Audiobook Review: Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Kay
Booked on a Feeling
Series: A Sweet Mess #3
Author: Jayci Lee
Narrator: Cindy Kay
Published: July 26, 2022
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: July 13-18, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Lizzy “Overachiever” Chung, Esq. has her life mapped out neatly:
* Become a lawyer. Check.
* Join a prestigious law firm. Check.
* Make partner. In progress.
If all goes to plan, she will check off that last box in a couple years, make her parents proud, and live a successful, fulfilled life in L.A. What was not in her plans was passing out from a panic attack during a pivotal moment in her career. A few deep breaths and a four-hour drive later, Lizzy is in Weldon for three weeks to shed the burnout and figure out what went wrong. And what better place to recharge than the small California town where she spent her childhood summers with her best friend, Jack Park.
Jack Park didn’t expect to see Lizzy back in Weldon, but now he’s got three weeks to spend with the girl of his dreams. Except she doesn’t know of his decades-long crush on her–and he intends to keep it that way. She’s a high-powered attorney who lives in L.A. and he’s a bookkeeper at his family’s brewery who never left his hometown. He can’t risk their friendship on a long shot. Can he? When Lizzy decides that the local bookstore needs a little revamp, of course, Jack is going to help her bring it back to life. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore there might be more than just friendship among the dusty shelves and books…
Sometimes the path to the rest of your life has been in front of you all along.
Jessica’s Review:
This one was a fun, adorable, and at times frustrating read! I did not realize it is the third in a series, but looking at the description of the other two books, I don’t believe you need to have read them first. We have Lizzy who is Asian, which was a nice change as we get to see a small side of Asian culture and families.
Lizzy has just won her first big court case, and to celebrate she takes three weeks off! A lawyer taking off 3 weeks?!?! That just doesn’t happen. But it was needed because Lizzy passed out due to a panic attack in front of the jury….
Lizzy returns to her hometown to relax and meets up with her lifelong friend Jack. And Jack has been in love with Lizzy for 20+ years, yet she doesn’t know it. She sees Jack as her lifelong best friend. While on ‘vacation’ Lizzy decides to help out the owner of the local bookstore and try to revitalize it. Jack also decides to help as it lets him spend more time with Lizzy. But can friends become lovers and not lose what they have had for their whole lives?
We also have both Lizzy and Jack having to discover what they want for themselves in their selective careers, which they actually keep from each other. And being part of an Asian family can complicate things with parental expectations, which we see over the course of the novel in several ways.
Booked on a Feeling surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. Jack was so adorable with his feelings for Lizzy and what he should do. His internal dialogue shows how much he truly loves her, but afraid to share his feelings because he doesn’t want to lose her. And then her internal dialogue! It just became frustrated because I just wanted them to hurry up and get together. And there is some really good sex in this one too!
If you enjoy the friends to lovers trope with family complications thrown in you should enjoy this one. If you love books and bookstores, (and what reader doesn’t?) you must read this one! Close to the end it becomes a sort of type story and I was hoping we get to see Lizzy and Jack finally get together!
Cindy Kay also did a great job with her narration!
I really enjoyed this one and I find myself wanting to check out the first two novels in this series! Many thanks the publisher Dreamscape Media for granting me a copy to listen to and review.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
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AudioBook Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Book Lovers
Author: Emily Henry
Narrator: Julia Whelan
Published: May 3, 2022
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: June 15-22, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 2.5 stars
Book Description:
One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming….
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
Jessica’s Review:
**UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT**
Book Lovers seems to be a novel that everyone is loving this summer, except me. I did like the glimpse we see into the publishing world, and this novel is supposed to be a romance novel, but for me it was not. I did not see the likeability of the two main characters at all and did not see the chemistry between them. For me, their connection just seemed to be physical, and we do get some spicy scenes with Nora and Charlie.
I was invested in the sister relationship throughout the novel. They were all I cared about, did not care for the ‘romance’ at all. And being this is a romance novel, it failed for me. This is a first novel for me from Emily Henry and I just don’t know if I would read another after this one. Well… Maybe I would give her at least one more shot if a book description sounds like one I would want to read. But I won’t be on the lookout for another of Henry’s novels.
Overall, this one disappointed me. Julia Whelan was the narrator and honestly, her narration was what kept me listening.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
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ARC AudioBook Review: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
The Bodyguard
Author: Katherine Center
Narrator: Patti Murin
To Be Published: July 19, 2022
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: June 9-14, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
She’s got his back.
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindgerten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka “bodyguard”), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.
He’s got her heart.
Jack Stapleton’s a household name—captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid.
They’ve got a secret.
When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah—against her will and her better judgment—finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, like a jerk, says no one will believe it.
What could possibly go wrong???
Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.
Jessica’s Review:
I have loved most of Katherine Center’s novels that I have read, and I really enjoyed The Bodyguard! Center does romance right for me. It’s fun, sweet, clean and more! In The Bodyguard, we have Jack, the hot and famous actor who has dropped off the radar. And he also has a stalker. And we have Hannah, who is a Executive Protective Agent (AKA Bodyguard) but she does not even look like someone who could kill you with just a pen, but she can, and will if she has to. And she is really good at her job. Then she finds herself having to protect Jack and going to see his family because his mother is sick. But Jack doesn’t want his family knowing about his stalker, so Hannah has to pretend to be his girlfriend.
As with Center’s other novels, you know how the ending should be, but going on this adventure with Jack and Hannah was a lot of fun! It is a fun, quick read with some hilarious moments that ensue (there is one with a cow….) And let alone the information that comes out and about with this stalker. The banter between Jack and Hannah is fun and the story could 1000% not happen in reality, but it’s such a fun and feel good read! Center has been called ‘the reigning queen of comfort reads’ and she really is! It’s a perfect summer read to get away from the mundanity of real life. I must read more of her novels!
The narrator is Patti Murin, who is one I have enjoyed in the past and she did a great job with this novel!
Many thanks to the publisher Macmillian Audio for granting me an early audio copy via NetGalley to listen to and review!
Pre-Order Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK