Return to Me

The Restoration Chronicles, Book 1

By: Lynn Austin

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

After years of watching his children and grandchildren wander from their faith, Iddo's prayers are answered: King Cyrus is allowing God's chosen people to return to Jerusalem. Jubilant, he joyfully prepares for their departure, only to learn that his family, grown comfortable in the pagan culture of Babylon, wants to remain. Zechariah, Iddo's oldest grandson, feels torn between his grandfather's ancient beliefs and the comfort and success his father enjoys in Babylon. But he soon begins to hear the voice of God, encouraging him to return to the land given to his forefathers.

Bringing to life the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, Return to Me tells the compelling story of Iddo and Zechariah, the women who love them, and the faithful followers who struggle to rebuild their lives in obedience to the God who beckons them home.

©2013 Lynn Austin (P)2013 Recorded Books

Absolutely Amazing

What made the experience of listening to Return to Me the most enjoyable?

Lynn Austin's historical Biblical fiction has a way of bringing the Biblical history and prophecy narratives to life. So many things I've read and just passed by are contextualized in a way that makes me want to re-read and get a more full bodied grasp of the story lines. This narrator is one of my all-time favorites. Just an absolute pleasure on all levels.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Zechariah. Just understanding the process of a young boy being called to become a priest and prophet and following this progression, imagining what that would have been like, makes it so much more tangible and accessible to my spirit.

What about Suzanne Toren’s performance did you like?

The incredible inflection and tone of her voice, excellent ability to sound like various characters and so lovely to the ear. She enhances the reading of the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Almost weeping with joy and amazement over the victories God brings after such harrowing challenges.

Love this author and narrator!

Where does Return to Me rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Love how this author takes biblical quotes and historical data and weaves them into a story. She has made biblical accounts come to life! Can't get enough!

What did you like best about this story?

That you can relate how Old Testament experiences can apply to today's times

Which character – as performed by Suzanne Toren – was your favorite?

Ido was my favorite! The grandfather everyone hopes for, beautiful. Loved the voice she used for him.

If you could rename Return to Me, what would you call it?

Zachariah's Love

Any additional comments?

Thanks to everyone for the production of this book and series

Excellent book

You can learn so much from this series. It is Biblically accurate and weaves old testament books into relatable stories. Mostly, I learned so much about God's character. His Love and Mercy extends to all generations, Jew or Gentile.

Wonderful

Inspirational, perfect for our current troubling times. I intend to refer to my bible more when praying.

captivating and encouraging

This amazing story was captivating and encouraged my faith. I highly recommend it! If you’re on the fence about buying it-get it!

Amazing Capture of the heart of Scripture

Lynn Austin has done an amazing job of capturing the story of Judah’s return from Babylon and rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. I loved the way she could weave in the story of Zacharias and the prophecies given by him and Haggai.

The narration was superb, easy to listen to and follow. Suzanne Toren did an excellent job of conveying the male voice even though I would have loved it being read by 2 people, one female and one male. But her reading did capture beautifully the essence of the story. I look forward to listening to more books by Lynn Austin read by Suzanne Toren.

Awesome Book

I truly enjoyed Return to Me. The story itself was engaging and provoked me to refocus my attention and devotion to God. The performance was great. Easy to listen to.

A Riveting Biblical Fiction Book

Lynn Austin's "Return to Me" is a truly riveting biblical fiction novel. It stands out as the most captivating and thought-provoking book of its kind that I've ever read.

The story centers around Iddo, his grandson Zechariah, and the women in their lives, Dinah and Layla. What truly impressed me was how the author skillfully intertwined their narratives and developed the depth of these characters. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah take on a new dimension when connected to real people.

Furthermore, the book's biblical accuracy is commendable. I found myself revisiting scripture to compare the prophecies mentioned in the book, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover their exactness. The story also felt like a personal revelation, with the Lord highlighting specific aspects of my life as it unfolded.

Suzanne Toren's narration deserves special mention. Her rich voice, precise emphasis, and ability to transform her voice for various characters make her one of the best narrators I've ever encountered.

In summary, "Return to Me" is an outstanding book that I'll revisit time and time again. I can't praise it enough. I eagerly anticipate more works from this author and narrator, as this book left a profound impact on me.

Very Well Done

I couldn't quite give this a full 5 stars, but it only had to do with storytelling. The story was a little bit slow (but probably about as fast-paced as it could have been while still being accurate), and sometimes the dialogue didn't feel very natural. Occasionally it fell prey to the usual Christian-media problem of being slightly too feel-good or perhaps soap opera-ish (I'm not sure exactly), but the primary line of story did not fall into this rut, as it was Biblically based, and the Bible is not feel-good. It might be nitpicky, but as someone who loves stories, I can't say it didn't bother me a little.

Overall, however, the story was really well done. You can tell Austin did plenty of research, and I enjoyed her characters, especially Zechariah and Yael. I will definitely be checking out the next book in the series. The story inspired me to think theologically quite a bit.

I did not like the narration much. It felt like my grandmother was telling me the story, and although I love my grandmother very much, the only POV she was properly equipped for was Dinah's (Zechariah's grandmother). I might have also preferred it to be sped up. I think it would have been better if they had selected a male narrator, at least for the voices of Zechariah and the other male characters. A younger narrator might have been nice at times too. Yael was occasionally irritating in Toren's voice too.

As far as her own abilities go, Toren has a wide variety of tones and it was easy to tell when she switched characters. I think she did as well as she was capable of; I simply didn't like the quality of her voice with this story.


Overall, I would recommend this book if you are interested in what was happening during the times of the minor prophets in the Old Testament. Specifically, this one is obviously about Zechariah, and also mentions Haggai.

true to the Bible and engaging

A great story that holds relatively true to to the Bible. I was looking from a great uncorrupted biblical story and found it!