Ruby Audiobook By Ann Hood cover art

Ruby

A Novel

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Ruby

By: Ann Hood
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
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About this listen

A grieving young widow and a pregnant teenager find an uncommon friendship in a luminous, deeply moving novel.

After a college student speeding in a blue Honda Civic kills her husband of less than a year, Olivia is completely lost. One hot summer day, she walks into the beachfront Rhode Island cottage she and David bought the previous August—the place where they had planned to someday start a family—and finds a stranger sitting at her kitchen table.

Pregnant fifteen-year-old Ruby is looking for a safe haven for herself and her baby-to-be. Olivia takes her in, desperate to assuage her grief through human connection, even with a troubled teenager. But Ruby has something else that Olivia wants. When she agrees to let Olivia adopt her unborn child, Olivia’s life begins to change in ways she never imagined.

A story of love, loss, and unexpected friendship, Ruby introduces two women who help each other move on with their lives in a world where there are no easy answers.

©1999 Ann Hood (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Family Life Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Feel-Good
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What listeners say about Ruby

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beautiful book

Ms Hood development of characters in unparalleled I. modern writers. I do not look forward to the day when I have I havefinishe. I all of her books !

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Worth listening

Would you listen to Ruby again? Why?

No not really. Once is enough

What did you like best about this story?

The characters were easy to imagine.

Which character – as performed by Khristine Hvam – was your favorite?

Ruby

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When she decided to keep her baby.

Any additional comments?

No

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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So So

Would you recommend Ruby to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend another one of Ann Hood's books instead. Ruby was marginal in comparison.

What about Khristine Hvam’s performance did you like?

The performance was very enjoyable.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The characters never became up close and personal enough for me to have an extreme reaction. I never became connected personally to any of the characters.

Any additional comments?

I loved The Red Thread and The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. Ruby was not nearly as engaging as those. I expected the story to be a rich tapestry of characters and details but felt like the same events were happening over and over again. I finished the book, but would probably not have been bothered if I hadn't.

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Too Similar to Other Stories

This book was hard for me to finish. I’m not a fan of any fictional romance novels—I know, call me coldhearted, but I think romance novels are a waste of time. The story starts out somewhat believable and then quickly turns into a formulaic made-for-screenplay piece of junk. The narrator mispronounced too many words and the story got unnecessarily trashy seemingly because the writer probably didn’t know how else she would keep her readers’ attention. This is not a title I will favorite.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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All of Ann’s books are a let down.

I don’t know why I keep giving this author chances. I’ve read/listened to many of her books and they never get better.

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