Soul Searching by Lyla Sage

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Collins Cartwright does not want to go home. Sweetwater Peak, Wyoming, was supposed to be in her rearview mirror, but when she finds out a developer is trying to buy her parents’ antiques shop out from under them, she doesn’t have a choice—at least, that’s what she tells her family. They don’t need to know she’s lost her job and is out of money. Or that the ghosts who have always been her companions have recently gone silent.

But just because she’s returned home doesn’t mean she has to stay with her parents or crash on her twin sister’s couch. Lucky for her, the new-to-town upholsterer has a room for rent above his store. Unluckily, it is absolutely crawling with more ghosts who are freezing her out. And Collins hates being ignored.

Brady Cooper is absolutely and totally fine. Seriously, there’s no secret reason why he decided to uproot his life and suddenly move to Sweetwater Peak. He just needed a change of pace. At least that’s what he tells himself. And everyone else.

When he agrees to let the elusive Collins Cartwright stay in his spare room, he doesn’t know that she’s absolutely bonkers—constantly talking to herself and having conversations with no one—or that she looked like that. But as they begin to get closer, the lines between them start to blur, leaving both of them—and the ghosts who have been pushing them together—wondering whether their temporary arrangement could be something more permanent.

Small Town, Big Heart, and a Few Ghosts

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💜💚❤️🤎
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 😋😀😛😘
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

🎧 Audiobook Review: Soul Searching (Sweetwater Peak, #1)

Author: Lyla Sage
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Narrators: Jason Clarke and Samantha Brentmoor

Collins hasn’t landed a photography job in a year—not since the incident. With her apartment gone, her car barely hanging on, and her confidence in freefall, she finds herself heading back to Sweetwater Peak, Wyoming. Returning home is the last thing she wants. She loves her family, but distance has always been the key to keeping the peace. Unfortunately, a developer is circling her parents’ antique shop, and they’re convinced she’s coming home to help save it.

Her homecoming goes sideways almost immediately. Stranded on the road, Collins panics when someone approaches her car and unleashes her pepper spray… directly into the eyes of her twin sister, Clarke, and a stranger named Brady Cooper. That stranger, as fate would have it, is both her new landlord and her new boss. Brady had been curious about Collins after hearing plenty about her—but the pepper spray incident shuts that curiosity down fast.

Brady runs a small upholstery business after leaving behind a career in software engineering and a heartbreak he never quite recovered from. He’s quiet, steady, and—at first—painfully boring. Collins even tells him so. But as the story unfolds, he becomes unexpectedly endearing, especially with his deep love of fantasy and constant Lord of the Rings references. Beneath the mild-mannered exterior is a genuinely good man.

“You really are a nerd, aren’t you? A big, giant, adorable nerd.”

One of the most charming elements of the story is the paranormal thread woven through it. Both Collins and Clarke can see and hear ghosts. Clarke has learned to tune them out, but Collins has always lived with their voices humming like background static—until recently. Her ability to hear them has faded, leaving her unmoored and questioning herself. She can still see them, though, and her habit of talking to ghosts is something Brady notices early on. To him, she just seems quirky… or possibly unhinged.

The supernatural elements are funny, emotional, and surprisingly grounded. They add texture without overshadowing the romance or the town’s history—history Collins knows intimately thanks to the ghosts who lived it.

If there’s one aspect that didn’t quite land, it’s the town’s reaction to the looming developer threat. Given who the developer is and the damage he’s known for causing, the characters’ lack of urgency feels a bit too casual for the stakes.

The audiobook is delivered through dual POVs with dual narration by Jason Clarke and Samantha Brentmoor. Both narrators are strong performers. Clarke’s deep, gravelly voice fits Brady perfectly. Brentmoor’s voice is soft and intelligent—lovely to listen to, though not an exact match for Collins’s chaotic, hot-mess energy.

Final Thoughts

This audiobook blends small‑town charm, gentle paranormal intrigue, and a slow‑building romance that grows sweeter as the characters open up to each other. Collins is messy, emotional, and deeply human, while Brady evolves from quietly dull to unexpectedly delightful. The ghostly elements add humor and heart without overwhelming the story, and the town’s history enriches the narrative in a meaningful way.

While the conflict with the developer could have carried more weight, the overall experience is engaging, comforting, and full of personality. The dual narration enhances the story, especially with Jason Clarke’s pitch‑perfect portrayal of Brady. If you enjoy romances with a touch of the supernatural, quirky family dynamics, and characters who feel like real people, this one is worth the listen.

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