Conflicting Hearts

By: J. D. Burrows

Narrated by: Andi Arndt

Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Rachel Hayward hoped to have a quiet thirtieth birthday alone. Instead, fate had different plans.

Caught in traffic and late for work, she can do nothing except wait for the freeway gridlock to ease. A three-car pileup has caused the snarl. Just as cars begin to move at a faster clip, Rachel takes her eyes off the road to gawk at the accident and rear-ends the car in front of her.

Sick over having ruined her day, she lowers her head onto the steering wheel and waits for the driver to begin a tirade over her stupidity. Instead, a kind man taps on her window showing genuine concern about her welfare. The brief colliding encounter suddenly starts a relationship between two strangers that takes off under odd circumstances.

When the couple gets to know each other on a more intimate level, their relationship turns into a conflicting set of desires and needs. Rachel is bound by a shameful, dark childhood. After she falls in love with the handsome Ian Richards, she is faced with the decision to leave him or finally confront her demons to obtain the one thing in life she's always needed - healing from the sexual abuse she endured as a little girl.

©2012 Vicki Hopkins (Pen Name J.D. Burrows) (P)2014 Vicki Hopkins (Pen Name. J.D. Burrows)

Conflicting Hearts

***REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***’



I really enjoyed this book and Andi Arndt is one of my favorite Narrators. However, One HUGE issue I have with this story is that when Rachel asks for a 3 month time out so she can return to counseling he tells her he’ll wait for her and that he’ll never give up on her yet when she contacts him after 2 months he admits that he’s had a few dates with his ex wife and that they’ve done “other things” together as well.... His marriage had ended after his wife cheated on him and left him for another man! Yet he was “confused” as to if he wanted to try with his ex again or continue his relationship with Rachel?!? I would of told him to enjoy her stank ass and walked away!! Other than that I did enjoy the book and it def helped that Andi was the one (vocally) delivering the story! I absolutely love Andi, Maxine Mitchell, Joe Arden, Christian Fox, Sebastian & Jeremy York.... gosh I’m sure I’m forgetting some but those are my FAVS!!!

Love Love Love this Story

This is one of the best audio book I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. It felt like therapy to a broken soul. I immediately looked for more audio books by J.D. Burrows but sadly didn’t find any. I couldn’t stop listening until the end of the book. Andi Arndt is one of the best narrators, she brings the characters to life.

Stays with you long after you finish the book...

Where does Conflicting Hearts rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best books I've had the privilege to read. I highly recommend this book to any and all listeners. Some scenes may have a triggering effect, so readers beware. But, it's written tastefully, and the narration is wonderful.

What did you like best about this story?

The rawness and honesty from where the story is told. It's a true eye-opener.

Which character – as performed by Andi Arndt – was your favorite?

Rachel and I are polar opposites in relation to coping with our past abuse. We are both wired wrong, and struggling to find normal.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I listened to the audio version of this fantastic novel, as that's the format I prefer when I'm busy. I figured I would listen a little each day during some free moments. That didn't happen! I couldn't put it down and listened to the entire book in one day!

A fender-bender on the road, brings Rachel (an administrative assistant) and Ian (a promininant attorney) together by accident. Ian persues a relationship with the very reluctant Rachel, and finally succeeds in winning her trust. But when they attempt to consummate their relationship, he finds that loving her may not be enough to overcome her dark and haunting secrets. Yes...she is broken, but not ruined. The ensuing struggle to make this relationship work, not only awakened memories and nightmares from my own past, but it also touched my soul.

I never expected such a poignant and indepth journey into the mind and soul of a sexual abuse victim. This author captures the essence and nuances of a taboo subject, yet weaves them into a beautiful, gripping story of love, hope, pain, and rebirth, that stays with you long after you've finished the book. I had to ponder and digest my overwhelming and raw feelings for a few days, before I could write this review. The author brings to the forefront, a view of the damage left behind by a child abuser; the struggle to overcome, and the fight to be normal...whatever that is. It's also a peek into the dark programming such abuse does to a child's mind; a program that unfortunately, cannot ever be deleted.

The scenes and situations concerning the abuse are not described in graphic detail; they are written tastefully, placed appropriately, and with blatant honesty. However, they may have a triggering effect on some readers. Overall, the scene descriptions, the likeable and believeable characters, and the message of hope and healing are beautifully depicted. The author's grasp of the suffering, shame, and secrecy is spot on!

I loved the narrator, Andi Arndt. Her performance made the emotion in each scene jump out and grab me! Bravo...Andi!!

I highly recommend this beautifully written, believable, and powerful love story. It will open your eyes and touch your heart!

BRAVO JD Burrows...I'm forever a fan! Well done!

Heartbreakingly beautiful!

Ian & Rachel's story is definitely an eye opener. It is one that will absolutely stick with me. Author did amazing bringing this love story to fruition. Andi Arndt is a wonderful narrator who really brought the story to life!

Actually a nice love story

I liked this story. Very sweet, even with Rachel's issues. Andi Arndt was the perfect narrator. Wish there were more the 2 books from Burrows on Amazon.

Superb 10 stars

Anything Andi Arndt narrates deserves a listen.
This book shines a light on the topic of abuse and its cruel toll on the human psyche. While the survivor finds herself growing to love a wonderful young man, climbing out of the hell in her mind is almost torturous.
As a survivor of sexual abuse as well as physical abuse, I can appreciate the author's depiction of the female character's struggle.
Bravo Ms Burrows.

POWERFUL!!!

Thank you J.D. Burrows for writing this. It was honest, open -- at times painful -- but beautifully done. I hope every parent who reads this will wake up and work hard to protect the innocence of their little ones -- boys and girls. Let our children be children, for a as long as they can be. Give them the strong foundation they need so they can be healthy, well adjusted adults.

This one was a hard one to finish

Would you try another book from J. D. Burrows and/or Andi Arndt?

I am not a Burrows fan. I won't read another book by this author. This was not a listen worthy of my credit nor would I have purchased it in a sale. Andi Arndt's narration was the only thing that enabled me to finish this book. With a lesser narrator, I would have stopped inside of the first few chapters.

What about Andi Arndt’s performance did you like?

Andi Arndt is one of my favourite narrators. She does a great job voicing characters and makes it easy for us listeners to differentiate conversational speakers. She's building a steadily growing library of audiobooks and I hope she'll continue to narrate more novels in this genre.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Underneath the disappointment there was a good underlying story. I just wish the delivery had been better. Burrows excelled at describing the mental anguish that comes from something as awful as the sexual molestation of a child. It is a touchy subject to write about and it was done tastefully. The psychological problems the main character, Rachel lived with in her day to day life were articulated well.

Any additional comments?

My biggest problem with this book was that it just wasn't believable. The start of the relationship was cute and original, but it was also jerky. The couple bantered easily one second and then slammed into awkward silence and short, painful conversation the next. Sometimes the shift came from a reaction and flashback to Rachel's trauma, but other times it just went there without reason. Ian himself was an overly sensitive guy in the body of an exceptionally handsome perfect male specimen who was also successful and wealthy. It was hard to imagine such a man wouldn't have tired of the awkwardness in the early stage of the relationship. Later on, his politeness and manner of speaking read more like an essay...it had a robotic feel. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot.

Bottom line, there should be an easy flow when reading a book and this book was severely lacking. It felt disjointed and fake. Back to the return bin for this one.

Who needs Melatonin???

It was a struggle to finish listening to this book. It was missing something. Maybe a bit rushed. Andy is the only reason I finished listening . She's awesome!!!!!