A Fork in the Road

Farm 2 Forking, Book 5

De: Ember Leigh

Narrado por: Erin Mallon, Alastair Haynesbridge

I might be a famous rock star, but inside Fork Lick, NY, my biggest fan is a Merino sheep named Baabara.

I’ve got a hundred reasons why I’ve avoided my family since graduating high school and never looked back – but when my big sis Colleen makes me an uncle times two, I need to meet her little bacon bits. It’s supposed to be an easy breezy visit – rock the babies, quality time with the sheep, and a nice family argument or three. Then I can get back to rescuing my musical career from the dumpster fire I found it in.

Instead, I’m roped into headlining a Fork Lick Festival to save my family’s farm, and conned into sharing a house with bossy Bella Keegan, the famous event planner who I’ve been butting heads with since my first album topped the charts five years ago.

Her attitude is louder than my Fender guitar, and she’s got way too many opinions about what I’m supposed to do about this career crisis I’ve been hiding from everyone outside the industry. The longer I spend in this old farmhouse with Bella, the more the lines blur. Until one night, everything changes.

Suddenly, we’ve got a decision to make.

And no matter which way we write the lyrics, one of us is facing a major fork in the road.

Join authors Lainey Davis, Liz Alden, Karen Grey, Erin Mallon, and Ember Leigh as they share un-baa-lievable tales of love, laughter, and sexy shenanigans, all set in the bucolic fictional town of Fork Lick, New York. Meddling grandmas, nosy neighbors, and boinking abound in these steamy romantic comedies.

©2024 Ember Leigh (P)2024 Ember Leigh

Hilarious, sweet and steamy romance!

Jackson Bedd is the black sheep of the family because he loved creating music more than farming. He is now a famous rockstar but not sure where his career is going. He comes home for a short visit, where he still clashes with his brothers. What he didn't expect was the woman he always seems to clash with is staying there as well. Bella Keegan is an event planner and she is there to help plan a concert to save the farm and earn her a huge promotion. Jackson and Bella have chemistry, but always have miscommunications that make them think the other doesn't like them. But as they work together on on the concert, their walls come down and they begin to trust each other, and more. As Jackson navigates his relationship with his family, and career, Bella's support is everything. Bella feels at home with Jackson and the Bedd family. Just when they start to consider a future together, their careers take them in different directions. Can they make their relationship work when they are living continents apart? This was such a hilarious, sweet, and steamy romance Jackson and Bella are so perfect together after their rocky start. I loved seeing all the family together and how they reconciled their differences.
Alastair Haynesbridge and Erin Mallon did a great job bringing these characters and story to life. They continued to deliver all the fun, emotion, and steam so flawlessly. I loved listening to them throughout this series making it feel more intimate and making me enjoy this sizzling romcom even more.

🐑 Baabara, we get why you love Jackson!😂

🎧𝐃𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
Erin Mallon & Alastair Haynesbridge🎙️

♥︎𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧
♥︎𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐌𝐂
♥︎𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬-𝐭𝐨-𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬

✨Thoughts✨
𝐓𝐡𝐞 final installment of the Farm to Forking series introduces us to the famous rock star Jackson Bedd, who returns to his family's farm only to find event planner Bella Keegan staying there. Forced to share his space with Bella during the Fork Lick Festival, Jackson is faced with being misunderstood by his brothers and the public. However, as Bella starts to see the real Jackson behind his rock star persona.

𝐀𝐬 Jackson rediscovers his love for music and takes steps to change his career, Bella becomes a vital support system for him. Their journey together is filled with funny moments, emotional revelations, and a heartwarming connection that brings out the best in both of them.

𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 beautifully by Erin Mallon and Alastair Haynesbridge, this series captures the essence of small-town charm and romance. Their comedic timing is spot on and will have you laughing out loud. If you're in the mood for a fun and heartwarming story, this audiobook is a must-listen.

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 thanks to Amber Leigh and Home Cooked Books for providing this ALC. All thoughts and opinions shared are my own.

★★★★
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞: 𝟑/𝟓🔥

Jackson and Bella!

An amazingly good story to end this series! I loved every second and gobbled it up like Sunday dinner. There are many humorous times that I loved as well as a more serious side of saving the farm and his music. The story unfolds nicely and made me wish I could join this family.

This one brings the bad boy of rock home but all is not as it seems with him. At times I really felt for him with the way his family acted towards him. Pretty sure anyone would be distant with the comments made. He feels his family pushes him away before he even gets a chance to be a part of their life. Then add in his contract problems..my heart really went out to this guy. But on the brighter side he has Baabara! I love her reactions and her love of all things Jackson! Many, many chuckles due to her antics!

Bella works in his lifestyle and I was unsure if she would be able to look at Jackson “The Rockstar “ and fall for him. All it took was Jackie-boy aka Jackson to come out once he got comfortable on the farm and she was toast!

These two are the epic ending to this remarkable series. I loved each story and this one fell right in line! I am sad these fun stories are over but luckily I can reread them to enjoy time on the Bedd Fellows Farm.

Thanks for the sensational series!

Characters that demand attention

Alastair Haynesbridge & Erin Mallon brought these characters to life. This is a new author for me & I was a bit skeptical when the first chapter introduced a sheep named Baarbara & a chef named Bacon. BUT, the characters in the story were real & engaging. The story kept me interested to the point that I would sit in my car after I arrived in order to finish a chapter. I will definitely be reading the other stories in this series.

Engaging, funny, final book in this great series

Edited for audiobook: A Fork in the Road is the fifth and final book in the Farm 2 Forking series, and voice actors Erin Mallon and Alastair Haynesbridge are every bit as fantastic – and unique for this book – as they were narrating the four previous books. It is a testament to how talented they are that they can make you fall into the character so completely. Alastair Haynesbridge has an especially distinctive voice but his take on Jackson Bedd was just as I imagined when I first read the book. A Fork in the Road has a little different vibe than the other books; Jackson left Fork Lick years ago and he’s a successful rockstar, living a wild and crazy life. Except not really. The depth of the emotions and the contradictions is evident. All Jackson’s fears and disappointments and regrets are right there. Erin Mallon, always remarkable, brings Bella so to life. She hates Jackson, she wants to hate Jackson, only sensible thing is to hate Jackson, but what is happening between them. Mallon brings the perfect uncertainty and vulnerability – and yes, anger – when voicing Bella. Thanks to Home Cooked Books for providing an advance listening copy of A Fork in the Road. Loved it, loved the series, love the narrators. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

I was both happy and sad to start reading A Fork in the Road. Happy to be back at Bedd Fellows Farm in Fork Lick, NY, weird little place that it is, and sad because this is the end of the five-book series that has provided so many hours of reading pleasure. Authors Lainey Davis, Liz Alden, Karen Grey and Erin Mallon have brought us Ethan & Lia, Alex & Molly, Sam & Diane, and Colleen & Bacon, a soybean farm on the verge of bankruptcy, vanlife, strawberry milk, soil science, a YouTube channel, market weekends, a cooking show, and a wild night in the city with delightful consequences. In addition to Baabara the saucy spoiled sheep, there are cows, goats, dogs. The towns of Fork Lick and Climax are as quirky as their names suggest. They’re well on the way to saving the farm, and although Gran still misses Grandad she seems happy again. And all the Bedd siblings have found their soulmates and it looks like happy-ever-after all around.

Except for the youngest Bedd – Jackson – that is. Everyone thinks he’s living the life. Left home right after high school and became a famous rock star. He’s a busy guy, always on tour, making more money, and rarely comes home. Look a little closer, though. Jackson’s life isn’t as glamorous as it seems. And he blew it with the woman he thought could be the love of his life and she hates him now.

After their parents died in a car accident, the Bedd children were raised by their grandparents. They did the best they could and loved those kids, but life wasn’t easy and all of them had some lingering trauma. Grandad could be blunt, abrupt, thoughtless. It was his way or no way as far as farming technique went, and he had little patience for anyone who didn’t view spending life on the farm as the future of their dreams. Ethan, the oldest brother, never wanted to do anything but continue on the farm; for the others it was sometimes tougher. And really difficult for all of them when Grandad passed away and they discovered there was so much debt they were about to lose Bedd Fellows Farm. The previous books addressed how the Bedds (eventually) worked together to save the farm. All of them except Jackson. A Fork in the Road is his story.

Jackson is part of the family, but not part of the farm. His passion was music from the time he was young, and he left Bedd Fellows as soon as he could to pursue that dream. He’s a talented musician and songwriter and was successful almost from the start. Some of his siblings wonder how he can be so selfish, why he doesn’t just pay off the debt. Surely he can afford it with all those sold-out concerts and all those records sold. But things are not always as they seem. Jackson made some mistakes and bad decisions early in his career that haunt him now, and he’s ashamed to go home and have his family find out just how stupid and incompetent he really is. When Colleen has twins, though, Uncle Jackson decides to go home and meet them. He hopes to swoop in and swoop out. His sister always supports him, Gran is always happy to see him, Baabara absolutely adores him, and maybe his brothers won’t be on his back too much. Sounds like it might work.

Except when he gets to Bedd Fellows Farm he’s pulled into giving a concert at the big fundraiser they’re planning. Some of his secrets are certain to come out now. And that’s not the worst thing. The worst thing is that the one who got away is now living in the farmhouse, just across the hall from his old room. Bella is a super-duper event planner and if she can pull off this fundraiser for the Bedds she’ll get the promotion she’s been promised and deserved for a long time. Yes, in case you’re wondering, she still hates Jackson (well, not really, but we’ll get to that later). Sparks fly but more like a scary fire than the steady flame of love.

As Bella and Jackson spend more time together those sparks do start to heat things up. Still a little scary, though, but maybe they didn’t really say what they meant in the past, maybe there was a lot of miscommunication. Jackson is so angsty, the tortured artist, part of a bigger world than the farm but sure he’s a failure about to lose all he’s worked for. Bella isn’t from Fork Lick; she’s made a name for herself in the concert and event world. But behind that self-assured façade she a small-town girl at heart and worries a lot. About the only thing she’s truly confident of is that she could never compete with those beautiful groupies that must surround Jackson all the time – and who he must prefer.

Underneath the bickering and the rude comments and the suspicions there is something soft and sweet with a good helping of swoony steam between them and author Ember Leigh does an excellent job of drawing that out and making us want so badly for them to get their happy-ever-after, too.

A Fork in the Road is the perfect ending to this perfect series. It’s heartwarming and hilarious, soothing and scorching, full of family and farm animals. On the outside Jackson is the cocky guitar player; on the inside he’s so desperate to get his life right that you want to just wrap him up in a hug. Bella has a plan – advance, advance, advance – but this family and this farm pull at her heartstrings, and maybe Jackson is her what-if, too. Once she learns some of his secrets a wildly protective side of her comes out and she is his biggest advocate, supporter, fighter. The plot rolls along at just the right pace, all your favorite people and animals are back, things are funny and then serious, you’re hopeful and then distraught – and the ending will leave you smiling with satisfaction. Thanks to author Ember Leigh for providing an advance copy of A Fork in the Road. I thoroughly enjoyed it, recommend it without hesitation, and have already started reading some of her other books. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Heartwarming and hilarious

Farm 2 Forking Book
Book #5 in series
Can be read out if order but reading/listening in order is recommended for best experience.

Rockstar romance
Small town

“Congratulations! You’ve just been forked in Forklift”

I loved this short love story and conclusion of this series. Hilarious and sweet.

Jackson the rockstar has returned home after his sister has twins. He’s hiding a big secret from his family about his career.

Bella is an event planner who is staying in the farm to help plan the strawberry jam festival.

Bella and Jackson have meet among the dates of event and his tour over the years. Jackson has had a thing for her but thought she had a long time boyfriend, until he finds out that she is indeed single then all bets are off.

Spicy, funny, heartwarming I devoured this audiobook!

Fun Rockstar Romance

I’ve enjoyed all of the stories in this series, but I think A Fork In The Road was my favorite. I had been looking forward to Jackson and Bella and they did not disappoint. This rockstar romance had a little bit of everything…small-town vibes, enemies to lovers, a family you can’t help but love and two heartwarming main characters. I loved it.

Bella was a delight. Hardworking and determined to prove herself so she can land a big promotion, she never expected to fall for the arrogant rock star. However, once she got to know him, she realized that she had many misconceptions about him and that he had a tender heart underneath all that swagger.

Jackson was sweetheart and my heart hurt for the predicament that he found himself in. His family didn’t understand him and I just wanted to hug him. With Bella’s encouragement, he was able to finally be honest about his situation and reach for the life everyone already thought he had.

The audio was narrated by Erin Mallon and Alastiar Haynesbridge. Both were superb in bringing Jackson and Bella to life. I was completely immersed in the emotion of the story thanks to the talent of these two. A Fork In The Road was a wonderful conclusion to this quirky series and I’m sad to say goodbye to the Bedd family.

Entertaining and funny story with wonderful narration

A Fork in The Road ( Farm 2 Forking #5) is the final book in the series featuring the Bedd siblings. This is a hilarious series that’s written by multiple authors and this one is written by a new author to me, Ember Leigh. Well after reading Jackson Bedd’s story I’m certainly going to be checking out other works by this very talented author.

Erin Mallon and Alastair Haynesbridge did a wonderful job bringing the characters and their story to life. They were spot on with the passion, the love and the drama but more importantly they got the humour.

Black sheep and rockstar of the family, Jackson has returned to Fork Lick for a breather and some quality family time……but his meddling family have other plans for him.
Granny Bedd has another guest staying on the family farm and it happens to be a woman who has crossed paths with Jackson before. Bella is in town helping with the Fork Lick festival and she has no interest or intention of working with the youngest Bedd. Problem is everyone else sees what they don’t and they are determined to push them together and once you add in the seriously hot chemistry they share you get a fun, steamy read. So will the baby of the family find his HEA …one click this hilarious read or listen to find out.
A wonderful story to finish the series on.

Great ending to the Series

Ember Leigh does a fantastic job wrapping up the Bedd Family series! This small town, big feels rom com series is amazing. Jackson is a rockstar running from the not so glamorous life in LA. Bella is helping his family plan a large event for the family farm. Dispite a rocky past between them, sparks fly on the family farm! I loved the banter between them and the support Bella gave Jackson; it provided me all the warm and fuzzy feels. I can not wait to listen to this whole series again!

A life changing homecoming

Last but not least of the Bedd siblings is none other than the elusive rockstar, Jackson.
Coming home to meet the newest additions to the Bedd family, Jackson finds himself coming face to face with the one woman who’s ever given him a run for his money. Bella has been spearheading the opening of Bacon’s restaurant, but now that her job is done, the town has wrangle her in to heading up the next festival. And if she can successfully pull this off from start to finish, her position with her job is solid.
What she really needs is an amazing musical act to headline the festival. But surely Jackson Bedd wouldn’t be readily available to put on a show for next to nothing…which is her budget, since the councilmen aren’t on board with her plans.
Jackson & Bella set aside their differences and come together to make this festival work. I loved watching him let down his long ago constructed walls to let her see a side of him that even his siblings have never seen. I love how coming home was such a cathartic trip for him. And seeing the entire Bedd family love on & embrace Bella was just par for the coarse with this amazing family.

Audiobook Review:
Erin Mallon & Alastair Haynesbridgedelivered the finale to this series with perfection. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to these two bring the world of Fork Lick, NY to life.