Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.
Title: Unspoken
Author: Lauren Hawkeye
Narrator: Carly Robins
Format: Unabridged
Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
Language: English
Release date: 11-21-16
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher's Summary:
Once, Ellie Kendrick was the only thing that Dominic Gabriel wanted, until five years ago when she left abruptly. Now she's back and her version of what happened between them so long ago makes him question everything he knows about himself as a man, and since he is now a lawman who lives by a strict moral code, he finds himself challenged to make things right.
He knows that they might have to look back in order to move forward, but can their rediscovered attraction survive the darkness of the past?
This is a prequel to the upcoming Untouched, but stands alone - no cliffhangers.
Members Reviews:
A prequel to Untouched
I really felt for Ellie. As heroines go, I like when they've been done wrong and come back to town to have a reckoning. At fifteen, she was forced out of town, with people pulling the strings and manipulating her and Gabe. I felt she got to have her say to Gabe at least, but I also wanted more to it all. That left me a little dissatisfied. I wanted more from Gabe; I wanted him to have a reckoning with the very person who really instigated it all in the first place.
There's a lot of anger, pain and bitterness, all of it understandable, but I kind of felt weighed down by it. When I finished the story, I felt sad. Even the description of the town felt sad and oppressive. And after all that emotional pull, I wanted a bit of extra care and happiness at the very end. One scene, where Ellie tells Gabe what happened to her after she went away, was unbearably sad to me. The description, the detail, was heartbreaking. After all that, I really needed some happy feelings. It's fine to have a heart to heart and speak your grief, but I also needed a bright spot, another glimpse of love, to make the pain and sadness worth it.
So, not a cliffhanger to this h/H, it's a second chance for Gabe and Ellie, but a few questions remain unanswered, one of which sets up the next book,Untouched (Contemporary Romance) (Florence, Arizona Book 1). I can understand that, but I also feel more could have been here. Just some things I wanted and needed more of. A couple more chapters, even a short epilogue, would have been nice for this couple, and for me.
Underdeveloped Story **SPOILER ALERT**
Overall this was a decent read for me. I liked it well enough, but I never really got into it; it just didn't grab me. The premise of the story is pretty good, although by no means original. It's about a couple who get a second chance at love after being separated for years, and as is standard, before they can get their HEA, they must clear up past misunderstandings. The writing isn't bad, but the book does read as though it's written by a new author. I checked Ms. Hawkeye's Amazon page, and it looks like she's written a couple of books, including this one, and a few short stories/novellas, and this one may be one of her earlier works. But that's neither here nor there; everyone has to start somewhere, and I'm good with that unless of course, they don't learn from their past mistakes.
Ellie and Gabe are reunited after a ten year separation--the book blurb incorrectly states that it's five years. It's never a good sign when the book blurb has mistakes. Sigh! Anyhow, Ellie is back in her hometown to settle her recently deceased grandmother's estate. Ellie has very bad memories associated with Florence (her hometown), not the least of which is Gabe, her childhood sweetheart.
