It was the story of their lives…Ellie Chambers had always wanted to be a writer, ever since she could remember. Now she was a successful thriller author, although it had come at a price. Two prices, actually. The first was the fallout from a hastily-signed (and horrible) contract with Margo Rollings, the Publisher Who Wouldn’t Die. And the second was Sam Price, her former writing partner and … partner and almost-fiance.
Sam Price had dreamed of being the next Hemingway, not the hack ghost writer behind the popular “Lottie Long” cozy mystery series. But days spent with his dad as a sought-after finish carpenter in quaint Golden Grove, Iowa gave him little time for much else. And now an unforeseen catastrophe in the form of Margo Rollings, his former publisher, has left him with the ultimate lose-lose proposition: Write another book with Ellie or face a ruined career.
Can Ellie and Sam put aside their differences in order to save their careers? Or is there something even more important between them worth saving?
If you love clean romances, don’t miss this sweet and sunny story!
more
This book was a middle of the road read for me.
The plot itself wasn’t bad. Throw two writers who used to be writing partners, as well as in a relationship, back together due to the fine print in a contract. It’s interesting concept. But things just got a little too muddled for me. I could have used more character growth and definitely more for the romance. So much time was spent dealing with the situation the characters were in, the romance wasn’t really developed. And then all of the sudden they’re engaged… it didn’t work for me.
The real let down was the narration. I haven’t listened to anything by Ms Li before. I appreciate that she moderated her voice to differentiate between the characters. But the pacing (or maybe editing) was just off. There weren’t any sort of good breaks between scenes. I was thrown multiple times when the scene or POV changed and there wasn’t a pause to help with the switch. And outside of some emotion within the dialog, the rest of the narration was too emotion-less for my tastes. I wanted more feeling.
I was given a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
Write By Your Side (A Small Town Sweet Romance)
Golden Grove Series, Book 2
By: D. J. Van Oss
Narrated by: Kathleen Li
Write by your side is a wonderful second chance at love. DJ Van Oss has written a small town romance, with the introduction to a few characters. This book features Sam and Ellie. These two were college sweethearts, each had big dreams and together they were going to write. Their breakup was not easy, and the two lost touch, each having their own career path. Ellie is now a successful thriller writer, and Sam does ghost writing for a mystery series. But circumstances have brought them together again and they are forced to write one more book together. Will they be able to set aside their past to create a new story? This is a fun and enjoyable look at a second chance at love. These two have so much history, that at each corner, there is another memory. I love how they try to collaborate, and their final decision of what to publish! And all while building their relationship again. It’s sweet and warm, just making your heart feel good.
Kathleen Li does a beautiful job with her narration. She even includes a little singing! Her voice has a warmth that feels like coming home when she narrates. It’s soothing and easy to listen to. She easily switches between characters, has a good pace and gives a wonderful performance to this story.
https://adbl.co/32Q50wX
EllieSam! Great Story & Audible Listen Enjoyable & Fun!
Write By Your Side (A Small Town Sweet Romance)
Golden Grove Series, Book 2
By: D. J. Van Oss
Narrated by: Kathleen Li
This is a sweet second chance romance! The storylines are interesting and they held my attention from start to end. The characters are likable and well developed. Sam and Ellie had dreams of becoming successful authors, they were a couple and wrote several books together. They had a contract to write 4 books with a conniving publisher, Margo Rollings but the company folded after their third book. Sadly, their relationship did not survive their differences in opinions and the pressure of success. Ellie continued writing and had several books published, Sam became a ghost writer for a well known author, never finishing his own novel. Four years later Margo Rollings contacts them telling them they owe her one book, if they do not fulfill their contract it could ruin their reputation and they would have to pay Margo $100G. So they team back up to write the novel their contract requires. I liked how it all played out, the two worked well together, got over their animosity of breaking up. They realized their issues with each other, their differences and what made them love each other in the first place. They came up with a great idea for a book, it was hysterical but their plan did not go as expected. I recommend this book for a fun and entertaining read and/or listen there is plenty of drama, humor, a tad of angst and some sweet romance. D.J. Van Oss, thank you for this great story.
I listened to the Audible edition, Kathleen Li is a wonderful narrator and voice performer. She brought these characters to life, gave each their own voice and personality. She did a great job projecting the emotions of the characters and the drama of the story into her performance. She is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for this great listen