Review: The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos (audio)

Title: The Precious One   

Author: Marisa de los Santos   

Narrator:  Abby Craden, Arielle DeLisle 

Published: March 2015, Harper Audio   

Length: 12 hours 33 minutes  

Source: Personal copy via Audible 

From the bestselling author of Belong to Me, Love Walked In, and Falling Together comes a captivating novel about friendship, family, second chances, and the redemptive power of love

In
all her life, Eustacia “Taisy” Cleary has given her heart to only three
men: her first love, Ben Ransom; her twin brother, Marcus; and Wilson
Cleary — professor, inventor, philanderer, self-made millionaire,
brilliant man, breathtaking jerk: her father.

Seventeen years
ago, Wilson ditched his first family for Caroline, a beautiful young
sculptor. In all that time, Taisy’s family has seen Wilson, Caroline,
and their daughter Willow only once.

Why then, is Wilson calling
Taisy now, inviting her for an extended visit, encouraging her to meet
her pretty sister — a teenager who views her with jealousy, mistrust,
and grudging admiration? Why, now, does Wilson want Taisy to help him
write his memoir?

Told in alternating voices — Taisy’s strong, unsparing observations and Willow’s naive, heartbreakingly earnest yearnings — The Precious One
is an unforgettable novel of family secrets, lost love, and dangerous
obsession, a captivating tale with the deep characterization, piercing
emotional resonance, and heartfelt insight that are the hallmarks of
Marisa de los Santos’s beloved works.

My thoughts: This was one of the She Reads picks for the “Books of Spring” selections and I am totally late in writing my review of it. I actually listened to the book back in April, but just got behind in my reviews and am only now getting around to it. And it’s not even because I didn’t like it, because I really enjoyed this book…in fact, even now as I type up this review, I can vividly recall this story – that’s a true testament to how well this story has held up in my mind! So, I apologize for not sharing this review with you sooner!

This is the first book I’ve read by Marisa de los Santos and I will certainly be going back and checking out her other works. I loved her characters, her writing, her storytelling – I felt myself getting lost in her words and I had a hard time not thinking of these characters when I wasn’t listening to the book. 

I loved how the chapters alternated from Taisy’s point of view to Willow’s point of view. This really allowed us to get to know each of the sisters from their own perspective, while still seeing what was going on when the two are finally brought together by their father’s command. Wilson Cleary wasn’t really around much when Taisy was growing up and then left Taisy, her twin brother and her mother to start a new family with Caroline. When Willow came along, he decided to do the father thing the right way and doted on her, being almost too attentive. 

This is a story about siblings and parents and children, about love and all the ways that families come together, but also about how they can come apart. Family crises arise and the true test of what it means to be a family comes into play. It’s a story that feels so real, with family drama that sucks you in and yet nothing really feels contrived. But, at the same time, it’s also an emotional read and one that will leave you feeling emotionally spent one moment, but then chuckling the next. 

Audio Thoughts: I thought the narrators did a great job with the audio production of this book. Each one was perfect for the role they had – Abby Craden for Taisy’s chapters and Arielle DeLisle for Willow’s chapters. This is the first time I’ve listened to either one of these two narrators and felt that they really captured the two characters’ personalities. I will definitely be looking into what else they narrate.

  The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos is one of the She Reads “Books of Spring” reading selection picks.

Head over to the She Reads website to read reviews and related posts of this book, as well as
posts related to the other “Books of Spring” selections.