Catherine Cowles

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Introduction
Echoes of You is the second installment in the "Lost & Found" series. This is also the most recent release from this author. I had such a blast reading this one. There is something about Catherine Cowles that just completely works for me. I love everything about it and more. If you are fans of Jennifer Ryan, then I highly recommend this author to you, but most especially this series as the level of show more suspense is stronger in this one. Echoes of You is a story that delivers on second chance, friends to lovers, and unrequited love. If you love characters that pine for each other, are brought back together and have a solid friendship from beginning to end....you definitely need this one in your life.

Summary
In Echoes of You, our hero and heroine have been best friends for years since they were kids. The hero, Nash, is part of a big loving family and has always had their support no matter what. He is a bit of a daredevil and gets into all sorts of mischief, and danger and always getting himself hurt but cares so deeply for his community and family and most especially the one friend he won't risk losing. Then we have our heroine, Maddie, who had a very different upbringing. She grew up in a domestic abusive atmosphere. And Nash was her family but she has always wanted more but he has never been open to it. When she left her home and thought she found happiness with someone, she discovered his true motivations, and refused to enter another abusive situation, and returned home as quickly as she could. Now she is in hiding, back home with her only family and someone hunting her, but now their relationship is going to another level, but will Nash embrace what they could have and overcome his fears?

My Outlook
Echoes of You is such a fantastic read. I absolutely was charmed from beginning to end. This is most definitely a romantic suspense but very well balanced with the romance plot of the story. I absolutely loved this one, and love a good friends to lovers. This book is just evidence of why the friends to lovers trope is one of the best out there to read. Catherine Cowles delivers so strongly in this novel. Loved being able to return back to this family, and oh my goodness, all the sibling bantering is absolutely delightful. Then we have the small town aspects of the story. Now this is why small town is so wonderful and poignant to indulge in with. I love the way that the town for the most part really comes together for each other and the way that they support each other.

The actual romance that develops between the two is so captivating. We see the beginning of their relationship when they are in high school and the true tones of their friendship and my goodness my heart immediately melted seeing the type of bond that these two have for each other. Then we have the seperation. The heroine is in a abusive relationship and escapes it to the only family and home she has ever known and in reality she is really coming back to Nash. We see how subconsciously she knows he can protect her and be her safe haven. But man this book had me in all my feels. We see the way in which these two pine for each other and its so captivating. At first we just see the heroine pining for the hero but as the story progresses we see that the hero has always wanted more with Maddie, but as these two learn to let go of their reservations, they really connect on a more romantic level and I absolutely adored seeing this stage in their relationship. I adored everything about this pair here. They just clicked on all the right levels and I became so endeared by the sweet nature of their relationship. I can't wait to see the next one.

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 5
World Building: 5
Cover: 5
Hero: 5
Heroine:5
Steam: 5
Heart & Feels:5
Ending:5
Overall View:5 show less

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Introduction
Whispers of You is the 1st book in the newest series by Catherine Cowles. It was so exciting to get to a new series by this author, I do plan on reading her backlisted books too. But I was stoked to see how quickly she has this series put together. Already the next two books have release dates. So I guarantee that these will pop out quickly. I was able to grab this one in audiobook, and the narrators are show more such a good team, so if you haven’t listened to them before and enjoy audiobooks, I definitely recommend this one the most in audio format if you can afford the credit, Its a super long wait in the library and I just didn’t want to have to wait on that. So Whispers of You is such a wonderful romantic suspense, in fact, in comparison to her previous series, I think this had more suspense flair to it but is still well balanced with the romance. This type of storytelling for romantic suspense, always delivers! Catherine Cowles is a heartwarming author to read, its so magnificent seeing the way she has the characters wrapped around your finger so quickly.

Summary
The story sets off with our hero and heroine, who were once childhood sweethearts. They grew up together with each other’s families, but then when they were 18 years old, Holt and Wren. Wrench was targeted by a group of boys they had gone to school with and Wren barely survived the attack and then Holt left her to pick up the pieces. Now its been nine years, and Holt has returned when his father has a heart attack, but Holt is also ready to reconnect with his family and most especially Wren. Wren is still suffering from PTS from the attack, and she has never fully recovered from losing Holt. But as Holt and Wren are forced back into each other’s bubbles, they realize that what they have is precious and worth fighting for. But as they work to discover who is attacking their neighbors, their past will come back and it will take them working together to defeat this enemy they would never suspect….

My Outlook
This was such a powerful romance and it had me hooked from the very star. I do blame part of this on the narrators, they just made the story come alive. However, what I was really impressed by was the way in which Catherine Cowles put much more focus on the suspense. It felt more romantic suspense than contemporary and I really think that suspense is this author’s talent and I enjoyed seeing her put more focus on this. I am curious to see what this series will truly be revolving around though, if its about the attack, or if it will be a different scenario in each book or if they will connect together. Definitely on board to find out what this author has in store for us. I did love the way that this author implemented the romance and seeing Holt and Wren learn to reconnect with each other. They definitely don’t have a easy time of it that is for sure. The biggest issue that stands in the way of their HEA, is the trust that needs to be rebuilt between them. For Wren she comes to the realization that Holt was just a kid and always loved her but didn’t know how to face that type of trauma. Then we have Holt that has to learn to fight for his girl and do what he can to show her he is there for the long haul. Then another aspect that I truly enjoyed was seeing the way in which these two were all in for each other. The poignant emotion, the raw chemistry and the tender character growth that is so gradually built and only has you wanting more of this type of romance. We also some fun bantering among Holt’s siblings, and I am hoping the series is about this family! I just love and adore them!

Narration
So for this book the narrator team that we were able to indulge in was Andi Arndt and Zachary Webber, and these two are the BEST duo POV team for audio narration that I have ever had the pleasure to read. they just fit so well together and their voices enhance each other. There is a such a way about these talented narrators in the way that they are able to make the characters come alive for the listener. And their narration style is guaranteed to immediately have you hooked into the story and you won’t want to put it down. I know if these two are narrating a story, then the book will at least be a 4 star read, THAT is how talented they are. The way in which they were able to work this book was so superb, I was all over the place in my emotions and they definitely delivered on the authenticity of the story.

Overall View
I found Whispers of You to be an incredible read that I felt deep to the core. Its a story of healing, renewal and overcoming adversity and reconnecting with your soul mate along the way! A delicious romance to SAVOR!

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 5
World Building: 4
Cover: 5
Hero: 4
Heroine: 4
Steam: 5
Heart & Feels: 5
Ending: 5
Overall View: 4.5 show less

I love this author. She writes trauma without it being icky to witness like no one else.

We meet the main character when she's 11 and has just stolen a horse to report to the police that a kidnapped child is being held at her house by her father. She meets the hero because she's the kidnapped child's older brother who was supposed to be watching her. I usually hate when we meet the characters as kids because their dialogue is too advanced but I think it was perfect here. She knew what she show more was there to do and did it despite an officer not believing her at first.

After 15 years or so, she comes back to make the land she's inherited better and isn't exactly welcomed into town by 100% of the population but finds a way to carve a spot for herself. I loved that Hayes' family was so lovely. There are issues because it would be impossible to not have issues with a pile of kids and one got kidnapped as a child but I liked that they didn't force Shiloh (the kidnapped one) to be something she wasn't ready to be. Extroverted or ok with what happened since it's been years. She wasn't ready and they left her to it and I liked it.

I hope terrible things happen to the rest of her family. What a bunch of dangerous psychos. show less

This is the first in a now very sprawling suspense-romance series set in Sparrow Falls. It’s basically a soap opera, but the kind that hits that brain-candy sweet spot where you can’t put it down even while looking critically at the plot. Totally over the top, totally unbelievable, and yet I was so entertained. The writing is solid, and the pace doesn't let up. The characters have just enough quirks and depth to keep things interesting, and the balance between romance and stakes worked show more surprisingly well. It’s not just fluffy fantasy romance, but it also doesn’t tip into the kind of gritty frustration that makes me want to quit it. I’m not sprinting out to buy the entire series, but I might toss a few on hold at the library. I’m… not not invested, you know? You can skip it and be fine, but if you’re in the mood for something addictive and dramatic, it might hit the spot.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the copy ahead of book six! show less