{ Review } Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan

“Sometimes an understanding silence was better than a bunch of meaningless words.”

Read in April 2019

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Archer’s Voice is the story of two wounded souls, Bree Prescott and Archer Hale, struggling on their way to recovery. The book begins with Bree fleeing her hometown, she witnessed her father being murdered and then the killer tried to rape her. When the police arrived, the man escaped and is still on the run. Bree is scared that he would try to find to and finish what he started, so she takes her dog Phoebe and a few belongings and escapes. She settles in the last place she remembers feeling happy, the quiet lakeside village of Pelion in Maine where she rents a chalet by the lake, hoping she’ll find the peace she desperately needs. She soon meets Archer, the quiet outcast of the village. He used to speak when he was young, but when he was 7 years old, he was in a tragic accident that left him mute. His parents died in that same accident and he was raised by his recluse uncle, away from all social interaction.

Twenty-three years old Archer is not the typical alpha-male, at least not mentally. He is deeply insecure, sensitive and even ingenious sometimes. He is treated as a pariah by other inhabitants of Pelion and it had made him clueless on a lot of things such as interacting with people, and he never had a relationship with a girl. He feels unworthy of love and that’s why I feel like Bree was the perfect match for him, her devoted, and so patient with him. At first, he is so used to being rejected that he keeps his guard up around Bree, not wanting to let someone get close and have the opportunity to actually hurt him, but with her constant benevolence and kindness his shell starts to crack, slowly and he shows her glimpses of the man hiding behind.

“How do you teach a man who has lost everything, not to fear it happening again?”

Bree is the light everyone needs in his/her life. She shines brighter than the sun and she carries an extraordinary strength. When she commits to helping Archer, she sticks to it, she protects him and she fights to teach him to love and be loved. Even though she had her own tragedy going on, she never gave up on him. After a rough encounter where Bree bumped into him on the parking lot of the grocery store and started babbling only to find him get up and leave without a word, they meet again when Bree walks by his house on her way to the lake. Their time together is awkward at first but they quickly start to tame one another, feeling connected by their loneliness and their insecurities.

Archer’s Voice was actually my first Mia Sheridan book. Now, I’ve heard so much about her, how good her books are, and I’m kind of uncertain about that. I know I’ve only read one of them and still gave a 4-stars-rating, but still, even though it was a beautiful read, I felt like the book was kind of basic. And I purposely chose the best rated/most read book of hers, so I feel like things can only go down from there. But I have to say that I started this book under the misconception that Archer’s trauma was emotional and that the reason he wasn’t speaking was because he didn’t want to, and I was already expecting an ending where he would end up being able to speak thanks to the love interest (and that would have been so cliché). Well, let me tell you, that Archer is not in the physical capacity to use his vocal cords and that the end held no deus-ex-machina, Archer is mute and stays mute, but he found other ways to speak, to communicate, and I really feel like the representation was accurate and respectful, and I adored that.

“We communicated a thousand words, without a single one being spoken.”

I liked how this book, even though overall pretty predictable, managed to have a strong message. Bree never lets other people’s opinion about Archer affects hers and her decisions in any way, she never gets judgemental and gives him a chance to be himself before making her mind about him.Also, I loved how the typical NA codes are shattered, Archer, as I said earlier, is not the typical alpha-male, but also, it’s Bree who came after Archer while he was more reluctant and wary. He was a virgin, never even kissed a girl before he met her whereas Bree is more experienced. I love that the fact that his condition isn’t something that needed to be healed, but more part of himself that he needed to accept and to live with. I also have to say that I enjoyed both Bree and Archer equally and they both added something to the reading experience and that is not too common in romance novels.

Last but not least, I wanted to address Archer’s aunt and cousin. They were the typical villains of this book, and I feel like their only purpose was to add angst and drama, they were pretty easy to hate. They basically had nothing nice or even grey about them and that’s a shame because when an author writes a character, at least he/she has to have some part on which we can connect otherwise it’s just serving the plot. Especially when we are speaking about family.

“I knew I loved her – fiercely and with every part of my heart, even the broken parts, even the parts that felt unworthy and without value. And maybe those parts most of all. ”

Have you read or will you read this book?
What did you think about it?