Description
Dr. Theodore Grant worked hard his entire life to achieve his goals. He was a prominent, renowned psychiatrist. He had it all: wealth, prestige, respect. Or so he thought.
When tragedy unexpectedly struck, he was forced to help his best friend’s daughter. She needed him. What he didn’t know was that he needed her, too – like his own breath. How could he know it would all go so terribly wrong? That he would cross the line?
He fought the desire leading him astray with everything he had, but in the end, he wanted only one thing: her. To hell with what was right. Losing everything never even factored in his decision. All he wanted to do was live in the moment. Her moment. She found his demons and slayed them with her innocence. The answer was clear now: He had done the right thing. He was certain of it. People would believe what they wanted to believe.
His notion of right and wrong was discarded the day Eden Barnett walked into his office. What he didn’t know was that it would be the day his life truly began. The day he followed his heart, and it lead him into the garden…of Eden.
Content warning: Contains adult content, language, and scenes that may not be suitable for all audiences. Intended for listeners 18 years old and older.
Brooke Ehly –
This books has so many surprises in it that you don’t see coming and so much more than what the blurb said. These two have so much pain to work through and are able to find it with each other even though it may not be the most professional way to begin a relationship. A great beginning to this series. I can’t wait for the next couple‘s story.
You can find this review as well as my others on my audible listener page.
https://www.audible.com/listener/A3D2GLXNZP4EWR
Shan MC –
First off, the narration was great for Surviving Eden. She does great with both the female and male voices. Solid, clear quality performance. I’d recommend the audio if you decide to give this book a shot.
I enjoyed the premise for Surviving Eden, and the romance is really sweet. Overall, I liked both Theo and Eden. Theo is manly and take charge, but still a sweetheart; well mostly. Eden is confident, and doesn’t play games. Theo’s family (Parents and Sister) died when he was a kid and Eden’s parents have just been killed in a car accident, so they both are dealing with grief. This draws them together, but there’s a little bit of a problem. Theo was Eden’s dad’s friend, and he is now also Eden’s psychiatrist. I love a forbidden romance, so I was all on board for that. Eden is 22 and Theo is 35, so it’s not a crazy age difference. So all of that is good, but then there’s these things that just didn’t work with the story or that I just don’t like in stories. What I don’t like, plenty of readers probably don’t mind. I did find the story entertaining. I’m going to have to use some spoilers to explain, so here’s the warning! They are fairly minor spoilers and mainly happen in the beginning of the book, but some may not want to know. Spoilers Ahead! Spoilers Ahead!
*Spoiler starting*
Why didn’t Theo just stop seeing Eden as a patient. She doesn’t even need therapy. Also, if it’s so taboo of a relationship, why in the heck are you going out in public all the time with each other. They don’t even try to hide it at all. It made no sense.
I don’t like when the hero has sex scenes with other people. Theo has a girl with benefits that wants more from him, which he has 2 detailed sex scenes with. There’s also some random tennis skank that he has a detailed sex scene with, which I didn’t see any point for that to happen. This also happens after he has already met Eden. They aren’t together yet, but I still don’t like it. I would normally just skip past those pages while reading, but since I was driving while listening to the audio I couldn’t, so that made it worse.
Also, Eden and Theo have sex without a condom, but then the next time, the author chooses to mention that Theo puts on a condom, then the next time no condom again. All of these scenes without any mention of not using a condom, so why would the author even have him wear a condom that one time after they have already had sex without?
Eden is working as a stripper to gain information about her real parents. She has been doing this for 3 months already, and she never mentions when she is supposed to receive the information. What guarantee do you have that they (whoever they is) will give you this information from 17 years ago. So, this all seems idiotic to me and fit oddly in the story.
There’s also a chapter that takes place in the past that added nothing to the story. All it did was show that Theo was friends with jerks. Maybe it will have some purpose in the next book or something. There were quite a few odd things added to the story that just fizzled out.
I just don’t think this series is for me. The main characters for the next book were introduced in this book, but so far, they have left a lot to be desired. The female main character for the next book is engaged to a man because her father chose him, she cheats on said fiancé with a man she met that night. These actions scream weak to me, so I’ll probably skip it. Plus, I don’t want to read anymore sex scenes with random men or women.
*Spoiler End*
Overall, it’s a sweet romance with some good sex scenes. There’s too many things getting in the way of the characters growth and development; things get muddled. I do like Surviving Eden, so I went with 3 stars, but it didn’t quite reach the level the story could’ve. The narration is on point and great, so I’d go with 5 stars for the narration.
Patricia Reichardt –
Surviving Eden, the title caught my eye, but the book was nothing like I expected. Theo is a well known psychiatrist. He is going to help Eden, the daughter of his best friend after the untimely death of her parents. He had no idea the attraction that would be there between them, and was forced to confront his own ethics. He can’t have a relationship with his patient, yet he can’t stay away from her. This moral dilemma is one that Theo is fighting, he could ruin his career. But despite this relationship, there is a lot of backstory and history of the two that goes into their character building. I loved this part of the story, the making of the person is so interesting and gives me the feelings needed to understand their motives and decisions. With the search for Eden’s birth parents and the Theo’s surprise, an underlying angst and feeling of suspense lies in background too. All woven together this is a good book.
Heather Firth narrates this book, and it’s my first listen by her. I loved her voice! She has a warm tone with the perfect pace. With distinguishing voices for each character, she is able to produce both male and female voices with ease. She made the story enjoyable to listen to .