Genres: Contemporary Romance
Published by Blackstone Audio Inc
Released on January 3, 2017
Length: 10 hours 8 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible Romance Package
The Delight
Two very unlikely pair of people come together having survived different trauma in their lives. Sweet as well passionate these two understood each other in ways no one else could have.
Review
Zachariah is a young man who has survived a lot in his 23 years. Growing up in a cult that the men took multiple wives, he sort of knew his chances of staying were slim. Caught making out with another teenager, Zach is beaten and banished from the compound. Knowing a couple once escaped he makes a painful and money-less journey to Vermont. With no high school degree, he uses his knowledge of car mechanics and hard work to get a job at the local orchard. Fearing he isn’t part of the family he always waits for the day they will let him go.
Lark has returned home from a traumatic experience that is still causing her nightmares. Escaping to her friends orchard to work the farmer’s market circuit selling apples, trying to take her healing into her own hands. Staying in the bunkhouse the nightmares continue as she can’t front what really happened when she was held hostage.
Zach helps Lark through her nightmares, holding her and comforting her. It starts off platonic, just one survivor helping another one deal with the horrors of their memories. Zach has always been drawn to Lark, even before she came to work and stay. They work the farmer markets together and grow closer each day. Zach is thought to be a virgin since he doesn’t go after women, nor knows the slang as well as the others. While he isn’t very experienced, he is aware of his own body and when it is attracted to someone. These two come together sweetly, passionately, and with a bunch of concern.
Lark finally comes to a place in her grief and trauma that needs more help than an orchard or lover can give. Secrets her friend has harbored come forth, causing more baggage for Lark to overcome. Zach stands strong behind her, but knows she needs to heal and if it is meant to be she will come back to him.
This is a long and sad story. Lark starts something she really isn’t in a good play to handle. Zach falls for Lark head over heels, but realizes her nightmares are getting worse. Holding her at night isn’t going to make the magically go away. When she hurts him with her words, he still holds onto what he knows he feels.
Meeting the family of the orchard, I realized quickly I was coming into the middle of a series and I had no back story to understand. While the story was good, it was a very long audiobook to cover a story that probably should have been shorter. I blame Lark for getting into something she really needed to take carefully, but I also realize she wasn’t in a good spot mentally to really think of what she was doing to hurt Zach. The story could have been shorter and the ending left me a little off. For all the length, the ending didn’t seem to fit the story.
The narrators were new to me, but expressed the emotions needed to make me believe I was really involved in the story. Unfortunately, I think I would have enjoyed this more reading than listening.
Challenges
Review Writing Challenge #14
Audio Book Challenge #5
Literary Pickers #11 – apples
Try Something New Challenge #9 – Series and Narrators
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 - Literary Pickers Challenge
- 2019 - Review Writing Challenge
- 2019 Audiobook Challenge
- 2019 Try Something New Challenge
Shari
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Oh yeah, that one sounds tough all around. I do like that the author didn’t make a guy a sudden cure-all for the girl, but I feel badly that she hurt him, too.
Both had gone through a lot. He grew up in a cult with poly relationships. There weren’t enough women for every man when they came of age, so he pretty much knew or thought he would be banished. Even having that in his mind, when it happens, I don’t know how he really got through it all. I guess, without a world knowledge at the time, he was able to simplify it and compartmentalize it. So he wasn’t insensitive to her plight and fell for her hard. For her part, she wasn’t taking her trauma as well and tried to… Read more »
Sometimes shorter is better.
Yep, I couldn’t agree more!
it’s an author I heard a lot about but I haven’t tried her yet I confess
I started with her hockey series when Penguin published it, but noticed the last few were self published. This one I think I got off the Romance Package and didn’t think to look before I jumped in that it wasn’t the first book.
Love sweet and passionate books! They are my favorite.
This series is very interesting, but I am not sure I will go back to read them for a while.
I love Sarina Bowen! I have listened to several of the books in this series but haven’t got to this one yet. I am so glad to see that you enjoyed it, Shari!
I fell in love with her hockey series and didn’t even think that this one was in the middle of another series, so I didn’t know everyone to fall to deeply in love with it.