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 Audible Original Fiction by Tamar Ossawski

https://www.audible.com

At the beginning of this story, Therese packs up and leaves her mother’s house with her daughters Frannie and Matilda. She goes to her friend Leah’s and abruptly leaves again the next day, taking only Matilda with her. 

The sisters are understandably shocked and devastated by this. Why has Frannie been abandoned? Why did Therese choose Matilda to keep? Who is Leah anyways? No explanations are given to the children. 

The characters in this story, especially the two girls, were well drawn and believable. The story itself, however, left something to be desired. 

The entire plot was nothing but an extended version of “I-can’t-tell-the -truth-or-the-story-will-end-here-syndrome”**, that annoying plot device that plagues many a romance novel. Therese (or Leah) could have told the girls in about two sentences what was going on, instead of traumatizing them with inexplicable silence and secrets. The whole book was ruined by this set of unnecessary dramatics. 

I also listened to recently by Audible Originals: One More Upon a Time

**I-Can't-Tell-The -Truth-Or-The-Story-Will-End-Here Syndrome

(Most recently occurred in The Friend Zone by Abby Jiminez)

This shows up in romances quite a bit, in which a main character withholds some vital piece of information form his/her love interest for flimsy reasons, making it obvious that the author is using the device to further complicate the plot and lengthen the story.