No Regrets: A Novel of Love and Lies in World War II England

The Thornton Trilogy, Book 1

By: Mary Christian Payne

Narrated by: Melissa Chatwood

Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Sloan Thornton is the heir to Highcroft Hall, the family seat of the Earl of Wessex, in the quaint village of Thornton-on-Sea, on the southeast coast of England. He has always dreamed of finding his soul-mate. However, in a moment of weakness, just before he leaves to fight in World War II as an RAF pilot, he proposes to his childhood sweetheart, Anne Whitfield. There is no question how deep his devotion is to her, and how naturally they bring out the best in each other.

But, one fateful afternoon, Sloan encounters Elise, in a rural farmhouse on a French country road. It is May, 1940, and the Dunkirk Beaches are being evacuated. Sloan is wounded when his plane is shot down by the Luftwaffe. After he meets Elise, he can never forget her. He carries her memory with him throughout the war. In the meantime, Elise suffers terrifying misfortune.

When they meet again for the first time in over five years, the spark is still there. But, there is still Anne, who refuses to be left heartbroken and rejected. Sloan begins to question whether the life he's living is the one he's meant to live. Elise wonders the same thing.

No Regrets is a powerful story about one woman at the crossroads of true love and real life.

©2014 Christine Payne (P)2016 Christine Payne

Excellent book.

I loved the story. Narration was very good. Can't wait to read the second installment. There were a few skips. can

It's Like a Good Soap Opera on a Bad Day

If I could compare this book to anything it would be to my Dad watching As the World Turns in the 1980's with my mom. Everyday he said it was stupid and that he would read the paper while my mom watched. And every time he watched it over the top of the newspaper commentating everything said and done. Everyone was stupid and the plots weren't worth watching. Yet everyday my dad sat there and "pretended" to not watch it. In other words, this book is like a good soap opera on a bad day. I will not be telling any of my friends about this book, because I don't want anyone knowing I read it. And when I do listen to it again it will be under the veil of darkness.

Unique story, but disappointing audio

The story was quite different - a woman who had been repeatedly raped by three drunken Nazis, escaped to England. The home where she was directed turned out to be a brothel! (For those who might need to know, the rape scene is relatively short and handled without much drama.)

The woman turns out to be pregnant. She and a friend move to Briton on the Sea where they stay thru the end of the war. Elise, the now mother teaches French, the other Woman is a ladies maid. They are relatively happy and are in a good place.

On the day she had escaped to England, Elise had rendered first aid to a British soldier whose plane had been shot down. He had schooled her when upon meeting he told her she was his “Soul Mate”. It is the theme of being soul mates which is the theme of this book.

The narration was very disappointing for a professional book. It does not appear to have been edited. The narrator repeats sentences, seems to lose her place so there are blank places, and poorly switches voices for other parts. At one point the four year old is introduced to the British soldier (the one who believed in soul mates and the one for whom Elise had given first-aid). Chloe, the child, sounds like a middle schooler rather than a child of four.

Overall, had I known about the narration, I probably would not have chosen this book.

No Regrets: Book 1

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes, take the word "daft" out of it!!!

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

NO BIGGIE!!!

Have you listened to any of Melissa Chatwood’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, she was okay.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

If the author would have made it more believable.

Any additional comments?

BORED, HALFWAY THROUGH. I NOW HATE THE WORD "DAFT!"

Errors

Narration has problems. Characters kept repeating lines. Obviously not edited well. It was irritating to listen.

Good book ruined by frightful audio editing

Seriously, audible. Have someone listen to this and fix it!!!!! There’s no excuse for audio production editing this shoddy.

I regret buying this book

Ridiculous romantic love story. Couldn’t even finish 2 chapters. More starry eyed love story than historical fiction.

lame predictable love story

it was so predictable...like those hallmark movies. The performance did not help. I'm not sure if it was the falsely high pitches of the girls or the poor accents. it was hard to finish and I will definitely not be looking to hear the rest of the trilogy.

NIce story. Technical issues and horrid reading “performance “ blaaah, and historical errors!

Technically- this is an absolute mess! Editing is obviously not implemented in this book. Sentences repeating is a ridiculous oversight if editorial work was Even done. After half- I skipped forward many times. HISTORICAL ERROR: The author writes that the DDay invasion was public knowledge. In reality, No details were released, according to the historians who have written about this major invasion. The Nazis captured documents - which held NO details. This book should be removed and fixed. A new, (only semi-good) performance would be an improvement.