Review: All the Breaking Waves by Kerry Lonsdale (audio)

Title:All the Breaking Waves

Author:Kerry Lonsdale

Narrator:Dara Rosenberg

Published:December 2016, Brilliance Audio

Length:9 hours 39 minutes

Source:Publisher 

From the bestselling author of Everything We Keep comes a gripping tale of long-buried secrets, the strength of forgiveness, and the healing power of returning home for good.

After a harrowing accident tore her family apart, Molly Brennan fled from the man she loved and the tragic mistake she made.

Twelve
years later, Molly has created a new life for herself and her
eight-year-old daughter, Cassie. The art history professor crafts
jewelry as unique and weathered as the surf-tumbled sea glass she
collects, while raising her daughter in a safe and loving
environment—something Molly never had. But when Cassie is plagued by
horrific visions and debilitating nightmares, Molly is forced to return
to the one place she swore she’d never move back to—home to Pacific
Grove.

A riveting exploration of love, secrets, and motherhood, All the Breaking Waves
is the poignant story of a woman who discovers she must confront her
past, let go of her guilt, and summon everything in her power to save
her daughter.

My thoughts:I really enjoyed Kerry Lonsdale’s debut novel, Everything We Keep, and so I knew I wanted to read more by her. Of course I jumped when I saw her new book, All the Breaking Waves. This stand-alone book is so different from Kerry’s previous book, showing just how talented a writer Kerry truly is.

What I loved about this book, what I found to be so intriguing is an aspect that I don’t generally gravitate towards in my reading preferences – but I found Kerry handled so well and tied it into the overall story line just right. This aspect I’m talking about is the element of paranormal that Kerry introduces. It wasn’t overly used and doesn’t take over at any point – it just gives the story that little something extra that kept me entranced and captivated. 

I loved the characters that Kerry has created for this story – they are so well-developed and real. The women we meet are strong but have a lot of things from their past that seem to be holding them back. There is a strong sense of just how strong the family bond unit can be throughout this book, as well as how strong fear can be in haunting one and keeping certain memories at bay.

This book has a little bit of everything to keep you interested – suspense, mystery, romance, drama, and magical realism. It all combines nicely into a story that keeps you on your toes, with some twists that you most likely will not see coming! Kerry Lonsdale is definitely not an author to miss!

Audio thoughts:I’ve listened to Dara Rosenberg before and so I knew I was in for a treat when I saw she was narrating this one. She did a great job with the voices of the characters in this book, even the little girl, Cassie – it wasn’t too young and it wasn’t too old, she made this voice sound just right. As for everything else, Dara was able to infuse just the right amount of tension, humor and emotion into her voice when needed. I really enjoyed this audio production.