About The Book
One night—a single bullet—cost me everything.
My body, broken beyond repair. The boy I’d thought was my forever. The life I’d always dreamt of.
Now, Holt’s back. And he’s no longer a boy, but a man with shadows in his eyes and demons haunting him.
He says he’s here to make things right. To get back a little bit of all we’ve lost. And he doesn’t show any signs of leaving the small town that has been my refuge.
As stolen moments turn to days, Holt’s around every corner. With his burning stare and lingering touches. Before long, my walls come crashing down and I’m just hoping that taking this second chance isn’t as reckless as it feels.
But not everyone is happy that Holt has returned. As tragedy strikes again, I’m the one left in the crosshairs. And Holt might not be able to save me this time…
My Review
First Impressions
Whispers of You is the 1st book in the newest series by Catherine Cowles. It was so exciting to get to a new series by this author, I do plan on reading her backlisted books too. But I was stoked to see how quickly she has this series put together. Already the next two books have release dates. So I guarantee that these will pop out quickly. I was able to grab this one in audiobook, and the narrators are such a good team, so if you haven’t listened to them before and enjoy audiobooks, I definitely recommend this one the most in audio format if you can afford the credit, Its a super long wait in the library and I just didn’t want to have to wait on that. So Whispers of You is such a wonderful romantic suspense, in fact, in comparison to her previous series, I think this had more suspense flair to it but is still well balanced with the romance. This type of storytelling for romantic suspense, always delivers! Catherine Cowles is a heartwarming author to read, its so magnificent seeing the way she has the characters wrapped around your finger so quickly.
Summary
The story sets off with our hero and heroine, who were once childhood sweethearts. They grew up together with each other’s families, but then when they were 18 years old, Holt and Wren. Wrench was targeted by a group of boys they had gone to school with and Wren barely survived the attack and then Holt left her to pick up the pieces. Now its been nine years, and Holt has returned when his father has a heart attack, but Holt is also ready to reconnect with his family and most especially Wren. Wren is still suffering from PTS from the attack, and she has never fully recovered from losing Holt. But as Holt and Wren are forced back into each other’s bubbles, they realize that what they have is precious and worth fighting for. But as they work to discover who is attacking their neighbors, their past will come back and it will take them working together to defeat this enemy they would never suspect….
What I Loved
This was such a powerful romance and it had me hooked from the very star. I do blame part of this on the narrators, they just made the story come alive. However, what I was really impressed by was the way in which Catherine Cowles put much more focus on the suspense. It felt more romantic suspense than contemporary and I really think that suspense is this author’s talent and I enjoyed seeing her put more focus on this. I am curious to see what this series will truly be revolving around though, if its about the attack, or if it will be a different scenario in each book or if they will connect together. Definitely on board to find out what this author has in store for us. I did love the way that this author implemented the romance and seeing Holt and Wren learn to reconnect with each other. They definitely don’t have a easy time of it that is for sure. The biggest issue that stands in the way of their HEA, is the trust that needs to be rebuilt between them. For Wren she comes to the realization that Holt was just a kid and always loved her but didn’t know how to face that type of trauma. Then we have Holt that has to learn to fight for his girl and do what he can to show her he is there for the long haul. Then another aspect that I truly enjoyed was seeing the way in which these two were all in for each other. The poignant emotion, the raw chemistry and the tender character growth that is so gradually built and only has you wanting more of this type of romance. We also some fun bantering among Holt’s siblings, and I am hoping the series is about this family! I just love and adore them!
The Narration
So for this book the narrator team that we were able to indulge in was Andi Arndt and Zachary Webber, and these two are the BEST duo POV team for audio narration that I have ever had the pleasure to read. they just fit so well together and their voices enhance each other. There is a such a way about these talented narrators in the way that they are able to make the characters come alive for the listener. And their narration style is guaranteed to immediately have you hooked into the story and you won’t want to put it down. I know if these two are narrating a story, then the book will at least be a 4 star read, THAT is how talented they are. The way in which they were able to work this book was so superb, I was all over the place in my emotions and they definitely delivered on the authenticity of the story.
Overall View
I found Whispers of You to be an incredible read that I felt deep to the core. Its a story of healing, renewal and overcoming adversity and reconnecting with your soul mate along the way! A delicious romance to SAVOR!
Book Details
Title: Whispers of You
Author: Catherine Cowles
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
Length: 9 Hours and 17 Minutes
About the Narrators
Andi Arndt arrived at her career in audiobook narration after hosting public radio programs and teaching acting and voice/speech at James Madison University. A classically trained actress with an ear for languages and dialects, Andi has studied Spanish, Dutch, Italian, French, and Chinese (Mandarin). AudioFile magazine says that “her energy and charm will draw listeners into [the] story and keep them thoroughly engaged during the whole emotional journey.”
Zachary Webber: He has narrated over twenty audiobook titles and has appeared in numerous feature-length and short films, including In a Relationship, a short film starring Dakota Johnson, Shut Up and Drive, which premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, and Ithaca, a film directed by Meg Ryan.
Book Links
Amazon| Goodreads| LibraryThing| Storygraph| Literal Club| Audible
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 5
Story Itself: 4.25
Character Development: 4
Writing Style: 4
World Building: 5
Feels + The Romantic Heart: 4
Pacing: 5
Plot: 5
Narration: 5
Cover Art: 5
Ending: 5
Book Ratings
Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering cup of tea—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin’ by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
About The Author
Writer of words. Drinker of Diet Cokes. Lover of all things cute and furry, especially her dog. Catherine has had her nose in a book since the time she could read and finally decided to write down some of her own stories. When she’s not writing she can be found exploring her home state of Oregon, listening to true crime podcasts, or searching for her next book boyfriend.
This sounds great! I am new to Cowles’ books. I finally just listened to her first and second book in the Sutter Lake series. I’m binge listening to that series and then I’m going to go through the rest of her backlist as I can. I’ll put this one on my list as well. Great review.
This sounds like my kind of story, even if the heat isn’t scorching. Second chance romance and a suspenseful element? I’m adding it to my list!
Great review, as always 🖤