Review of ‘Storms’ by Gerri Hill,

Audiobook narrated by Abby Craden

Carson Cartwright is estranged from her father and brothers and hasn’t been in contact with them for more than a decade. That is until her twin brother asks her to come back home to Montana to see her terminally ill father. When she arrives home, Carson discovers her brothers’ plans to convert the family farm into a guest ranch and the consultant behind the project cunning ways to get them to agree.

The Cartwright’s farm is Kerry Elder’s first project as a self-employed consultant and she really needs this job to succeed if she wants to make it in this business. What she wasn’t counting on is Carson Cartwright’s charm and her brothers’ resistance… Will both women be able to go past family and business conflicts to have a chance at love?

‘Storms’ is a homecoming story with a side of family drama and conflict. I’ve read this book a few years ago and I have to admit that it’s one of my least favourite by this author.

There seem to be two stories running in parallel, the romance and the family conflict, that never appear to blend completely. On top of that, there is Kerry’s coming out story and flirting with one of Carson’s brothers, who has an old feud with Carson. It seemed too much going on and too many characters for a relatively short novel. I also missed Ms. Hill’s depictions of the landscape and wildlife which are normally present in her work. Considering that the setting was a ranch in Montana, it was a lost opportunity.

This story has more male characters than usual in lesfic but Ms. Craden managed to voice all of them in a distinctive and realistic manner. Colour me impressed by her ability to do so. As usual, Ms. Craden does a fantastic job but for me, the written story wasn’t good enough to make this audiobook as enjoyable as others by the Hill-Craden partnership.

The audio is available for free with a Scribd subscription so, even though I didn’t like it as much as others by this author, it’s ok to listen. Duration: 6 hours, 21 minutes.

Overall, a good lesbian homecoming audiobook. 3 stars for the story, 5 stars for the narration. Average, 4 stars.