The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope audiobook

This premise may catch a lot of people off guard. A young woman pulls a shapeless, disfigured humanoid mass out of the mud and as the creature heals, it starts to resemble her in every way. They fall in love, and the creature (now a woman named Addie) decides to morph into a male so the two of them can marry, have children, and be together without the judgment of their conservative North Carolina mill town. Although it sounds like science fiction, this is more of a love story than anything else. Addie/Adam's origins are never clear and in many ways s/he is a regular human being with an uncanny ability to connect with people and animals.What I loved most about the novel is the love Evelyn has for Addie/Adam and their lively, memorable children. I loved watching their family grow, deal with loss, move forward, and embrace life to the fullest. This novel is chock full of love. Love of landscape, love of family, love of life, the list goes on and on. At times Addie/Adam comes across as too good to be true, but I got so swept up in Riley's gorgeous prose that it didn't bother me too much. People who like transportive, literary prose, like Edgar Sawtelle, or an unconventional love story, like The Time Traveler's Wife, should give this lovely novel a try.

Oh my goodness. Where do I start with this book? I guess I can only tell you that I cried and cried through the last harrowing pages of what I will sum up as this "insanely beautiful" story. One that about midway, I was thinking - this is really such a 'simple' story, I wonder what the fuss is about? And I mean simple, because it was implying something extraordinary, but all within such very ordinary lives. The beauty of the dialogue often grabbed me by the throat. And then suddenly I knew. It was if I could feel it on my skin, then in my bones, a warning coming to me through the very spots where my fingertips touched the pages. My heart was about to be eviscerated. And I stopped near the end, thinking, "I will cry too much if I read this now - I'll save it for the morning". Oh dear. Morning came, and with it I went through a packet of tissues. It literally set me up for a day of tears. I couldn't even talk about the book without bawling my eyes out. I'm welling up now, thinking about it again. And perhaps its beauty lies in the fact that the extraordinary is indeed hidden right there in the ordinary that is all around us. I was delivered it beautifully in this story, and I saw it everywhere after I finished this book. And I cried for all the years I have been blind. I can only tell you that I feel as if this book has changed me, or awakened me, on some deep, indescribable level. I almost fear recommending it, as I wonder - can any person read this, and not long for an Adam so deeply - that no other love will ever measure up? I feel blessed that I am single. That I didn't have to glance over at a lover who could never possibly 'know' me, the way Adam knew Evelyn. And yet again, perhaps there is an Adam within us all? Within every drop of rain running down my window, within every glint of light reflecting from the morning sun. And within every person I may ever meet?Is it possible to feel blessed and bereft all at once? It seems so. I wrote down a couple of passages of the book (before I could let it go and hand it on to another). Here is one of them ...."Grief is a powerful river in flood. It cannot be argued or reasoned or wrestled down to an insignificant trickle. You must let it take you where it is going. When it pulls you under, all you can do is keep your eyes open for rocks and fallen trees, try not to panic and stay face-up so you will know where the sky is. You will need that information later. Eventually, its waters calm and you will be on a shore far from where you began, raw and sore, but clean and as close to whole as you will ever be again".When I finished this book, and sat hugging it, staring out of the window, I realised - it was the 12th anniversary of the loss of two of my dearest friends. It always astounds me how books come to me, just exactly when I need the comfort or the lessons of the words they behold. This felt like a special gift. I most definitely feel that I have washed up on the shore - bruised, most definitely, but as close to whole as I needed to be again.

To be frank, I don't know where to start on this book. I was originally supposed to post my review last week but I could not because I had to re-read some passages and this book was emotional. Not because it's sad or anything (though some parts are), but because it really challenges a lot about love. Evelyn finds a young man seemingly half buried in her back yard but soon after bringing him inside of the farm she has inherited, she quickly realizes he isn't quite ordinary. His face and entire body are disfigured, much like a burn victim, and he doesn't appear to have any particular facial features. His gender.. his a little ambiguous to say the least. But over the course of a few days the person changes. First changes into what will become Addie- seemingly Evelyn's twin. And while traumatic and a little shocking to Evelyn, the two quickly become inseparable. Addie has gifts with animals but also through singing. Without opening her mouth. It's clear from the beginning she's obviously not like Evelyn and over time, the almost soul mate connection between the two leads to an intimate relationship that Evelyn wants, but also fears. But over time, Evelyn realizes she really wants to get married, become a mother, raise a family. Addie recognizes this as well and feeling such an emotional bond to Evelyn, she does something to make this happen for Evelyn.In a few days, in walks Adam. Unlike Addie who is virtually a twin of Evelyn, Adam is more her compliment. The male version of herself. Over time they marry, have several children with unique birthing situations because of the uncertainty of what Adam is exactly, and they live a happy and normal life. Until a tragedy hits the family and turns everyone upside down. The immeasurable grief changes Adam and when he does something in front of the community that basically scares the Jesus out of them, Evelyn goes into protective mode. She understands him and knows nobody else will. (Side note: this is where I felt like something rammed into my chest, because I got it. Sometimes I look at Matt with some of the issues he deals with privately and while I don't really understand why he does it, I sometimes feel like it's my job to protect him. I feel like I could never really leave him because he would be alone and I couldn't let him be ridiculed. It's me that keeps him in check and it's me that helps him navigate acceptable social behaviors, etc. And sometimes I feel there's a bigger reason that we matched up.)So over the town gossip, Evelyn decides to pack up the family and just leave. They go to Florida and start a brand new life which seems to rejuvenate Adam. Unfortunately, it's around this time when Evelyn realizes that as she ages through her years, Adam does not. It becomes a little awkward and Adam tries to make this right because he wants to do everything for Evelyn, give her the world, give her the best possible life. What pulls at you is their love. It may not always be easy, the amount of love for each other is huge. It's like a couple that if you're in the same room you can't help but notice and feel how much they love each other. Which is exactly like Adam and Evelyn- times ten. And one day, it all ends without warning. I'll be honest- the ending hit me hard. I cried. I cried because I was sad it wasn't a forever love story, I cried because you don't know what happens to Adam. I can't even pose all of the questions I was left with at the end of the book because it'll ruin the majority of the book for you. But please read this. If you read nothing else I recommend, read this one. It will pull at you. It's one of those books that doesn't have a major, dramatic story line, but it's the story of a life. A life that seems so much like yours but at the same time nowhere near your ordinariness.But I'm telling you- this is going to be the best book of the year for me, I can feel it. It will easily make my Top 10 favorite books of all time. The writing is so beautiful, it's so true to life, and you just connect with Evelyn. You really start to feel like you're sitting with a new friend as she tells you her story in a nursing home visitor lounge. I can't give this book enough praise. Absolutely wonderful.

Such a unique book that is almost impossible to describe. I listened to the audiobook and was extremely impressed with the narrator. The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope is the life story of Evelyn as she grows from a teenager in the 1940’s all the way into her elder years and focuses on the love of her life, Adam Hope and the life and family they build together. I was immediately intrigued when I saw this book recommended for lovers of The Time Travelers Wife, which I absolutely loved. I can’t say this is anything like that book though. There is no time travel and this book takes place in rural Georgia and rural Florida. But there are similar elements of the unknown. I found myself confused at times with this book, and not necessarily in a good way. Many things were never explained, but the uniqueness of the story and the amazing ending left me with so much emotion and I felt so connected to Evelyn and her family. I was sad when the story was over.

this book was really really breathtaking. what an imagination this author has. i mean, the story of adam hope is so interesting and unique and inventive. narrated by the woman who found him, adam's wife, evelyn, it's quite sad at times, extremely thought provoking, and really beautifully written. i like the fact that though this story revolves around someone so unique and different and special…the true nature of the book is about relationships. it's really a story of unconditional love and love of family. the character of addie/adam/"A" is so well developed. a supernatural being, of sorts, he's so full of joy and his spirit rings so sweetly in the story. you can't help but love him (her? it?). there is an innocence about him that reminds me of a child, but a maturity and grace that you wonder if he's been around forever. the mystery of his origins, and especially of his "voice" are never resolved…but that doesn't matter (at least not to me). the story that unfolded around him was good enough for me to be satisfied. i felt that, as a reader, i too had to take a leap of faith and accept him for who and what he was…and love him for it without question. just like evelyn did. it's hard to say anything about the book without sounding like a book report…and moreso because it's really just a pleasure to unwrap and discover for yourself and i wouldn't want to ruin the wonder of this book for anyone. its a great sweeping novel, a fantastic and compelling read and i recommend it wholeheartedly.

I don't even know where to start with this book if I'm being honest. I read this book pretty quickly and I enjoyed the writing so much. This book is like nothing that I have read before. It has been compared to The Time Traveler's Wife and while I can see some similarities I don't think that this is a fair comparison. This book is not about time travel but it does have some strange elements to it. This is the story of Evelyn and Adam and their life together. It is essentially a love story and spans over their whole lifetime together. While this is a love story, it is not your average love story. Adam is not exactly human and while I don't want to give too much away I have to say that Riley's creativity and originality is what drew me into the story.I have to admit though that somewhere in the middle I found my mind wondering a little bit. At times I found the perfection of their relationship a little difficult to believe. That's not to say there were some major challenges in their relationship but I think at some point I almost wanted to say "I get it, you are deeply in love". It wasn't so much that I hated the book or even disliked it; it was really just a minor annoyance at times. I did find myself emotionally invested in this novel and even found myself crying at times. As I said the writing is beautiful and the characters are memorable. Overall this is a good read and I think it's going to be a bestseller.

I finished this book last night and have been trying to put into words why I liked it so much. It's a love story, yes but it's also a story about life and what it means to come to terms with it. Adam Hope is brought up from the Earth in an event that could easily have turned this book into a SciFi or Fantasy saga. Instead it becomes the story of Adam and Evelyn and how their lives and love change with the passing of time. There are peaks and valleys for sure but what strikes me now is that the book is mostly about their every day lives. It is so normal that I got caught up in their daily family life on the ranch. We are constantly aware of Adam's differences and I felt the love, anxiety, yearning and once a sort of terror. Thinking back I realize that by the middle of the book Adam was just Adam to me, extraordinary yes, but he no longer needed an explanation.This book could have been about a great many things. What it means to be one with the Earth, to appreciate it or what it's like to find a lover so much like yourself that you lose a part of yourself in them. It could be about what makes us different and what makes us the same. Or maybe it's about the strength of family and the importance of finding our own path.To me it was just about Evelyn and Adam and the life they shared.

First, I have to give Rhonda Riley high praise for coming up with such an unusual and fantastical premise and grounding it so beautifully in ordinary life. Evelyn literally pulls a naked stranger from the mud during a torrential rainstorm one night, only discovering later that this 'person' is not human. However "A" soon becomes her closest friend - and eventually her lover - a relationship divides her from her family and small town neighbors even as she outwardly seems no different. Their lives unfold over the course of decades: raising a family, dealing with the occasional but vivid episodes of Adam's strangeness bursting into daily life. In many ways this could be a very ordinary tale of love, family, and change, but Adam's presence prevents it from ever being ordinary.Riley is a skilled writer, creating a sense of time and place without getting weighed down in details, keeping the story moving at a gentle, quiet, but inexorable pace through the years. At the end of the book, we know Evelyn inside and out. . . but some mysteries remain veiled - and that's okay.

A totally unexpected book. Beautiful, unobtrusive writing, with profound things to say about the joy of life in all the taken-for-granted beauties around us, how we are who we are, love, grief, hope, and the connections and stories that bind us together. I picked it up on a whim and am grateful that it jumped off the library shelf and into my hand.

In my pursuit this month of reading shelved books I own this was a fantastic hit! Recommended by a friend years ago this has been wilfully languishing in obscurity, you can't imagine my joy to pull a five star book out of the dusty dark corner. I loved this, touted a romantic love story, a genre I dislike, I had little hopes for enjoyment, assuming it was another dumb chic lit book, but I was ever so wrong! Yes a love story, a gloriously written and timeless love story, this is unique, refreshing, eye opening, I relished every page, my gosh that woman can write. Skimming is a common problem I have when all is staid and predictable, I adore when an author slows me down so I can hear a pin drop as I devour every word. I read she was working on a sequel, I hope it comes to fruition, she is a creative gifted writer, this time I will be first in line, no need to shove her books into the dark crevices again!

Fascinating book. But it’s hard to write a review without spoilers. It’s a lyrical story about a woman and the person she loves – a person like no other. A mythical, otherworldly character. But it’s so much more than a love story. It’s about family, about kinship, about a strong bond between two people, about secrets, about the earth beneath our feet. I couldn’t put it down.