I received the audiobook version of this title from Dark Regions Press as an Indiegogo campaign perk. I was pretty jazzed, because I have had the ebook for a while and just couldn’t seem to get it to the top of my tbr (which happens a lot with books I really want to read, btw) Glad I was finally able to get to it and give it a listen.

This was my first time reading/listening to anything by Mort Castle. Since I struggle sometimes with short story collections, I was a little worried about this one, but Mort’s collection flowed well, was easy to listen to and had a pretty eclectic mix up of shorts and super shorts. My favorites were “The Healers” about faith and a women looking for relief from her ailments and “Bird’s Dead” about a good ole’ time juke joint where the jazz greats hang out…forever…at least most of them.

Every time I listen to an audiobook I always wonder how I would receive it if I just “read” it instead of listening to it. Would it be better? Worse? I think it could probably go both ways depending on the narrator and the pacing, etc. I have listened to one or two that I couldn’t stomach at all, but when I physically read them they were much better and I have tried a few that I just couldn’t listen to and quit them before I even really started. The full cast version of The Halloween Tree, as an example, I hated and couldn’t listen to it at all and then I tried a different audio and quite enjoyed it.

Overall, I am giving this one a solid 3+ Stars, but your mileage may vary.

Moon Over Water by Debbie Macomber
Lorraine Dempsey had just buried her mother, Jenny and her fiancee wanted her to spend the night at his place.
She and her mother had discussed wedding plans. She just wanted some space.
Her father's letter from her mother's lawyer she reads and finds out her father, Thomas is still alive, and not dead at all and his location.
The story also follows Thomas and his love for Jenny and holding his daughter before he headed off to the war.
He's in Mexico now and has many nightmares and is married to a woman his daughter's age and she is due to deliver soon..
Jack Keller is an ex-mercenary and he's saved much of the money he had earned over the years.
She makes it to Mexico and then everything goes south. Even the backup plans and the other backup plans. She's in trouble with the law as she meets her father.
Her father's friend, Jack Keller is there to aid him and get her back to the US. It's quite the journey and hours spent with one another.
Action, adventure, uncovered treasure, romance and travel make this a really good read.

"A marriage of true minds....but so many impediments". Left orphaned (but wealthy) at age ten with her wardship sold to her cousin Simon Heron, Thomazine joins her cousins at the family's estate, Goldhayes. Although she loves all of Simon's children, third son Francis has a special place in her heart and they form an unbreakable bond while children that only intensifies when Francis returns from college. The elder Simon dies and the estate and Thomazine's wardship is now run by Francis' elder and very intractable brother Simon. Thomazine must now find a way to convince Simon to break the betrothal to her cousin Dominic Drakelon (made when she was ten), as well as to mend the deep enmity between the two brothers so that she and Francis can marry. As the tensions between King Charles and Parliament heat up into Civil War, the women and children of Goldhayes retreat to the easier defended Ashcott, Thomazine's family home, as the men join forces in support of the King. A siege of Ashcott has deadly consequences and further exacerbates the tension between the two brothers - does Thomazine have the courage to risk everything for love of Francis? Will Cousin Lucy find happiness with the Roundhead officer? That's all I'm telling, any more would give the whole thing away. While it's a bit slow at the start as the author sets up the extensive Heron family and their convoluted relationships (they intermarry just a tad), once the Civil War broke out things really started to cook along and I had a hard time putting this one down. I loved loved loved the relationship between Thomazine and Francis - it's so refreshing to have true love without all that prerequisite sex we're stuck with in today's novels. The author did a nice job of bringing the period to life, letting us see the customs, clothing and foods of the day. I liked seeing the impact of the war on the country folk as opposed to the nobility, as well as the difficulty in really hating one's own countrymen no matter what side of the conflict they're on. The author ends this one with quite a cliff-hanger so be prepared to have the next in the trilogy The Chains of Fate ready and waiting for you. Argh! I'll have to wait at least one more day (if not more) before my copy arrives. 4/5 stars and only for the slower start - otherwise it would be a solid five.