Short Story Sunday: Audiobook Review: The Heart of a Mother by Julie Clark
The Heart of a Mother
Series: Obsession Collection #4
Author: Julie Clark
Narrator: Susan Dalian
Published: July 25, 2023
Audiobook: 1 hour 16 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: April 27, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Short Story Description:
A fateful decision from the past haunts a wealthy Californian. Desperate to make things right, she risks everything in this tense short story from New York Times bestselling author Julie Clark. Hillary Jean leads an enviable life. She has a loving husband, a beautiful home, caring friends, and meaningful work planning fundraisers. Yet she’s always felt incomplete. After a DNA website emails her a match, Hillary sets out to find the daughter she gave up twenty-five years ago. But her hunger to reconnect threatens to destroy the very thing she hopes to gain.
The Heart of a Mother is part of Obsession , a collection of compulsively readable short stories about people pushed to their extremes. So addictive you won’t be able to put them down—read or listen to each story in a single sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
Whoa! I’m not a mother but this short story gives you an idea of what a mother goes through when she puts a baby up for adoption. And how much it can affect her many years later.
You definitely experience a mother’s turmoil where she questions herself on what she should do. It shows a mother’s love above all else.
I knew the direction the story was going, but that did not stop me from ‘enjoying’ it. I would be interested in seeing what else Julie Clark writes. The narrator Susan Dalian did a great job with her portrayal. And do listen or read this in one sitting, I did!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Short Story Sunday: Trouble by Janelle Brown
Trouble
Series: We Could Be Heroes
Author: Janelle Brown
Narrator: January LaVoy
Published: February 7, 2023
Audiobook: 1 hour 7 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: March 1, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Short Story Description:
What does it take to be a good mother? A good neighbor? Straight answers are hard to find in this keenly observed short story by New York Times bestselling author Janelle Brown.
Polly’s fourth-grade daughter has been spending a lot of time with her classmate Sylvie—maybe too much. Sylvie’s clothes are a little…flashy…and her phone (a ten-year-old with a phone!) doesn’t seem to have any parental controls. It seems that Sylvie’s mother, with her vape pens and her too-high heels, may not be making good choices. As Polly tries to exert a positive influence, she discovers just how little anyone can tell about a family from the outside.
Janelle Brown’s Trouble is part of We Could Be Heroes, a darkly inquisitive collection of short stories that examines heroic intentions versus their real-life consequences. Read or listen to each in a single sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
Oh wow! I really enjoyed this short story. I was not sure where it was going to go, who to believe, and is this child to blame or a victim herself. I can’t say much more than that, and you don’t know the who, what, why, or how, until the very last line!
Trouble was my introduction to Brown, and since I enjoyed it I will be on the lookout for more by her!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Short Story Sunday: Dalma Does Not Die at the End
Dalma Does Not Die at the End
Author: Adam Silvera
Published: October 4, 2022
40 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: January 22, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Jessica’s Review:
Dalma Does Not Die at the End is a short story taking place directly after The First to Die at the End. If you have read They Both Die then you know that Dalma created The Last Friend app where Rufus and Mateo met. Dalma is a main character in First and we see the up and down journey that she goes on to create The Last Friend app over a several years’ time period.
This short story just did not have as much magic as the two full length novels, I think maybe because no one was going to die? But I enjoyed it to see the app come to creation knowing what she wants to become and actually seeing it in full bloom in First.
This short story comes in the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition of The First to Die at the End. I wanted this version for the short story, and I just love the cover! Anything Silvera writes in this world I plan on reading!
Purchase Link:
Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition
