomenal read and I would give it 10 stars if possible. I loved it and would highly recommend it.
A Beautiful Love Story & Great Listen!
my life as a country album (my life as an album)
By: LJ Evans
Narrated by: Sarah Puckett
Wow, LJ Evans writes and gives us an amazing & moving story, filled with love, friendship, laughs, drama, finding oneself, losing oneself and learning to live again. Great character development and storylines. I thought the leads, Cami & Jake, and their special relationship was awesome, as are many of the secondary characters. This is a beautiful that tugs at your heart, I highly recommend reading it & listening to the Audiobook. Do have tissues handy! LJ Evans, that you for this great story
I listened to the Audible edition, the narrator, Sarah Puckett delivers a superb performance!! She is a natural talent, it was like she was the lead character telling her story, you can hear & feel the raw emotion in her voice which enhanced this great story even more. Sarah Puckett, thank you for another great listen!! You are a star!!
Thank you AudiobookObsession
I don’t even know where to begin with this review. I think Sarah did an amazing job narrating this story and bringing so much life and depth to these characters I was part of their story. She made the transition between the characters so easy to listen to and such a pleasure to listen to.
This story — WOW!!!! These characters and their story were so well written. I knew my heart was about to be ripped apart and every chapter I stated had me wondering if this was it. Truly this story is one of the most beautiful love stories and while for sure it ripped out my heart and left me ugly crying LJ Evans found a way to put me back together. I found the author did an amazing job providing the back story and just the flow of the story was the right way to be done. She hooks you in and just won’t let you go. This was my first book by this author and I am so excited to read more.
I don’t even know where to begin with this book. The writing is so spot on, the characters so real, and the emotions tangible. Ms. Evans does a fabulous job telling Cam’s story. Being more of a tomboy than a girly girl, I could really relate to Cam’s character. She and Jake were pretty much inseparable since the day she was born, and her heart always belonged to Jake. Even her mother admits that Cam always belonged more to Jake than her own parents. Their journey bring out all the emotions: friendship, anger, jealousy, love, and loss.
I listened to this book and the narrator did a fabulous job bringing the story to life. I was totally pulled into the story. I won’t say it’s a happy story, because parts are break your heart sad. I will however say it is a realistic story. I laughed, I was angry at the stupidity of some of the characters, and I cried, which is something I rarely do when reading or listening to a book. I highly recommend this well crafted beautiful story of life and young love
I can see why this won an award. Even though the story moved a little slowly for me in the beginning, it is so well-written and captivating I couldn’t do anything but continue. I was caught up in the beauty of love, family and friendship.
With poignant detail, Cam recounts her story and life with Jake – the boy she grew up with and who stole her young heart. We get a first row seat to the teenage angst, heartbreak but utterly deep love and connection they share. It was warm and fuzzy but sad and hard too. But isn’t that what good storytelling is supposed to do? I say yes to all the feels.
I gotta be honest. I’m not much of a Taylor Swift fan, but the lyrics and chapter headings were perfect. It added another layer to the already moving and unique story. This is definitely a page turner and well worth the read.
I absolutely loved this book and being a fan of country music it didn’t disappoint. Cam and Jake have the love one hopes to find in their lifetime.
Audio Review:
my life as a Country album (my life as a country album book one) will tug at the heart. A poignant and exquisite coming of age novel of achy love and loss and learning to live through life in all its pain and glory. Tears will fall & tissues highly needed every time you listen to this lyric allegory as you will relisten as to keep Cam & Jake in your heart always. Cam & Jake’s love ballad is brimming with angst, agony, family, friendships, and love. I love that each Chapter begins with a song title that represents that chapter. The writing style is apple pie. A narative that is unparagoned & worthy of a writing reward as this novel goes above and beyond. No novel has ever came close to what I felt and still feel after listening to this beautiful ya love story.
Sarah Puckett is my absolute favourite female narrator. Her southern accent is smooth & sweet, with a perfect pace and tone. Her male voice is impeccable. The melody was flawless and the whole performance was perfect. This narrator brings all the angst and take to heart to life.
A audiobook that I highly recommend listening to this audiobook as it is more than just a listen.
I hope this authors other books are turned into audiobooks and narated by Sarah Puckett.
My Life as a Country Album is probably my most favorite book I’ve read this year (and I’ve read 109 books so far). I think that the idea to take songs from a music artist, and then in your own creative storytelling, model each chapter from each song, is impressively unique. Evans was able to create this amazing love story that was able to pull a wide variety of emotions from the reader (aka me) but I’m quite sure, you too.
She starts us off with Cam recounting her life story to the love of her life Jake and she is honest about every facet, and I believe it’s that honesty that draws us in. She tells of how Jake pretty much willed her into existence, just for him, and then we read the deep intertwining of their lives from day one. Cam loved Jake from before she even knew what that kind of love really was, and as she is so fond of calling Jake “idiot”, it took him a while to realize it. She idolized him, a “god among men”, and he took his role as her protector very seriously.
The 3 year age difference is a lot when your young, and Cam is there through all of Jake’s relationships, from middle school on. Some of the girlfriends merely tolerated her, while others did their best to get her out of his life. But none of them succeeded, because deep down, there was really only one woman for Jake, he just needed her to develop into one.
I don’t want to say too much else about the book because it would be riddled with spoilers. But I will say that at one point I started crying, and every time I thought the tears would stop, Evans wrote something else that started the waterfall of tears all over again. I hurt right along with the characters, and that happens to me so rarely in a book, the storyline is just-that-good.
Even this morning when I was finishing up, I was moved to happy tears, and my family thinks I’m being a bit too emotional, but I just keep telling them they need to read the book. I loved My Life as a Country Album. The characters and storyline were wonderful, the unique way the story is told is brilliant. And the reader gets all this with the author’s first book. I have a paperback copy of her next book “My Life as a Pop Album” and I cannot wait to start it. Well done Ms. Evans.
Audio Review: My Life as a Country Album (My Life as an Album) by: LJ Evans (Author), Sarah Puckett (Narrator)
Evans supplied the words. Puckett gave the melody. My Life as a Country Album reminds me why I love to read romance. Cam and Jake are a mixture of angst, youth and sentiment. Against the backdrop of some of my favorite songs, Evans has created a beautiful tale of young love and adult heartache. The maturity level reads so far above young adult. This is a story that goes far beyond words and speaks to the heart.
You have to read these books!
I loved the characters, but I must admit, it took me until almost half way to really get into the book. I also feel this had to be my problem, not the author’s because everyone that recommended it to me absolutely loved it and could not put it down. I don’t usually take 5 days to read a book of this length. This was a lovely love story, a tear jerker and an education of diabetes all wrapped into one. True friendships made to last a lifetime were made and teenage angst was prevalent. I enjoyed the music relating to each chapter and felt this helped readers relate.
Can’t wait to give #2 a try.
WOW!! I absolutely LOVED listening to this audiobook by LJ Evans & narrated by Sarah Puckett. Sarah is a FANASTIC narrator! I was mesmerized with this story from the very beginning. Holy hell…the friendship, love, heartbreak & life of Cam & Jake. I related a lot to Cam as a child. I was a tomboy, headstrong & gave my parents hell growing up. This book had me laughing constantly & then bawling my eyes out. While I truly didn’t ‘see’ the plottwists of Jake & Blake coming, I have to say that I LOVED how well it was written. The connection, understanding, the knowing and the never forgetting or replacing. I truly can’t find the right words to describe the last 5-6 chapters. It pulled at my heartstrings & I didn’t want the story to end. My best friend, Sharon, lost her husband after a double transplant (kidney & pancreas) a week after his transplant surgery. The night before he was to be discharged he suffered multiple strokes and Sharon had to make the agonizing decision to take Mitch off life support after no brain activity was found. Mitch was diagnosed at 5 y/o with diabetes. So, Jake’s battle brought back all those memories from Nov/Dec 2004 and it probably hit me so much harder because I pushed my emotions down back then to be strong for Sharon & their daughter, Miranda (who was 9). So, while I grieved Mitch all those years ago, I grieved him all over again yesterday in a good way. It was truly cathartic & healing in so many ways, so for that, THANK YOU, LJ!! You have a way of reaching deep into my soul and making me go thru ALL the emotions with your words. I love the way you use song lyrics within your books. It makes me hear those songs in a completely different light. Just like anytime I hear Mercy Me’s “I Can Only Imagine” or Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up” it brings back all the great memories of the 8 years Mitch was in my life. I can’t wait to read/listen to more books by LJ Evans.
Poignant, gorgeously written and performed, a book which works in so many emotional levels without once falling into cliche or sentimentality, My life as a Country Album will stay with me for a long time. It is rare that I will ever read/listen to a story that guarantees my tears, but, for this book I made an exception and I am so glad I did.
I have to commend Sarah Puckett. Her narration is just wonderful. She captures the character of Cam as she talks to Jake. I felt his silent presence so totally and loved every minute of the unveiling of this story.
I read this book out of order, so I already knew what was going to happen. That is unusual for me, I am a little OCD when it comes to book order. But I listened to the audio of My Life as a Pop album and i knew I needed to know about Cam and Jake. I also knew it was going to hurt, like really hurt, like sitting alone in my apartment hugging my dog and bawling like a baby hurt. I am happy to say I was right on both counts. Sarah Puckett is an amazing narrator, and I consistently forgot that i was only listening to one person read this book. I usually give five stars to books I plan to re read, and I am not sure that I can handle going through the heartbreak again. That being said I know this book is going to stick with me for a long long time. These characters feel so real and I am so glad that LJ Evans told their story through Taylor Swift songs. When i listen to T.Swift now, i know i will think of Cami.