A Reason to Live

Reasons for Loving, Book 1

By: R. Barri Flowers

Narrated by: Jane Boyer

Length: 8 hrs

Publisher's summary

A Reason to Live is the first book in a charming and sentimental four-book fiction series of family drama and challenges, romance, relationships, and friendship titled Reasons for Loving.

A Reason to Live is about love, loss, heartache, courage, and second chances.

Nora Sheridan, a loving wife and mother and talented artist, lives with her husband Dan, an architect, and their two young daughters Suzie and Kristin on their sprawling horse ranch in Akers Ridge, Oregon. Nora's world is shattered when her family is the victim of a violent crime, tragically taking their lives and ending hers in the ways that counted most.

Now alone and in her mid-30s, Nora struggles to cope with her life that hardly seems worth living with the help of her best friend Marilyn and her father-in-law George. Years later, she reunites with her first love, Robert Logan, at a 20-year high school reunion in Portland.

Robert is a successful art dealer who recently returned to his hometown with a precocious teenage daughter Steffi after a failed marriage. He courts Nora, seeking more than a nostalgic trip down memory lane, but finds the going tough as he has to compete with the memories of her late husband and children. Slowly, but surely, Nora begins to let down her guard and open up to the possibility of a new yet old romance, giving her a reason to live and love again in this poignant novel.

The tale blends horse country and city life with inspiring contemporary drama and complex romance and will tug at your heartstrings. The book includes an excerpt from book two in the Reasons for Loving series, A Reason to Love, and additional bonus material for listeners.

©2018 R. Barri Flowers (P)2018 R. Barri Flowers

LOVELY BOOK ABOUT LOSS AND LOVE

I thought this was a lovely book by R. Barri Flowers. Very powerful in both loss and love, it really shows a family's amazing bond. I lived in the Pacific NW, so a lot was familiar to me. I really enjoyed this book, and I think it's great testament to love - it comes and it goes, sometimes horrifically, but we should always keep our hearts open to love. So glad I was given the opportunity to read/listen to this, really enjoyed it :)
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Characters too perfect to believe

Listened to audio narrated by Jane Boyer. The first eight chapters are about Nora with her husband and children and their idealized life, before they are taken from her. Nora and her family are portrayed as this perfect family, all about the love they have for each other and their hopes that they have many years ahead to share. The author does an excellent job conveying the shock and loss. After the violence, the story again becomes a romantic fantasy. The characters are all understanding, kind and sweet, even Robert's cheating ex-wife, is all understanding and wishing Robert well with Nora. It's a sweet romance, a good storyline but the characters were too sweet for me and I felt the narrator was too monotone.