Zach J. Payne
- 86
- reviews
- 58
- helpful votes
- 151
- ratings
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Where the Road Leads Us
- By: Robin Reul
- Narrated by: Nick Walther, Suzy Jackson
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Jack is on the verge of leaving for college, but before he does, he wants to track down his estranged brother, Alex, and find some closure in the wake of their father's death. Meanwhile, Hallie has just found out some upsetting news about a friend in Oregon, and she has a small window to go see him before it's too late. Jack and Hallie are practically strangers. They shared a class together years ago and haven't seen each other since, though they have more in common than they'd ever imagine.
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Just Lovely.
- By Zach J. Payne on 01-14-24
- Where the Road Leads Us
- By: Robin Reul
- Narrated by: Nick Walther, Suzy Jackson
Just Lovely.
Reviewed: 01-14-24
This is a powerful story, lovely and emotional without being completely overwhelming. It's a love letter to California, a great adventure. I just wish the ending was a little less open. But I have a love for a solid resolution. Still, these characters will worm their way into your heart. Well worth the read.
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The Prince & the Apocalypse
- By: Kara McDowell
- Narrated by: Laura Knight Keating
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Wren Wheeler has flown five thousand miles across the ocean to discover she’s the worst kind of traveler: the kind who just wants to go home. Her senior-year trip to London was supposed to be life-changing, but by the last day, Wren’s perfectly planned itinerary is in tatters. There’s only one item left to check off: breakfast at the World’s End restaurant. The one thing she can still get right.
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grew on me
- By Becky Mutter on 10-09-24
- The Prince & the Apocalypse
- By: Kara McDowell
- Narrated by: Laura Knight Keating
One of my favorite reads this year.
Reviewed: 08-01-23
It's heavy without being overbearing, romantic without being sappy, and just a wonderful adventure at the end of the world. The conflict is delicious, the choices are not easy, and you truly find yourself worrying for and caring about both of these main characters. But the ending. Oh, God, the ending. I hope there's a sequel. Or at least a follow up novella. That last line was murder on my nerves in the very best way.
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Not Here to Stay Friends
- By: Kaitlyn Hill
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Steven Molony
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Sloane McKinney feels like a background character in her own life. But this summer will be different, because she’s spending it with her childhood best friend, Liam Daniels, in her dream city, Los Angeles. Sure, she’s surprised to find that Liam just happens to have had a Hot Guy glow-up since she last saw him, but so what? A little attraction won’t ruin her plans for their fun—and completely platonic—reunion. What might, however, is that Liam has been roped into working for his producer dad’s new teen reality dating show, Aspen Woods’s Future Leading Lady.
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This one's a winner.
- By Zach J. Payne on 07-30-23
- Not Here to Stay Friends
- By: Kaitlyn Hill
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Steven Molony
This one's a winner.
Reviewed: 07-30-23
Okay, so the premise is AMAZING. Just absolutely a fun story. A lot of delicious angst, and the story ended in the best possible way on every level.
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Don't You Trust Me?
- By: Patrice Kindl
- Narrated by: Bailey Carr
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Don't you trust me? I mean, look at me. Blond, blue eyed, the very image of innocence. Pretty enough, if you care about that kind of thing. I don't. But would a normal person switch identities with some wet mess of a girl at the airport just to get her to stop bawling about being separated from her loser boyfriend and sent to live with some distant relatives? Nope, she wouldn't. Yet I did. I'm not as normal as you think. And you'll just have to trust me.
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Deviously Delicious
- By The Audiobookworm on 09-16-16
- Don't You Trust Me?
- By: Patrice Kindl
- Narrated by: Bailey Carr
A delightfully messed up book
Reviewed: 06-07-23
I only wish the ending was different -- but this was such a fun ride!
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Wild Hearts
- An If Only Novel
- By: Jessica Burkhart
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Brie Carter's father's land development business has taken her family all over the world, but as soon as they arrive at their new home in Lost Spring, Wyoming, the town turns out to protest. They don't want a new hotel if the resident mustang population will be displaced or hurt as part of the deal. Then Brie meets Logan, a gorgeous local who has a special connection to the mustangs, and she is immediately drawn to him... and the horses.
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Sweet and touching!
- By Zach J. Payne on 06-06-23
- Wild Hearts
- An If Only Novel
- By: Jessica Burkhart
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
Sweet and touching!
Reviewed: 06-06-23
Gentle and touching and a perfect little romance. Strikes every note perfectly, watching these characters fall in love was like watching a couple of old friends find home.
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Candy Colored Sky
- By: Ginger Scott
- Narrated by: James Fouhey, Shaina Summerville
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Jonah Wydner has been in love with his neighbor Eleanor Trombley for years. He has watched her life play out from the sidelines - homecoming dances, football parties, and first dates. Her life seemed easy...simple...perfect. The complete opposite of his own. But when Eleanor's younger sister goes missing and the national media sets up camp in the middle of their street, the girl with the seemingly perfect life shows up in Jonah's garage in search of a place to hide from the hurt and chaos.
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Sweet stand alone YA Ginger Scott romance.
- By Audio Book Nut on 10-16-21
- Candy Colored Sky
- By: Ginger Scott
- Narrated by: James Fouhey, Shaina Summerville
Love and Sorrow, Perfectly Intertwined
Reviewed: 02-24-23
This book is beautiful, bittersweet, and lovely in equal measure. A lovely love story, even if wreathed with sadness. Well worth reading, one that I am sure I'll return to often.
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Girl Underwater
- By: Claire Kells
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Nineteen-year-old Avery Delacorte loves the water. Growing up in Brookline, Massachusetts, she took swim lessons at her community pool and captained the local team; in high school, she raced across bays and sprawling North American lakes. Now a sophomore on her university's nationally ranked team, she struggles under the weight of new expectations, but life is otherwise pretty good. Perfect, really.
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Mixed Bag
- By Lifeisshort on 04-08-15
- Girl Underwater
- By: Claire Kells
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Stunning, sad, sweet, and hopeful.
Reviewed: 06-19-22
Part disaster story, part love story (both in the sense of romance and found family) and part recovery story. Beautifully and painfully written. Julia Whelan, as always, does an amazing job of bringing the story to life.
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Home Field Advantage
- By: Dahlia Adler
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus, Lori Prince
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Amber McCloud’s dream is to become cheer captain at the end of the year, but it’s an extra-tall order to be joyful and spirited when the quarterback of your team has been killed in a car accident. For both the team and the squad, watching Robbie get replaced by newcomer Jack Walsh is brutal. And when it turns out Jack is actually short for Jaclyn, all hell breaks loose. Amber tries for unity, but it quickly becomes clear that she's only got a future on the squad and with her friends if she helps them take Jack down. Just one problem: Amber and Jack are falling for each other.
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Really freaking excellent
- By Kindle Customer on 06-12-22
- Home Field Advantage
- By: Dahlia Adler
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus, Lori Prince
This is the cutest book in the world.
Reviewed: 06-15-22
I mean, seriously. It is just so sweet, even while giving an honest look at all of the hardships that queer kids face, especially in places that aren't the most progressive/friendly. The writing is so fresh and so gloriously perfect, Dahlia hits the voice just right. It makes my heart want to scream and soar. I graduated from high school in 2009 and so many of us queer kids never came out until after we graduated. But it's nice to see that arc bending slowly, to see pride take a place in the public world.
I wish this book would be added to every high school curriculum. It's that necessary.
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Beyond the Break
- By: Heather Buchta
- Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Manhattan Beach native Lovette has two rules in life. One: no surfing. Not after her brother's accident. Two: absolutely, no dating. And going into her junior year of high school, she's pretty happy with that arrangement. She has friends, her church youth group, and God to fall back on when things get dicey. But after Jake Evans walks into her life, following these two simple rules gets a lot more complicated.
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FINALLY a Good Christian book that is Realistic!
- By Christy Theobald on 01-21-25
- Beyond the Break
- By: Heather Buchta
- Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal
Heartfelt.
Reviewed: 06-15-22
This book is quite lovely. I haven't read too many books that really lean in to the kind of conservative Christian upbringing I had (and later moved away from) but this one really touches on that well--and not in a mean way, but an honest one. This story works as an honest deconstruction of purity culture, if not a radical one, the main character learning to understand God in a more complex way, beyond the black and white that we're told when we're young.
The romance arc ends on a bit of a bittersweet note, but it's rather sweet and tender during the arc of the story--and realistic to a fault. But the character's relationship with her parents, that comes out so well.
This is a really touching story, one that I'm sure I'll revisit.
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The Hail Mary
- By: Ginger Scott
- Narrated by: James Fouhey, Laura Darrell
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Sixteen years is a long time. In a marriage, it’s a milestone. On the gridiron, it’s a miracle. Reed Johnson wants more time for everything, but time is funny that way. It can be cruel. With a body that can’t quite take the hits it used to and a heart tired of being torn in two different directions, Reed is faced with a reality he’s not quite ready for - life without the game. He became a man under Friday night game lights and in college stadium tunnels, and without the grit and the glory that’s earned 10 yards at a time, he’s afraid of what kind of man he’ll be.
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The perfect ending to an awesome series
- By Kate on 05-26-21
- The Hail Mary
- By: Ginger Scott
- Narrated by: James Fouhey, Laura Darrell
So entirely full of heart.
Reviewed: 05-18-22
First, I have to say that I love the structure of this series. It's not one that I've read many times (or maybe ever?) before, progressing from YA to NA to Adult romance in each book. But it works so well.
Of all 3 books, I think this one was the most deeply emotional, the most thoughtful. It showed the MCs as being more than themselves, but being parents and part of a connected community, dealing with the past and the future and trying to make it through the present. It's definitely kind of philosophical, but not at the expense of a damn good story.
I have to admit. I'm really invested in these characters, and this is one of those stories where it's gonna be hard to say goodbye. But I'm glad I dug this series out of my TBR. It was definitely worth the read.
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