When You Make It Home

By: Claire Ashby

Narrated by: Piper Brown

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Meg Michaels, a bookstore owner, has already walked away from two cheating exes. She's learned her lesson and has her mind set on success - until she gets knocked up. Embarrassed and unwilling to discuss her situation with friends and family, she wears layers to hide the pregnancy.

When Meg gets sick at a party, she's mortified. Even worse, Theo Taylor, the guest of honor, discovers her secret. Theo, an Army medic wounded in the war, agrees not to reveal her condition, and the two forge a bond of friendship that blossoms into love.

Theo is soon filling all of Meg's late-night cravings - and not just the pregnancy-induced ones. But can their love overcome all the obstacles that stand between them and creating a happy family?

©2014 Claire Ashby (P)2015 Red Adept Publishing, LLC

Very Satisfying

What a beautiful story! This was so unexpected. I don’t even remember why I decided to listen to it in the first place. I must have seen it when I was looking at a random reviewer’s comments. Out of curiosity, I looked it up on GR, and the overwhelming positive comments made me curious. Then I was interested in learning how things unfolded with the h who was supposed to be hiding her pregnancy. That sparked my interest. And once I started listening, I couldn’t stop.

This wasn’t the usual billionaire meets young innocent/ambitious working girl. This was a war hero -- an amputee -- and a part owner of a bookstore – two regular people. But talk about issues. There were many unexpected turns and lots of surprises. Totally blew me away. I felt the biggest issue was coming to terms with yourself after your birth mother has rejected you. Learning to say: I’m okay. I love me. I deserve to be loved. As someone who also wanted to hear those words from my mother, you know I was in tears A LOT as I listened to this audiobook. I like how the author also explored who is your true parent – blood vs love as she put the spotlight on three fathers.

Interesting plot and the author immediately sparked our interest zooming in on both major characters. I love when we aren’t misled in the first few pages/minutes of listening, and we got a true glimpse of Theo and Meg from the get-go. Well-developed characters. Great ending with an obvious resolution.

Recommended for those who love m/f romance with some steam, some angst but no drama.

Wonderful, Beautiful story

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

Yes, it is A MUST READ for all, and I will definitely recommend it to everyone!

What does Piper Brown bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Piper Brown's voice is magical, her performance pictures the characters and their emotions exactly how they're supposed to be.

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

I really love the stories of wounded soldiers and war heroes, this was one of the best I've ever heard, in combination with Meg's secret and Theo's awesomeness. I couldn't stop listening until I finished it!!!

Any additional comments?

I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts opinions and ratings are my own. I was under no obligation to post a review or give positive feedback.Thank you very much Claire Ashby and Piper Brown for this book.

Great story with mystertly solved

Love the story, loved how everything get resolved in the end. Loved the excitement for the coming of the babies. Would love to have more Meg, Emma, Jake, Theo story after the babies are born

A sweet love story ...

Which character – as performed by Piper Brown – was your favorite?

While I enjoyed Meg very much, Ms. Brown's performance of Theo was very good also. She gave him the right amount of toughness but at the same time made him very caring and loving too

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

There were parts of the story that made me mad at Meg. She did a few things that seemed to me to be sabotaging her relationship with Theo. It was like she could't 'make a clear decision.

Any additional comments?

When You Make It Home is a well written story about two people who meet at a time when each of them are trying to find their way. Meg has just cancelled her engagement and wedding. Then during a lapse in judgement she finds herself pregnant. Meanwhile, Theo has come home from the war both physically and emotionally scarred. Can the two of them find what they need in each other.

I truly liked this book. I would love to see what happens next for both Meg and Theo. I'd also like an update on her best fried Ellie and Ellie's husband Jake, who happens to be Theo's brother.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com

When you make it home...

I am a author myself, and many times I have to remind myself that just because I can feel the emotions, and descriptions of a setting doesn't mean that the reader will be able to. I felt the author did a good job drawing the reader in with the way the characters felt. I really liked throughout the book how she homed in on that it doesn't take a biological "parent" to really make you someone's parent. That too hit home as I had a child at the age of nineteen and the paternal father relinquished his rights to her. My husband has raised her and been apart of her life since before she turned two and at the age of seven legally adopted her. We have since had one other daughter ourselves; and many people comment on how they would never know that my first child wasn't my husbands because he treats them no differently, and loves them both the same. Kudos to this book and that it portrays men that are excellent fathers who are not biological fathers. And kudos to all the people out there that can love unconditionally.

Really Good

I have ready many books like this, some long and others short. This one is one of the longer ones and it was very good. I enjoyed listening to it. I like characters and how they all sort of resemble real people and how a real person would react. Some parts were predictable, however, I don't believe that predictability is always be a bad thing. I haven't read a good book in a long time. Thank you Claire Ashby!!

Loved the listen. Wanted to shoot the heroine!

Any additional comments?

This was an interesting listen and very well narrated. I hated the heroine.

Meg was beautiful, a college graduate, owned her own company, and had friends and family who loved her. I never got a sense for why she kept doing the things she did. It was a constant head scratcher.

I loved the supporting cast and their backstories though! Theo, the love interest, is an injured war veteran. Meg's mother left her and her twin when they were kids. Meg's twin had an interesting love history. Meg's baby's daddy, well, he had issues. Meg's Dad (and her stepmom) are the stuff of legends. I loved them all.

Don't get me wrong, it was a really good listen. I just had a hard time tolerating Meg's decisions. (When offered, Meg actually took the ring from her ex-fiance and put it back on her finger and saw nothing wrong with wearing it around her new boyfriend, Theo.) That's totally personal so don't let that stop you from downloading.

ADD NOTE: I love the narrator and will look for more from her!

Recommended Listen

I read this book before so when the audio option came out I jumped on it. I really loved Meg and Theo. Both characters were broken for different reasons but found something in each other. Meg was annoying at times with her attitude but it was understanding because she had issues with feeling worthy of love. I never say this but Theo gave me all the feels. He was a great guy but had issues of his own. I really loved the resolution to this story and enjoyed listening as much as reading.

This was my first book from the narrator Piper Brown.I think she did a great job with the book and look forward to listening to more from her.

Copy provided by AudioBook Boom for review.

Great incite into our returning soldiers.

I was given this audio book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book! Meg has been cheated on by two different men. She's pregnant with the child of one of them and trying desperately to ignore the pregnancy. Theo has just returned from war. He's battered physically and emotionally. There is an attraction between the two, but are they ever messed up. Theo moves into Claire's house to help her get it ready for the baby (and to give himself space from his mother). The attraction is so sweet, but almost injurious to them at the same time. There's lots of love and hurt entwined.
There are so many different layers to the plot of this book. The relationships between all of the characters, not just the main ones, are fully developed. The book has the best characterization of any I've read in a long time
Claire Ashby obviously did her research on wounded warriors. As the wife of one, I really appreciate her relaying so honestly how difficult it is to love one and how much work it takes from both people.
The narration by Piper Brown was superb. I could have listened to her perform this book reading forever. The character differentiation was very good as was the pacing of the sentences. Her voice is wonderful and beautifully portrays the emotions of the characters. I'll definitely look for more performances by her.

very good

this story was sweet, full of hope and love. I liked how the characters never gave up. They were an inspiration to overcome their problems and issues. I thought both the narrator and author are very talented. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.