BELIEVED

by Michael James Emberger

Narrated by: Kristina Rothe

Production by: Michael James Emberger

Beautiful Story with Raw Emotions and More!

WARNING: This is a book about sexual assault and may have triggers for some.

Life is good for Kelsea Jones being raised by her adoptive parents, attending college at the University of Northern Minnesota, and about to be engaged to a wonderful man she has known most of her life.  As a mermaid, Kelsea has dealt with fear, hatred, persecution, and being ostracized by those who fear her difference.  Now the most popular and wealthy Ice Hockey player has set his site on Kelsea assaulting her sexually after being rebuffed several times.  Kelsea’s truth does not match up with the popular story going around, now she has to decide whether to be fearless or sulk away and hide from the trauma and truth.  

The author, Michael James Emberger, weaves a story around a brutal and savage crime that many females and males suffer silently because when they voice their truth, all too often they are targeted and ridiculed or told to keep quiet.  The entire story about Kelsea resonated loudly as her experiences are brought to life and shared.  The dialogue, emotions, and actions of each character were vividly described and accurate.  At the end when Emberger delivers his closing words I had to stop and look at the name of the author – I was blown away that a man could capture and communicate the effects of such a trauma.  I truly believed only a woman could understand and accurately communicate the depth of pain, loss, and abandonment.     

The narrator, Kristina Rothe is amazing.  Her ability to provide voices to each of these characters with the proper amount of emotion is amazing. Rothe truly places herself within each of the characters almost as if a part of her becomes them. I find her truly a wonderful audiobook performer/narrator with skills that keep the listener mesmerized until the end.

This is a book that will resonate with the listener long after the story has ended. It is haunting in subject matter and performance.  You will feel the pain Kelsea experiences and her fears as she comes to term with her trauma and shares her narrative.

Not only does this book have an important message that will impact each and every listener, it is a book that stands out and deserves a much higher rating than the standard five-star rating due to the writing skill of the author but also the narrator. 

There were no issues with the production or quality of this audiobook.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.