Odekirk

An Excellent Book To *Sigh* Over!

I know I will read this story again and again. It has all of the makings of the perfect romance with characters the reader wants to know. This romantic tale takes Hannah Kent back to Summerhaven, a place she spent her childhood summers with the Jennings brothers. She remembers Damon as the older brother who cut her hair and teased her mercilessly. Hannah and Oliver made a childhood promise to wed when they got older. But, Oliver has also changed. Hannah tries show more to rediscover the childhood Oliver she remembers in this somewhat adult version of him…

This is my first audiobook by Noah Wall and I find her an exceptional listen. She narrates this story with ease. Her portrayal of the Jennings brothers is stellar, in that she captures their differences well and brings their story to life.

This book is suitable for teens and older with no inappropriate intimate scenes and no bad language. show less

A sweet, gentle story about how perspective can change from childhood to adulthood.
Hannah Kent spent many happy days as a child with the family of her mother's best friend at their estate called Summerhaven. She had all sorts of adventures with Oliver, whom she planned to marry one day, and Damon, who was always getting on her wrong side.
Now that she's grown, she hasn't seen either of them for many years, but she's confident that the childhood promises she and Oliver made to each other will show more hold firm. So when she's invited to spend the summer with the family, it comes as a real shock to her that Oliver doesn't seem nearly as invested in their future as she is.
Meanwhile, Damon offers to enact a pretend courtship with Hannah. He says he's tired of being pressured to marry, and she's scrounging for any way to jolt Oliver to his senses. But the more time Hannah spends with Damon, the more she questions how fake this ruse really is, and even whether there might not be another perspective on her old memories of him.

This story drew me in and kept me reading past bedtime! Damon was a very appealing character and I enjoyed the changing view of their childhood memories from both Hannah's and Damon's perspective. There were a couple of pivotal scenes where Hannah starts to see him differently that were beautifully written. (The piano scene! The river scene! The cottage scene! They were so good!)

Although first-person narration is not my favorite, I got wrapped up into the story and just wanted to find out what would happen next. There were a few jarring anachronisms, like the characters' use of the word "okay," but they were relatively few and far between.

Thanks to Covenant Communications and NetGalley for this digital review copy! show less