Wild Hearts

by Adeline Knight, Azizi Donnelly (Narrator), David Berry (Narrator)

It's been three years since Bo Sullivan lost her dream job as one of the producers of the hit wildlife docu-series, Wild Hearts. Three years since her twin brother Max started battling cancer and she returned home to Lord Howe Island and put her life on hold. Three years since Griffin Marr, one-time crush and partner-in-crime, stole her job to become the lead producer of Wild Hearts.

With Max now in remission, and Bo with a surprise podcast hit on her hands, it's time to start living again. Especially when Wild Hearts, now struggling in the ratings, comes to Lord Howe Island to film a special series on its unique environment and wildlife. This is the chance Bo's been waiting for – get her job back, broadcast the plight to extend the island’s marine conservation area, and get revenge on Griffin, all in one fell swoop.

But with Bo’s experience as a producer, she should know that there’s always more to the story than meets the eye. Maybe the Wild Hearts job isn’t quite the dream scenario she thought it was. And maybe Griffin isn’t the villain she’s assumed him to be. As Bo and Griffin work together behind the camera to produce the special, she realises that maybe there’s room to rekindle the old magic between them as well – and this time, not just for Wild Hearts.

Genres: Audiobook, Romance, Second Chance

5 pages, Audiobook

Published August 1, 2024

About the author

I write audio-only feel good romance fiction, and love to craft stories that will make you smile and remember that humans are loveable (in spite of it all!). My novels explore what it looks and feels like when things actually work out for two people in matters of the heart...not about things falling apart. And I'll always try to sneak an Aussie into the story line :)

LONELY HARTS RADIO is out now and only on Audible. I hope it brings you lots of listening joy!

Reviews

[Jo Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 🌟

Good news and bad news, I’ve realised that I am an optimist. I keep going back to these audible originals, for what they are they’re ok. I guess. They definitely have a lot more performance than story. This one was quite cute.

Included with audible 🎧

[Jen Worrall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I learnt more about Australian wildlife in this silly romance than 12 years of school...

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5★

This just didn't have the magic of Lonely Harts Radio, which I read last week. It was saved to some extent by the setting (Lord Howe Island) and the environmental themes.

Currently free on Audible.

[Peta G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst I enjoyed the wide cast of narrators the delivery of that was inconsistent, with some scenes having multiple narrators whilst others had one narrator really multiple characters which wasn't ideal from a listening perspective.

The story was good but predictable, the blend of scientific data with the story made it more interesting and a remote location was also intriguing.

[Krys · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like the fem MC. She was holding a grudge against the male MC she had no business holding and it took a long time for her to admit it to herself/her friend to smack her over the head for it, and evens then, she still was acting some kind of way towards the male MC. There’s no way she could have known about the death of his grandma (unless she, you know, listened to the trillion and one voicemails/read the emails he sent her) so I don’t blame her for being a shitty friend, even though she was a shitty friend in general. She just had completely unrealistic expectations of him. Her brother was sick so SHE needed to go home. Fine. She quit her job which she shared with her bestie and then got mad that the bestie accepted sole responsibility for their job and didn’t quit in solidarity to follow her to her tiny home island and start their own tv show, which was at that point a semi-sentient pipe dream. Lol, what? Not like he has bills or anything. She also claimed she was “trying to steal her job back” because she had lost all her confidence, felt like a failure, and couldn’t find any other opportunities. And yet, not too many chapters before, she had said that she got offers all the time from universities where she could have been a “superstar”. My guess is they weren’t producing positions, but you can’t throw a tantrum that no one wants you and then turn down perfectly sound job opportunities. If she had said she needed to prove she was worth something to that production company specifically for her own peace of mind, that would have made more sense.

I didn’t feel the draw the male MC felt towards the fem MC, romantically. She was such a shrew almost the entire book when he really was trying to get back on the good foot with her, it was hard to understand why he’d want to be romantic with someone who obviously resented him, and didn’t do much to prove she wanted to make amends except get him a job she didn’t even know if he wanted. She just said “sorry, I’m a jealous turd” and the book basically ended. Not impressed.

[Misty Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This audiobook just wasn't it for me. There was an ensemble cast but I think that might not have been necessary. It was fun at times to hear all the voices but then some narrators did more than one character and so all of the other narrators didn't make sense in those instances. Onto the actual story, it was sweet but not remarkable. It was a bit repetitive and not super interesting at points. If you really love nature and conservation in Australia then you might like it more than I did. It's a second chance slow burn romance with forced proximity.

[Rosemary Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have submitted this review after listening to the audiobook of this title. (Audible Membership)

She had to leave her dream job due to her twins' cancer needing her to donate bone marrow.
Three years later, her former co worker alerts her that the television sho she had co-produced was heading to her island home to do a winter series special.

[MELISSA · Rating 3 out of 5]

I so enjoyed all the wildlife information as well as Lord Howe Island and its history. I had to pull it up on the internet and look at all the pictures and read about it. I liked listening to the full cast. I really struggled with the main female character and the way she was going to get her old job back. Of course, the ending was predictable - it is a romance after all.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable audiobook set on Lord Howe Island. And I learned a few new things - I had no idea what coral bleaching actually entailed! It's not as good as Lonely Harts Radio (but frankly, that one set the bar extremely high) and the audio quality was a bit uneven at times. My former radio DJ self occasionally cringed.

[Jane Lump · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting, but the voice talent was so over the top and annoying. It worked for the sections of the story that were supposed to be the podcast, but not for the story itself. It was also pretty darn predictable.

[Sarah Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

this was cute and I really liked how genuine the podcast moments felt. I did get jumpscared on my way to work and thought I was being attacked in front of the capitol at one point. the story was okay, but the best part was the voice acting.

[Adel Pheloung · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, lighthearted read that had an interesting plot. It was so cool that it was set on Lord Howe Island, the whole time I was thinking “I’ve been there!”, and I loved that the narrator was an Aussie 🙂‍↕️

[Christy McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but oeuvre predictable short love story. Main character fairly typical of her generation, self-indulgent. Paints a gorgeous picture of the wild life at Lord Howe Island, though. Now I want to visit!

[Brandon Gilbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw no chemistry between the two MCs. Their reasons for originally being apart were reasonable, but their reactions to it were not. Classic miscommunication trope, but insufferably so. It wasn't bad enough for me to DNF, but it wasn't good enough for me to suggest it to anyone, either.

[Debbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little Aussie romance. Enjoyed that it was set in a bit of a unique location and incorporated some conservation education/interest.

[Hannah Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ✨- voice actors were decent, storyline was OK. Was a nice background story for tasking away at work. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Victoria Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute easy listen and was a fun story

[Anne Blyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

There didn't seem to be a lot of consistency in this book with the narration and it was a bit predictable though the setting and the basic wildlife theme made it worthwhile. A short read.

[Amy Waycaster Milam · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 (rounded up)

[Gail Chandler · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Quite dull, lots of research done but with this story I couldn’t push past 40% … waiting for something to keep my interest

[Arlene Bowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Fun, lighthearted listen. Set on an isolated island with lots of wildlife in Aussie which was a fun plot. And the narrator was Aussie which was cool.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, clean, predictable and quick romance. If I had read it I suspect I would have been bored. However, the voice actors brought it to life (particularly Griffin and Bo).

[Millie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extra star just for the stunning Lord Howe setting. The island was a character in itself, brimming with much more colour and life than the romance element of this story.

[Brooke-Ann D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bored the entire book waiting for it to pick up

[Jill Diamond · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay and I loved all the nature stuff. But the plot got repetitive and slow.

[Lee at ReadWriteWish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Adeline Knight's Lonely Harts Radio audible novella but this one missed the mark.

The setting this time is Australia, Lord Howe Island to be specific. I expected to love that aspect, and yes, there were a lot of descriptions and details on the island which were special but... It became a little over the top at times. The key environmental messages were not included organically and instead it all became preachy and forced down our throats. Less is more.

The conflict between the main couple was silly and forced and not enough to base an entire book's plot upon, I'm afraid.

I also had issues with the multiple narrators. There didn't seem any need. Just the one, or two at the most would have sufficed.

1 1/2 out of 5

[Carmen Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this book 5 stars for the beautiful description of Lord Howe Island and the marine species that call this place home. 2 stars for the love story. It was a nice escape though

[KylieAtkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short and sweet romance that was more of a tourism story for Lord Howe Island than the actual romance. Whilst I love books that feature and showcase our amazing Aussie lifestyle, this one was just too focused on the island, the conservation and local fauna insights.

The storyline was as thin as the depth of the characters. The MM, Griffin, was lovely but the MF character, Bo, walked around with her head in the sand for most of the book. And their tv show host, Kip, was just a knob. I listened to this on audio and Griffin (narrated by David Berry) was absolutely delicious. His deep British voice reminded me of Theo James 🤤. The rest of the voices were ok but sometimes a little OTT.

[Cactus · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5* Not gripping enough!! It is short which was good or I would have stopped!

Lord Howe Island (no snakes on it), an Aussie setting, was a great choice. It’s where a UK television production team of ‘Wild Hearts’ arrive to do a wildlife show. Conservation and unique creatures are a focus. A positive.

Bo Sullivan (in the team) grew up on the island and her family has a long history. Her character is the main protagonist as well as Griff, also on the team, with Kit, another man but he likes to drink. Ho hum.

And Bo’s dad is keen for his daughter to find that mate because when you know it’s love, you have to grab it….like he and his wife!

There’s a brother, Max, who’s about to get married to Amanda. Love is in the air and particularly a happy time as he has suffered from Leukaemia…Bo was a marrow donor so had to leave the show some time earlier.

She had feelings for both her male colleagues but nothing much developed we learn…ok..a bit of Mills & Boon. Oh dear.

And yes, you guessed it…one strikes it lucky by the end!

There’s a lucky reward in Bo’s personal and professional life too!

Only a few hours on audio…with good narration….so an easy listen. Too easy.

If this is a first creative writing experience, it’s a fair enough story but its plot lacked enormously! It just didn’t have that intriguing impact besides the little romance.

It was all the plot was essentially about & detoured the wildlife aspect to take a back seat. Not in depth enough, shallow characterisation, did not like the main character, Bo, as too selfish….the work conflict with colleagues reflects this. Emails etc not being read…. It was a high school age read!