Review: Willow Brook Road by Sherryl Woods (audio)

Title:Willow Brook Road

Author:Sherryl Woods

Series:Chesapeake Shores, #13

Narrator:Christina Traister

Published:September 2015, Brilliance Audio

Length:10 hours 7 minutes

Source:Publisher

#1 New York Times
bestselling author Sherryl Woods sweeps readers away with the story of a
beloved member of the O’Brien family as she claims the life she’s
always dreamed of…

Spirited, spontaneous Carrie
Winters has grown up under the watchful eyes of not only her grandfather
Mick O’Brien, but the entire town of Chesapeake Shores.

Now that
she’s home from Europe, a glamorous fashion career behind her and her
heart broken, there seem to be far too many people watching to see if
she’ll live up to the expectations her family has for her.

As if
that weren’t enough pressure, Carrie finds herself drawn to sexy,
grief-stricken Sam Winslow, who is yearning for someone to help him
raise the nephew who’s unexpectedly come into his life after a tragedy.

With
her own life in turmoil, is Carrie really ready to take on a new career
and a new man? Or is Sam exactly what she needs to create the strong,
loving family she’s always wanted?

My thoughts:This is the latest in Sherryl Wood’s Chesapeake Shore’s series and I just love this series. It’s a nice break from the heavy, psychological thrillers that I’ve been reading/listening to lately and while I do enjoy them, sometimes a good, sweet romance is just what I need and this series is exactly that and more.

I’ve read every book in this series and so I loved that this book featured Carrie, who was just a little girl in the very first book, finally getting her HEA. I loved that and loved that along the way in the series, we’ve seen her grow up. This is her and Sam’s story and I loved their first interaction – I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight, but there was definitely something there. They each have a lot going on in their own lives and getting involved right away isn’t necessarily the smartest move, but they are drawn to each other. I loved that they became friends first and helped each other out. This really helped build a solid foundation for their relationship. 

One of the things I love about this series is that the O’Briens and others around town are not shy about getting involved in everyone’s business. This was especially true with Carrie when it came to her and Sam’s relationship. It was also true on a few other fronts as well, and this is where the friendship between Carrie and Sam became so important – he became the rock she needed to lean on and bounce ideas off of when no one else would give her the chance. 

Getting updates on all the other characters is like catching up with old friends. There are other story lines woven in that end up resolved by the end, though none as compelling as Mack and Susie‘s. Oh my word, did I feel for them. And boy oh boy, can Sherryl Woods create such rich characters that you want to both comfort and smack the same character. 

I’m not sure if this is the last book in this series or if there will be more. I do know what Sherryl Woods is taking a bit of a hiatus from writing this year, so there’s no update as to if there will be more to this series. But, there is good news…the Hallmark Channel is doing a miniseries of the books this summer. I’ll be watching…will you?

Audio thoughts: Once again, I thought Christina Traister did a great job with this narration. She’s narrated the last few books in this series and I really enjoy listening to them. She does a great job with the voices and makes the story come to life. If there are more books in this series, I will definitely continue to listen to them on audio and will hope that Christina Traister continues to narrate them!

Books in this series:

1. The Inn at Eagle Point                            9.  The Summer Garden
2. Flowers on Main                                     10.  A Seaside Christmas
3. Harbor Lights                                           11.  The Christmas Bouquet
4. A Chesapeake Shores Christmas      12.  Dogwood Hill
5. Driftwood Cottage                                  13.  Willow Brook Road
6. Moonlight Cove                                    
7. Beach Lane 
8. An O’Brien Family Christmas