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Collecting the Pieces
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Publisher's Summary
At fifteen I fell in love. His name was Jake Stephens and he took the abandoned, lonely girl I had been and made me whole. His love was a pure and unconditional love that made every day better than the last; a fairy tale of my very own. But this story isn't about Jake. It's about Abel Madden; the man I meet after the fairy tale goes to hell. A cocky, arrogant man who says what he wants, does as he pleases, and makes no excuses for it. He irritates me--downright pisses me off at times--but he also brings me back to life. My name is Sidney Ellis and this is my story of finding love twice--the first when I needed it most and the second when I never saw it coming.
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Average Customer Ratings
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- karen grave
- 27-03-2018
I looked over this one and came back to it
loved it. nearly didn't listen to it. The double soul mate I thought would be Harder to be believed. but l a fiore did it again. loved the main characters, even though I prefer my heroines with a little more spun. but Sidney was cool and Abel OMG!!! never been into beards but i can certainly change my mind.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PATRICIA
- 29-12-2017
A book that will stay with you
There are some books that just grab you from the start, and this one did just that. And it will stay with you after, a complete and total book hangover. LA Fiore is a wonderful storyteller, but with this book in particular, I have been enraptured. Sydney's childhood is less than happy, until she is a freshman in high school. Life for her changes when she meets Jake. Who meets their soulmate in high school? This lucky girl has finally found the happiness she has longed for...until tragedy strikes. Now with a new path, and a new life, she sets out to find a new happiness with someone completely the opposite of Jake. Abel, a broody alpha male, is a broken man, so we take the journey with these two to see if they can heal together. With a little suspense thrown in, it's truly a my kind of gem to hear. LA Fiore's depiction of love in this story resonates with such deeply real characters, making every emotion seem to be happening to the reader. You will feel the pain of loneliness and loss, love and excitement.
Listening to this story I think really brings it to life, giving the story real passion and credibility. Tracy Marks has a way of invoking the emotions of Sydney so authentically your heart will feel every one. Aaron Shedlock creates Abel with his gruffness and underlying tenderness so it's so easy to fall in love with him. Perfect narration.
17 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kimberly Smith
- 18-12-2017
Fabulous book that made me cry
I am not a crier but this book made me cry three or four times. I have recently become a huge fan of this storytelling team so when I saw this book, I snatched it up without even reading what it was about; and, as with the other books I’ve listened to from this trio, I finished it in one day. Although it’s quite different from what I was expecting, I absolutely loved it. It’s very well written and beautifully told. L.A. Fiore pulls you into the story with the very first word and introduces the characters in such a way that you feel as if you know them intimately; you become a part of their world, emotionally invested, and you feel what they feel. Then, Aaron Shedlock and Tracy Marks come along and give these characters voices that sound exactly like you expect, bringing the book, the characters and their world to life. You laugh and cry, and feel every other emotion right along with them.....I even started craving chocolate cake! It’s an excellent book, definitely credit worthy and, IMHO, you can’t go wrong with any book that has one or all of these three names on the front.
16 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sara
- 10-01-2018
Well... goodness, how am I suppose to review this?
Oh my word, I’m not even sure I can tell you how messed up LA Fiore made me with Collecting the Pieces. I felt like this emotionally, bipolar mess!! Screaming… “YES, Finally”… only to fall apart. I was an emotional mess. Fiore has such a talent in her writing skills. You feel like you’re a part of this book… these are your friends and have no idea how life got to be so messed up. If that isn’t what authors strive for when they write their stories than they are missing out. These are the books that I hang onto… that I recommend over and over again. The books that have me looking around for my friends! TALENT, I tell ya! Pure talent!
I LOVED the way this book was written with such a long build up with Sydney’s background and why she is who she is. I felt myself really attaching to Sydney. I was totally in her corner and my heart loved and broke right alongside of hers. Abel and Sydney had this intense relationship. It’s the kind of romance that people spend their whole lives searching for. Abel is like category 5 Swoon level! I found myself feeling the anger, the tension, the hurt (oh, man the pain of it all), the tears… I might *might* have laughed a bit too… although I might have lost it by then.
This book could NOT have been titled more perfectly as that is what happened in this book and to my poor heart… it was broken, only to have LA Fiore Collect(ing) the Pieces to put back together. This book gives you an incredibly, stunning show of love and hope.
Aaron Shedlock and Tracy Marks are a match made in heaven. This audio could not have been better... it pulled me in and pulled my heart in bits... piece by piece. I could FEEL every emotion, every thought that Shedlock and Marks put into this book. I'm completely jealous of all the people who get to listen to if for a first time!
6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Deanna Sansinena
- 15-02-2018
Hot HOT hot
It makes you feel every emotion and the narrators did a awesome job would recommend this book its a must you have toooooo!!!!!!!!! Listen
4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Deborah Boyd
- 10-02-2018
A Sweet Tearjerker
This is a wonderful story with heart, soul, and steam. A must read for the true romantic!
4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maria
- 09-01-2018
Never give up.... Love, Faith, Hope
Excellent story that will break your heart and give you hope, even when you thought you never would feel again.
If you’re one of the lucky ones you may find love twice in your life.
The narrators both did an absolutely brilliant job.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tori Manzi
- 04-05-2018
okay story - weird pace
I couldn't make my way through it. The Narrator irritated me so much. So mechanical...like she was reading right off the page instead of telling the story. No emotion. I'll buy the book to finish the story because I can't do this anymore....
7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leozpride
- 17-05-2018
One of my new favorites, narration not quite right
I fell in love with this book. It's unbelievably poignant and will move you throughout the story. It's very well developed and the story line follows a more unique path than others. There are essentially 3 stories in here: 1. beginning of Sydney's life, 2. Sydney now facing life after tragedy changes her world, 3. Sydney finding herself and moving forward. What I love most about that is it's true life and you connect to the characters because of it. I like that instead of detailing every little step, the sections are told where the story jumps 3 years. You have an idea of Sydney's growth between those sections.
You will fall in love with all of these characters. Some you will love and some not so much, but they all bring a richness to the story that you don't find often. You will be rooting for Sydney from the very beginning. Jake and Abel are two men that epitomize what a true man should be. They are unique and so different from each other but so totally amazing.
I'm not going to lie, you will have tissues throughout this story but those moments make the ups so much better. I was surprised about a story arc though. This starts as a true romance of a lost girl finding love with the right boy. They have challenges they face but are so solid you'll be jealous of their bond. Without giving too much away, the book shifts in the 2nd act where an underlying murder mystery starts to form. There's something about the flow that gives you pause but it brings the end in one of the sweetest ways. It's almost like this should be two stories but somehow they mesh together.
There are a few written passages that will grind a bit. They are almost too wordy and unnecessary but they are what they are. The narration though is not something that brings life to this book. Tracy is the majority of the narration since the book is told from her point of view. She brings an air to Sydney which doesn't mesh well with how strong her character is written. I find her not well suited for this type of story. She tries to be wispy with her voice to lend credence to the other voices she portrays. It just doesn't work. Aaron is okay but not someone that I would follow future works. Both of them are almost trying to hard and it causes something to be lost in translation.
With all that said, this is one of my new favorites books. I love it so much that I purchased the Kindle version since I reread ones that touch me the most. I ended up switching to the Kindle version for the last half of the book because the narration was something I couldn't get past. It is a much better book read than listened to because of the narration.
6 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kim
- 30-05-2018
Half hour in and the narrator is annoying me.
Let me start by saying I love L.A. Fiore, and this story is starting off great! I even like Tracy Marks voice, but that fact she uses a "Christopher Walken" approach is annoying as all get out. She doesn't do when she's reading other characters but when reading as the main character....I'm over it already. I'm so distracted by this that I can't enjoy the story.
I'm hoping the male narrator starts soon or not sure I'll be keeping this book.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- 🎧 Cyndi Marie 🎧
- 07-01-2018
✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫
I was excited to start this book. I never read the synopsis of a book before listening to it so I wasn't expecting anything specific except a good story because of what I've read by this author in the past. This book felt like 2 stories in one with a happy ending. The first part of this book was deep, hard and emotional. The second part was more rough, sexy and exciting with a little bit of thriller thrown in. One thing this book was missing for me was the dual POV in the first half. I think without his POV it was a little harder for me to FEEL the love between them, more like she was telling us her story. But even with that, I still felt her emotions and that made for a great second half of the book for me. This book did hit every emotion I had from Sad to angry to happy and loved. This book ended up being way more than I expected in a very good way.
The narration was perfect! Tracy Marks does an awesome job as always. I love her tone, she never makes the female characters seem anything except strong! Aaron Shedlock was also great, I love that his character starts out as a jerk and turns into a good guy and Aaron pulls that moody shift off perfectly!
11 people found this helpful