What We Keep

By: Jennifer Millikin

Narrated by: Victoria Dickson, Wesley Mercer

Amazon Charts bestselling author Jennifer Millikin delivers an emotional and riveting love story.

Charming and heroic, there’s nothing about Gabriel Woodruff that Avery Burke doesn’t love. His warm brown eyes, his generosity, that small scar above his lip. The newspaper photo of him carrying her from a burning home only adds to the romance of it all.

A fairytale beginning and a picture-perfect marriage practically guarantees Avery and Gabriel a ride into the sunset. But every relationship has flaws, and what they ignored while they were busy being flawless eventually surfaces. The unraveling begins with the smallest tug on the tiniest string.

Their fall is spectacular, the kind that makes the paper.

When the fairytale goes up in smoke, Avery and Gabriel are forced to ask themselves hard questions.

What does for better or worse really mean?
Is this their second chance at a once-in-a-lifetime love?
What do we keep, when we lose it all?

©2024 Jennifer Millikin (P)2024 Jennifer Millikin

An Enthralling & Emotional Journey! Amazing🎧📚🎧

Wow, just wow, Jennifer Millikin left me speechless, and it took time to get my voice back, and I am still wowed by this book, the journey, the unique telling of the story, an emotional rollercoaster ride and romance story like no other. The characters are realistic, easy to relate to and connect with. Gabriel Woodruff and Avery Burke’s story starts with an act of heroism, a whirlwind romance, and all was great until it wasn’t and the author is upfront about that in the unique telling of their story, a story that will charm your heart, then breaks it and then puts it back together to give you a whole new heart. No spoilers here, just read or better yet, listen to the audiobook, check your trigger warnings before starting, because the author covers some sensitive topics, and she keeps it all real. The writing, plot, world building, character growth and development are just as incredible as the story itself, which is captivating from start to end. It is a multi-layered story with drama, angst, heartfelt emotions, and steamy romance. A story of love, loss, forgiveness and learning to live and love again. Jennifer Millikin, thank you for this amazing story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 Victoria Dickson and Wesley Mercer did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life, and did so with a complete understanding of who they were portraying, giving each a voice that was fitting and was believable in their roles. Mercer nailed it as Gabriel, showcasing every aspect of his personality and demeanor, from his charm to his struggles and then his determination. Dickson did the same for Avery, showcasing her personality and demeanor perfectly, from her struggles to her strengths. Both were just as fabulous performing the roles of the secondary characters, too. They set the perfect tone for the story, captured all the characters’ emotions and had you feeling them all. These are two entertaining storytellers and their duet performance elevates this already amazing story to another level. Thanks for the wonderful listen.

So much more than a second chance romance

Plot 5/5
Narration 4.5/5
Spice 2/5

This book was incredible. It was so much more than a second-chance romance. Each month, I document which books affected me the most, and in September it was this one. It made such an impact. I love when authors shake up the typical structure of any trope, and make it their own.

Tropes:
✌🏼 Second-Chance Romance
💔 Heartbroken Hero
🚒 Firefighter MMC
❤️Insta-Love
✨Strong Character Development
🌶️ Angst and Longing
💖 Soutmates

The author divided the book into two parts, so I plan to discuss each of them separately:

Part 1-

In this section, we get to sit in on Avery's therapy sessions. We don't know until the very end of part one why she's in therapy. We just know these sessions take place between part on and two, so that dynamic was very fascinating to me. We do know that they both fell hard and fast. They had an inst-love.

Avery: Had to grow up way too quickly, so when Gabriel came along, it was nice having someone else take care of her, versus having to take care of others. This was inevitably a uge issue when faced with major flaws in Gabriel. Her coping mechanism was to cover for others, and minimise her own feelings.

Gabriel: He was perfect until he wasn't. He could never truly be himself. He didn't really feel allowed or able to discuss things from his past, so he kept them hidden and never healed from them.

Part 2-

The aftermath of a failed relationship, and a road to healing and forgiveness.

Avery: She had grown a lot in the 2 years she'd spent away from Gabriel, but when he came back into her life, she finally found the strength to speak her truth to him.

Gabriel: Made a complete 180 in overcoming addiction. I am so proud of his character developement! Jennifer did what she promised. Gave us a complete character redemption. A well deserved HEA!

Conclusion: The ending was incredibly satisfying. Having had someone close deal with alcoholism, this book meant so much. I felt so seen because I also covered for them. I made excuses for them, and I found it hard to confront them when they wouldn't confront it themselves. I felt responsible for them, when it shouldn't have fallen on my shoulders.

“I don’t love you the way I used to.”
She lifts her head, her gaze curious.
“Explain.”
“It’s tangible now.”
My hand caresses her bare back.
“Something I can hold in my palm. Love feels different after you fight for it.”

Thank you Valentine PR and Jennifer for the ALC!

What We Keep ❤️‍🔥

❤️‍🔥 What We Keep ❤️‍🔥

This book will break your heart and put it back together again all in one! It’s devastating and heartbreaking while also being hopeful and heartwarming by showing that true love prevails. This is a great second chance romance and was a wonderful story.

The story is done in two parts and is multiple timelines which I enjoyed. It was very easy to follow and I liked getting to watch their story unfold. You get to see Avery and Gabriel fall in love, fall apart, and come back to one another. It is heartbreakingly beautiful and Jennifer did such a great job with this story! There are some heavier topics shown throughout and it was done with so much care. The struggles of the characters were handled really well which was great to see. I liked both characters and enjoyed getting to watch their journey unfold!

Tropes:
❤️ Second Chance
🔥 Marriage in Trouble (NO cheating NO other woman/man)
❤️ Emotional
🔥 Angsty
❤️ Soulmates
🔥 Broken Hero
❤️ Big City and Small Town
🔥 Firefighter MMC x Therapist FMC
✨ There are some heavier topics within this book, please check content warnings before reading if you have any triggers ✨

This audiobook is duet narration which I really enjoyed! If you like audiobooks I’d recommend this audio!

Thank you Jennifer and valentine pr for an ALC I was so happy to get to read this one early!

I wish I had read this sooner!

This book has been on my TBR since it was released and I wish I had read it sooner! I love how Jennifer set this book up where the first part is Avery talking with her therapist recounting her marriage to Gabriel and the events that led to her being in his office working through the downfall of their marriage. The second part is set in the present with Avery and Gabriel working to heal and working to see if there is a way back to each other and if it’s what they each want. This story is raw and real and the character development was so good. Some of the subject matter may be difficult for some people so pay attention to the content warning at the beginning. This book will stay with me for a while. The narrators did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life. This is the first book I’ve listened to by each of the narrators and they did a fantastic job bringing the book and characters to life. I will definitely seek out more books they have narrated in the future.

Emotional damage

Emotional damage - omg this book pulled out allllll the feels.

Gabriel and Avery’s story is so imperfectly perfect for them and I loved it.

Can’t wait to read more by this author.