Audiobook review: What We Find

Author: Robyn Carr

Series: Sullivan's Crossing, #1

Released: April 5th 2016

Publisher: Recorded Books

Length:10 hrs and 6 mins

Source: Bought

Buy: Audible

Between the urban bustle of Denver and the high-stress environment of a career in neurosurgery, Maggie Sullivan has hit a wall. When an emergency high-risk procedure results in the death of a teenager, Maggie finds herself in the middle of a lawsuit - and experiencing levels of anxiety she's never faced before. She knows she needs to slow down before she burns out completely, and the best place she can think to do that is Sullivan's Crossing.

Named for Maggie's great-grandfather, the land and charming general store at the crossroads of the Colorado and the Continental Divide Trails have been passed down through the generations and now belong to Maggie's eccentric father, Sully. When she shows up unannounced, he welcomes her with open arms, and she relishes the opportunity to indulge in his simple way of life. But shortly after she arrives, Maggie's world is rocked once again, and she must take on more responsibility than she'd planned.

Though she's relieved a quiet and serious-looking hiker, Cal Jones, is willing to lend a hand, Maggie is suspicious of this mysterious man's eagerness to help - until she finds out the true reason for his deliberate isolation. Though Cal and Maggie both struggle with loss and loneliness, the time they spend together gives Maggie hope for something brighter just on the horizon...if only they can learn to find peace and healing - and perhaps love - with each other.

Robyn Carr is famous for her two series, Virgin River and Thunder Point. With Thunder Point nearing its end, I was so very excited to see that she’s starting a new series, with yet another small town community at its center. It was clear from the start that Sullivan’s Crossing has a whole lot of potential, with so many interesting characters already prepared to take the spotlight.

What We Find, however, wasn’t quite up to Robyn Carr’s standards. Centered around Maggie and Cal, What We Find shows both of them during their most vulnerable time. They both have reasons to be a little bit lost and disillusioned. As a neurosurgeon, Maggie is being sued for malpractice, her practice is closed and her boyfriend of two years abandoned her after a miscarriage. She goes to regroup to the only place she feels completely safe – her father’s camping ground and store at Sullivan’s Crossing. There she meets Cal, a wandering hiker with secrets. She is distrustful at first even though Cal tries very hard to help her and her father. She is curious about his story and more than willing to pry, but Cal keeps his reasons for wandering very close to his chest.

Although Carr’s characters are very much alive, What We Find suffers from a serious lack of plot. Nothing actually happens in it. We follow these people as they slowly uncover each other’s secrets and admit their feelings for each other. I usually prefer romances with very little tension and angst, but there has to be something to keep me engaged. Aside from the secondary characters like Maggie’s father Sully or neighbor Tom, there was very little to keep me turning those pages.

I think I was mostly bothered by the lack of chemistry between Maggie and Cal. It didn’t seem like one of those romances that are meant to be, but rather a marriage of convenience for two wounded souls. Books with no tension and very little plot have to make up for it somehow, and a strong magnetic pull between characters is usually a way to do it. Unfortunately, What We Find was mostly unsuccessful in that, and almost every other department.

The book was saved, as so many books are, by Therese Plummer’s fantastic narration. Yes, she’s one of those narrators who could read grocery lists and make them interesting. She brings characters to life and ads something uniquely hers to every story she reads. I will read the next book in this series because I trust Carr to make it a whole lot better than this unfortunate beginning, and as always, I’ll choose Plummer to read it to me.