Surviving Us

By: Erin Noelle

Narrated by: Meghan Kelly

Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Two survivors.

Two weeks.

One awakening.

When Bristol Criswell travels to St. Lucia for an Enduring Life retreat, she hopes to discover encouragement and support from like souls. A vacation fling is the furthest thing from her mind, especially not with a cocky-mouthed, arrogant jerk like Davis McKay.

But when it becomes evident she can't deny the magnetic attraction between the two, she gives in to her desires, and for the first time in her life learns the difference between simply living and truly feeling alive.

As their time in paradise quickly comes to an end, will her heart be able to withstand another devastating loss when it's time to say good-bye? Or will their connection be strong enough to survive the real world?

Death brought them together, but love will give them a reason to live.

Surviving Us is a standalone, mature NA novel intended for listeners 18+.

©2014 Erin Noelle Garcia (P)2015 Erin Noelle Garcia

Sweet little book

Would you listen to Surviving Us again? Why?

I would, it was a very sweet romantic book.

What did you like best about this story?

The Ending, I always love happy endings.

Any additional comments?

This is a book about two people that have suffered loss, but learned how to live again.

Surviving Us

This was a nice sexy love story. The book was really enjoyable and I would recommend it. Meghan Kelly did a very good job with the narration, although narrating some of the characters was a challenge. I received this free copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great story yet the worst narration I've ever heard

STORY: 4.5 stars
NARRATOR PERFORMANCE: 2 stars

I received an Audible audiobook for free from the Narrator, Meghan Kelly, in exchange for my honest review. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the sound, making it very difficult for me to enjoy this audiobook as much as I might have. When the narrator was not reading dialogue, she used a very soft tone of voice. Her voice was so soft that some might consider it to be a whisper. This whisper-like voice was soothing however the volume of her voice was so low that I would have to turn up the volume in order to hear what was being said. This would not have been an issue if the narrator's voice did not become extremely loud each and every time she read dialogue. There were such extreme differences in volume that it became a problem for me.... If I had the volume set so that I could hear her whisper-like voice clearly, I would often be startled by the sudden, booming loud voice when a character spoke. If I kept the audiobook volume lower so that the characters were not bellowing and shouting, I could no longer hear what the narrator was whispering/saying in between the boisterous dialogue. Having to constantly adjust the volume throughout the 7 hour audio book was quite frustrating and something I've luckily never had to do before and hopefully will never have to do again.

In addition to the sound issues, Ms. Kelly could benefit from working on improving some other narrating skills. For example, Ms. Kelly demonstrated having a habit of erroneously emphasizing the wrong word(s) in a sentences, often causing the statement or phrase to sound odd. I don't know if this was caused by poor breath control or over articulation.

Ms. Kelly was faced with quite a challenge as there are characters from around the world in this book. Ms. Kelly did an excellent job with some of the accents yet failed with others. For example, a British character sounded like a British New Yorker in my opinion. Also, the voice she used to speak as the female main character's best friend Olivia was like nails on a chalkboard. Even though Olivia was not supposed to be ditzy or an airhead, the Ms. Kelly spoke in an excessively bubbly, cheerleader-style voice. Since all of the dialogue was read at a higher volume than the non-dialogue reading, when Olivia spoke it was like a cheerleader on cocaine was screaming at me (the end of chapter 25 & beginning of chapter 26 for example). However, Ms. Kelly did do a good job of altering her voice when reading as the male main character.

Surviving us is a great story. It is an erotic romance about a college aged man (Davis) and woman (Bristol) yet it's not your typical, boilerplate new adult romance. Both Bristol and Davis have survived extremely traumatic events and end up meeting because of this shared commonality. Ms. Noelle does an excellent job of creating a very unique, believable situation for these two, creating a story that is touching, sentimental and moving. This book also contains plenty of the hot, steamy sex scenes Erin Noelle is so skilled at creating! Aside from being an emotionally grouping book, it's also exciting, passionate, tense and smoking hot!

Scandalously Delightful

Scandalously Delightful
Warning: Strong Adult Content. This is not one for the car rides with kids. Davies and Bristol have both suffered severe trauma and are on a therapy trip of sorts for survivors on the tropical island of St. Lucia. Davis, and all the characters for that matter are fond of swearing. He is a moody bum that is ‘wallowing in depression’. His words. Bristol is a skinny, sassy mouth, sports nut that Davies nicknames ‘Trouble’. She has painful memories and guilt laden mornings. They have quite a nice rhythm going on between them and I love their witty interludes. They found solace in each other and both offered the other the help and support to become fully alive and overcome their fears and guilt to move on from the tragedies they both survived. The rest follows the cookie cutter pattern where the go their separate ways, some drama and they live happily ever.

This book has the greatest poetry at the start of each chapter that are a perfect synopsis of what is going to happen. Sometimes I find these cheesy but they were nicely done in this love story. The storytelling alternates between Bristol and Davies. The narrator has a range of voices that fit the back and forth, first person style narration well. The native Caribbean accents were a bit off as well as some of the other foreign accents but it did not detract from the overall presentation. I liked the fact that she had different voices. The repartee between characters were so witty and very funny and I think the narrator brought the characters to life with the varied voices. The performance was well done. It is probably not worth a credit to me as I like to use my credits on longer books of a different genre but I probably would buy it. It is credit worthy.

**I was given a free copy of this book by the narrator in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own**

A great little love story

Where does Surviving Us rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was a good love story that I just didn't want to put down

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bristol I really like how she overcame her loss and the struggles

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

Yes I have and I must say I have enjoyed all of her books but at times she seems to talk a little to fast for me.

Any additional comments?

This is a book I would highly recommend.

Cute Story

Interesting story about Bristol and Davis, a young couple who are both dealing with personal tragedies. I would have enjoyed it much more if the characters were more developed and with a little less sex. Loved Meghan Kelly's narration. A worthwhile listen.

Awesome book!!!!

If you could sum up Surviving Us in three words, what would they be?

inspiring love story

What about Meghan Kelly’s performance did you like?

I have listened to other books performed by Maghan and I must say I have enjoyed each one. I really like how she gives each character their separate and realistic voices it makes listening more interesting.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes I listen to it in one sitting I just couldn't stop to the point my family gave up on me for the day.

Surviving us

Would you try another book from Erin Noelle and/or Meghan Kelly?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I really didn't like this book at all.It seemed crass and brash to me.I usually adore Meghan Kellys narrations,but not so with this book.
"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com"

Love gave them a reason to live!

If you could sum up Surviving Us in three words, what would they be?

Love Conquers All

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bristol and Davis were both survivors and I really liked them very much. I can't tell who is my favorite and why, but I saw them as a couple defying death, tragedy so as to have their happy ending.

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

I've listened to almost all of Meghan Kelly's other performances and I really think she is wonderful. She is evolving fast and her voice is awesome! I will continue listening to every book she narrates!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Against all Odds!

Any additional comments?

I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts opinions and ratings are my own. I hope this review was useful to you and helped your decision to read or not read this book. I love reading and sharing my opinions with other readers. Thank you very much Erin Noelle and of course my favorite Meghan Kelly for this book!

A New Adult Romancce

What did you love best about Surviving Us?

I liked that Ms. Noelle didn't shy away from the hurt and pain that can come from being a survivor. When Davis shows the outward stress at the beginning of the book it was very real. As soon one who has issues with situations that I can't control, I understood his actions on the plane.

Which character – as performed by Meghan Kelly – was your favorite?

Bristol was my favorite character. She has survived so much and at 19 she had to grow up faster than most. I liked the support she had from both her Gram and Olivia. I am a big fan of Ms. Kelly and I find that her best work is in the New Adult Genre. She has a real feel for the 17-25 age group.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

At almost 7 hours long, this would be a tough book to do all at one time. The chapters are set up that you can stop at the end of one and come back and not lose your place. It would make for a good weekend listen.

Any additional comments?

Surviving Us is about Bristol and Davis. Two survivors of horrific tragedies who meet on a 'Survivors Retreat'. While they are both at the retreat to work through their feelings and guilt, the find that the attraction between the two of them is strong. Really strong. After their two weeks together, will they be able to return to the lives they lead before.

Ms. Noelle does a wonderful job of expressing the grief that can be felt after surviving tragedies such as the ones Bristol and Davis have. As this is a New Adult book, there is strong language and mature themes including sex. Lots of sex. Recommended for 18+ and older.