A Heart on Hold

By: Sara Barnard

Narrated by: Tiffany Williams

War. Devotion. Deceit. Death. How long can a heart hold on before it breaks? Most women would carry on with their lives after being thrust into widowhood, but not Charlotte Adamsland. Upon learning that her husband, Captain Sanderson Redding, was killed in a botched escape from a Confederate prison in Illinois, she clings to his promise to return to her no matter what, and quickly heads north through a war-ravaged country with only her faith in God and her beloved horse to bring her Sanderson home - one way or another.

Charlotte's lips only took a moment to find those belonging to her beloved. He tasted faintly of molasses and she was immediately drawn into the warmth of his embrace. Their bodies were perfectly pressed together, fitting as though one had been divinely made for the other, as Sanderson's kisses trailed from Charlotte's lips down her neck. Her hands found his softly stubbled face and guided him back to her lips. With his strong arms around her, she'd never felt more safe. Or more vulnerable…

©2011 5 Prince Publishing (P)2013 Sara Barnard

A Heart on Hold Review

What made the experience of listening to A Heart on Hold the most enjoyable?

Between the story line, the great music and the story tellers's voice the audible was very enjoyable.

Historical

The story is set in the 1800's, also during the American Civil War, south and yankees. Sanderson Redding took off to fight in the war asking Charlotte Adamsland to marry him when he returns home. They write back and forth to one another. He comes home they get married only for him to return to the war again.

Narrator Tiffany Williams is not a narrator that I'm familiar with. I don't know how to judge her as a narrator because I want more than anything to be honest. Yes, I have listened to Songlines by her and it was a book of poetry in audio format. She blew me away with her performance with Songlines. Tiffany, she was incredible when it came to the women. She absolutely did an outstanding job with all the women's accents. I really found Tiffany to perform the women, each and everyone with such ease, their accents were superb, and I was able to tell each and every woman that was speaking. I knew who each woman was. What made this so hard was when I would hear the men speak. I didn't connect with any of the male characters because they didn't sound like men.. They sounded like a woman trying to talk like a man. That was the worst part of this audio. I know she's great with women roles and with more practice she could very well be an outstanding narrator with more practice on male voices with different accents.


I found it to be a descent story but it wasn't a favorite of mine and I won't be listening to it again. After listening to it three times that was plenty of this story for me. I sometimes felt like the story was jumping all over the place and I'd find myself lost quite a bit. Finally on my third time of listening the story began to be better. I found that the story did get better and I was determined to get through the story because I don't quit. I finally cleared my mind and the third time around I was enjoying the story.The story takes place during the Civil War. Author Sara Barnard made sure she created a story with nonstop action. It does have everything that you read at the beginning of the book. It has devotion, action, death, and even deceit. Author Susan Barnard did an exceptional with writing this story. A Heart on Hold was well written with likable characters. It was a nice love story and the characters are believable. She captures your attention from beginning to end. She pulled me in, it took s couple times but she did manage to grab my attention. I especially enjoyed the history that she included which is weird because I really dislike history. Overall, a very good story. Sometimes you find a story that's ends up being good but it's still not your type of read, this is what happened to me. I don't care about history and I especially hate listening to talk of wars. I guess it's because I'm younger than some and it's just not interesting to me. This is what happened with this story. I know that there's plenty of people that will love this type of story. I do recommend it, especially if you love history, listening to talk of the Civil War, and romance then I know this is the book for you.

A Sweet Civil War Era Romance

What made the experience of listening to A Heart on Hold the most enjoyable?

A sweet story about the never-ending love a couple can have even when they're apart and finding new love with those you encounter. The narration by Tiffany was very good and characters were consistent throughout. An enjoyable listen overall.

Gone With the Wind Fans Look No Further!

Any additional comments?

A Heart on Hold by Sara Barnard is a historical romance story set during the Civil War. The story starts off with Sanderson returning to Arkansas after attending West Point and pledging to marry his childhood sweetheart, Charlotte, when the war is over. However, Sanderson returns home nearly dead from pneumonia and they are married after Charlotte nurses him back to health. After returning to his regiment, Sanderson goes missing and is presumed dead, so Charlotte heads north to find him. In true romance fashion, a happy ending comes after many trials and tribulations.

Many of the settings and surrounding descriptions are very detailed and believable. And Sara Barnard made a few of the characters extremely sweet and likable, especially little Cotton who was a little orphan Indian boy. However, the dialogue between the two main characters was just over the top and too saccharine sweet for me, as well as seeming unnatural (most of the dialogue sounded like Scarlett O'Hara from the movie, Gone With the Wind).

Tiffany Williams did an excellent job narrating. She has a smooth voice that is easy to listen to. She really made the characters come to life for me, despite the troublesome dialogue. Well done!

Simply put, I'd recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of Gone With the Wind.