The Strongman and the Mermaid
The Donora Story Collection, Book 2
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Anna Czarska
-
By:
-
Kathleen Shoop
About this listen
2019: Donora, Pennsylvania
Ninety-one-year-old Patryk Rusek hides in his attic, hoping the searchers think he’s escaped. When Lucy finally bursts in, she discovers her beloved grandfather clutching a fat, hand-drawn, antique book. In it is the story of Donora, the town that shaped America, its people, and Patryk himself. Before long, Lucy and her son Owen lose track of their goal to get Grandpa Patryk somewhere “safe” as they’re drawn into the book, back in time, into stories that read like real-life fairytales born of purpose, hard-work, and chance.
1910: Donora, Pennsylvania
In the early dawn of Donora, Pennsylvania, the mills make and shape the steel that builds America. Mary Lancos lives in a home on the hill overlooking town and its mighty Monongahela River. That tiny house bursts with her siblings and boarders. Wind whipping through the walls and windows makes Mary determined to marry well and create a better life.
Shy Pole Lukasz Musial arrives in Donora seeking the clear blue skies, green lawns, and better life he’d seen pictured on a postcard. Settled in Donora’s Polish community, Lukasz secures a coveted job in the wire mill. Life is set on course to achieve the American Dream. All he needs is a wife who believes in him, in his mighty, quiet, strength.
After a series of casual, friendly meetings, fate brings Mary and Lukasz to the river under a snowy, pink moonlit sky and everything changes. Their attraction is sudden and consuming, turning the pair onto an unexpected path. With mounting disapproval from Mary’s parents, she and Lukasz must decide if love is enough to risk losing everything else that matters.
©2019 Kathleen Shoop (P)2020 Kathleen ShoopListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Magician
- The Donora Story Collection, Book 3
- By: Kathleen Shoop
- Narrated by: Steve Owens
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jupiter is rising when Stanisław Franciszek Musiał is born on November 21, 1920, and the midwife predicts he will live an extraordinary life. Young Stanley’s physical talents show themselves at the Polish Falcons and on the baseball field. When the Depression hits and the mills close, tension grips every Donora household. Meanwhile, as Stan matures, he draws attention from the press, college coaches, and professional baseball scouts. Suddenly his singular dream is set against options he’d never imagined. Even with the talent to achieve his goals, doubt creeps in.
-
-
Very Entertaining Story!!
- By Heidi Donoghue on 04-29-22
By: Kathleen Shoop
-
The Postcard from Italy
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Stephanie Lane
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Italy, 1945. "Where am I"? The young man wakes, bewildered. He sees olive trees against a bright blue sky. A soft voice soothes him. "We saw you fall from your plane. The parachute saved you". He remembers nothing of his life, or the war that has torn the world apart...but where does he belong? England, present day. Antique-shop-owner Susannah wipes away a tear as she tidies her grandmother’s belongings. Elsie’s memories are fading, and every day Susannah feels further away from her only remaining family.
-
-
Well told story.
- By S Pomeroy on 01-22-23
By: Angela Petch
-
The Dressmaker’s Secret
- By: Lorna Cook
- Narrated by: Imogen Wilde
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris, 1941: as Coco Chanel’s assistant, Adèle lives side by side with German officers in the splendor of The Ritz hotel. But Adèle has a secret. She is working for the resistance, right under the Germans’ noses. As occupied Paris becomes more and more dangerous, Adèle will have to decide if she can risk everything to save innocent lives and protect the man she loves. Present day: Chloé’s grandmother has never spoken about the war and avoids questions about the legendary designer she once worked for. Now Chloé has come to Paris, to uncover the truth about Adèle’s life.
-
-
Very good story
- By Bird Miller on 11-06-22
By: Lorna Cook
-
The War Pianist
- By: Mandy Robotham
- Narrated by: Holly Janowski
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
July, 1940. Blitz-ridden London: Marnie Fern’s life is torn apart when her grandfather is killed in an air raid. But once she discovers that he’d been working undercover as a radio operative – or pianist – for the Dutch resistance, Marnie knows she must complete his mission – no matter the cost. Nazi-occupied Amsterdam: At the other end of the wireless, fellow pianist Corrie Bakker is caught in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse as she desperately tries to keep her loved ones out of the line of fire – even if it means sacrificing herself.
-
-
The beauty of pain
- By Sue Foster on 11-25-24
By: Mandy Robotham
-
A Special Place for Women
- By: Laura Hankin
- Narrated by: Laura Hankin
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s a club like no other. Only the most important women receive an invitation. But one daring young reporter is about to infiltrate this female-run secret society, whose bewitching members are caught up in a dark and treacherous business. From the author of Happy and You Know It.
-
-
A Little Far Fetched
- By K. Elle Kinsey on 01-14-24
By: Laura Hankin
-
The Lost Wife
- A Novel
- By: Alyson Richman
- Narrated by: George Guidall, Suzanne Toren
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In pre-war Prague, the dreams of two young lovers are shattered when they are separated by the Nazi invasion. Then, decades later, thousands of miles away in New York, there's an inescapable glance of recognition between two strangers. Providence is giving Lenka and Josef one more chance. From the glamorous ease of life in Prague before the Occupation, to the horrors of Nazi Europe, The Lost Wife explores the power of first love, the resilience of the human spirit, and the strength of memory.
-
-
Love, Strength & Survival
- By Sara on 01-27-14
By: Alyson Richman
-
The Magician
- The Donora Story Collection, Book 3
- By: Kathleen Shoop
- Narrated by: Steve Owens
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jupiter is rising when Stanisław Franciszek Musiał is born on November 21, 1920, and the midwife predicts he will live an extraordinary life. Young Stanley’s physical talents show themselves at the Polish Falcons and on the baseball field. When the Depression hits and the mills close, tension grips every Donora household. Meanwhile, as Stan matures, he draws attention from the press, college coaches, and professional baseball scouts. Suddenly his singular dream is set against options he’d never imagined. Even with the talent to achieve his goals, doubt creeps in.
-
-
Very Entertaining Story!!
- By Heidi Donoghue on 04-29-22
By: Kathleen Shoop
-
The Postcard from Italy
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Stephanie Lane
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Italy, 1945. "Where am I"? The young man wakes, bewildered. He sees olive trees against a bright blue sky. A soft voice soothes him. "We saw you fall from your plane. The parachute saved you". He remembers nothing of his life, or the war that has torn the world apart...but where does he belong? England, present day. Antique-shop-owner Susannah wipes away a tear as she tidies her grandmother’s belongings. Elsie’s memories are fading, and every day Susannah feels further away from her only remaining family.
-
-
Well told story.
- By S Pomeroy on 01-22-23
By: Angela Petch
-
The Dressmaker’s Secret
- By: Lorna Cook
- Narrated by: Imogen Wilde
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris, 1941: as Coco Chanel’s assistant, Adèle lives side by side with German officers in the splendor of The Ritz hotel. But Adèle has a secret. She is working for the resistance, right under the Germans’ noses. As occupied Paris becomes more and more dangerous, Adèle will have to decide if she can risk everything to save innocent lives and protect the man she loves. Present day: Chloé’s grandmother has never spoken about the war and avoids questions about the legendary designer she once worked for. Now Chloé has come to Paris, to uncover the truth about Adèle’s life.
-
-
Very good story
- By Bird Miller on 11-06-22
By: Lorna Cook
-
The War Pianist
- By: Mandy Robotham
- Narrated by: Holly Janowski
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
July, 1940. Blitz-ridden London: Marnie Fern’s life is torn apart when her grandfather is killed in an air raid. But once she discovers that he’d been working undercover as a radio operative – or pianist – for the Dutch resistance, Marnie knows she must complete his mission – no matter the cost. Nazi-occupied Amsterdam: At the other end of the wireless, fellow pianist Corrie Bakker is caught in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse as she desperately tries to keep her loved ones out of the line of fire – even if it means sacrificing herself.
-
-
The beauty of pain
- By Sue Foster on 11-25-24
By: Mandy Robotham
-
A Special Place for Women
- By: Laura Hankin
- Narrated by: Laura Hankin
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s a club like no other. Only the most important women receive an invitation. But one daring young reporter is about to infiltrate this female-run secret society, whose bewitching members are caught up in a dark and treacherous business. From the author of Happy and You Know It.
-
-
A Little Far Fetched
- By K. Elle Kinsey on 01-14-24
By: Laura Hankin
-
The Lost Wife
- A Novel
- By: Alyson Richman
- Narrated by: George Guidall, Suzanne Toren
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In pre-war Prague, the dreams of two young lovers are shattered when they are separated by the Nazi invasion. Then, decades later, thousands of miles away in New York, there's an inescapable glance of recognition between two strangers. Providence is giving Lenka and Josef one more chance. From the glamorous ease of life in Prague before the Occupation, to the horrors of Nazi Europe, The Lost Wife explores the power of first love, the resilience of the human spirit, and the strength of memory.
-
-
Love, Strength & Survival
- By Sara on 01-27-14
By: Alyson Richman
-
Journey
- A Novel
- By: James A. Michener
- Narrated by: Larry McKeever
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gold fever swept the world in 1897. The chance for untold riches sent thousands of dreamers on a perilous trek toward their fortunes, failures, or deaths. Follow four English aristocrats and their Irish servant as they misguidedly haul their dreams across cruel Canadian terrain toward the Klondike gold fields.
-
-
Robotic narration
- By Lor on 01-11-19
-
The Revolution of the Moon
- By: Andrea Camilleri, Stephen Sartarelli - translator
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sicily, April 16, 1677. From his deathbed, Charles III's viceroy, don Angel de Guzmàn, marquis of Castel de Roderigo, names his wife, donna Eleonora, as his successor. Eleonora di Mora is a highly intelligent and capable woman who immediately applies her political acumen to heal the scarred soul of Palermo, a city afflicted by poverty, misery, and the frequent uprisings they entail. The marquise implements measures that include lowering the price of bread and establishing stipends for young couples wishing to marry - all considered seditious by the conservative city fathers.
-
-
Delightful!
- By bp on 11-29-20
By: Andrea Camilleri, and others
-
The Clockmaker’s Wife
- By: Daisy Wood
- Narrated by: Sophie Bentinck
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1940. Britain is gripped by the terror of the Blitz, forcing Nell Spelman to flee the capital with her young daughter - leaving behind her husband, Arthur, the clockmaker who keeps Big Ben chiming. When Arthur disappears, Nell is desperate to find him. But her search will lead her into far darker places than she ever imagined.
-
-
Interesting
- By BevyBee on 07-03-24
By: Daisy Wood
-
Dollbaby
- A Novel
- By: Laura Lane McNeal
- Narrated by: January Lavoy
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Ibby Bell's father dies unexpectedly in the summer of 1964, her mother unceremoniously deposits Ibby with her eccentric grandmother Fannie and throws in her father's urn for good measure. Fannie's New Orleans house is like no place Ibby has ever been - and Fannie, who has a tendency to end up in the local asylum - is like no one she has ever met. Fortunately, Fannie's black cook, Queenie, and her smart-mouthed daughter, Dollbaby, take it upon themselves to initiate Ibby into the ways of the South both its grand traditions and its darkest secrets.
-
-
Disappointing
- By WMF on 10-08-14
-
Mary
- Mrs. A. Lincoln
- By: Janis Cooke Newman
- Narrated by: Anne Buelteman
- Length: 26 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A fascinating and intimate novel of the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, narrated by the First Lady herself. Mary Todd Lincoln is one of history's most misunderstood and enigmatic women. She was a political strategist, a supporter of emancipation, and a mother who survived the loss of three children and the assassination of her beloved husband. She also ran her family into debt, held séances in the White House, and was committed to an insane asylum - which is where Janis Cooke Newman's debut novel begins.
-
-
Intriguing and well-written, Worst editing EVER.
- By Danielle on 03-21-15
-
The Music of Bees
- A Novel
- By: Eileen Garvin
- Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days.
-
-
A little too many political agendas
- By Mike Thompson on 05-26-21
By: Eileen Garvin
-
Blush
- By: Jamie Brenner
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For decades, the Hollander Estates winery has been the premier destination for lavish parties and romantic day trips on the North Fork of Long Island. But behind the lush vineyards and majestic estate house, the Hollander family fortunes have suffered and the threat of a sale brings old wounds to the surface. For matriarch Vivian, she fears that this summer season could be their last - and that selling their winery to strangers could expose a dark secret she's harbored for decades.
-
-
If you loved Judith Krantz....
- By TMBURNS on 07-27-21
By: Jamie Brenner
-
Caribbean
- A Novel
- By: James A. Michener
- Narrated by: Alexander Adams
- Length: 32 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caribbean packs 700 dramatic years into a tale teeming with revolution and romance, authentic characters and thunderous destinies. Through absorbing, magnificent prose, Michener captures the essence of the islands in all of their awe-inspiring scope and wonder.
-
-
The last paragraph!
- By Tim Wilson on 01-21-17
-
All the Little Hopes
- By: Leah Weiss
- Narrated by: Kate Forbes
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deep in the tobacco land of North Carolina, nothing's been the same since the boys shipped off to war and worry took their place. Thirteen-year-old Lucy Brown is precocious and itching for adventure. Then Allie Bert Tucker wanders into town, an outcast with a puzzling past, and Lucy figures the two of them can solve any curious crime they find - just like her hero, Nancy Drew. Their chance comes when a man goes missing, a woman stops speaking, and an eccentric gives the girls a mystery to solve that takes them beyond the ordinary.
-
-
Leah Weiss is a gifted author
- By MelissaFBrown on 08-03-21
By: Leah Weiss
-
As Bright as Heaven
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Cassandra Morris, Tavia Gilbert, Jorjeana Marie, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters - Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa - a chance at a better life. But just months after they arrive, the Spanish flu reaches the shores of America.
-
-
As Bright as Heaven
- By Amazon Customer on 05-03-18
By: Susan Meissner
-
The Orphans of Berlin
- By: Jina Bacarr
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow, Polly Edsell
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Berlin, 1936. The Landau family are at the heart of their community, running a music shop in Berlin and just trying to survive. But their lives are unravelling as Hitler's power increases and the treatment of Jewish families deteriorates. Eldest daughter, Rachel, fears for her sisters' future and will do anything she can to keep them safe. Will she find hope in the darkness? Paris, 1936. As whispers of war travel over from Europe, American debutante Kay escapes her mother's grasp and travels as a reluctant spy from Paris to Berlin.
-
-
Realistic
- By phyllis dvorachek on 12-29-23
By: Jina Bacarr
-
Searching for My Daughter
- By: Liz Trenow
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Miriam arrives at a British checkpoint, she is exhausted and hungry. But deep down she knows she is still one of the fortunate ones. One of the few to survive the camps. Having lost her husband and son, Miriam clings to the hope of finding her daughter, Rosa.
-
-
narration & storyline
- By Deb Koehntop on 07-01-24
By: Liz Trenow
Related to this topic
-
A Joyful Christmas
- 6 Historical Stories
- By: Cynthia Hickey, Liz Johnson, Vickie McDonough, and others
- Narrated by: Carolyn Molloy
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Christmas collection to warm the heart. Grab a warm cup of tea and watch as romance is kindled and joy is restored to broken lives during six bygone-era Christmas celebrations.
-
-
Heartwarming!
- By Smile on 12-16-23
By: Cynthia Hickey, and others
-
The Third Daughter
- A Novel
- By: Talia Carner
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The turn of the 20th century finds 14-year-old Batya in the Russian countryside, fleeing with her family endless pogroms. Desperate, her father leaps at the opportunity to marry Batya to a worldly, wealthy stranger who can guarantee his daughter an easy life and passage to America. Feeling like a princess in a fairytale, Batya leaves her old life behind as she is whisked away to a new world. But soon, she discovers that she’s entered a waking nightmare. Her new “husband” does indeed bring her to America.
-
-
brilliant novel based on shocking truth
- By Rochelle Jewel Shapiro on 07-05-20
By: Talia Carner
-
The Third Mrs. Galway
- By: Deirdre Sinnott
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1835 in Utica, New York, and newlywed Helen Galway discovers a secret: Two runaway slaves are hiding in the shack behind her husband’s house. Suddenly, she is at the center of not only the era’s greatest moral dilemma, but her own, as well. Should she be a “good wife” and report the fugitives to her husband? Or will she defy convention and come to their aid? Within her home, Helen is haunted by the previous Mrs. Galway, recently deceased but still an oppressive presence.
-
-
Never thought I'd enjoy a novel so much.
- By HBvideo on 12-01-21
By: Deirdre Sinnott
-
Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
- By: Laura Ruby
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Frankie’s mother died and her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage in Chicago, it was supposed to be only temporary - just long enough for him to get back on his feet and be able to provide for them once again. That’s why Frankie's not prepared for the day that he arrives for his weekend visit with a new woman on his arm and out-of-state train tickets in his pocket. Now, Frankie and her sister, Toni, are abandoned alongside so many other orphans - two young, unwanted women doing everything they can to survive.
-
-
Boring, boring, boring
- By Marie J. on 08-20-21
By: Laura Ruby
-
Springwater
- By: Linda Lael Miller
- Narrated by: Pilar Witherspoon
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evangeline Keating came West because she had to: after her husband's passing, she needed to build a new life for her young daughter, and marrying a stranger from Montana Territory was her best chance. After a difficult winter journey, she arrives at an isolated outpost called Springwater Station. But the handsome man who's come for her is not her husband-to-be, and Evangeline soon finds herself thrust into a most inconvenient - and highly improper - arrangement.
-
-
Prolific foul language and graphic descriptions
- By Les Raymond on 03-04-20
-
The Bermondsey Bookshop
- By: Mary Gibson
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in 1920s London, this is the inspiring story of Kate Goss' struggle against poverty, hunger and cruel family secrets. Her mother died in a fall, her father has vanished without trace, and now her aunt and cousins treat her viciously. In a freezing, vermin-infested garret, factory girl Kate has only her own brave spirit and dreams of finding her father to keep her going. She has barely enough money to feed herself, or to pay the rent. The factory where she works begins to lay off people and it isn't long before she has fallen into the hands of the violent local money-lender.
-
-
A glimpse into the past
- By Luci-Lu on 10-27-21
By: Mary Gibson
-
A Joyful Christmas
- 6 Historical Stories
- By: Cynthia Hickey, Liz Johnson, Vickie McDonough, and others
- Narrated by: Carolyn Molloy
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Christmas collection to warm the heart. Grab a warm cup of tea and watch as romance is kindled and joy is restored to broken lives during six bygone-era Christmas celebrations.
-
-
Heartwarming!
- By Smile on 12-16-23
By: Cynthia Hickey, and others
-
The Third Daughter
- A Novel
- By: Talia Carner
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The turn of the 20th century finds 14-year-old Batya in the Russian countryside, fleeing with her family endless pogroms. Desperate, her father leaps at the opportunity to marry Batya to a worldly, wealthy stranger who can guarantee his daughter an easy life and passage to America. Feeling like a princess in a fairytale, Batya leaves her old life behind as she is whisked away to a new world. But soon, she discovers that she’s entered a waking nightmare. Her new “husband” does indeed bring her to America.
-
-
brilliant novel based on shocking truth
- By Rochelle Jewel Shapiro on 07-05-20
By: Talia Carner
-
The Third Mrs. Galway
- By: Deirdre Sinnott
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1835 in Utica, New York, and newlywed Helen Galway discovers a secret: Two runaway slaves are hiding in the shack behind her husband’s house. Suddenly, she is at the center of not only the era’s greatest moral dilemma, but her own, as well. Should she be a “good wife” and report the fugitives to her husband? Or will she defy convention and come to their aid? Within her home, Helen is haunted by the previous Mrs. Galway, recently deceased but still an oppressive presence.
-
-
Never thought I'd enjoy a novel so much.
- By HBvideo on 12-01-21
By: Deirdre Sinnott
-
Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
- By: Laura Ruby
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Frankie’s mother died and her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage in Chicago, it was supposed to be only temporary - just long enough for him to get back on his feet and be able to provide for them once again. That’s why Frankie's not prepared for the day that he arrives for his weekend visit with a new woman on his arm and out-of-state train tickets in his pocket. Now, Frankie and her sister, Toni, are abandoned alongside so many other orphans - two young, unwanted women doing everything they can to survive.
-
-
Boring, boring, boring
- By Marie J. on 08-20-21
By: Laura Ruby
-
Springwater
- By: Linda Lael Miller
- Narrated by: Pilar Witherspoon
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evangeline Keating came West because she had to: after her husband's passing, she needed to build a new life for her young daughter, and marrying a stranger from Montana Territory was her best chance. After a difficult winter journey, she arrives at an isolated outpost called Springwater Station. But the handsome man who's come for her is not her husband-to-be, and Evangeline soon finds herself thrust into a most inconvenient - and highly improper - arrangement.
-
-
Prolific foul language and graphic descriptions
- By Les Raymond on 03-04-20
-
The Bermondsey Bookshop
- By: Mary Gibson
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in 1920s London, this is the inspiring story of Kate Goss' struggle against poverty, hunger and cruel family secrets. Her mother died in a fall, her father has vanished without trace, and now her aunt and cousins treat her viciously. In a freezing, vermin-infested garret, factory girl Kate has only her own brave spirit and dreams of finding her father to keep her going. She has barely enough money to feed herself, or to pay the rent. The factory where she works begins to lay off people and it isn't long before she has fallen into the hands of the violent local money-lender.
-
-
A glimpse into the past
- By Luci-Lu on 10-27-21
By: Mary Gibson
-
The Promise of an Angel
- Heaven on Earth Series, Book 1
- By: Ruth Reid
- Narrated by: Rachel Dulude
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All Judith Fischer ever wanted is to marry within her community and raise a family. She longs for the day when her parents will allow Levi Plank to officially court her. But on the day Judith suspects Levi will ask her parent's permission, her younger brother Samuel has an accident under her charge. Rushing to Samuel's aid, Judith spies a strange man helping him: a man she later believes was an angel. When she shares her conviction with her family and close friends, she is shocked to find that no one believes her, including Levi.
-
-
beautiful
- By Karen Thomas on 06-23-20
By: Ruth Reid
-
What Once Was Lost
- By: Kim Vogel Sawyer
- Narrated by: Pilar Witherspoon
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The practice of ministering to the widows and orphans is reflected in this story of Christina Willems, a young woman from Kansas, in 1884, who is determined to reopen the poor farm she manages after a fire devastates the property. She finds opposition from many surprising corners but an unlikely ally in a lumber mill owner who wants nothing more than to hold himself aloof from the world and its troubles. Levi Jonnson agrees to take care of one of the poor farm residents, a young blind boy - and in doing so opens himself up to Christina's world in ways he wouldn't have imagined.
-
-
Wonderful Listen!
- By Carrie Fancett Pagels on 02-09-14
By: Kim Vogel Sawyer
-
The Last Carolina Girl
- By: Meagan Church
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For fourteen-year-old Leah Payne, life in her beloved coastal Carolina town is worlds away from the harsh realities of the day. Loyal to her lumberjack father, she knows only of the familiarity of her small community, the magic of the natural world, and the creative intuition that prompts her to march to the beat of her own drum. But when an accident takes her father's life, leaving her an orphan, Leah finds herself cast into a family of strangers whose welcoming façade hides a terrible secret.
-
-
WOW
- By Savannah Brown on 06-10-23
By: Meagan Church
-
The Road to Paradise
- A Vintage National Parks Novel
- By: Karen Barnett
- Narrated by: Ann Richardson
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1927, and the National Park Service is in its youth when Margie, an avid naturalist, lands a coveted position alongside the park rangers living and working in the unrivaled splendor of Mount Rainier’s long shadow. But Chief Ranger Ford Brayden is still haunted by his father’s death on the mountain, and the ranger takes his work managing the park and its crowd of visitors seriously. The job of watching over an idealistic senator’s daughter with few practical survival skills seems a waste of resources.
-
-
Mount Rainier 1927
- By Debbie on 09-19-19
By: Karen Barnett
-
Maggie-Now
- A Novel
- By: Betty Smith
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Brooklyn's unforgiving urban jungle, Maggie Moore is torn between answering her own needs and catering to the desirous men who dominate her life. Confronted by her quarrelsome Irish immigrant father, the feckless lover who may become her husband, and others, Maggie must learn to navigate a cycle of loss, separation, and hope as she forges her own path toward happiness.
-
-
no unabridged
- By sally on 08-03-21
By: Betty Smith
-
I Couldn't Love You More
- A Novel
- By: Esther Freud
- Narrated by: Niamh Cusack
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sweeping story of three generations of women, crossing from London to Ireland and back again, and the enduring effort to retrieve the secrets of the past.
By: Esther Freud
What listeners say about The Strongman and the Mermaid
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jori Schellenberger
- 05-30-23
Interesting but frustrating
While the overall story line was good, the story unfolded very slowly, the romance of the main characters was maddeningly slow to happen even though the author made it obvious it would happen eventually. Then it went from ‘zero to 60’ in no time at all, with Mary, who was seemingly too naive to know that the boarder was making sexually suggestive advances at her, then seducing Wucosh and stripping naked in front of him and having sex with him. It was completely out of character and unrealistic to make such a leap in the matter of a few hours. Their courtship also seemed slow to progress, yet they were evidently having sex often. Then, when the story finally gets to the marriage and you are expecting to hear more about their son and grandson, since it’s narrated from the grown grandson’s perspective, the story ends abruptly. It was disappointing. But by far the most frustrating part was the mispronunciation of common words all through the book, by the voice actress who read the book for Audible, as well as her lack of voice inflection where there should have been some. Her voice was mostly monotone and emotionless, and when there was inflection, it was usually at the end of words, phrases, or sentences. The use of the word coax is abundant in this book, and she pronounced it co-axe every time, for one example. She sounded like she had an American accent, but didn’t have a sufficient understanding of the correct pronunciation of many, many American words. I was not super impressed with this book or it’s Audible narration, though the author has great potential. 73 chapters is far too long for this story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!