Shelly Hastings Suhr

WOW! An AMAZING FIVE STAR Story!

Reviewed: 12-17-23

WOW.

Just...WOW.

I don't even know where to start with this story. If there was any doubt at all that Mia Sheridan could write a romantic thriller, All the Little Raindrops should dispel those. I was fully pulled into this story almost immediately. It was dark and twisted and thrilling - and I was desperate to know how everything was going to play out.

On top of that? The narrators were absolute perfection. There was a moment relatively early on in the story where it was crystal clear to me that the absolute perfect narrators had been chosen to tell this story. They added an extra layer to the whole thing and I'm honestly not sure if my reader experience would have been so all-encompassing if i had read it rather than listened to it. The audio experience was absolutely amazing and it held me in thrall from start to finish.

I sometimes find that I lose patience with romantic thrillers - I'm so hungry for the romance and I'm not patient enough to deal with anything that detracts from that. That wasn't so in this case. I was wholly invested in every aspect of this story and completely satisfied with how it resolved. This was AMAZING. An effortless five stars. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

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Emotional masterpiece...

Reviewed: 01-08-20

Wow. Just. Wow.

There were moments Over the course of this story when I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it to the end. The emotions got INTENSE for a while and my heart hurt so much even as my head recognized the authenticity of...everything. The characters and the insanely powerful emotions that poured out of them were written with such honesty and realness that it felt like I was part of their story. And that HURT sometimes.

Particularly Clara, who was written in such a perfectly real teenager voice - in the most ugly and most beautiful ways. As a mom, my heart cracked wide open for her. As a reader I wanted to give her a good shake. She was all of us, in our most heartbroken and insecure moments, and I’m not sure I’m ever going to get over that.

And Morgan - oof. I’m hurting even thinking back over the course of her character arc. In the face of such unimaginable awfulness, I admired her fire, even as I wanted to knock her and Clara's heads together. But I felt her. I loved her. I rooted for her.

So complex!

You see what I’m saying? These characters and this storyline are so wonderfully, awfully complex. Ms. Hoover doesn’t shy away from the hard hits, and the tarnish that life puts on all of us.

But I didn’t start crying until she made them shine again.

It's not all heartache and sadness. There's a brutal beauty tucked into these pages and as much as I hurt for these characters, my heart fluttered for them too. I smiled so hard. I even swooned! It was sometimes so hard to listen to, but it was always impossible to step away. And I haven't even touched on the romance and all the butterflies and happy tears that were delivered!

Regretting You is an emotional masterpiece. Bubble wrap your heart and dive on in. Worth it. 100%.

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My favorite of the series so far!

Reviewed: 12-12-19

Honestly, I thought I was over M/M romance books.

It's been so long since I connected with one, I felt like maybe they just weren't going to work for me anymore.

Nope. The problem was that none of them have been crafted with the perfect balance of heat and heartfelt emotion like this one. This, folks, is why Sarina Bowen is one of my very favorite authors. Even when I think I'm not going to like it, it winds up knocking my socks off.

I didn't just like it. I loved it. This is perhaps my favorite book in this series so far. The story was compelling and addictive and packed full of the sort of angst and emotion that I can never get enough of. I ADORED Graham and Rikker. I loved how multi-layered their characters were and how their relationship was so complex. I loved how Ms. Bowen didn't give me two characters consumed by their sexual attraction to each other. She went deeper than that. She gave me so much more. And I ate it up like I've been starving for it forever and - maybe I just have been.

The narration was perfect. The storytelling was top notch. This was just pure audio bliss and I can't wait to dive back in for the next one.

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Emotionally twisty and perfectly compelling

Reviewed: 12-06-19

GAH!

This book completely had me at a loss. I felt like I knew what to expect going on, but I did NOT expect this. It was so much more emotionally complex than I was expecting. Interesting. Compelling. And I loved it so much!

Bridger and Scarlett were so multi-layered and so heartbreaking and yet somehow so beautifully inspiring that it was impossible not to love them. I was gutted over their situations, my heart hurt for them. But I adored how they cared for each other and how their story ultimately played out.

So good! So emotionally twisty. Utterly unputdownable. Definitely worth the listen!

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Deliciously Addictive!

Reviewed: 12-02-19

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to start this series. Sarina Bowen is one of my favorite authors, and sports romance is one of my favorite tropes, so it’s a no brainer that I loved this story.

It was deliciously addictive, this brand of NA angst is so wonderfully dramatic, tugging at my feels as it fills my belly with butterflies. There are elements of this story that I shouldn’t have loved, things that I would normally say are deal-breakers for me, but something about the way this was written - the smart, compelling storytelling - kept me hooked and loving it the entire way.

The narration is great. The male voice occasionally took me aback, but not to the extent that I couldn’t enjoy the book. This is a completely solid first in a series and I cannot wait to dive back in for more!

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All the stars!

Reviewed: 11-21-19

Wow.

Just...~wow~.

This book is not for the faint of heart. I am emotionally wrecked right now. I cannot think of a single emotion that went untouched. From horrified to heartbroken to hopeful - and now, I sit here with the closing credits rolling, my heart so full of sweetness I don't even know how to handle it.

Just.
Wow.

This book was an ~experience~. And not always a pleasant one. I had to take breaks and walk away. I wanted to stop, and yet the storytelling was so masterful and compelling that I couldn't. I needed more. I needed the whole story. And I am so glad I stuck with it because y'all - this story was ~so important~.

This is the best and the worst of real life.

This was authentic, gritty, raw and Ms. Ryan spared no punches. But it was also just stunning in its beauty, in its portrayal of the strength and resilience of a broken heroine. In its depiction of a hero so steadfast and true that my heart won't ever let him go.

The narration was flawless. These narrators became the characters and I think it amplified the high emotion of the book all the more to hear it play out. This was perfect casting and an incredible audio experience.

My God y'all, what else can I say? This book was simply phenomenal and while I still feel like the pieces of my heart are mending after all the ways it was shattered, I could not be more glad to have taken this journey with Iris and August. So many stars. All the stars. Read this book. ~ 5+++ stars

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1 person found this helpful

Compelling and emotional!

Reviewed: 09-24-19

Holy moly this was good. I couldn’t believe how quickly I was sucked in, and held captive by this compelling, emotional storyline. It was shocking at first, then heartbreaking for a bit, before finally becoming this lovely, adorable, sexy, heartwarming tale.

If there’s one niggling complaint, it’s that it got a little too caught up in the sexy times sometimes. I felt like some of that could have been pared down without sacrificing the overall sexiness of the book. But it certainly took nothing away from the emotional impact of the story, or the way my heart bubbles over with happiness in the end.

Narration is fantastic, and this was a fantastic audio experience. Definitely recommend!

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Absolute gold! Romantic comedy perfection!

Reviewed: 09-18-19

Oh holy crap. Where do I even start? This book was pure delight. Pure goodness. Absolute gold, romantic comedy perfection.

As a born & raised, "ope" and "uffda" uttering, card carrying Minnesotan I was utterly charmed by -- well, everything about this story, I adored these characters and their quirks and their adorable (unbiased opinion) accents SO MUCH. They were ADORABLE. And likable. And the storyline maybe should have felt over-the-top sometimes, but that's not how it came off. It was just hilarious.

Laugh out loud hilarious.

People looking at me funny while I belly laugh in my car while listening -- hilarious.

And the narration?

Y'all, I liked Andi Arndt just fine before. But this? This was next level. She was phenomenal. She was the absolute perfect narrator for this book and I have a whole new appreciation and respect for her. She was so amazing.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It was a complete joy. Romantic and witty and wholly engaging - I cannot recommend this highly enough!

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Addictive

Reviewed: 08-23-19

This right here is some deliciously naughty, addictingly angst you stuff. I wasn’t always sure I was on board with how the story was progressing, but I was completely unable to stop listening nonetheless. It’s a bit of a wild ride, a little dark, a little scandalous, but it left me hungry for more and dying to know where things go from here!

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Emotionally satisfying

Reviewed: 08-15-19

I am powerless to resist a love story between two beautiful, broken souls. There’s something about the way love heals that’s just so satisfying to read, and River Wild delivered all those feels so generously.

I loved this story. It’s a little tough to stomach at first, but then quickly setting into a hopeful, adorable, romantic feel.

This was a good listen, my heart is a little wrung out (there was a moment in the end where I was braced to throw my phone across the room in anger, but it passed and it was all okay), but it’s full and happy to have spent this time with Carrie and River!

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