Blissed

Misfit Brides, Book 1

By: Jamie Farrell

Narrated by: Karen White

Welcome to Bliss, the bridal capital of the Midwest!

Natalie Castellano practically has it all - beauty, brains, and a stellar reputation. Because childbearing hips and exhaustion lines are totally sexy. And knowing when to let go of her family's failing bridal boutique is smart...right? Plus, who doesn't want to be that divorced mother in Bliss?

With all she has going for her, it would be selfish to secretly wish for love too. Who needs it? Definitely not Nat. But perhaps she does need to take her wedding dress-obsessed little boy somewhere else for a fresh start.

CJ Blue is on top of the world. At least, he was last week when he stood on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Now, he's in an empty confessional, hiding from the hullabaloo of a family wedding. a.k.a. the depths of hell.

His meddling relatives want to poke at the deep psychological wounds he supposedly bears from being a 20-something widower. But he doesn't want to talk, he doesn't want to be fussed over, and he certainly doesn't want another chance to fail at love. He just wants to get through this wedding and back to his adventurous life.

But when a dark-haired, wounded-eyed beauty invades his sanctuary and whispers a secret he was never supposed to know, he gets swept up in her life. Is he brave enough to tackle the adventure of life in Bliss, or will he walk away from the only woman in the world who could offer him love, forgiveness, and a second chance?

©2014 Jamie Farrell (P)2016 Jamie Farrell

Critic reviews

"Farrell marries warmth with tongue-in-cheek wit in this marvelous romantic comedy." ( Publishers Weekly starred review)

I love Bliss

What made the experience of listening to Blissed the most enjoyable?

The narrator was very good!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Blissed?

The itch weed scene with Natalie and CJ.

Which scene was your favorite?

All of them! The husband games scenes.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh!

Any additional comments?

I love the town of Bliss!

Fun and heartwarming

I'd already read Blissed (and a few more of the Misfit Brides series), but it had been awhile. I love listening to audiobooks while cooking and driving, so I jumped at the chance to listen to this. I'm so glad I did!
The pacing was perfect and the story was as much fun as ever. I noticed new details with the narration that perhaps I skimmed through when I read the book. CJ is a wonderful hero and I love Natalie (maybe because I'm a bit tough to crack too). Their story made me laugh out loud a few times and had my eyes welling up with tears more than once. I really enjoyed going back to the first of the books set in Bliss! The characters and the town have really won me over.

CJ and Natalie

What did you love best about Blissed?

The final third of the book was my favorite. The previous two-thirds were frustrating.

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

Basil at the airport was a pivotal point for me. I loved the parts with CJ and how he saw things happening. Natalie was in her head too much and there was too much rambling and whining from her.

Any additional comments?

I was irritated the people in town would allow Marilyn to lord over them for so long. As well, that they allowed her to ruin other lives because of her beliefs.

Wonderful story!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I've had the pleasure of both reading my kindle copy of the book and listening to the audiobook of Blissed. I really enjoyed Blissed when I first read it. I had a few issues with Natalie not standing up or herself in the beginning of the book and her blaming CJ for something that was truly a mistake from 5 years ago, but that as early in the book and once I got past about 5% of the book, I totally fell in love with the story. I loved watching CJ come back to life again after living with guilt over the death of his military wife. I adored the entire Blue clan and loved they always had CJ's back, even when he didn't want them around I also love how CJ interacted with Natalie's son Noah. Seriously heart-melting watching the two of them together. The build up of the romance between Natalie and CJ ended up being perfect for me. I loved they had instant attraction, yet both were cautious because of their pasts.

Karen White is the narrator for the audiobook and she absolutely brings the characters to life. She was spot-on with each of the character's voices and I fell in love all over again with the story as I listened to Karen White.

What about Karen White’s performance did you like?

She did a spot-on job with each of the characters voices that brought the story to life.

If you could take any character from Blissed out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Kimmie because I want to listen to her tell me about all her strange dreams.

read it. Don't listen to it.

the reader of this audiobook makes the character seem very whiny which gets really annoying after a while. I tried to enjoy the story which was well written and fun, but kept wanting to stop listening because of the reader.