Undone

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Samantha Brentmoor and Patrick Zeller. I've listened to a lot of audiobooks, and this narration stood out as a true performance. There was a ton of emotion infused into the words. The audio really enhanced the story.

I'm not usually a fan of second chance, but I liked that the story was well done with more mature characters. I also like the supporting characters from the series in general, and I'm interested in reading more of the series.

I received a copy of the audiobook at my request, and the opinions here are my own.

Thanks to Home Cooked Books for the ALC & the chance to give my candid review.

Undone
by Amy Knupp

Narrated by Patrick Zeller & Samantha Brentmoor.

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall Rating: 4/5
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥☄️ 3.5/5

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 Small-town goodness & helpers all around.
🤩 The Inn—I’m such a sucker for an inn, especially one in need of improvements. Read the blurb!!
🤩 Second-chance romance—so much love and longing from their earlier-in-life love and breakup.
🤩 When Cash feeds Ava and apologizes.
🤩 Jealousy at the bar.
🤩 Introvert female MC—it feels like a rare treat.
🤩 Kitchen and frosting fun!
🤩 Family teasing.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 I was hoping for a few more laughs and a little more in the lusty feels. So greedy, I know.

Story: 3.5 ⭐️s
Narration: 4 ⭐️s

This third installment in the Henry Brothers series did not meet the level of anticipation I had at the end of book 2, so my experience with Ava and Cash’s love story was a slight let down by comparison. It can be hard to thread the second-chance romance trope needle - navigating any trope is an art form really - and the execution here was a bit underwhelming. I also found their overall connection in the present a bit surface. Both spend a lot of time in their heads thinking back on their past connection and I was less sure as to why they were into each other 17 years later. There is obviously a lingering physical connection, but there just weren’t enough out-of-bed interactions between the two, or maybe the quantity was fine, but the quality of those interactions was just (again) underwhelming. I think this is mostly down to Cash’s character development falling short when compared with Ava’s.

While Ava was developed through her interactions with other characters and her struggles with her grief, Cash was just sort of there and very much in h is own head. Most of his struggles were internal, so there were pages of pages of him in his head. I get he is the broody brother, but when he was interacting with his brothers or other characters, it did so much more to show him than all the telling in his head. I find this one of the pitfalls of first person POV and that’s not on Knupp; I enjoy her storytelling and the majority of her characters. I just prefer when character growth happens through action and interaction rather than redundant introspection; or I at least prefer when there is more of a balance between those elements. There is definitely that balance with Ava, and it’s done very well and that is what kept me engaged.

The secondary character work is also something I enjoy about this series as a whole, along with the setting. I’ve said in previous reviews, this is just a place I want to spend time and that has a lot to do with cast of characters Knupp has created. I was a little let down when in Cash’s POV because there was less of this, and even when other characters were not he scene, I was still frustrated by Cash; so I don’t think I enjoyed even that as much as I did when in Ava’s POV. For instance, I am interested in Knox. I loved that he and Ava’s relationship was purely platonic and there was no hint of any attraction between the two (despite Cash’s cliched assumptions). I kinda wish Cash and Ava’s romantic reunion had been half as compelling as her friendship with Knox. And that bomb Knox drops at the end was just… wow! Definitely excited to see how that plays out; though less excited that his story will include a traditional age gap (older man/younger woman). Still, I do want to see where things go!

The audiobook is solid. The standout performance in the narration was Samantha Brentmoor as Ava. Brentmoor is just gets better and better with each performance I hear. She moved seamlessly between emotions in this outing; Ava goes through it in this book, but there are still lighter moments. Brentmoor displays a range that was a perfect fit. While Patrick Zeller is a good narrator, I just wasn’t as into his performance as I as into Brentmoor’s. Now, maybe this was a case where because I was not as interested in the character, even a solid narrator could do little to save it. I’ve heard a few of Zeller’s performances in the past, and he can get the job done. It just worked less for me this time around.

Overall, I still recommend this one, as it is a lovely exploration of grief and how finding the right support system (when you didn’t know you were missing it) can be everything.

I received an ALC copy of the audiobook via Home Cooked Books. All opinions are my own.