~ Audiobook Review: Said No One Ever (ARC) ~

Author: Stephanie Eding

Narrator: Stephanie Richardson

Audiobook Length: 9 hours 22 minutes

A peaceful vacation turns into a roller coaster ride of family drama.
Two handsome men with competing agendas cause mix-ups and betrayal.
Sometimes you have to put your foot down to get what you really want in life.

Ellie Reed’s self-esteem can’t take any more of her family’s constant criticism and attempts to control her life. But when she rents an Airbnb on a gorgeous farm in Montana, she encounters a whole new set of family drama and finds herself the caretaker of a barn full of farm animals, caught between two handsome men competing for control of the farm, and the sudden best friend of a spunky elderly widow whose outrageous ideas just might change her destiny…

Said No One Ever not only came on my radar for being right up my alley as a women’s fiction/romance, but it was also set in Montana, which is not found a lot in either genre. Ellie Reed rents an AirBnB from an 82-year-old woman named Marilyn in Montana. She is hoping that this time away from her home in Ohio will allow her to think about the next steps in her life. Not only is Ellie recovering from a recent break-up, who her mom loved, she is also trying to figure out her career after being let go and her sister is insistent that Ellie now become her nanny. After arriving at the farm, Ellie soon discovers that Marilyn has been taken to the hospital leaving Ellie to take care of the farm.

I loved Ellie’s time on the farm as all the animals, especially the dog, Hilda, were all adorable and added some great personality to the story. Ellie also meets Warren, Marilyn’s grandson who comes by to help on the farm and Blake who lives down the road. If I had to choose only one genre for this story, I would lean more towards women’s fiction compared to romance. The love story part of the novel was still enjoyable, but Ellie’s journey was the center. As love interests, both Warren and Blake had great chemistry with Ellie, but I still needed more to fully connect with a relationship. For me, the romance read as a new beginning for the final couple with lots of possibilities, but I am not sure how long it would last. It was not a bad thing, but just something different compared to other romances. Aside from her romance, Ellie has her family drama, her career, and many other issues that she is working through, so I enjoyed following her.

Stephanie Richardson provided the narration for this story and did a fantastic job as, I feel, she accurately captured the characters and general emotions that were all over the place in the story. Ellie herself was the main narrator of the story and I loved the idea that she was taking time for herself. Sometimes, though, Ellie’s family was a little too involved in her life, so it would be nice to have more background to see how they got to this point. Ellie’s journey was a delight as she spends each stay on the farm and slowly becomes integrated in Marilyn’s life. The farm was a great backdrop, and it was easy to picture the chaos that is daily farm life and how many tasks it takes to take care of everything. Eding’s writing was captivating and enjoyable, and I look forward to reading more of her novel’s in the future.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**