Upper Hand

Cedar Tree Series

By: Freya Barker

Narrated by: Tanya Eby, Noel Harrison

More often than not, Clint Mason has his foot firmly wedged in his mouth, which tends to get him in plenty of hot water with the ladies. Although his laid back good ole' Southern charm does not fly far with the female population of Cedar Tree, the big burly contractor hides his dark side well.

The only one Beth Franklin allows herself to rely on is Beth, and so far that has served her well. Just when her son disappears after dropping his little guy off on her doorstep, her life seems to spiral out of control. For the first time ever, fearing for his safety, the fiercely independent waitress is forced to be on the receiving end of a helping hand.

That's not easy for her, especially since the shovel-sized hand belongs to a man whose approach has run hot and cold the last year, leaving her feeling off balance. With a steady and commanding force, he exposes her softer side, while doing everything he can to keep her and those close to her safe.

©2015 Margreet Asselbergs as Freya Barker (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Let the sparks fly!

Upper Hand is Clint and Beth's story. Poor Clint. He's got such a good heart but that mouth of his just gets him in trouble. I loved learning how he was taught to treat ladies. It explains a lot! He's an old fashioned kind of guy trying to get by in a time where woman want to be respected for their independence, especially the woman he's become interested in. As you can imagine, this caused a few fireworks. Another fantastic read!

Upper Hand Hits All the Emotions

Upper Hand is one of my favorite Freya Barker books. Clint and Beth's story has a lot of suspense and action, but above all it's the emotions and love that shine through. Clint may be my favorite male character in the Cedar Tree series. He is a good man, but he cannot keep his foot out of his mouth to save his soul. And around Beth, he seems more apt to incite her anger than her passion. But when the passion between the couple ignites, it's explosive.
This audio narration hit the nail on the head as far as what these characters sounded like in my head when I read their story. The gruff, growly alpha that is Clint and the strong, snarky Beth make a heady combination. I can foresee me relistening to the this story again and again.

Another wonderful couple!

Audiobook: Narrator - Tanya Eby and Noel Harrison

I’m so in love with these narrators. They do such an amazing job of pulling me into each of the books in this series. No question, I’m a fan!

I’ve been waiting for Clint and Beth’s story. I was already in love with Clint and the total havoc he wreaks when he opens his mouth. I grew up with several Clints so I completely understood what he was trying to say even when he was making a huge mess of it all. Beth was a little harder to connect with. She was hard and a bit shut off and she tended to jump on Clint too much too often. However, I quickly began to fall in love with her as she opened herself up to Clint.

Like the other books in this series, this has a deep twisted plot that kept me listening long past the point I would usually turn it off. I was invested in not only this couple but in that of the other characters involved. This also has some ovary exploding moments between Clint and Max, Beth’s two year old grandson. Sooo good!

Truly loving everything about this series!

Typical Freya Barker…entertaining

Really liked this story; lots of action, flawed but likable (though at times almost too stupid to live😂) characters, and good action story line.
Only issue: I read the author’s “Keeping 6” first, where FBI Special Agent in Charge, Damien Garcia, is the hero, but in this book (published 2 years earlier), he’s practically a villain. Made for listening to the wildly different personalities for the same person personally jarring.