Audiobook Review: When Your World Ends by Dawn Mann Sanders
When Your World Ends: God’s Creative Process for Rebuilding a Life
Author: Dawn Mann Sanders
Narrator: Dawn Mann Sanders
AUDIO To Be Published: September 16, 2025
Audiobook: 6 hours
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: July 21-26, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
How do you rebuild your life after it falls apart?
Catastrophic events often feel like the end of the world. When we feel like we have nothing left, we sometimes wish for our own end too. Yet God keeps waking us up every morning—a sign that God wants us to keep living when our world ends. We must find our way to the new life that awaits us on the other side of loss. But how?
Dawn Sanders has traveled this path before and lived to tell the tale—not once but twice. After a divorce and then the sudden death of her second husband, Dawn discovered a buried treasure in Genesis 1: God’s process for creating new life out of chaos. In When Your World Ends, Dawn digs deep into the creation story and unearths a seven-step process by which God brings us out of the void and into new beginnings. With her unique perspective, authenticity, and courage, Dawn meets those who are starting over and guides us into renewed hope.
Jessica’s Review:
Dawn Mann Sanders has experienced a great loss twice in her life, so she writes based of those experiences and of course, the Bible. This book is not for a quick fix, but for a spiritual journey. With a vulnerability and wisdom from a two-time experience of loss, Sanders shares her personal journey through her loss and how she found purpose, peace, and healing on the other side. When we are experiencing our particular loss, we cannot see ourself coming out on the other side for the better. And we also need God to help us come through.
Throughout the book, Sanders gives the Bible verses she uses. This book can be used for many types of loss, though Sanders’ focus is on the unexpected death of her second husband Reggie. For myself, being just over a year post divorce I felt would have benefitted more from Sanders talking more of her first loss, the loss of her first husband due to divorce. Though not a death, divorce is like a death, but the person is still alive.
I did benefit from this audiobook, but as I am visual, I feel I would have benefitted much more with a physical copy of this book. I found myself wanting to go back and listen to parts of the book again, but with an audiobook, this is much harder to do that just going back x number of pages to re-read. Whatever loss you might experience is, you feel like you won’t make it through, but you will and end up on the other side, and better off as well. It’s all a part of the journey that God has planned for us. And we may not see what that purpose is while going through the experience, after time we can look back and see that God does in fact know what He is doing.
Sanders also narrates the book, which added a personal touch. Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an advanced copy to listen to and review.
Audiobook Review: The Names by Florence Knapp
The Names
Author: Florence Knapp
Narrator: Dervla Kirwan
Published: May 6, 2025
Audiobook: 9 hours 40 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: August 7-13, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
The extraordinary novel that asks: Can a name change the course of a life?
In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son’s birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she’d like to call the child, Cora hesitates…
Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora’s and her young son’s lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.
With exceptional sensitivity and depth, Knapp draws us into the story of one family, told through a prism of what-ifs, causing us to consider the “one . . . precious life” we are given. The book’s brilliantly imaginative structure, propulsive storytelling, and emotional, gut-wrenching power are certain to make The Names a modern classic.
Jessica’s Review:
This was a book club read and one I had on my TBR, and it delivered! We have a mother who has one choice to make: To register and name her infant son’s birth. There are three possible names: Bear, Julian and Gordon (after the father and Cora’s husband). What’s in a name? Does a name actually affect the life someone will live?
The Names takes place from 1987 and spans 35 years with each life that the newborn lives based on the name Cora chose. This is not a light read, it is dark as the reader will deal with domestic violence, coercive control and more. This is a debut novel that will leave you thinking long after you have finished it.
This is also a book I know I will need to actually read versus listen to. I had some issues with the narrator. I couldn’t concentrate while I listened to the novel. I know I missed some things. This was a ‘me issue’ and had nothing to do with the narrator’s narration.
This is a book that had some similarities to the movie Sliding Doors staring Gwyneth Paltrow: One life with two possibilities, based on if Paltrow’s character caught the train or not.
This being Knapp’s debut novel, I look forward to seeing what she writes next!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK (I LOVE THIS COVER!)
Audiobook Review: It’s a Date (Again) by Jeneva Rose
It’s a Date (Again)
Author: Jeneva Rose
Narrator: January LaVoy
Published: October 24, 2023
Audiobook: 7 hours 56 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: August 3-5, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
A guy told me he loved me tonight.
Peyton Sanders hopes it’s not too late to say it back. Done with dead-end relationships and swiping right, she knows who her heart belongs to. But as she races to tell him how she feels, she’s hit by a car and wakes up with amnesia. It gets worse. Peyton has no clue who the three men who show up at her hospital bed are except they each claim to be her boyfriend.
They’re certainly worth remembering. A rustic-looking contractor—heaven in flannel. A tailored consultant with a smile to die for. And a tattooed chef with a box of homemade chocolates, both delicious. Peyton’s friends Maya and Robbie have an idea: date each man again. Recognizing her soulmate should be as easy as one, two, three.
On a wildly romantic and dizzyingly funny journey, Peyton runs once again toward love. This time, hopefully, her heart can guide her where her mind cannot.
Jessica’s Review:
This was my first rom com by Jeneva Rose. I know her for her thrillers, but enjoy rom coms, so I was looking forward to listening to this one. And January LaVoy is the narrator, so I was definitely listening to it when I saw that!
It’s a Date (Again) is a fun and very quick read. We have Peyton who realizes that she is in love and rushes to tell THE guy and then… well… She is hit by a car. When she wakes up she has amnesia…. And three very good-looking men all saying that he is her boyfriend. Who is Peyton in love with? No one knows, not even her two best friends Maya and Robbie! Being her best friends, Maya and Robbie come up with an idea: Date all three men to figure out who Peyton is in love with. The men agree and we have a fun version of the Bachelorette. But things get complicated as time goes on.
I enjoyed this one. I did guess who ‘the one’ was at 28% in. I would have enjoyed the book more if I had not guessed correctly. It is a feel good and clean rom com. If you enjoy rom coms or Jeneva Rose novels, give this one a read (or listen!).
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK