Jen Valencia

Morton and Leslie deliver another winner...

Reviewed: 12-21-24 Listener received this title free

The Summer of Us is a companion story to Lily Morton's Beggar's Choice series, falling somewhere between the second and third books, Trust Me and Keep Me, respectively. The aforementioned series is currently not available for purchase or to borrow on Kindle Unlimited (since Morton's titles appear to all be part of KU, but I could be wrong!), and unlike the author's other work which are all M/M, these books were M/F romances. Hopefully, Morton will bring them back in due time since I must confess that my curiosity has me itching to get to know the guys who make up Beggar's Choice, a world famous rock band, and how they all find love. That being said and based on my experience, The Summer of Us can be totally listened to and/or read as a standalone without wondering as if you're missing important tidbits.

John Harrington is a brilliant lawyer who comes from a wealthy family and serves as legal representation for Beggar's Choice. As much as he's easily accepted and welcomed to the fold by the members of the band, he doesn't seem to have made a great first impression on Matthew Dalton, aka Bram O'Connell's best friend, close friends with the rest of Beggar's Choice, and Bram's personal assistant (or so John thinks). Maybe it has to do with Matt mistakenly believing that John had slept with Charlie Hudson's girl, but even after that was clarified, Matt still didn't seem to warm up to John. So, Charlie asking John to oversee any legalities with a money pit he wants renovated in France for the love of his life and having Matt take charge over the renovation isn't exactly a good idea. But then John offers up a guest room in his villa, surprising himself and Matt in the process. By the end of the summer, these two men could either end up killing each other or maybe, just maybe, something very much unexpected could happen.

I read the eBook while listening to the audiobook of The Summer of Us, which is something I haven't had the opportunity to do much of recently with life being busier than usual. But this is a Lily Morton-penned romance, and Joel Leslie is back to bring it all to even bigger life, and I couldn't resist the chance to do the whole dual experience again. I loved seeing John and Matt find their footing, first as friends, and then later on, as far more. With John being straight and Matt being gay, I understood why there was the thrum of trepidation going on. Matt didn't want to be an experiment, only for him to develop feelings and then have John jump back in the closet. But John was such a wonderful surprise, and goodness, but how I adored the man and his being all in with everything. I laughed, I smiled, and I swooned while falling in love with these two and their story, but this is Morton and Leslie, so I wasn't all that surprised. Five stars.

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A lovely story of friendship, love, and truth

Reviewed: 12-06-24 Listener received this title free

Unnatural is a companion novel to Joanna Chambers' Enlightenment series, which is one of my personal favorites to both read and listen to, and and it's a book that's been on my to-be-read list for far longer than it should have (so many TBR books, so little time!). But when I learned that the audiobook for Unnatural had recently been released, it was the nudge that I needed because I realized it was time to check it off my TBR list. A quick side note: This book is part of the Enlightenment series, but it is also a standalone, particularly because the main characters here are different from the ones in the original trilogy, although I still highly recommend listeners venture forth and check out Murdo Balfour and David Lauriston's epic romance that plays out in Provoked, Beguiled, and Enlightened, all masterfully narrated by Hamish McKinlay.

Joanna Chambers has a way with words, as proven time and again in the books I've read. Iain SInclair and James Hart's story of more than a decade and a half of friendship, love seemingly unrequited, and wants and needs deemed unnatural was told so beautifully with Chambers' words, and Simon Goldhill, whose vocal stylings I was introduced to via Chambers' co-authored Total Creative Control contemporary romance, did it justice. The longing and quiet desperation Iain and James experienced as adults had my heart breaking, just as much as I held out hope for them when the flashbacks highlighted how important they were too each other as they grew up and their lives changed over the years. All in all, Unnatural does the other Enlightenment audiobooks proud, which is why I have no hesitation in giving it five out of five stars.

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True love finally coming to fruition

Reviewed: 12-03-24

Before she took the world by storm with her ongoing The Empyrean romantic fantasy, aka romantasy, series, Rebecca Yarros captivated countless readers with her contemporary romance novels. From military to new adult--and those are just general romance tropes--Yarros already made a name for herself and amassed many a loyal fan and reader. My first read from this author was a decade ago via her debut release, Full Measures, the first in her Flight & Glory series and I've been hooked on her writing ever since. She returns to her contemporary romance roots with a brand-new standalone published by Montlake, with the audiobook published by Brilliance Audio, both of whom were the same publishers for Yarros's previous contemporary romance release, In the Likely Event. Variation features two best friends who were well on their way to becoming more before tragedy ripped any chance away from them, only for fate (and a wee bit of meddling) to bring them together again nearly ten years afterward. Will the odds finally be in their favor or will circumstance lead them astray again?

You can never really go wrong when you have Teddy Hamilton and Carly Robins as your narrators. These two were the voice-overs for In the Likely Event, and they've been brought back for this newest Rebecca Yarros audiobook, and rightly so! Both Hamilton and Robins gave inspiring performances as they breathed life into Yarros's stirring story about love, loss, family secrets, and finding a way to let go of the past to better appreciate the present and embrace a future together. It may have taken a number of years, but Allie and Hudson found their way toward their happily-ever-after. Inasmuch as Allie had been a member of the corps and Hudson a part of a team, there was something about them that made them seem like lone wolves, i.e. Hudson taking risks, even to his own life, in order to rescue those who need his help. When it comes to ballet, a solo performance is known as a variation, and Allie may have been following in the footsteps of her mother and dancing in honor of her oldest sister, but it was almost as if she was waiting in the wings to live her life for herself. Their reunion in Cape Cod sets off a series of events that, once again, becomes life-changing for the two main characters. With Hamilton's and Robins's narration at five stars, and Yarros's writing at an equal five stars, it shouldn't be a wonder why I'm giving Variation five stars.

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Frankie & Con and Lily M & Joel L = MEANT TO BE!

Reviewed: 11-21-24 Listener received this title free

Reading and listening to a book at the same time is one of those things that I've always gotten an immense amount of enjoyment from. Another combination that I can never get enough of? The dynamic storytelling duo of Lily Morton (her writing) and Joel Leslie (his narration)! Their latest offering is The Player, a previously published novella that now includes a new epilogue, and it's a friends-to-lovers romance with a bit of a twist. Frankie Bishop (27) is widower who lost his husband months after their whirlwind romance and wedding. Three years on, light is beginning to seep back into his grayish life, but he finds himself needing to accept two things: one, his feelings for his best friend and business partner, Conrad (aka Con, who I think is in his 30s because he was Frankie's late husband's best friend, but I could be wrong), are beyond platonic; and two, it may be too late for him to do anything about it considering Con's just arrived back in Cotswolds with a guy who could very well be his new boyfriend.

My favorite thing about The Player had to be the close-knit relationship that Frankie and Con shared. They pretty much knew almost everything about each other, save for the fact that they were both pining for one another and hoping for far more than "just" being best friends. There's a reason why Joel Leslie is such a go-to of mine when it comes to audiobooks. He never fails to leave me thoroughly impressed with his ability to distinguish one character from another, regardless of whether they happen to be one of the main characters or part of the supporting cast or even a feathered scene-stealer named Hank Marvin! He brought such life to an already wonderfully entertaining story by Lily Morton, and the almost five hours I spent reading and listening to Frankie and Con's love story was time well spent. I laughed out loud and loved everything about The Player--yes, even Lucy Scrimshaw. Five stars!

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An appealing small town romance

Reviewed: 10-22-24

Text Appeal was originally released as an Audible Original back in mid-July, and Kylie Scott is now publishing the eBook and paperback versions via multiple retailers. This is the first in the Port Stewart series, a fictional small town in the Pacific Northwest. With the audiobook available as part of my Audible Plus subscription, I decided to go ahead and do a read-and-listen thing, with the audio being narrated by one of my go-to female voiceovers, Andi Arndt. It's something I haven't done in a while, but Scott is an author whose work I've enjoyed countless times in the past, and two of her previous Audible Originals, Repeat and Pause, both of which were also narrated by Arndt, are among some of my favorites.

When twenty-nine-year-old Riley makes the move from the lights and sounds in the deserts of Vegas to the small town of Port Stewart along the coast of the Pacific Northwest, the last thing she expects is to become embroiled in a love triangle. But that's what happens when her new mobile number turns out to be the old one some guy named Connor had and his ex, Ava, immediately assumes Riley is Connor's new girlfriend. The mix-up could be easily explained if only Ava would listen, but then Connor shows up on Riley's doorstep with an out-of-this-world arrangement: Connor and Riley pretend to date in order to get everyone off of Connor's back about getting back together with Ava, and in return, he'll introduce Rylie around his hometown. After a month, they'll go on their separate merry ways. If only it were that simple.

The fake dating/relationship trope isn't a romance trope I immediately gravitate to. More often than not, I'll pick the book up because of the author, with hopes that the tried and tested fake to real thing is given creative and original touches. There were noteworthy things about the book, particularly, most of the cast of characters, especially the female main character, Riley, who I adored, and the townsfolk who were a great eclectic mix of personalities that kept things interesting. Kudos as well for Ava being a breath of fresh air. On the other hand, the male main character, Connor, lacked some oomph, although he was a likable guy. The story as a whole was entertaining, with Kylie Scott's town of Port Stewart enticing enough that I wouldn't mind a return visit, and Andi Arndt's narration was, as always, superb. Four stars.

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Still my favorite Pippa Grant romance!

Reviewed: 10-16-24 Listener received this title free

When I first read The Last Eligible Billionaire a couple of years ago, I declared it one of my top reads of the year, and two and a half years since, it remains my favorite Pippa Grant book. Now, I love listening to audiobooks, but I'm also nitpicky about them because not all stories translate well from the page, digital or otherwise, to the headphones/earphones/speaker. I bit the bullet on the audio of TLEB because of three things: the story (which I already loved), the author (who is a go-to for me), and the narrators (whose work I've enjoyed in the past). And guess what? I have zero regrets!

Virginia Rose and Teddy Hamilton were spot-on choices for Begonia Fairchild and Hayes Rutherford. They brought the love, light, and laughter, and made me fall in love with this romantic comedy all over again. You've got the grumpiness and sunshiny-ness in a fake relationship romance, and while I adore the first trope, I've always been a wee bit wary with the second one. Of course, this is Pippa Grant's storytelling we're talking about, and her writing paired with the narrators' stellar performance made those nine-plus hours feel like I was sitting down with friends listening to their love story. I swooned, I snickered, and I remain simply smitten by The Last Eligible Billionaire. Five-plus stars!

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Take this (audiobook), it's yours (if you want)!

Reviewed: 04-08-24 Listener received this title free

Lili Valente surpassed any and all my expectations with Take Me, I'm Yours. I honestly feel like this is her best work to date. She's a whiz when it comes to her hilarious romantic comedies, but there's just something about this latest standalone of hers that has me smitten. It's swoony and witty and just hits me in the feels. The main characters, Sydney and Gideon, have a decade and a half age gap between them, but it never felt salacious. Add to that the surprising revelation of who Gideon actually is, and it was as if the odds were stacked against these two. So, does true love conquer all or are Sydney and Gideon headed for heartache?

From the get-go, this story had me, and there was simply no way that grip Sydney and Gideon had on my heart was going to slip. That's in large part due to Lili Valente's writing, which just felt so inspired from start to finish. I loved the element of the forbidden, more so the acknowledgment that as hot as things were between them physically, this was true love for both and how they were willing to fight for what they had as a couple. There were pleasant little surprises when it came to the direction the story took, and I'm always a fan of an author who manages to do that, especially in an admittedly crowded genre like romance. Valente also happens to be one of the narrators of this audiobook, and with Ryan West narrating alongside her, they've elevated Take Me, I'm Yours to eargasmic levels. Five-plus stars.

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The reasons I love this audiobook

Reviewed: 02-23-24 Listener received this title free

The grumpy/sunshine trope is one of my favorites when it comes to the romance genre, and when it's done in reverse--aka grumpy FMC and sunshiny MMC--there's an additional interesting aspect in the mix. Aubree and Wyatt were an unlikely couple, and convincing the former to even look at the latter with something other than dislike and distrust, what more saying "yes" to his plan, was entertaining to say the least. But kudos to Wyatt to going above and beyond, and I don't think he was pretending to be someone he wasn't, which was what made him so darn likable. He was genuinely a good guy, and not just a guy pretending to like the girl he needed something from. He and Aubree forged a friendship, and whatever else developed afterwards felt organic to me. Speaking of Aubree, goodness but how this woman made me want to give her a hug--not that I think she would readily accept one from me, and I wouldn't blame her either. There was a wariness to her that I could easily relate to, and having any sort of relationship with her, romantic or otherwise, was one that had to be earned, one step at a time. I loved seeing these two work their way to a happily-ever-after, and the Rowley family and the townsfolk of Almond Bay are adorable. Meghan Quinn makes it way to easy for me to relish these visits to this fictional town and to hope each of the remaining Rowley siblings and whoever their respective persons may be get their happily-ever-afters. And Aaron Shedlock and Stella Hunter? Listening to these two narrate The Reason I Married Him wasn't a chore at all. An entertaining story and spot-on narration are just two of the reasons I love this audiobook and why I'm giving it a solid five stars out of five stars.

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A great listen of an entertaining series

Reviewed: 02-01-24 Listener received this title free

I read Beth Bolden's Kitchen Gods series a few years back, and it was fun being able to experience the friendship group that is Miles, Wyatt, and Xander--plus their respective partners, Evan, Ryan, and Damon, respectively, and Bastian and Kian--one again by way of the audiobook. This is the complete collection, so we've got the four books in the series, Bite Me, Catch Me, Savor Me, and Indulge Me, included. Because it's over 35 hours long, it did take me a few days to finish, but suffice it to say that these kitchen gods were good company while driving to and from home and while stuck in traffic.

If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be Xander and Damon's story (Savor Me), with Bastian and Kian's (Indulge Me) a close second. That doesn't mean that Wyatt and Ryan's (Catch Me) and Miles and Evan's (Bite Me) were anything to sneeze at. As a whole, Kitchen Gods was a fun series to listen to, with the author giving listeners main characters and a core friend group that you want to get to know better. I honestly couldn't think of anyone better than Wyatt Baker to narrate this series, and he did not disappoint one bit. Five stars for performance, four stars for the story, so 4.5 stars overall.

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This hockey rom-com is SO my type! 5+ stars!

Reviewed: 11-30-23 Listener received this title free

I'm doing it. I'm going to play favorites. I know I shouldn't but I can't help myself because Halsey Holmes took a hold of my heart and refuses to give it back. He's Not My Type may be the title of the fourth novel in Meghan Quinn's Vancouver Agitators hockey romance series, but this book, these main characters—heck, the entire recurring cast—and their story are totally my type! Halsey is part of a close-knit group of friends who all happen to be part of the same professional hockey team. His best buds are Pacey Lawes (Kiss and Don't Tell), Eli Hornsby (Those Three Little Words), Silas Taters (Right Man, Right Time), and Levi Posey (book still to come, and I have a feeling his is going to be a doozy!). Halsey's the guy whose life changed after his twin brother, Holden, tragically passed away. He isn't looking for love, and he's not even really searching for a good time with anyone. And then he meets Blakely White, who works for the team's VIP relations and marketing department. He's immediately smitten, but she's got a long-term boyfriend she loves. So, Halsey nurses his crush for a year, and has no intention of ever doing anything about it considering the circumstances. Then those circumstances change, and all it takes is a bit of well-meaning, hilariously boundary-crossing matchmaking from some puck-slinging pals to get things going.

To paraphrase Halsey the singer's lyric from her song "Ghost", what happened to the soul that Halsey the hockey player used to have? Welp, that soul of his came back to life thanks to Blakely, and goodness, but how the romance between these two gave me life! Add to that the friendship group that is Halsey, Pacey, Eli, Silas, and Posey—with special mention to Rivers in the previous books and OC in this new one—because while a lot of the romance series I've read have female friend groups, having as close a friendship as these men have with one another is more of a rarity. The humor, heart, and heat are ever-present—and I'm talking scorching on that last one, people!—but there's a heaviness to the story, and I mean that in a good way. There was angst courtesy of family issues on Halsey's end, but this guy has one heck of a support system, thanks to his girl and his guys. And if you've never been privy to the vocal stylings of the legendary Erin Mallon and the always impressive Connor Crais, then you're in for a treat because these two do justice to Meghan Quinn's stupendous story. Five-plus stars for He's Not My Type. I highly recommend you check out this book, the Vancouver Agitators series, and any stories yet to come!

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