I had been warned but still, I will never be prepared for how sexy Abby Craden’s voice is. And she also rules in non-sexy scenes. I have to say, she might have ruined me for average narrators.

I listened to this audiobook about a month ago but couldn’t get myself to review it before now. Now that I’ve listened to the sequel – Ask Me Again –, I had to review this one first. I read the book in December 2018, and the review I wrote then is kinda pitiful, so it was no help. Maybe I just have to admit I have no words for this book. It’s a debut novel, it’s superbly written, it made me ache and cry and rejoice, both in its written form and in audio.

Captain Sabine Fleischer is a U.S. Army surgeon deployed in Afghanistan. She’s meticulous, dedicated, focused. Except when her boss, Colonel Rebecca Keane, is around. Sabine’s crush on her superior is tremendous but she won’t act on it: she already has a girlfriend at home. And there’s also that teeny-weeny matter of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). When her girlfriend leaves her, Sabine has to go through the pain and betrayal alone, not allowed to talk about it with anyone, not even her best friend Mitch. The only good thing about it is that she can now allow herself to at least dream of something happening with Rebecca, who seems to struggle as much as her with their forbidden attraction.

As I wrote in my original review, I read a lot and most of the books I read are rather well written, but some are way above the rest. This is one of those. Not in a noticeable way that would make me stop to admire a sentence, as it happens sometimes with other authors, but in a completely organic way. It’s simply so perfect you just flow with it. Add to that the more than stellar narration by Abby Craden and I am in awe.

Ask, Tell @ Libro.fm / amazon

This post contains affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on this blog at no additional cost to you.