Hundred to One

Cedar Tree Series

By: Freya Barker

Narrated by: Noel Harrison, Tanya Eby

Arlene Bowers is as tough as nails. She has survived a less than perfect marriage, managing to move past it to run her own diner. Her abrasive exterior has always been a way for her to hide behind the darkness and pain that she has endured, but a recent, violent attack and several disturbing phone calls have that tight hold on her emotions wavering.

Seb Griffin showed up in Cedar Tree eight months ago and was hired on at Arlene's Diner as a cook. An ex-con with secrets of his own, Seb walks a fine line. Since he began working at the diner, he's developed feelings for his fierce, stubborn boss, and the need to keep his distance from her, to protect her, is a daily struggle.

When it appears that Arlene's past has come back, rearing its ugly head while her defenses are low, Seb steps up and claims responsibility for Arlene, praying that he can keep her safe from whatever is coming her way.

©2014 Margreet Asselbergs as Freya Barker (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Seb and Arlene's Secrets

I enjoyed Arlene's story. She had this tough outer shell that seemed to only soften for her friendship with Em. She endured a lot of trauma that allowed Seb more access to Arlene's life.

I liked that Seb and Arlene were more mature. They both had some pretty intense secrets they were keeping. I also liked the chemistry they had.

It's so interesting to me how danger and suspense was part of this book, but it wasn't over the top. With Gus, Em, Caleb, and other friends,
Arlene and Seb were able to resolve their issues.

I also think it's kind of sweet that these series are so intermingled. Each book can easily be read as a stand alone, but often, A character from another series will pop up.

I thought the narration was ok. I was glad to see Arlene, Seb, and Faith get their HEA, but I am also looking forward to Caleb and Katie's story.

Great character development!

I'm glad to finally have Arlene's full story. She was a side character in the first book of the series and you could tell she had been through something difficult. And now that I know, difficult is too nice of a word for what she has been through. Talk about a tough woman. To go through all that she did and continues to face, would crack most people. Arlene is a very guarded person but she has valid reasons for it. If anyone deserves a HEA, it's her.

Seb was a bit of a surprise for me. He was very protective of Arlene no matter how much she fought him on it. He is also another character you get introduced too in the first book and I knew there was more to his story as well. I was sad to hear about the things he has been though but it also made his pairing with Arlene even better. They fit.

So far, I'm really enjoying this series and all the characters. I also listened to the audiobook version and highly recommend it. The narrators did a really great job with these characters. Great book!

Great plot

This author draws very believable characters and twisted plots. BUT needs to lose 2/3 of the heavy sex scenes. A little goes a long ways. It is almost like it is the way to make the book longer. I would rather a shorter book without meaningless, repetitive sex scenes.

Loved it

Fantastic!!! Great read! I love the emotions it gives. Funny and heart warming with suspense and some spice!

Arlene and Seb’s story

We met Arlene in book 1 and know that she has survived a harrowing experience. This is her story and Arlene is suffering from PTSD but hasn’t shared with her friends. She is attracted to the cook at her diner, Seb, but is afraid to act on it...she doesn’t have a good track record with men. When someone starts stalking Arlene, Seb finally shows her how HE feels.
Lots of action and steamy moments. Love this series!

LKC

loved story line and the power of friendship and closeness of family. Great reading material

Loved everything!

Audiobook: Narrators – Tanya Eby and Noel Harrison

This narration was a perfect fit for these two mature characters. I enjoyed everything about this performance as it pulled me further into the story – more so than reading alone.


I loved getting Arlene and Seb’s story! Arlene has definitely had some hard, bad, nightmarish times and recent events have only added to them. I knew going in that Seb was going to be just the one to help her, despite her tough exterior, but I never knew what she had hidden. He was everything perfect for the job and I loved how he took such care of her body and heart.

This is filled with lots of drama and action even as it’s sprinkled with humor and iced over with some hot steamy times that made me quite envious. With a few twists I never expected and so many secondary characters that added to the story, I once more fell in love with the magic this author gives us with her mature characters and plots.

A bit long but good story and performance.

This book has wonderfully written varied characters and a nice setting. There is layered suspense, some action, and romance. The book was a bit too long for my best likes in this type of book. But it is an entertaining story and a quite good performance mostly.

Good Odds!

The 1st book in this series was good and with this 2nd book you can see Freya developing her style. The excellence is peeking through! Better character development, plot and flow. Thoroughly enjoyable! Things aren’t always what they seem, this story keeps you on your toes!

love these books

love these books you can be older and still fall in love and have a happy life