Sweetbriar Cottage

By: Denise Hunter

Narrated by: Julie Carr

They thought their love story was over. They thought their divorce was final. They were wrong.

Following his divorce, Noah gave up his dream job and settled at a remote horse ranch in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia, putting much-needed distance between himself and the former love of his life. But then Noah gets a letter from the IRS claiming he and Josephine are still married. When he confronts Josephine, they discover that she missed the final step in filing the paperwork and they are, in fact, still married.

Josephine is no happier about the news than Noah. Maybe the failed marriage—and botched divorce—was her fault, but her heart was shattered right alongside his, more than he would ever believe. The sooner they put this marriage behind them, the better for both of their sakes.

But when Josephine delivers the final paperwork to his ranch, the two become stranded in his cottage during the worst spring snowstorm in a decade. Being trapped with Josephine is a test of Noah’s endurance. He wrestles with resentment and an unmistakable pull to his wife—still beautiful, still brave, and still more intriguing than any woman he’s ever known.

As they find themselves confronted with each other and their shared past, old wounds surface and tempers flare. But when they are forced out into the storm, they must rely on each other in a way they never have before. Josephine finally opens up about her tragic past, and Noah realizes she’s never been loved unconditionally by anyone—including him. Will Noah accept the challenge to pursue Josephine’s heart? And can she finally find the courage to trust Noah?

From the bestselling author of The Convenient Groom and A December Bride (now beloved Hallmark Original movies) comes this charming romance full of second chances and rekindled love.

“Sweetbriar Cottage is a wonderful story, full of emotional tension and evocative prose.”—Francine Rivers, New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love

“Sweetbriar Cottage is a story to fall in love with. True-to-life characters, high stakes, and powerful chemistry blend to tell an emotional story of reconciliation.”—Brenda Novak, New York Times bestselling author

• Sweet and thoughtful contemporary romance
• Stand-alone novel
• Book length: 86,000 words
• Includes discussion questions for book clubs

©2017 Denise Hunter (P)2017 Thomas Nelson Publishers

Forgiveness and love

I loved this couple. Noah’s love is a special kind of love. We all make mistakes and some are really big and Some of us make multiple mistakes. Beautiful story of forgiveness and redeeming love. Hope you Enjoy this story as much as I did.

Extremely amateur and monotone narrator, slow predictable story

Narrator ruined it- story was juvenile, slow, predictable and boring. Shadow, the dog, was the best character.

Sweet Story, But Not my favorite Narration

In the end I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it. However, the narration in the 1st 15 minutes almost made me stop listening. She doesn’t really change the voices of the characters and it makes it a lot harder to envision who is speaking. Once I got into the story further though, I didn’t notice it as much.
One thing I really liked about this book is that the chapters alternate from the past to the present. It builds the story in a really wonderful way that keeps you guessing. I also liked that it was a sweet love story and not overly sexy.

My favorite Denise Hunter book

SPOILER ALERT:

It's my second time reading/listening to this book, and I'm every bit as floored as the first time. The premise of the story is sweet, but it is masterfully done. Josie's brokenness, Noah's change of heart, the heartbreak, the fear, pain, and SPOILER the survival and reconciliation; it's all done so well. Not my last time reading this book.

Narrator Issues in Audio Version

Fine story that succeeds in expressing some of the long-term relationship problems from early trauma. I have hesitance in purchasing audio versions from this author because of the narrator. I have learned that slowing speed a bit helps in catching more of the context and intended expression.

Loved It!

First off, Julie Carr the narrator was amazing, she read this book like she was really there. I loved the story, it kept me wanting to keep listening and find out the outcome. I love Denise Hunter's books, I like different and spontanious reading. If you haven't read or listened to this book, you really should, I give it 5 stars. I already started another one of her books. My husband bought me this book on his account so it looks like the review came from him, lol My name is Sheila and love love loved this book.

Great story, but...

I think it's great how the author teaches about the psychological effects of childhood abuse into adult hood. So many of us need to be more aware, and to look past people's facades. Try to understand the why of their behaviour instead of just focusing on it. However it seemed it lacked a little something and I can't explain what. Depth maybe? A bit typical some of the events? Where I come from a 4 wheels drive with good tires cud go anywhere snow, ice or whatever... I thot that was a little weak, and maybe a teeny bit focused on the physical. Otherwise a great book!

I listened to this book almost in one sitting.

I loved the message that is woven throughout this book. You will not regret getting it.

Great book! Worth listening again!

Gifted writer... very clean, wholesome book even though one of the main characters has a less than wholesome past. The writer really knows how to bring characters to life and keep readers wanting the next page. The book has a very strong message of showing others love and compassion, even when they don't seem worthy because sometimes that's the time when they need it the most. The writer also does a great job of showing the consequences one girl suffers after being abused and neglected by family, then taunted and ridiculed by her high school peers. Although these things happened in her past, they continue to haunt her and cause her to feel unworthy of her husband's love. She in turn does something awful without understanding why and wrecks her marriage. It takes God and some pretty extreme circumstances to begin putting the pieces of her life back together. I rarely read a book twice, but I expect I will be reading this one again in the very near future. Definitely a keeper! I will look for more by this author.

Sweet story of reconciliation

Loved the story and the characters. Definitely more slow pace than I'm used to, and it did seem to go on and on. Fortunately, it ended just as I was about to knock their two heads together! Both seemed incredibly dense at times. So glad it ended well. Their journey was touching and tearful. I don't cry easily, but had tears in my eyes several times, and the good kind. The end was precious.

Unfortunately, the narrator nearly ruined this for me. Her reading was stiff, stilted, and sounded at every turn like she was simply reading out loud. No inflections or tones for different characters, nothing. At times it was difficult to tell when hero was talking versus heroine because there was no effort to distinguish between the two. Maybe I'm spoiled by other incredible narrators.