Freya Barker is high on my list of favorite authors, she writes stories from the heart and once you start one of her books nothing else around you matters except what is happening next and this book is no exception. Another thing that makes her books so special is the maturity of the characters, they are in a time of their lives where they know who they are as a person, set in their ways, some may be settled in their lives or starting over, but they know what they want even if they do not know what they are doing all the time which makes them all realistic, easy to relate to and connect with, they are easy to care about and fall for too. “High Meadow” is the first book in her “High Mountain Trackers” series and what a wonderful start to the series it is. The story takes place in the mountains of northern Montana and the High Mountain trackers are a specialized, mounted, search and rescue team, all former military from the special ops unit. Jonas Harvey is one of those trackers, he also runs his own horse ranch and when one of his prized horses gets loose and then found injured on the side of the road, he catches attitude with someone who responded to help rescue the horse and then just blows her off. Alexandra “Alex” Hart is new to the area, bought property to start a new business, Hart’s Horse Rescue. She goes out on a rescue call and the owner of the horse was already on scene. She could not even get a word in with the owner and her first impression of him was not the best and when she gets a call to help rehab an injured horse on High Meadow ranch, she was not expecting to see him again, Jonas. Tempted to leave but stayed for the horse’s sake, it did not take her long to learn that he is that not bad tempered and ill-mannered man as he first appeared, it also does not take long to find the chemistry between them is sizzling hot. I loved how everything played out in this book, it is a beautifully plotted story with lots of depth and layers. There is plenty of drama, angst, mystery, twists and turns, thrilling suspense, heartfelt emotions and steamy romance. Freya Barker, thank you for another amazing story and emotional rollercoaster ride.
🎧📚🎧 And for the fabulous narration, Ada Sinclair and Connor Crais are the perfect cast to bring these characters and story to life. They had a complete understanding of the characters they portrayed, gave each a voice that fit that character’s persona to a tee, sounding believable and just as I pictured the characters to sound. Connor Crais nails it as Jonas and plays a mighty fine, swoon worthy cowboy and a bad ass tracker. Ada Sinclair’s Alex is perfection as well, she grasps her strength and determination, as well as her smarts. Both were great performing the roles of the secondary characters too. You could hear how much heart these two put into their work as they captured all the character’s emotions and projected them into their performance and have you feeling every single one. These entertaining storytellers are versatile voice artists and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another fabulous listen!