The Sweetest Sound by Lilian Darcy takes place simultaneously with Lilian’s novella The Sweetest Thing. In The Sweetest Sound we learn all about Charlie, and what is happening in his life at this moment in time.
Charlie has a lot going on in his very busy life. He is in his final year of residency as an orthopedic surgeon and that alone takes up all of his time. He certainly shouldn’t be daydreaming about the gorgeous 
busker – Ramona – who plays her music and sings outside of the hospital. The woman whose music makes “…his whole day. His stress eased. He felt less tight and tired. He glimpsed another world.” He thinks he’d be crazy to go after her. Especially since his birth mother and newly discovered half sister want to meet him, making his already crazy time table even fuller.
He can’t resist Ramona. “The cleverness and the beauty both made him want more.” Ramona notices Charlie too. She calls him the “Hot Doc”. But Ramona’s home is in Spain with her mother and father, and she has every intention of returning to Spain in a few months. Her parents need her, even if they tell her they want her to follow her dream. Charlie and Ramona are both dealing with a lot in their lives, and don’t think they have room for anything or anyone else. But the instant connection they experience along with Charlie’s persistence soon have them at the start of a new and exciting relationship. They communicate, but there is also misunderstandings that might drive them apart before they can even try to make it work. Torn between two different worlds, will their love at first sight make all things possible?
I loved Charlie’s story! The romance between Charlie and Ramona is definitely the dominant story line, but Charlie’s anticipation and reunion with his mother is woven in very well and is a strong secondary plot. The romance might be first and foremost, but everything else is just as important in The Sweetest Sound. I really enjoyed both Charlie and Ramona. They had fun together and really seemed to fit together. Both are strong characters who are going through their own dilemma’s in life, and if they give it a chance they can take strength from each other. I loved the little glimpses of Spanish in Ramona that Lilian gives us, the descriptions of Ramona’s home land and the way Ramona always thinks that Charlie is “so American”. Lilian really pulls you into the emotions the characters are experiencing.
The flow of The Sweetest Sound is great, the novella length is perfect for the story being told, and you will hear Ramona’s music through Lilian’s words. You can read The Sweetest Sound as a stand alone, but I also highly recommend The Sweetest Thing. Any romance reader will enjoy The Sweetest Sound.
Book Info:
Published April 2014 by Tule Publishing Group
River Bend Series – Book 3
Orthopedic surgeon Dr Charlie Barnett barely has time to buy new socks, let alone time to fall in love.
Spanish street musician Ramona Garrido-Lopez isn’t looking for love, either. With her parents depending on her, their only child, all she really wants is to make them happy.
Despite the sparks that fly between them, she and Charlie couldn’t possibly be serious about each other, when they’re committed to lives on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean… could they?
River Bend Series
Book 1: Late Last Night
Book 2: The Sweetest Thing
Book 3: The Sweetest Sound
dholcomb1
loved Charlie’s story