A "HELL YES" FOR WOMEN!

"SOARING" started off really dire for me, mainly because the female lead, American heiress Amelia Hathaway, found herself in the worst case scenario for any woman. It was absolutely tragic! Right away readers are made aware of her D-bag husband, Conrad, who while cheating on Amelia, stole her children's affection, and moved them clear across the country with his new wife. OMG!!! My heart sank at her initial conundrum, HOWEVER, I KNEW…I JUST KNEW that as low as the lows were in this novel, that Kristen Ashley was going to deliver an incredible high that would blow the sad parts clear away!--And she did! This was another masterpiece in the Magdalene series….and, that was because of the beautiful love affair that built slowly, but surely between Mickey Donavan and Amelia "Amy" Hathaway.

I loved that both leads were in their late 40's and were still hot! I loved that they were both mature characters. No stupid, annoying petulant behaviors on behalf of either lead. Their struggles were believable because they were real-life problems and real-life hang-ups that needed to be worked through. So, when Mickey and Amelia solve these hurdles that spring up in their relationship….OMG, you will feel like you're are soaring in the clouds along with the leads because IT'S THAT FREAKEN AMAZING! Let me add that the love scenes were ON FIRE! Oh that Mickey Donavan…he sure had a way in the bedroom with Amelia…hot-hot-hot!!!

This whole story was amazing, and I"m grateful for K.A.'s rambling, detailed style of writing. It's so soothing and fulfilling. While, the story may have started really sad for Amelia, it developed into such a FANTASTIC, culminating end. You have the successful blending of Mickey and Amelia's family (in that implication you have Amelia winning back the affection of her children), Conrad getting what he deserved, the formation of an awesome girl possy (in Josie and her other friends), and many more beautiful developments.

OH KRISTEN ASHLEY!!! HOW YOU ALWAYS WIN YOUR WAY INTO MY HEART WITH YOUR INCREDIBLE NOVELS! This one was definitely a "HELL YEAH" for women everywhere who may find themselves in a place of loss (initially), then with much determination move their way back into a place of absolute abundance! Wow!! Simply amazing!

Narrator: I enjoyed Hollis McCarthy's performance. She did a great job

28 people found this helpful

Loving the Magdalene Series

I'm really liking this series set in coastal Maine. Things are definitely slower in a small town, less kidnappings and car bombs than the Colorado crew had to deal with, but that doesn't mean there's no drama. I loved the glimpses of Josie and company from the last book and was thrilled to see Mickey Donovan meet his match. Both he and Amelia, the heiress who moves in across the street, have done a lot of things right in their lives and, sadly, have been burned. They also have made mistakes, and each has a divorce and baggage to prove it. Amelia takes one look at Mickey and decides she wants to make those gorgeous blue eyes change with the spectrum of emotions she can bring out in him. Mickey takes one look at Amelia and is more than a little interested but intends to place her in the "friend/neighbor zone" because he believes he could never provide a super-wealthy woman like her with anything she would need and doesn't want to have an ex living across the street from him and his kids.

Drama ensues through misunderstanding, denial and plain stubbornness. In the midst of their difficult relationship, they manage to get to know each other a bit more through each misstep they make. Both have children who have various issues, Amelia's ex is a complete waste of human flesh, as are her parents, Mickey's ex has major problems that affect her children, Amelia has to atone for some bad behavior that has affected her children in order to win them back and rebuild her family while also carving out a life for herself, and, of course, Boston Stone has to make an appearance long enough to let everyone know he still deserves the gold medal as douchebag of the decade. What makes Soaring such a great escape is the range of emotion KA captures and conveys to the listener. I cringed, cheered, laughed, smiled and cried. Even at 24+ hours, I was totally engaged and was never tempted to let my mind wander.

NARRATOR: Soaring was performed well by Hollis McCarthy. Her style is a little laid-back and maybe even slow (try 1.25 speed), but so is Magdalene. I think she brings the right tone to the series, and I'm happy to see that Audible Studios is using one narrator for the series AND not a narrator from a previous series. I think it's a great decision that makes each series distinct and different. I don't think there are many narrators better than Emma Taylor, and after hearing her stellar performance, others may seem a bit lacking, but I love that she is the voice of the Colorado Mountain Series, Susannah Jones is the voice of the Rock Chick Series, Kate Russell is the voice of the Dream Man and Chaos Series, and now, Hollis McCarthy is the voice of the Magdalene Series. I don't want Mickey to sound like Max, Lee, Hawk or Tack, but I do want characters from The Will and Soaring to have the same voice in future Magdalene releases, so I sincerely hope she will be back for those.

Absolutely worth a credit or even cash with no sale price. With the trilogy trend of taking 3, 8-hour (if you're lucky) books to tell one story, it is SO refreshing to get an entire story in ONE book that costs ONE credit. On top of that, it's Kristen Ashley, so you know it's going to be great! Every time one of her books is released on Audible, I feel like Christmas has come early.

18 people found this helpful

I JUST LOVE THIS BOOK

What did you love best about Soaring?

Everything - the maturity of the characters being 40 helps listening to books that's based on couple's in my age group. The blended family thing is a nice bonus to the romance, basically I just love the book.

What did you like best about this story?

The reality of how ugly a divorce can be and the fact that life doesn't end. There's life after divorce and heart ache. The new love is AWESOME I Love ALPHA MALES.

Have you listened to any of Hollis McCarthy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes in the WIll I enjoy her voice.

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

The WHOLE BOOK

15 people found this helpful

Amazing

I have read most of Kristen Ashley's work and loved ever single one and this book is no different. I loved it I cried I got angry all those thing to me makes one hell of a book. If your not sure of this purchase I am telling you. You will not regret it one bit. A must read for sure.

14 people found this helpful

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

Another great adult romance by Kristen Ashley. My FAVORITE thing about her books is that the characters are always mature and they don't do childish things to cause unnecessary drama and there is usually a single parent involved! This book was exactly what I wanted it to be when I found out it was Mickey's book. I love how different the couples are in this series and how much that doesn't even matter. Besides the obvious romance, sex and warm fuzzies this book gave me, I think the best thing about this one for me was Mickey's Ex. She grew so much and I loved how her character could have been nothing but drama and cause all kinds of problems but instead she found her was without all that. Great book all around!

Narration was good, I wasn't a huge fan in book 1 but I think I got used to her and she was good for these characters.

10 people found this helpful

Can't even get through the first chaptet

Please bring back the other narrator, this woman is horrible. I'm returning this book asap.

7 people found this helpful

Listening to Soaring is like running a marathon.

I’ve had this book on my kindle since the day it released. It’s a long book, you know what’s longer? The AUDIO version. YUP I listened to all 22 hours of this baby.

Listening to Soaring is like running a marathon. You go into it really strong. You feel like you can defeat it, but towards the middle you get really tired and you want to quit, but you keep on telling yourself you can do it! Then when you are about to quit, towards the end you get your second wind and you feel like you are on top of the world when you finish.

Soaring wasn’t an easy book to listen to, correction, the actual listening part like the narrator was AMAZING! She was the EXACT person I imagined for Amelia. It was the actual book I struggled at times with.

The beginning was great. I got a sense of Amelia’s situation and I felt for her. Was I too keen that she was an heiress with flaws? Not really. Did I like that her kids were horrible to her? No. Did I like that this was kind of a redemption book? Yes.

I love Kristen Ashely’s writing style, but it’s like what a lot of the reviewers say, the book was kind of boring. There are some good parts and that is why I stuck with it, but I mostly put the book on as background noise while I worked. It wasn’t one of those books where you really wanted to go back to.

It took me several months to finish this sucker, but in the end I am glad I did.

6 people found this helpful

Very disappointed

What would have made Soaring better?

I wanted to like this book but didn't. I didn't like how many of the characters had alternate names (not even really nicknames - just called by something different). I didn't like how whiny the main character was and how she acted more like a 15 year old bratty girl than a grown woman. She would complain about someone doing something and then do the very same thing herself and be upset if someone didn't like it. I didn't like how focused she was on her looks (what 40+ woman is happy that 12 year boys think she's "hot"?) and the looks of the other females in the book, especially both daughters. And there was way too much focus on her money. I also didn't like that anytime she and Mickey were intimate, it was never "made love" or even "had sex" it was always the F word. I'm not a prude but I don't know any couples that always refer to sex using the F word. For me, their relationship was more about sex than love and this book seemed like it was supposed to be a love story.

Would you ever listen to anything by Kristen Ashley again?

Not sure. This book had so many trivial details that I found it annoying. If all her books are this way, then probably not.

What didn’t you like about Hollis McCarthy’s performance?

She used the same intonation for a lot of the phrases "Ok Mickey" over and over again and always sounded like she was a child that had just been reprimanded by her parent. The whole tone was just very similar throughout the book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Definitely disappointment. I really wanted to like it but kept getting turned off by the dialog and focus on material things.

Any additional comments?

I think this book could have been good if it has spent more time on focusing on and developing the good parts of the characters rather than the clothes and cars and makeup. And make the "love" scenes about love and closeness not "finger f-ing" and orgasms. It read more like an article in Penthouse than a love story. Maybe that was the intention.

6 people found this helpful

Ummm...

I struggled to finish this book. A lot of time is spent describing sex while not enough time is spent building the supporting characters. It's almost as though the author wasn't sure if she was going for erotica or the story of two people building a relationship and blending families. After a while I fast forwarded beyond the sexual descriptions as it became boring. I also didnt like the fact that the main character seems to be very needy and submissive at times. The epilogue goes on and on and on. The first book of the series was much better.

5 people found this helpful

Tired of the nasty language.

Stick to the good story lines and leave the gross descriptions in the bedroom. Other books by author are better.

5 people found this helpful