Audiobook Review: Hard to Get by Laura Moher
Hard to Get
Series: Big Love from Galway #3
Author: Laura Moher
Narrators:
Michelle Price
Paul Bellantoni
Published: April 15, 2025
Audiobook: 9 hours 45 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: April 14-20, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Single and determined to stay that way, Andi Salazar treasures her independence, her charming small town and the dedication to hard work she inherited from her beloved Gram. To blow off steam, she occasionally takes the stage as a voluptuous bombshell singer who can rev you up even as she breaks your heart with a song.
Big, blond math teacher Kevin Mahoney is fresh off a bad breakup when he moves to Galway, NC. The school year’s about to start, and he’s determined to find the real Kev, not the “vanilla” guy his ex-fiancée didn’t want to marry. When he sees Andi onstage and then collides with her in the hallway, he damn near bursts into flame, and their hot, sweet hookup leaves him wanting more.
The man is entirely too attractive though—too endearing—so Andi breaks it off with very firm “no” to a second date. But when their work brings them together again, Andi and Kevin slowly embark on a friendship instead. Andi’s beginning to trust a man for the first time in maybe ever. Kevin’s beginning to enjoy having opinions of his own– and squabbling about them with his new friend. Silently they both yearn for more, even though they realize friendship is safer. But then something unexpected turns their lives upside down in the best way possible.
Jessica’s Review:
I have listened to all three books in the Big Love from Galway series and have enjoyed them! These are romance books with plus size female main characters and male characters that you can’t help but falling for! These books also have spice with open door scenes, yet the books also deal with serious issues. In Hard to Get, the issue dealt with is domestic violence.
Andi and Kevin are both dealing with their own personal issues and going on their own journeys: Kevin has moved away and is starting over in a new location far from home after his fiancé decided she did not want to marry him. Andi is independent woman with a family history that still greatly affects her today.
I identified with Andi as she is independent and has built up her own walls due to her family past. Having gone through a divorce last year, in those ways I am similar to Andi, though you would never see me taking the stage and singing like she does!
We do have a spicy beginning, but after a while it does get toned down as the characters journey moves toward friendship and then its progression through the rest of the novel. I don’t have to have open door scenes, but Moher can write them!
Kevin was just… like Angus in Curves for Days, I just adored and crushed over him! I really enjoyed their journey even though Andi frustrated me at times. Once the reader and Kevin learns her backstory, we understand her issues.
The issue of domestic violence is throughout the story as Andi works at a domestic violence shelter. She even goes to the local high school football team and gives a presentation that strongly affects everyone in the room. Andi is meant to do this job!
The narrators Paul Bellantoni and Michelle Price have been the narrators for all three Galway books. I did have some trouble with the second book because of this as Bellantoni’s voice was Angus for me, but fortunately I did not have this issue with my third trip to Galway! Both Bellantoni and Price were fabulous! They really brought these characters to life and delivered on all the emotions these characters had! And Bellantoni’s voice is just… let’s just say I really enjoy his voice!
I will definitely we looking at any future novels that Moher will be writing.
Many thanks to the publisher Dreamscape Media for granting me a copy to listen to and review for all three books in the Galway series!
Audiobook Review: What She’s Having by Laura Moher
What She’s Having
Series: Big Love from Galway #2
Author: Laura Moher
Narrators:
Michelle Price
Paul Bellantoni
Published: August 20, 2024
Audiobook: 9 hours 44 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: August 16-24, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Audiobook Description:
She may be strong, but she’s not unbreakable.
July Tate is a force to be reckoned with—a big, strong blond with a heart the size of her whole town—but beneath her capable exterior lie the scars of a devastating lost love. To July, love equals vulnerability, and she can’t afford either.
Joe Anderson knew from the first moment he saw her that July was The One. Now, after years apart, he’s back, driven by the need to explain his disappearance. In search of the girl who filled his teenage dreams, he finds instead a powerhouse woman who steals his heart and soul.
Joe embodies everything July has been missing, and together they spark as brightly as ever. But with Joe around, July, who can usually outwork four men is suddenly making mistakes right and left. And that scares her. Because if July falls again, this time her beloved town could go down with her.
Jessica’s Review:
What She’s Having is the second novel in the Big Love from Galway series. I adored the first novel, so I was ready to listen to the second one. We have romance books with some spice to them that also tackle difficult subject matter. I was not expecting that when I listened to Curves for Days and was pleasantly surprised by that novel! Moher handles this mix extremely well!
While you needn’t have read Curves for Days, it does help. We have a different couple, Joe and July, that are the focus in What She’s Having versus Rose and Angus in Curves for Days.
I won’t go into the triggers in my review, you can go to the author’s website for that. https://www.lauramoher.com These issues are not detailed in the novel, but might be worth noting if you can be triggered easily.
I love that Moher has plus-sized main characters that are are realistic. They are realistic in the fact that deal with many kinds of real-life situations and the after effects.
I did have issues with the narrators in this book as they are the same narrators from the previous book. It was hard for me to separate the different storylines with the couple in this book from the first. **This is a ‘me issue’ and not a problem with the narrations.** I especially had issues with the male narrator as for me he was a perfect Angus in Curves for Days. Paul Bellantoni just captured Angus perfectly and I was crushing on Angus so much in the first novel! I think the same narrators made it hard for me to connect with July and Joe in this novel, especially when Rose and Angus made appearances.
These books have some spice to them! It’s almost too spicy for me, but not quite! I saw on Facebook that Moher had to mark the book with post-its when she gave it to her son so he knows where the sex scenes are so he could avoid them! And that post entailed what happened when her son took the book to a trivia night: It’s hilarious! If she was my mom, I don’t think if I would be able to read the sex scenes either! Too much detail for an adult child to read what their mom wrote, or even vice versa!
I am looking forward to the next book in the series which comes out in March 2025! I will definitely be listening to or reading it!
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me a copy to listen to and review! It was a pleasure to listen to the first two books in the Curves for Days series!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Release Week Review: Audiobook Review of Curves for Days by Laura Moher
Curves for Days
Series: Big Love from Galway #1
Author: Laura Moher
Narrators:
Paul Bellantoni
Michelle Price
Published: August 22, 2023
Audiobook: 10 hours 23 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: August 11-16, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Audiobook Description:
Rose Barnes has got curves for days—and to Angus Drummond, the big, bearded contractor working on her new house, she’s the perfect thorn in his side. Little does she know Angus is perturbed on a daily basis by his attraction to this cheery, smart-ass woman with her sunshiny enthusiasm, her kindness, and her beautiful body.
Angus feels he has a debt to pay to the world and doesn’t deserve love until he pays it. Best to keep his mind on his work and his hands to himself. But the more Rose sees of Angus’s gruff, honorable thoughtfulness, and the more rusty laughter she surprises from him, the more she wants him too.
As their unlikely friendship becomes love, antagonism turns to partnership, and Rose’s house becomes a home. But Rose is keeping a secret that could blow up everything with Angus, and sure enough, it comes to light at the worst possible time…
Jessica’s Review:
This was a book that is 1000% written for me! I adored it nearly completely and identified with the FMC (female main character) Rose. Rose is plus sized and this is just a feel-good book with a great deal of body positivity and women of all sizes need that!
Rose is extremely relatable (I think any woman who is of a larger size in any end will identify with her). She is also friendly and helpful, and some women will love that she has a mouth on her and will use any and all the expletives she feels she needs, intended or not! She has a quarter jar and puts a quarter in it every time an expletive is said. She would be a rich woman if that jar was full but…. This isn’t a spoiler as it is mentioned in the first few lines of the novel, Rose actually is rich due to a winning $80 million lottery ticket left to her!
Due to her circumstances Rose has trust issues and a past with a traumatic experience, she finds herself in Galway, North Carolina and decides to start over there. She meets Angus who is Mr. Grumpy who ends up working on her new-to-her house. We have the sweet and grumpy trope here! This book is a slow burn with some steam to it! And dang, it was steamy enough for me! It was probably a level 2 of 5 for the steamy scenes. I don’t think I would be much steam-wise for the serious romance reader, but we do have open bedroom scenes.
I really enjoyed the growth of the relationship between Angus and Rose. Even though he is grumpy he is also a Mr. Softy at heart. They both have issues that have to be worked out. Curves for Days is a bit deceptive with the cover as there are many serious issues brought up, and this would be the trigger warnings:
Body Shaming
Rape
Veterans’ issues including PTSD and suicide
The veteran’s issues that Angus deals with and his work with veteran’s is very important and going in I had no idea this was going to be a romance with serious issues throughout. These issues that veterans experience and are unable to get help are really brought to the forefront of this book. Our veterans’ really need so much more done for them than what is done now. Bravo to Moher for bringing attention to this.
The only thing I didn’t really like was the given ‘third act conflict where I was becoming less of an Angus fan. I am totally #TeamRose and adore her! By the end of the novel, I was very happy!
Both Paul Bellantoni and Michelle Price did a fantastic job with their narrations as Angus and Rose. They really brought both of those characters to life for me. And I really liked Bellantoni’s voice!
I really enjoyed this first in the series and look forward to the next book that comes… Next April! It seems so far away now, but will be here before I know it!
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an alc (advanced listening copy) to listen to and review. I really enjoyed this one!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK