Tag: romance

Audiobook Review: The Accidental Dating Experiment by Lauren Blakely

The Accidental Dating Experiment
Series: How to Date #4
Author: Lauren Blakely

Narrators:
Andi Arndt
Jacob Morgan
Published: April 11, 2024
Audiobook: 6 hours 55 minutes

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: November 11-13, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars

Book Description:

Eight years ago I fell into a secret summer fling with my best friend’s little sister before our lives went in different directions. Now, I’m the grumpy to Juliet’s sunshine on a popular dating podcast we host, and when a wealthy fan gives us a charming coastal cottage as the biggest thank you ever, we head to the town where I grew up to give it a makeover.

And find the house has only one bed. Located under a mirrored ceiling.

To make matters even harder, the bright, big-hearted woman I’ve been pining for tells me she wants to try to find the one and would I please be her dating coach for the week?

Like hell I’ll let her date other men. I’ll coach her on three dates with me.

But the second I take her out, I don’t feel like her teacher. I feel like she’s mine, especially when the first night ends with us tangled up together in that bed.

Each night we grow closer, but this dating experiment forces me to face my greatest fear–whether a man like me is worthy of her love.

Even though I’m already head over heels for her.

Jessica’s Review:

The Accidental Dating Experiment is not my typical genre I read or listen to. But I saw it was free on my Audible account and it sounded cute, so I went for it!  Well… I didn’t realize it was going to be smutty! LOL.  My fault for not researching the author before I listened to the book as her ‘go to’ phrase is:

Cute But Spicy
Books That Make You Blush

So the joke’s on me then…  I also didn’t know that this is book four in a series, it did seem like a standalone book to me. But I actually enjoyed listening to this novel.

The banter that Monroe and Juliet have on their job of the podcast was (!) and their chemistry in general was hot an I found myself saying “go ahead and get back together!”.

Again, I’m not a spicy reader and the spice in this novel was too much for me, but I made it through. Just give me fade to black scenes, I don’t need specific details.  I guess I will have to look more into romance books I may choose to read in the future…

It was an enjoyable book with the cute romantic tropes of grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, second chance romance, and the one bed situation.

The epilogue ended things well and I really enjoyed the ending.

Both narrators, Andi Arndt and Jacob Morgan, brought the characters of Juliet and Monroe to life. They were perfect narrators for these characters!

3.5 stars is a good review for a book that is out of my normal genre with too much spice for this listener.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Short Story Sunday: Holiday Hideaway by Mary Kay Andrews

Holiday Hideaway: A Short Story
Author: Mary Kay Andrews

Narrator: Eva Kaminsky
Published: October 29, 2024
Audio: 1 hour 59 minutes

Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: December 2, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars

Short Story Description:

Tilly Farriday isn’t feeling very jolly this season. Recently divorced and broke, she’s squatting in one of her rental agency’s properties until her new home is ready. The sprinkles on top of the burnt Christmas cookie that is her life? The new owner shows up early, forcing Tilly to hide in the attic to save her job…and what remains of her dignity.

George Holloway is here to sell his granduncle’s house—and to reconsider whether he and his fiancée are right for each other. Amid home repairs, George notices strange noises and missing food, but as much as he gets his rental agent on the phone, Tilly dodges every invitation to meet. He’s sure that someone’s here with him, and it’s certainly not the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, or Future.

As Tilly and George circle each other, they both wonder where their lives are headed and if, maybe, meeting each other is just the Christmas miracle they need.

Jessica’s Review:

MKA wrote a Christmas short story, so you know I was going to read or listen to it!

Holiday Hideaway was a cute short story that could really use being expanded upon! It was almost too short for me. It’s not realistic at all: Hiding in the attic of a house that your company rents while the new owner who inherited it is staying there. And add your dog to the mix?  Does this dog not bark… Ever!?!?!  Come on.  Other than all of that, Tilly and George’s banter and chemistry seeps through the audiobook.  You just know what is ultimately going to happen. I was ready to go on this short story and see what ultimately happens. And with MKA you know it’s never really that easy!

The narrator for this short story is Eva Kaminsky and she did a good job with her narration!I did enjoy it an gave it 3.5 stars, but I think MKA needs to stay away from short stories and at a minimum write novellas, like her previous Christmas novellas have been.  Which I loved both of those!

My reviews for those novels are here:
The Santa Suit This one was a double review with Kim!
Bright Lights, Big Christmas

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Audiobook Review: Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith

Something Like Gravity
Author: Amber Smith

Narrators:
MW Cartozian Wilson

Sandy Rustin
Published: June 18, 2019
Audiobook: 9 hours 7 minutes

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: October 21-25, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars

Book Description:

Chris and Maia aren’t off to a great start.

A near-fatal car accident first brings them together, and their next encounters don’t fare much better. Chris’s good intentions backfire. Maia’s temper gets the best of her.

But they’re neighbors, at least for the summer, and despite their best efforts, they just can’t seem to stay away from each other.

The path forward isn’t easy. Chris has come out as transgender, but he’s still processing a frightening assault he survived the year before. Maia is grieving the loss of her older sister and trying to find her place in the world without her. Falling in love was the last thing on either of their minds.

But would it be so bad if it happened anyway?

Jessica’s Review:

I saw this one in my Audible account and it was available until October 30th, so I decided to go ahead and listen to it. And it was just ok.  I didn’t really connect with Maia as she was just so… I’m not sure but poor Chris. He had experienced so much bad in life already at a young age! But really both Chris and Maia are going through losses.  They are two traumatized teens who meet when Chris almost hits Maia with his car!

I had no issue with one of the characters being transgendered, we need more of those books for trans youth. But maybe they should be written by trans authors. Authors who know what these characters are going through. The author is in the community, but not trans herself, so it may have been some of the issues I felt. I did not know this about the author until I went to go write my review. I have read some books about trans characters written by trans authors and I felt what I was supposed in those books!

There is a little bit of spice for a YA novel, but nothing too much. Its two young people having their first relationship and experiences.

The narrators MW Cartozian Wilson and Sandy Rustin both gave fabulous jobs in their narration!

Overall, I give this novel a solid three stars. It was a good effort with intended love written by the author that just overall did not work for me.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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