Variation cover art

Variation

A Novel

Preview

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Variation

Written by: Rebecca Yarros
Narrated by: Teddy Hamilton, Carly Robins
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $39.46

Buy Now for $39.46

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Instant USA Today, Amazon Charts, and Publishers Weekly bestseller.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fourth Wing comes a new contemporary romance about the summer a celebrated dancer returns home and unearths years of family secrets and deep regrets with the Coast Guard rescue swimmer she never forgot.

Elite ballerina Allie Rousseau is no stranger to pressure. With her mother’s eyes always watching, perfection was expected, no matter the cost. But when an injury jeopardizes all she’s sacrificed for, Allie returns to her summer home to heal and recover. But the memories she’s tried to forget rush in and threaten to take her under.

As a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hudson Ellis knows that hesitation can mean the difference between life and death. He’s always prided himself on being in the right place at the right time, especially when it came to Allie Rousseau…until the night he left for basic. After the biggest regret of his life, the secrets he keeps mean he can never be with the one woman he wants more than his next breath.

When Hudson’s niece shows up on Allie’s doorstep, desperate to find her birth mother, Allie finds herself in an unimaginable position. Allie and Hudson’s past and present might be endlessly complicated. The thread that tied them to each other all those years ago may have unraveled, but the truth could pull them back together, or drive them apart forever.

©2024 Rebecca Yarros (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Contemporary Summer
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What the critics say

“Carly Robins and Teddy Hamilton mesmerize listeners with their performance of this emotional contemporary romance.… Robins’ intimate, poignant narration paints a vivid picture of Allie's past pain, desire for Hudson, and hope for the future. Hamilton's warm, enveloping tone captures Hudson's raw determination and protective instinct for his family and Allie. Both narrators create expressive, distinct character voices that transition flawlessly throughout the story.”AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner

“Rebecca Yarros’s stand-alone romance novel is a graceful departure from her bestselling fantasy juggernauts Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. With shades of The Summer I Turned Pretty and Bunheads, this winter-appropriate beach read begins with an ocean rescue off the coast of Cape Cod. Hudson, a local Coast Guard swimmer in training, swoops in to save Allie, a wealthy young ballerina, from a sinking rowboat. Metaphors and plot twists abound as Yarros’s story bobs neatly into the future. A decade later, her star-crossed characters land back where they started, for different and equally complicated reasons. The question of whether they’ll find their way back to one another is a fun one to ponder over a slice of leftover pie.”—Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times

“Yarros keeps the twists coming as her complex but lovable characters find their way back to each other in the face of impossible odds. Readers who like their romance on the soapy side will be more than satisfied.”Publishers Weekly

What listeners say about Variation

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved it

⭐4.5 rounded up. I can never get enough of her stories! Yarros has done it again, with another beautiful romance novel.

Allie cares so much for her family, just as much as Hudson does for his. They just need to remember how much they care for each other! I love the fake dating trope, guilted into it by a kid, no less!

While I find the ballerina dancer is overused in romance novels (how many people in real life actually works for the ballet?!?), I still enjoyed this. We got to see the bad sides of ballet dancing - their mother with her intense expectations, damage to the body, terrible coaches, the drama between employees in the company. We also got to see the good sides too - little kids enjoying dancing, bad coaches getting fired, the pride that comes after a great dance!

I loved Hudson's character. A sexy Coast Guard rescue swimmer. I didn't love his choice as an 18 year old, but.. he was just a kid! I did enjoy his choices as an adult though. And the way he never stopped loving Allie <3

And whooey, the spicy parts were pretty good! 🔥

<i><b>"Anything is doable for 5 minutes."</b>

"Crap, I'm still wearing your hoodie!" "Two choices, keep it or bring it for the next time I take you boating." <b>"Fuckin bold!"</b></i> I looooved this!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Rebecca Yarros does it again

Amazing performance and a poignant and touching story. I always love her work but this one is one of my favourites.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Home is where the heart is

I enjoyed the story, the characters and the developments leading to the end. I did think that a 10yo had way too much power in the storyline, but it was ok. Worth listening in

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Rebecca Yarros does it again.

Great read. Amazing storyline , narrators on point (no pun intended) couldn’t stop listening. Rebecca never disappoints

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The narration ruined it for me

I like the story so far, classic Rebecca Yarros. But the narrator's are ruining it. She is flat then overly dramatic, putting in strong emotion where none is actually called for in the narrative. I'm surprised a narrator would do that, and also get away with it. Tell the story that's written.
And he is ignoring when emotions or directions are included in the narrative, and also doing his own thing. He's way off the mark several times, and clearly isn't familiar with the material he's reading at all. It's like these 2 just called it in - or just coasted on their past performances. Disappointing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!