Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Unearthing Cole
SERIES: Discovering Me #1
AUTHOR: A.M. Arthur
NARRATOR: JP Handler
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 4 hours, 7 minutes
RELEASE DATE: April 9, 2014
BLURB:
Cole Alston swore he’d never return to his childhood home in rural North Carolina, but when his mother dies, he inherits her hoarded property. He hopes to sell everything and use the money to start over in Canada, far away from his abusive ex-boyfriend. It’s a daunting task, and Cole has no idea where to start. Luckily for him, the local antique store owner, Jeremy Collins, volunteers his services in sorting the hoard. Their professional relationship soon evolves into a personal one, but Cole must overcome his past and his anxiety before he can accept a new man in his life or the possibility of a happy future.
REVIEW:
Cole spends his thirtieth birthday in the last place he ever expected – or wanted to. The morgue taking care of his mother’s remains, then the real works starts. His mother was a hoarder, and after her passing he inherited it all, including countless of bicycles and tools and many things that he couldn’t even identify. The task of clearing and cleaning things up seems insurmountable until the local antique store owner Jeremy offers his help. The two forms a friendship over sorting his mother’s things and soon something more is blossoming. But Cole is wary, and naturally so, his abusive ex caused many scars not yet healed, and putting his trust in another man might be more than Cole is able to do.
Cole and Jeremy both have baggage and have been deeply hurt in the past, so it was fitting that their relationship was slow-growing and developed little by little. It was what they both needed. I also think that Arthur handled both the abuse and hoarding really well, it felt genuine and real and she treated both with respect. I do think the ending was a bit too neat and easy, but that’s my own preference. Unearthing Cole was a nice, but angsty, story about starting over and finding everything you never knew you were looking for.
I wish I could say that this was a great listen, or at the very least an okay one. But I really can’t. I’m not sure how to really describe it, it was harsh and kind of cutting, it hurt. I’m not sure if it was the recording or the narration, or a combination of both, but it sounded like JP Handler was talking into a tin can. There was a strange echoing sensation – as well as the strange distorted sounds that come from talking into a tin can. It was distracting to say the least, and it coloured everything for the rest of the narration and also the story.
If you are thinking of diving into this story (and the story is worth it) I would recommend you read the book instead of listen to the audio.
RATING: 
Story: 4 hearts
Narration: 1.5 hearts
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