Rueberry Orchard

Beyond the Realm: Remember, Book 1

By: Michele Notaro

Narrated by: James Paris

There’s no time. Remember Rueberry Orchard.

A beautiful man in strange clothing starts invading my dreams, and even though I know he isn’t real, the dreams - mind-links, according to him - are so vivid it’s hard to imagine this man doesn’t exist.

After a few of these nightly visits, I start looking forward to meeting him and listening to his smooth voice as he tries to convince me to go to Rueberry Orchard. To my surprise, the place really exists, but I know it would be crazy to go there when it’s 10 hours away, right?

When the visits don’t stop, some deep desire inside me knows I have to listen to this dream man, even if it’s absolutely insane. I follow his instructions to Rueberry Orchard, and nothing in this world could’ve prepared me for what I find or for the wild adventure I’m about to embark on.

Rueberry Orchard is the first book in the multi-author series Beyond the Realm: Remember. Each book is set in its own world and can be listened to as a stand-alone novel. Join eight authors on eight very different, romantic, and magical stories as each one writes their own take on the same concept.

Rueberry Orchard is approximately 100,000 words.

©2020 Michele Notaro (P)2021 Michele Notaro

An amazing, magical romance

I've never met a Michele Notaro book that I didn't love, and Rueberry Orchard was no exception! From the outstanding world-building to the lifelike, lovable characters to the heart-pounding adventure, everything about Rhile and Ezryn's magical journey sucked me in and kept me glued to my seat. As if the story wasn't enough to keep me captivated, James's outstanding narration made me feel like I was on the mission right alongside these amazing men. I know this story is part of a multi-author series, but I'm desperately hoping that Michele will write follow-ups for some of the side characters in this story because I *need* to see all of them find their mates and live happily-ever-after.

Rhile's adventure started off deceptively slow, but quickly picked up steam as soon as Ezryn came into the picture. Even without knowing anything at all about the mysterious Rueberry Orchard, Ezryn, or the tiny bits of magic that he started teaching Rhile, I knew there was something big hiding just beneath the surface. The shocking reveal about the Veil, Rhile and Joz's true identities, and the danger they all faced had me so excited to see what was coming next. Making it to Rueberry Orchard was truly just the tip of the iceberg, and I never could have guessed what was coming for Rhile and Ezryn. 

In a story with so much new information, I could have easily been overwhelmed with all the details. Michele did an excellent job with the pacing and background information, giving me plenty of backstory so I never felt lost but also leaving enough space for a fast-paced adventure that promised to answer all the other questions I had if I could be patient. On top of the captivating adventure, Rhile and Ezryn's romance was heart-meltingly sweet. This is a slower burn than I'm used to, but I'll gladly sacrifice some steamy moments in exchange for the soul-deep bond between these men. 

In sum, I thought this was an incredible way to kick-off both the Beyond the Realm series and a new magical universe. Rhile and Ezryn's journey had all the action and dangerous adventure to start my heart racing, with plenty of lovely romance to melt me into a puddle of happiness.

**I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions. 

Rueberry Orchard

I know Michelle Notaro struggled to find a good narrator her for books but he has done a fantastic job with this one. The emotion, the vocal change, the ups and downs, just effin' perfect! Truly hope he can continue to work with you, Michelle!

As usual, I've already read this book in ebook format, but listening to it just brought tears out of my eyes and Ijust absolutely love this audiobook. Definitely deserves 5 stars on all account!

Loved it!

I want more! This was such a good story. We have Rhile, who starts dreaming about a beautiful man who tells him to "remember Rueberry Orchard". Rhile comes to find out that these are not dreams that this man, Ezryn is real and somehow talking to him in his dreams. So Rhile, along w/his best friend head to Rueberry Orchard where he finds this man who immediately sweeps him up much to Rhile's surprise. Turns out Ezryn is his husband and they have know each other since they were kids. Now deep in Rhile's heart/soul he knows that Ezryn is his mate, but his can't wrap his head around it. We have a journey of trying to get Ezryn's memories back & to stop the bad guy who put the spell on him to begin with. There is a bit of a cliffhanger & I can't wait to read more. I also would love to read more of the relationships with the other team members.

Al fun fantastical read

I really enjoyed all the works I’ve read ( yes,, I’ve actually read not just listened to). And this is just as enjoyable. It’s fun to learn about this new world along with the m as in characters. Narration was spot on.

sadly Lacking

Not what I've come to expect with Michele! Definitely NOT a good voice for this!!

Love Rueberry Orchard

If you have ever wondered about following a dream you’ve had, this is the book for you. Rhile keeps having dreams about Ezryn. What happens when Rhile follows what is said in the dream, you will be left amazed by what happens next.

Absolutely Magical

I dearly love everything that I've ever read by Michele, so I knew going in that I was going to love this book. I was, glad to say, that I'm completely right! The world building that went into this was amazing, taking a fantasy story and combining that with our contemporary world was wonderful. I have to say though that my favorite aspect of this book was the characters.

Between Rhile and Ezryn and all of the secondary characters in this book, they were all written so spectacularly. They had so much depth and they all had a role to play and that made me build a strong connection to them and I was so invested in all of them on this journey.

This was really such a remarkable book that I would highly recommend reading.

I would absolutely recommend listening to this audiobook as well because while this is my first listen with James Paris, I can say that he does an outstanding job of making this book come to life. He gives the characters such a real feel and I loved the tone that he set for the book. He does a fantastic job and I would definitely listen to him in the future.

so good

I loved the book when it came out. Man, the audio is just as fantastic as the book. James did such a great job with our beloved charters. This story has been read over and over many times by me. I am so excited to say that the audio will now be on my repeat list of relistening to. I can't wait till we get more in this series.

Great listen!

I love this story so much!! I love Rhile and Ezryn so much. Their story is so beautiful and I just couldn't get enough of it. This is the first time I listen to a story y James Paris and he did a great job with this narration. He gave this story more life then even reading it. I can't wait for more in this world!

I enjoyed Rhile and Ezryn.

I just love a story with one of my favorite tropes (Amnesia) and an already somewhat established couple even though one doesn’t remember but they go through falling in love again. It’s beautiful. Rhile and Ezryn are great characters.
I am really interested in following on to seeing the relationship between Joz and Bray. Looking forward to the next one.

Narration: This is the first time I've heard this narrator and I will look forward to more books from him. I loved Ezryn's voice of all the characters and wasn't too much of a fan of bubbles voice. Overall, it was a great job.