Review copy was received from Publicity team. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
When I Come Around by Karen Grey Narrator: Amanda Stribling, Ryan Lee Dunlap
Series: Carolina Classics #4
Published by Self-Published on May 22, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Length: 7 hours, 43 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publicity team
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Third time’s the charm… Oh, snap.
I honestly don’t know if I can survive risking it all on this woman again. The last time I put my heart on the line, the girl I protected from every bully growing up, not only said no, she ran right into the arms of the worst bully of them all.
I don’t know if she’ll ever choose me, but when she’s in trouble, I can’t just sit by and watch. When fate gives us a second chance, landing us both on a movie crew shooting in a romantic small town nestled in the North Carolina mountains, it’s not just the cooler nights bringing us closer together. And it’s not just the autumn leaves falling.
I’m doing my best to be the friend she needs, to take care of her the way her family never has, but when she puts a secret friends-with-benefits deal on the table, all bets are off.
Even if I’m destined to lose her--and my heart--all over again.
I have been waiting for Whitney’s story because she has had the most mysterious situation. Plus I wanted to continue the Carolina Classics series and see what is happening with all the five friends. With Whitney, it could be easy to think poor little rich girl but it’s more complicated than that.
Whitney took ill at Violet’s wedding and Ford takes her to the hospital. It turns out she was going into sepsis from a miscarriage. Her husband immediately files for separation. This is a timely issue today. She takes a job out of town because they will provide lodging.  The other friends are very worried about Whitney and push Ford to become a conduit for them to know how Whitney is doing. Luckily, her new job needs a sound guy so Ford is able to get that job with his sound team.
Ford has always loved Whitney. But they don’t really know each other. The comfort and caring of long time friends is there and the job gives them a chance to get to know each other more intimately while on their own. It’s a little weird with a slow burn emotional and fast burn physical.
When I Come Around takes us through the emotional journey of Whitney and Ford building a relationship. They learn about each other. In a way, they each think they aren’t good enough for the other. They are sort of committed to each other from start to end, but afraid to hurt the other person. Whitney wants to stand on her own before committing, after all she is separated but still married.
Ford and Whitney stay in their relationship, even when they are long distance. The rest of the group had various reactions but by the time they are more open about their relationship, they seem to be on board. I feel proud of how they tried to support and care for each other. I also feel badly for all Whitney went through. The sound effects of the AOL dialup for online email access was so .. familiar.  Be sure to read the epilogue, which shows them all four years later.
Narration:
I don’t believe I have listened to either narrator before. Stribling narrates the chapters from Whitney’s point of view and Dunlap narrates the chapters from Ford’s point of view. In this dual narration, I had the problem I sometimes do. Stribling’s voice for Whitney was sharp while Dunlap’s version of her was husky. They just didn’t sound similar at all. I didn’t notice or have an issue with Ford’s voice. Otherwise, I enjoyed the performance and the voices of their friends. I listened at 1.4x speed which is a bit slower than my usual speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Karen Grey
KAREN GREY is the pen name for award-winning narrator Karen White. A stage, screen and radio drama actor in Boston, New York and Los Angeles in the late 20th century, she started recording books in 1999. Now back in her home state of North Carolina, she shares a home with her family and (probably) too many pets, where she continues to narrate audiobooks as well as make up stories.
Karen White is a classically trained actress who has been recording audio books since 1999 and has well over 150 books to her credit and is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA. Honored to be included inAudiofile’s Best Voices 2010 and 2011, she’s also an Audie Finalist and Best Audiobook of the Year winner for 2009, 2010 and 2011 (The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon Reed, Too Good to be True by Erin Arvedlund, and Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor) and she has earned multiple Audiofile Earphones Awards, recently for and You Had Me at Woof by Julie Klam and Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz. Publishers Weekly says of Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, “Karen White delivers a stunning reading, her character interpretations are confident and well-rounded, and she forges a strong bond with the audience.” Speaking of Audiobooks says of her, “Karen is one of my auto-buy narrators – if I think a book may interest me, her narration will sway me to give it a try.”
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 24-COYER
Need to get back to this series! Glad you’re still enjoying.
It’s an interesting set of not quite historical stories with read personal development in the characters.
I enjoyed this one, which packed an emotional punch. The author does a great job getting inside the mind of someone who’s lived with abuse her whole life. The epilogue is a must!
yes I knew I would have feelings about this one. It was a different situation than I expected but an excellent read. I needed that epilogue.
My memory is crude, but the narrator Amanda Stribling sounds familiar to me.
I recognize her name but I think this is the first time I have listened to her.
I enjoyed the author’s other series before this. But this series hasn’t blown me away as much, so I kind of took a step back. Glad to hear that you are still enjoying it!
This was the one I was waiting for as the characters had been built up through the series.