The First One

The One Trilogy, Book 2

By: Tawdra Kandle

Narrated by: Alice Barden

Ali and Flynn were high school sweethearts. Eager to see the world and leave behind their small Georgia hometown, they'd planned for an exciting new life together after they finished school.

But on graduation day, only one of them hit the road.

Eight years down that road, an unexpected loss brings Flynn home again. He's a big-shot photojournalist, and he's made most of his dreams reality. But he's done it alone. Is it too late for his biggest dream to come true?

Ali's spent those years working hard, raising a daughter and helping her brother keep their family farm alive. Thinking about Flynn and what might have been is a pain she tries to avoid...even when it's impossible to forget.

Flynn's return brings back feelings Ali thought were long dead and hopes she'd abandoned. Finding their way back to each other will change them forever, opening old wounds and stirring up memories.

Can the first love be the one that lasts forever?

©2015 Tawdra Kandle (P)2016 Tawdra Kandle

Wonderful narration lifts mid-level romance.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend the book for the pleasure of Alice Barden's narration. She plays a multitude of characters of both sexes and from age eight to senior citizens. She brings a unique voice, pace, and cadence to each character. Her rich, intelligent performance elevated not just the core scenes of drama and passion, but more mundane scenes, some of which advanced the story, and some that, book in hand, I most likely would have just skimmed or skipped. I look forward to more great work from her.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Tighten the plot. Also--mild spoiler alert--while from her web site, I know the author is a home schooling advocate, having the characters decide to home school a social, well-adjusted, achieving child as a partial solution to their romantic dilemma struck me as jarringly idiosyncratic.

Which scene was your favorite?

The first one where Flynn comes home for his father's funeral and reflects on their relationship and on his first encounter with Ali.

Did The First One inspire you to do anything?

Reflect on the need for communication in important relationships.

Need more

I loved this story! I didn’t want to stop hearing what would happen with Flynn and Aly. I loved that the story was told from each of their perspectives. I’m hoping there is more to come...I want to hear more about Alex, and his relationship. I want to hear about Sam and Melany, and I definitely want to hear about the 7 babies Aly & Flynn want time have! If I have any critique, it’s that the narrator voice didn’t match how I pictured the characters. The story was wonderful though, and had I been reading it in a hard book, it would get 5 stars all around!