Heavy Weather

Carolina Coast Stories, Book 2

By: Normandie Fischer

Narrated by: Laura Jennings

A family shattered by abuse and the town that comes together to save them.

Annie Mac's estranged husband vows that nothing will stop him from getting his baby girl. Not Annie Mac and certainly not that boy of hers.

Only four blocks away, Hannah Morgan lives in comfort with her husband and dog, making pottery and waiting for her best friend to come home. When she discovers the two children cowering in the bushes and their mama left for dead, it doesn't take her long to rally the sleepy town of Beaufort, NC, and to set her coterie of do-gooders to some extra-strength do-gooding. Add in Clay, a lonely police lieutenant yanked out of his comfort zone and into the heart of this small family, and who knows what will happen?

©2015 Normandie Fischer (P)2017 Normandie Fischer

Worth your time and credit!

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. The story pulls you in immediately and never lets go for a minute. It's a well written, heartbreaking yet beautifully told story that will have you thinking about it long after you've finished the book.

An emotional journey filled with heartbreak, love, suspense, murder, abuse, friendship, second chances, family and the inner strength we all need to navigate this world at times.

Great well rounded cast of characters. You can't help but get emotionally attached to all of them right from the start. All except for Roy and his band of cohorts that is.

Anne Mac's estranged husband just stormed back into her life and ripped it to pieces. By chance Hannah Morgan stumbles across Anne Mac's children hiding, waiting for Roy to leave. In the aftermath of his brutal assault on Anne Mac before she is taken to the hospital she asks Hannah to care for her children to keep them out of the foster care system. What begins as a simple request will bring lasting and sometimes devastating changes to the lives of those surrounding Hannah and Anne Mac.

This is the first Normandie Fischer book I have listened to but it won't be my last.

This is not the first time I have listened to Laura Jennings narrate an audiobook. As usual her narration was fantastic. Pleasant voice. Easy to listen to for long periods of time. Clearly spoken with a smooth even pace. Great character voices. She was able to make you feel all the emotions of the characters. She pulled you into the story through her narration and made it come alive. One of the best narrated stories I have ever listened to.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

A richly captivating story that touched my heart

If you could sum up Heavy Weather in three words, what would they be?

Captivating, compelling and well-written

Any additional comments?

Annie Mac’s life has never been easy, but she has tried to make the best of it. When her husband, Roy, beats her to almost death, the small town of Beaufort pulls together to help and protect Annie Mac and her two adorable children.

Heavy Weather is a very compelling story in which emotions run rampant and the tensions are high. It is a story of pain – both physically and mentally, a story of love, a story of healing and most of all a story of keeping faith when doing so seems utterly impossible. The characters are well-developed and are ones I was able to easily connect with which made this book impossible to stop listening to – needing to know what would happen next.

Normandie Fischer has crafted a richly captivating story that is filled with drama, suspense and Christian values. The story was well-written and flowed practically effortlessly. Ms. Fischer did a marvelous job creating characters that I cared about and she also did an outstanding job at portraying domestic abuse in a raw and honest way that brought tears to my eyes.

Laura Jennings narrates Heavy Weather and I think she did a fantastic job portraying the characters and setting the tone for this amazing story. Each of the characters voices was distinct and the pacing was just right. With her pleasant voice and her ability to incorporate all the right emotions made this a truly wonderful listening experience that is worth the credit.

If you are looking for a clean, well-written, touching and believable story with characters you will love and some that you will despise, look no further than Heavy Weather. This story touched my heart and is one that I would not hesitate to recommend.

Engaging women's fiction!

Heavy Weather is engaging women's fiction. Part crime drama, part suspense, part romance, part family drama, it's captivating in a way that made me want to keep listening. I did struggle to get into the book at first—there are a lot of characters, and, with characters named "Tadie" and "Katie," I sometimes couldn't tell who was who until I'd listened long enough to learn that Tadie was Hannah's best friend, while Katie was the girl Hannah took care of. (Obviously, this would only be a problem in the audiobook version!)

One thing that surprised me about this novel is just how emotionally involved I became. I cried multiple times as characters dealt with broken dreams and infant loss. I also deeply cared about Hannah's and Clay's journeys as they both sought to help Annie Mac and her kids. The novel's end was also incredibly satisfying, while slightly open-ended. I would love to visit these characters again to see where life takes them.

There's also a strong faith thread in the novel that I appreciated. While it's not apparent at first, when tragedy strikes, characters cling to their faith in God for comfort.

Narrator Laura Jennings did a great job of bringing the novel to life. The characters were believable, and the narration kept me wanting to listen. Overall, a great performance.

Disclosure of material connection: I received a copy of this audiobook for review. I was not required to write a positive review, and the opinions expressed are my own.

Heavy Weather delivers

Any additional comments?

Heavy Weather is both beautifully written and artfully narrated. The story is full of tea-on-the-porch southern charm and just-one-more-chapter suspense. Full of aw...moments, heartbreak, love, and second chances, Heavy Weather more than delivers the thoughtful and touching story we've come to expect from Normandie Fischer story. And I can't say enough about Laura Jennings. Her narration really brought the characters to life for me.

Kept wanting to continue

This was a really good story portraying a family and then a community dealing with abuse. Loved the characters and their development. And a bonus to me is being slightly familiar with the area.
This is the third or fourth book I've read in this series and I've grown attached to their community!

I loved every single minute of this book!

Any additional comments?

This was a relatively long listen but worth every single second.

The story alludes to events in an earlier book but even without listening to book one, this story felt complete.

I loved that each chapter focused on a POV! The writer and the narrator made a wonderful tandem of bringing to life the variety of characters. And what a story!

Everything I thought this story was about changed and then changed again. It was a thriller, a love story and a spiritual lesson rolled into a testament to a mother's love. I loved it.

The narrator was incredible. She handled the scariest of persona's I've ever listened to as well as the innocence of a 10 year old boy and made you believe.

I don't know if I will go back and listen to book one but I will look for other books by this author and this narrator.

An Emotional Story

Any additional comments?

A couple of things struck me about this novel as I was reading it or, rather, listening to it. One is that, while it was longer than my usual preference, I didn't mind this time because I got to know the characters so well. The second point is how much more emotional this story seemed than other domestic abuse novels I've read. Certainly, the latter has to do with the quality of the author's storytelling but it's also because the narrator has a way of telling the story that truly involves the listener.

Those two things combined led me to form a real attachment to a number of the characters for different reasons. Hannah has a kind of sad happiness about her, meaning her essential joy with her husband and her life have an underlying reason that this is not complete. Annie Mac, primary victim of the domestic abuse, is to be felt for but only because of her injuries and her fear for her children. She's a strong woman, determined not to let Roy get the best of her or to live in fear. Her son, Ty, is the manliest little boy you'll ever want to see but for such a wretched reason and Rita is a woman of incredible strength. Clay resents the intrusion of Annie Mac and her kids into his comfortable but solitary life but soon finds his world changing for the better and other people are just as memorable and as appealing, all in their own ways.

It's a little difficult to call this a mystery but it's certainly crime fiction and there are mystery elements. There's something of a burgeoning love story and it's in some ways the story of a small town. At its heart, though, Heavy Weather is a tale of abuse and the effect it can have on so many, even those who aren't directly involved.

Laura Jennings is a particularly good narrator with clarity in her voice and an appealing tone. She does the women's and children's parts very well and some of the men although I had a bit of difficulty distinguishing a couple of them. I also want to note that she handles the southern and racial accents especially nicely without being the least bit overboard and, as a Southerner, I appreciated that.

All in all, Ms. Fischer's engaging story coupled with Ms. Jennings' narration make for a listening experience I'm glad I had the chance to enjoy and I'll be looking for more from both.

Great Story!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story, the suspense, the romance and the characters.

Normandie Fischer knows how to tell a story that draws you in and keeps your attention.
Laura Jennings narration brings you right to Beaufort, making the characters come to life and enticing you to become a new best friend.

Ty & Katie become the guests of Hannah and Matt Morgan when Annie Mac begs Hannah to care for them. Hannah falls in love with the children as does everyone else.

As evil lurks, old friends become closer out of circumstances as they draw Annie Mac into their circle and do everything to protect her children.

"I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator."

Well written book!

I really enjoyed the writing, the narration, the plot, and the characters of this book. I'll have to find some more by this author. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Heavy Weather

Heavy Weather: Normandie Fischer



A very intense book featuring Annie Mac and her children Ty and Katie. Annie Mac's ex-husband Roy has beaten her and wants to take their daughter. The story picks up speed and careens through the lives of the tight knit group of friends that take in Annie Mac and her kids. Roy makes repeated attempts to steal Katie, no matter who gets in his way. The suspense had me from start to finish. I need to go back and get the first book in this series.

The narration was well done.The characters were well portrayed. Laura Jennings gave a riveting performance.



"I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator."