Reviewed by Christine
TITLE: Tender Mercies
SERIES: Men of Lancaster County #2
AUTHOR: Eli Easton
NARRATOR: Will Tulin
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 8 hours, 28 minutes
RELEASE DATE: January 26, 2018
BLURB:
A Men of Lancaster County novel.
Eddie Graber’s dream of a sanctuary for rescued farm animals was about to come true when his partner backed out at the last minute. Now Eddie risks losing the 25-acre property in Lancaster County – and all the hopes he held for it – before the project even gets off the ground. He needs help, he needs money, but most importantly, he needs to rediscover the belief in a higher purpose that brought him here in the first place.
Samuel Miller worked hard to fit into his Amish community despite his clubfoot. But when his father learns Samuel is gay, he is whipped and shunned. With just a few hundred dollars to his name, Samuel responds to an ad for a farmhand and finds himself employed by a city guy who has strange ideas about animals, no clue how to run his small farm, and a gentle heart.
Samuel isn’t the only lost soul to serendipitously find his way to Meadow Lake Farm. There’s Fred and Ginger, two cows who’d been living in a garage, a gang of sheep, and a little black pig named Benny who might be the key to life, love, money – and even a happily ever after for two castoffs.
REVIEW:
I reviewed the print version of this gorgeous novel here at Love Bytes last October. My opinion about the story, its lovely setting, and the richly drawn characters has not changed. The audio version of Tender Mercies still remains a testament to Eli Easton’s ability to craft characters with fully drawn pasts and sincere desires to honor and promote good in the world. My Love Bytes review for the print version of this novel can be found here. I do hope there is another installment in the works for this series. It is one that I would pick up in a heartbeat, as I am completely enamored of these men and the world Ms. Easton has built around them in Lancaster County.
NARRATION REVIEW:
As with the first audiobook in this series, A Second Harvest, I struggled a bit with the narration. Will Tulin has a lovely, rich voice but simply doesn’t capture the emotion of the story. This story in particular has an incredibly broad range, and though Mr. Tulin’s narration is clean and clear, his delivery often sounds stilted and just doesn’t reflect the depth of feeling the characters exhibit in the story. It is a good narration, certainly. It isn’t a performance, however, and brought my 4.5 star rating of the print version down to 4 stars.
Overall, I still highly recommend this audiobook and the first of the series, A Second Harvest. It is a poignant, heartwarming romance that truly satisfies and enlightens.
RATING: 
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