I am so sad that I didn’t discover Charles Martin until this year. I have been missing out on so much excellent writing.

When Crickets Cry was absolutely phenomenal! Charles is an amazingly gifted writer. He writes deep from the depths of his heart with themes and prose that touch the soul. Every story I have read has left me with a sense of wonder and a desire to live life to the fullest. This story was an incredible journey of providence, the unwavering and inspirational faith of a child, and the acceptance that an exceptional ability isn’t a perfect gift.

Loved this book and the narration. Would highly recommend this one to any one interested in being moved greatly.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the listening copy. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I didn't DISLIKE it by any means, but I also didn't REALLY like or LOVE it. Let's break it down.

This book did some stuff right. The story was solid, and the writing style was eloquent and easy to read. I liked some of the characters, particularly Annie. She was easy to love and, I thought, very well written.

I also enjoyed the Southern setting (being from the South myself) and GREATLY appreciated that the author didn't try to use that God-awful Southern vernacular (y'all come back now, y'hear?) on every page. Nothing turns me off faster than people trying to write in a Southern accent and doing a terrible job at it.

Martin also has a keen eye for detail, and some of his imagery was really quite beautiful.

As a Christian, I also didn't mind that he scattered in some obviously Christian themes and ideas throughout. I know that probably turned a lot of people off, but it doesn't bother me. I don't read a lot of "Christian" books, per se, but I never mind seeing references to my faith in fiction.

As for what went wrong... well... there was a fair amount of that, too.

The book tended to be overly technical about certain things that added no value (rowing across a lake, the tools needed for building a certain project). All of that could have been cut or at least massively condensed.

Additionally, some of the book was quite unrealistic, in my opinion. I won't go into specifics on that because it would, unfortunately, include several spoilers, but suffice to say, finding your true love at such a young age and then shaping your entire future around that person and their illness is a bit far-fetched. The declaration of love and unending devotion is not unrealistic. Little kids make those kinds of declarations all the time. But actually sticking to it? Nah.

Finally, I also felt like this book was trying too hard to be the next "great Southern novel." I think one of the blurbs I read about it even compared it to "Where the Crawdads Sing."

Now onto my two biggest problems with the book. And here I WILL say SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD!

1. It was too obvious.

Broken-hearted girl (literally) meets broken-hearted man (figuratively), and they heal each other. It's pretty much the most standard recipe for a Hallmark movie ever. (And hey, maybe that's the point. Maybe he's hoping Hallmark will pick it up, and he'll get the big bucks. I'm not mad at that. Get your green!) But I don't LIKE Hallmark movies. I don't like obvious or predictable. So the neatly tied up plot laid out on like page 5 just didn't do it for me.

2. There were parts that just made NO sense.

AGAIN! SPOILERS HERE!

The whole "I was on drugs, and that's why my wife died thing." Where the actual hello did that come from? There was no lead-up, no signs, no foreshadowing, no nothing. It just popped in there at the 11th hour and made absolutely no sense.

The BIL going blind trying to help... That one made a bit more sense, but it, too, was a bit far-fetched and overdone, in my opinion.

And the massive karate moves at the beginning of the book? COME ON! Dude was the best heart surgeon the world has ever seen (again -- stretches credulity, but central to the book, so I'll let it slide). He dedicated his entire life to study and school and work and his sick wife and somehow learned how to totally kick butt on the side? Please. That was so ridiculous I almost stopped the book before I had gotten well started. And then, it literally never came up again, which made it even worse.

Okay, so yeah. That's my review. I didn't hate the book, but it wasn't on my list of books I'll be reading again. I'm giving it three stars because I honestly think there's a market for it. This will do really well with older, devout people like my gramma.

In my own personal opinion, it ranks closer to a 1.5 - 2.

A beautiful novel about grief, faith, friendship, love and helping others over one-self.

A seven-year old little girl has a lemonade stand set up near her small town square, raising money to pay for her badly needed heart surgery. A stranger stops to purchase a lemonade, when he witnesses a truck rounding the corner, the sun blocking the drivers eyes, hitting the small child. The stranger, who claims to be a boat builder, is able to save the little girl's life. The stranger's past collides with the present once this little girl enters his life and neither will ever be the same.

I read this wonderful story a few years ago, so when NetGalley and Harper Collins allowed me to listen to the audiobook, I jumped at the chance to enjoy this heart-warming novel. Charles Martin is an incredible storyteller and the narrator, Adam Verner, was so calming to listen to. This was an overall enjoyable and emotional book that will stay with me for a long time. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to spend time with these terrific characters. #NetGalley #WhenCricketsCry

Do you ever listen to an audiobook and quickly realize the narrator was MADE for that book?! That's exactly how I felt listening to this audiobook. The narrator had such a calm, soothing voice. He embodied Reese's character beautifully and effortlessly. Nothing negative to say about the narration - absolutely spectacular!!

This story drew me in rather quickly as it checked all my little happy boxes - Southern? check. Medical? check. Tugs the heart strings? CHECK!

What a bittersweet story of hardship, resilience, and perseverance. The author was incredibly descriptive throughout the story and I loved that. Though fiction, I felt it read much like a memoir or retelling of a true story. By the end, I was in tears anticipating the outcome. I would categorize this book as drama/general fiction/Christian fiction. I could absolutely see this book as a movie - it reminded me of movies like My Girl or Simon Birch. It gave me late 80s/early 90s vibes with the narration. An incredible story that was poetically written. Highly recommend the audiobook!

Thanks to NetGalley and The publisher for the ALC and chance to give my honest opinion

This book was decent. Not my typical genre but it was ok. While I think it was had some really great beautiful descriptions of the setting/scenery, I wasn’t emotionally attached to the characters and felt certain human elements were lacking. I listened to most of it but unfortunately did not fully finish as it lost my interest partway though. I would recommend this to any religious person or any over of the Southern part of the US. It’s a Bible Belt book for sure.

Absolutely love Charles Martin! He knows how to paint a stunning backdrop and weave an emotionally charged story with words. This one was no exception and I had the added bonus of listening to the audio version. The narrator has such a soothing voice but was able to transition to suspense when needed. True to Martin's style, this one is filled with characters who are good, kind, caring and faithful in spite of being broken by their pasts. Give it a read or listen if you need your faith in humanity restored. My thanks to HarperCollins Christian Publishing for providing an audiobook via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A repeat listen for. me. Charles Martin is one of my favorites. When Crickets Cry will tug on your heartstrings.

My all time favorite Charles Martin book. This is such an amazingly emotional story that you will remember forever. Download it right of way!

So grateful to get a copy of this classic in audio to relive.

This was my first read/listened to by Charles Martin. I've heard about him but just kept putting off reading his books. Honestly I'm not sure why...maybe because I knew I'd be crying like a babe. This story was so beautifully written. It's a story of brokenness and yet healing. It made me think of how God operates and brings us back to the things we run away from because He truly wants us to heal. It made me see life and the heart in a whole new light. Life is such a precious gift and a lot of times taken for granted, a healthy beating heart.. taken for granted when others are fighting so hard to take their next breath..to live another day. This story is about a man who spends his whole life learning everything he can about the heart so that he can heal the heart of the one he loves. When there is a turn of events he looses his faith in the work he has done for so long and runs from the gift God gave. Life has a funny way of working out and he is faced with his past through the eyes of a little girl selling lemonade. In this story he learns to not only heal other's heart but how to heal his own. I'm so glad I finally read this book. It's was a blessing and an experience that I won't forget as I felt like I was there with the characters in the midst of the laughter, tears, joy and pain. The narrator did a wonderful job portraying each character. I will definitely be coming back to this one!

I absolutely love his books, and the choice of narrator is perfect. This book grabbed me from the beginning. Reese‘s character is so authentic and real. From the minute, he meets Anna to his love story with Emma growing up is captivating. I definitely would recommend this book Over and over again!

WOW. Wonderful book. Very fast paced on informative. I cried. I don’t do that often but this one I did. Highly recommended.