A Place to Call Home

By: Carole Matthews

Narrated by: Rita Sharma

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

In the dead of night, Ayesha takes her daughter, Sabina, and slips quietly from her home, leaving behind a life of full of pain. Boarding a coach to London, all Ayesha wants is a fresh start. Hayden, a former popstar, has kept himself hidden away for years. He's only opened up his home to two people - Crystal, a professional dancer with a heart of gold, and Joy, an ill-tempered retiree with a soft spot for waifs and strays.

When Crystal asks Hayden if Ayesha and Sabina can stay with them, he reluctantly agrees and, as different as they may be, they quickly form an unlikely bond. So when enemies threaten their peaceful home, they will do all they can to save it and each other.

Uplifting and emotional, this is a novel of new beginnings, of discovering love and of finding A Place to Call Home.

©2014 Carole Matthews (P)2014 Isis Publishing Ltd

Critic reviews

"The perfect escape" ( Woman)
"Simply brilliant" ( Closer)
"Witty, funny and incredibly touching, this is perfect for lifting the spirits" ( Heat)
"Matthews is one of the few writers who can rival Marian Keyes gift for telling heart -warming tales with buckets of charm and laughs" ( Daily Record)

I considered not finishing this book a few times

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

As an audio book...only if they need to practice listening to a monotonous narrator with an Indian accent and all this without falling asleep; otherwise I'd recommend actually reading the book - not listening to it - as it is a nice and touching story. It does get a bit boring at times and the narrator makes even the happy scenes sound depressing. Very unilateral sound and speed.

Would you be willing to try another book from Carole Matthews? Why or why not?

Sure - with a different narrator.

Would you be willing to try another one of Rita Sharma’s performances?

hardly

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

probably not

Any additional comments?

I definitely recommend listening to to the preview. I'm almost sure that this audiobook is an 'either you like it - or not' - book. At one point I changed the speed of the narration and it still was surprisingly slow. On the other side I did want to know how the story would continue, which kept me listening till the end. The ending itself went by rather quickly (felt like 10 or 20 minutes...?) considering that the main part took hours of reading/listening.

Very Good Story, Excellent Performance

Where does A Place to Call Home rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This audiobook ranks highly among the many books I have listened to. The storyline was enhanced by the exceptional reading of the narrator who switched between dialects with supreme ease that made the story 'real' and brought it 'alive'.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Place to Call Home?

The narrator captured ones interest in the story right from the beginning of the first chapter as she described Ayesha and her daughters escape from a life of pain. I thought I could actually hear Ayesha's heart thumping!!

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

In the first chapter the hushed tone Rita used as she described their escape made me believe i was there watching & listening for the creak of the stair board. Rita's change between characters also made each of them real.

If you could rename A Place to Call Home, what would you call it?

Would never want to belittle the exceptional writing of the author by renaming her book.

Any additional comments?

Ive looked to see if the author has any other audible books....but alas...no.
Great book Carole Matthews...with love..!!