Author: Mary Calmes
Narrator: Robert Nieman
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Run Time: 2 hours and 29 minutes
At a Glance: I do feel What Can Be could have been a full-length novel and brought more to the table; however, I still adored this book. Robert Nieman does well with pacing and character changes and is an all-around professional.
Reviewed By: Amy
Blurb: Thirteen years ago, Eli went on a summer trip with his mother and never came back. Now, existing in a new life as Jacob Somerville, he’s again running from fear and memories, only to end up where he started. As Jacob struggles to reconnect with his father and brothers, he realizes that his lover, Craig Zhao, was the only thing filling his empty heart and standing between him and ghosts of the past. It will take the power of love—from his family, from Craig, and from himself—for Jacob to see that his life truly is filled with the promise of what can be.
Review: What Can Be is a very short story to deal with a very serious situation, but even considering this, I really enjoyed this book.
Eli is the ultimate character that will pull at your heartstrings. His mother did him an injustice and took him away from his family when he was young. She left with Eli to go away from the family for the summer, and turned into a drug addict. I think all of these circumstances lend themselves well to Eli not being able to commit to a relationship for long, as he will get left.
It is sometimes hard to jump into a book mid-story and mid-relationship, but Mary Calmes is the master of weaving a story and therefore, she pulls this off seamlessly. I do feel it could have been a full-length novel and brought more to the table; however, I still adored this book.
Narration: Robert Nieman is a solid narrator with a lot of experience under his belt. He does well with pacing and character changes and is an all-around professional. I don’t adore his voice, but if I see an audio with him narrating, I usually pick it up because I know the quality will be there.
You can buy What Can Be here:
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