The Valley Audiobook By Helen Bryan cover art

The Valley

The Valley Trilogy, Book 1

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The Valley

By: Helen Bryan
Narrated by: Kate Reading
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Left suddenly penniless, the Honorable Sophia Grafton, a viscount's orphaned daughter, sails to the New World to claim the only property left to her name: a tobacco plantation in the remote wilds of colonial Virginia. Enlisting the reluctant assistance of a handsome young French spy - at gunpoint - she gathers an unlikely group of escaped slaves and indentured servants, each seeking their own safe haven in the untamed New World.

What follows will test her courage and that of her companions as they struggle to survive a journey deep into a hostile wilderness and eventually forge a community of homesteads and deep bonds that will unite them for generations.

The first installment in an epic historical trilogy by Helen Bryan, the bestselling author of War Brides and The Sisterhood, The Valley is a sweeping, unforgettable tale of hardship, tenacity, love, and heartache.

©2016 Helen Bryan (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Sagas World Literature Heartfelt
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The book wasn’t quite what I expected. Although I love historical romances & listened quite eagerly- it was more because I anticipated the book would at any moment gain momentum & slowly build up as any good novel does. Sadly the first part was the better part & the unfortunate chain of events that brought Sophie & the slaves to the Virginia wilderness just dwindled towards the end. The fact that she & all the others that started out in the valley died made it difficult to keep up with more & more generations that followed & the constant appearance of new names. It felt as though the author was more concerned with setting the scene for the new book to follow. I felt a little confused at the end as though I lost touch with all the characters I got to know in the first 30 chapters of the book. Narration was superb & by far the best part of this listening experience.

Mixed feelings

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I loved this book, the story, the characters, the way it moved and flowed. I will be anxious for the 2nd book in this series. Hope I don't need to was it to long.

1st Book

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I did enjoy the book, but as the last few chapters came I was disappointed that the main character, Sophie, died, and I found I was not attached to any other characters. I didn't find that there was any compelling love story here, and nothing that makes me buy the next book to see what happened. So wanted to love this! Sorry it didn't seem to deliver for me.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

I found there was no true love or romance between any of the characters. It seemed every married out of convenience rather than because there was a lasting love. Sophie and Andre never did fall in love with each other...A few of the slaves fell in love, but this was not really developed to where it was compelling.

Didn't love the characters...

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it’s was an ok story... nothing special... just a long listen... lots of charters so it was hard to “feel” for any... i kept waiting for it to get better

nothing great

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Performance was great and I felt like I was getting a pretty accurate history lesson, but there wasn’t a lot of character development that allowed you to bond with the individual subjects. I felt empathy for the slaves and The native Americans and wasn’t surprised at the ignorance of most of the whites. Unfortunately history seems to be repeating itself which this book does relate.

History lessons

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One of my top 3 favorites! The story had wonderful plot twists and the characters became so real.

Fantastic!

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The story was awesome until 3/4 through it. then it just went on and on. when the main 2 people in book died then the book did not make any sense. the ending was stupid 🤔

was ok

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The best part is the narrator. This is the worst book I've ever listened to. The first half of the story was good, then it just went down hill fast. The main character dies and the story makes no sense and then it just ends. Sorry but I hated this book.

Would not recommend. Worst story ever.

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I did not like the ending or the way some of the characters died without knowledge that of how.
I did like the settlers history but it is a hard story of life.

Great character building

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This book could have been great. The premise and content was idealistic and speaks to the era with rose colored glasses but was enjoyable. By trying to cover so many generations of characters the author left a lot to be desired with regards to plot and character development. At times I wasn’t sure I had even clicked on the right story as new characters and their back story would pop up with no introduction or warning. I would have loved to see this as a series rather than trying to cram it all into one book.

A lot to be desired

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