Sterling Clay

Sterling Falls, Book 4

By: L.B. Dunbar

Narrated by: Willa Jaymes, Oliver Highpoint

Love doesn’t break us; it makes us whole, my nana used to say.

However, one minute, my world is set on fire, literally. The next, I am raising a six-year-old as a single mom without a clear path ahead of us. No place to live. No job. No money.

I’m returning to Sterling Falls to claim what’s mine, then there will be no looking back on this beloved small town, a place I consider a handful of sand in the hourglass of my life.

Then again, Clay Sylver has shaken up that ancient time clock. The silver fox in his forties is a bit cocky, but solid in every way that matters. He loves his siblings. He works hard. He owns an honest business. Honest, the emphasis here. He also suffers from damsel-in-distress syndrome with a savior complex for lost causes, like stray animals and down-and-out women.

And I have a secret crush on him.

When I see Clay stranded on the side of the road one dark, stormy night, I stop to offer assistance. Burning with fever, Clay is sick, and my mom-instincts kick in to give him comfort. That decision throws me off course again. While my past lurks everywhere, I find myself falling in love with Sterling Falls once more and falling harder for the man giving my son and me a safe haven.

Love is a risk, according to Clay, but he’s slowly rescuing my heart while I’m saving his.

©2024 L.B. Dunbar (P)2024 L.B. Dunbar

You Are My Deep Sigh

Wow! The narrators performance was truly wonderful. I could really feel all the emotions of the characters and felt emersed in their life. This is a wonderfully written book about finding family, love acceptance and home. Both Clay and Mavis have endured loss and are guarded but have always been attracted to each other. I truly love their story and how accepting and open they are with Dutton. They find their safe place in each other. Love the epilogue and their hea. This is truly one of those books I will go back and listen to again and again.
I was sent a free audiobook from HCB and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Clay and Maevis

Clay and Maevis
This is an older couple and by that I means in their 40’s and I want to say second chance romance as well. I do enjoy the realism and sexiness of a mature couple. This story has a great family connection to the series but also stands alone on its own. I love this storyline which also includes some angst, sex and family. Narration was on point. I highly recommend this book. Sisters Spotlight 💕

Loved it

I love my visits to Sterling Falls and I couldn’t wait to read Clay and Mavis’s story, adding in Mavis’s son six year old Dutton just made it spot on.

I enjoy L. B. Dunbar writing style. .Her characters are engaging and so easy to relate to; probably because her characters are more mature and I find that so easy to relate too.

From the first chapter, I was hooked on the story and the addition of the suspense element just added to my enjoyment. There was a good balance of romance and suspense.

They have both been through so much. This is a beautifully written, witty, emotional story that ticked all the boxes for me. There are equal amounts of passion, romance, and angst in this story which had me tearing up and smiling, sometimes at the same time.

Narrated by Willa James and Oliver Highpoint who did a brilliant job in their narration. They brought all the drama, suspense and romance out . Their performances did justice to the wonderful story.

Another Silver Falls

Clay is in need when Maevis and her son, Dutton see him on the side of the road and take him to his house. She nurses him through his fever. He has Maevis and Dutton stay. Clay had crushed on her when he saw her several years ago when she Sterling Falls but thought she was married. Now is his chance with her since he knows she's not married. I really liked how Clay took care of Dutton and didn't demean his choices. Maevis has a crush on Clay, too but wants to stand on her own. Both need each other. I like this series about couples in their 40's. The Sylver family stands by each other. The narrators were perfect and brought the book to life for me.

Tender, Heartfelt and Steamy Romance!

This latest in the Sterling Falls series is a sweet and steamy romance with a bit of suspense. Mavis and her sweet little boy, Dutton, are driving back to Sterling Falls to start over after her life fell apart. She finds Clay on the side of the road with a broken down truck. She rescues him only to realize he is very sick. She takes him home and nurses him back to health. Clay is the one who takes care of and rescues everyone in his life. This is the first time anyone has taken care of him. Clay and Mavis have always admired each other from afar. Now she is in a place that they can act on their attraction. But there is someone who is in the shadows, waiting to make their move. I really enjoyed this tender, heartfelt, and oh so swoony romance. I loved how Mavis found her confidence, and how Clay helped her do that as he accepted sweet little Dutton. I loved watching Clay, Mavis and Dutton grow into a beautiful, sweet and strong family.
The narration by Willa James and Oliver Highpoint was amazing. I thought they nailed these characters perfectly, making me feel all the complex emotions they experienced with the perfect amount of suspense. This is my first listen to both narrators and I really enjoyed their dynamic voices and was completely lost in their moving performance.

Clay and Mavis

Clay and Mavis Dutton

Narrators did a good job. I enjoyed listening to it but I will listen but ain't a fan of when they take turns doing chapters which then means the characters are given different voices every other chapter.

I found this to be cute, hot, intriguing, funny and entertaining. Mavis is on her way back to the town she left after a house fire with the intent to sell her property before her and her 6 year old boy move on. She meets Clay as he is on the side of the road trying to fix his car. When she drops him off before she leaves he collapses and she finds herself taking care of a sick Clay and staying with him. Clay had been attracted to Mavis right from the first time he saw her before she disappeared and now under his roof he gets a chance. Love how Clay is as he tries to break down Mavis's walls. He goes from being tender to her and Dutton and when she needs to have control he submits to her let me just say so Hot. Mavis so caring and loving and how she is fierce and protective she is when it comes to Dutton. Dutton an unusual cute and funny six year old, reminded me of my nephew when he was around that age. Loved it!

A great listen!

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Willa James and Oliver Highpoint in dual narration. I believe it was my first time hearing either of them narrate. They did a fantastic job. The voices were appropriate for the characters, pleasant to listen to, and the pacing was perfect. As a side note, I really appreciate that the different books in the series are done by different narrators. I hate it when you get the same voices over and over again for different main characters in a series.

This is a single mom, Mavis, running from an abusive relationship trope. She has a six year old son who has definite leanings toward things that are considered "girly". A big part of the story is acceptance for this little guy. Clay scores big points in that area. Sometimes it seems like that is a bigger part of the story than the actual romance between Mavis and Clay. The romance developed pretty quickly (but then she did get to strip down the sick Clay at the beginning of the story).

Clay is a mature guy that is very protective of those he cares for. The narration of his part was low and rumbly--perfect. Mavis put her child above all else and loved him to pieces. Overall, a very nice story. If you like authors like Melissa Foster, I think you will like this book.

Warms your heart, wonderful story

Sterling Clay is a story that just makes you feel good. Bad things do happen, there are bad people and real danger, but the good people are so good, so honest, so true that you can’t help but feel hopeful all will be well in the end. The sense of family and loyalty warm you all over.

Clay Sylver is the second oldest of the Sylver siblings. After their mother died and their father became a monster Clay and oldest brother Stone raised the rest of the family, doing their best to protect them from their father’s capricious cruelty, and growing up very quickly in the process. Clay keeps to himself for the most part, well-known in town, close to his family, expertly and successfully running Sylver Seed & Soil, but spending most of his time working, and with zero interest in a serious relationship. There was a woman who was a “might have been” once, but she was married and there was never anything more than casual conversation between them - besides an overpowering feeling of familiarity and comfort when they happened to meet. And that was that. Sure, he might be a little lonely, but his life is full and it’s good. And he has all he needs, right?

Mavis Grant just happens to be that woman from the past. Not sure she can really be considered the one that got away when there never was anything between them, but she felt that same pull Clay did. Her life was complicated, though. Her husband Wesley wasn’t the supposedly successful businessman she met but in fact an evil, lying con man. He became abusive to Mavis and cruel to her son Dutton. When she made plans to leave, there was suddenly a fire that was started with Mavis and Dutton inside and that nearly burned the house down. She and Dutton survived and fled to her parents. She hasn’t been back to Sterling Falls since.

Dutton is an adorable little boy. He’s had a lot of hardship in his six short years, and all Mavis wants is to be sure he feels safe and loved. And if liking the Power Princess and wearing pink and having his nails painted makes him feel that way, Mavis is all for it. He’s a little boy; why force him into a role? Except Wesley taunted him and even though Mavis’s father wasn’t cruel, he wasn’t on board with the idea, either.

So it’s time for Mavis and Dutton to move on. Mavis never was comfortable in the motorcycle club life her parents lead and her sister was part of. She wanted that traditional family with the picket fence and a dog. She thought at one time that was what Wesley wanted too. The house in Sterling Falls is in her name, she doesn’t think Wesley is following them, and she intends to do the necessary repairs, sell the house, and get out of town. Too bad things don’t always go according to plan.

A chance encounter with a sick Clay in a broken-down truck on the rainy night Mavis and Dutton pull into town leads to unusual living arrangements, feelings that become increasingly harder to ignore, and one of the most delightful stories you’ll ever read. They still feel that pull between them, but it’s not that easy. Mavis has a lot of problems to solve and except for being Mama Bear to her boy Dutton’s cub, her self-confidence is at zero thanks to Wesley and his treatment of her. Clay is a good man who is always ready to help, but he’s a loner wary of relationships. Except – something strong keeps pulling him towards them, making him wonder where thoughts like “Maybe there could be a Papa Bear to go with that Mama Bear and cub” and “I’d like to have them here all the time” come from. It feels so right though; he’s a goner before he even realizes it.

Clay is 43 and Mavis is almost 40, not teenagers but mature people who have lived life, experienced hardship and tragedy, had to be strong. And cautious. The Sylver family is welcoming and encouraging but worried about their brother, because Clay and Mavis go through a lot in this story: things that can be addressed like misunderstandings, suspicion, and fear of being hurt, but also threatening phone calls and letters, break ins, attacks, and kidnapping. Who is doing this? Is it Wesley? Who is that strange man that’s approached Clay more than once? Could something even more horrible than that fire happen?

Sterling Clay is expertly plotted with well-developed characters and situations to keep you engrossed from beginning to end. L. B. Dunbar has done it again: people you can’t help but love, adorable children, believable villains, steamy, scorchy, smootchy scenes and a lot of humor. If you get the chance to listen to the audiobook version do so! Narrators Willa James and Oliver Highpoint do an outstanding job of bringing this story to life. Willa James captures Mavis’s fear and uncertainty about life, her fierceness about Dutton and her longing and desire for Clay perfectly. Oliver Highpoint has a deep, smooth, throaty drawl and makes you feel every bit of Clay’s wariness, his surprise at his rapidly growing feels, his protective and tenderness towards his Butterfly, and his growling anger and determination when they are threatened. Thanks to the author for providing both an advance reading and listening copy of Sterling Clay. I loved it and recommend it without hesitation and advise you to read everything about Sterling Falls. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

An intense read! Love Dunbar‘s mature romances

It was stressful, this one! Intense situations…


This silver haired series from LB Dunbar (she’s the queen of 40+ romance, and I love reading about characters my own age, instead of the silly children aged 20, in college, like so many these days), is just so darn good!

Sterling Clay, about one of the older and more serious Sylver brothers in Sterling Falls, has to be one of the more serious books in the series. It’s seriously good, but gets the pulse pounding! In one of the earlier books, there’s mention of a house fire (one of the brothers is a firefighter)… well, now we meet Mavis and her son, Dutton, who were trapped in that house. Clay and Mavis run into each other on the side of the highway where his work van has broken down, while she’s on her way back to town a couple of years later.

After a whirlwind and nearly unbelievable storyline in which Clay, a reclusive workaholic takes Mavis and Dutton in as his new roommates, we learn about Mavis’s history (wouldn’t wish her past on anyone). The unlikely pair bond quickly, along with adorable Dutton. I loved this book and the crossover with the earlier series characters/siblings.

While this was tense and pulse pounding in places, it was a really exciting and excellent read! It just might be my favorite of the series, and I’ve loved them all so much, for different reasons. I highly recommend it! So good!

The audiobook was narrated by Willa James and Oliver Highpoint. They are both new to me narrators, but both did such a good job - both perfectly suited to the characters of Mavis and Clay. Great casting job, and excellent performances. Well done! You’ll definitely want to grab the audio version of this book!

I received an advance audio copy from Home Cooked Books PR, and this is my honest review.

More love in Sterling Falls!

Sterling Clay is book #4 in the Sterling Falls series. Mavis is tying up loose ends in Sterling Falls, then starting a new life with her son (Dutton) after leaving an abusive relationship. Clay Sylver is married to his work, likes his life trouble-free, and has been the stoic father-figure to the whole Sylver gang. We've been introduced to both of these characters in previous books, so I was super happy to see they have their own story. *Check the trigger warnings as the story does touch on some history of sensitive subjects. I really loved the interaction between Clay and Dutton and how protective he was over their little unit. There's nothing better than small-town, silver fox romance with some intrigue/suspense and steamy times thrown in. This series is amazing!

The narration was fantastic! Oliver Highpoint and Willa James really brought the emotion and passion to these characters. 5/5 stars for this duo.