Narrator: Andi Arndt

Review: Say It’s Forever by A.L. Jackson

Posted May 16, 2022 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Say It’s Forever by A.L. JacksonReviewer: Casee
Say It's Forever by A. L. Jackson
Narrator: Andi Arndt, Joe Arden
Series: Redemption Hills #2
Also in this series: Give Me a Reason, Promise Me Always
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: March 28, 2022
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 414
Length: 11 hours and 33 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

Jud Lawson found me stranded in the rain.
Broken down on the side of the road in a deserted neighborhood with my piece of crap car.
I wasn't looking for a hero, and definitely not one who looks like him.
An obscenely hot, mountain-of-a-man who screams danger.
But I have little choice other than climbing onto the back of his bike.

One look at Salem Aguilar, and I'm hooked.
The girl is devastation wrapped in a black, seductive bow.
A knockout.
A dream.
Turns out, she needs a job, and I need the help.
Now I have a vixen strutting around my shop, and I'm the fool who's itching to reach out and take what he can't have.

But neither of us can ignore the burning attraction.
The fire that leads to a kiss.
A kiss that has us falling into my bed.
The connection that has me wanting the one thing I'd never thought I could have again.
Because monsters like me don't deserve love.

Only Salem has a secret, too.
She's been running for years, and her past just caught up to us...

Salem Aguilar is on the run from a husband that wants her dead. After four years of running, her brother talked her into coming to Redemption Hills & starting over. To say that Salem is nervous about staying in one place is an understatement. She has been on the run for so long, it’s hard for her to stay in one place for very long. It was a rainy night when her car broke down and her knight came to the rescue. Initially she’s very wary of Jud, which isn’t surprising. She learns that not only is a he a good person, but he is a genuinely good human. That doesn’t mean she’ll take a handout, so she talks Jud into letting her work for him in his office.

Jud is tortured af. He lost the thing that meant the most to him in this world. For years he’s been waiting, hoping that his ex-wife will bring his daughter back to him. Letting Salem and her little girl into his life is something that he is very leery of, but he can’t stay away from Salem anymore than he can stop himself from loving her little girl.

I read this book when it first came out, then I listened to it on audio. Andi Arndt & Joe Arden are two of my favorite narrators, so I was really excited to listen to it. It didn’t disappoint, in fact the audio was better. I really feel that I’m not doing this book justice in this review. It’s been a minute since I read it, but I still remember that it stayed with me for days after. Salem is such a strong female character. She’s been keeping herself & her daughter safe for the last four years. Jud wants to take some of the burden off her, but she doesn’t know how to let him.

I loved Jud & Salem together. I loved being able to see Trent, Eden, Gage, & Logan. I am so excited for Logan’s book!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Redemption Hills

four-half-stars

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Review: Getting Real by Emma Chase

Posted January 12, 2022 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Getting Real by Emma ChaseReviewer: Holly
Getting Real by Emma Chase
Narrator: Andi Arndt, Zachary Webber
Series: Getting Some #3
Also in this series: Getting Schooled (Getting Some, #1), Getting Schooled (Getting Some, #1), Getting Played , Getting Played, Getting Schooled
Publisher: Audible Original
Publication Date: January 24, 2022
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible Plus
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 300
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

A sexy, hilarious, emotional, new romance from New York Times bestselling author Emma Chase.

Connor Daniels never thought he’d be starting over at dating square one. His career as a successful doctor, and his three boys, are everything to him. It’s not exactly a set-up conducive to a scorching love life—but he’s giving it a shot.

ER nurse Violet Robinson never intended for Connor to find out she’s had a crush on him forever. It was a dirty little secret only meant for her dirty dreams. Her heart trips every time he’s around—and so do her feet.

When Connor sees Violet coasting across the grocery store parking lot—and she falls on her face—he starts falling for the gorgeous, young nurse right back.

Dating can be tricky. And life can be beautiful and crazy and unpredictable. But when it gets real, you discover what matters most . . . and the one person you want loving you through it all.

Getting Real (Getting Some #3) by Emma Chase is an Audible Original (meaning it’s available in Audio First) and features Connor Daniels, an ER doctor. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, but I wasn’t super excited for this book. I didn’t love Connor in the other books and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about him as the main character. I’m glad I listened to it, however. He was wonderful, and I really enjoyed him as a doctor, father and love interest. I loved how open and honest he was (with a few exceptions) and how quick he was to reassure Violet when she needed it. He was an adult and he acted like it, which was very refreshing.

I also enjoyed Violet. She was down-to-earth and had a great sense of humor. She was also steady as they come and a great fit for Connor and his family.

The narrators were both wonderful and really brought the story to life.

This was just a feel good story. I was all warm and fuzzy when I finished, and I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters.

4.5 out of 5

Getting Some

four-half-stars

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Review: Reckless Memories by Catherine Cowles

Posted November 17, 2021 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Reckless Memories by Catherine CowlesReviewer: Casee
Reckless Memories by Catherine Cowles
Narrator: Andi Arndt, Joe Arden
Series: Wrecked #1
Also in this series: Perfect Wreckage
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: May 12, 2020
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 330
Length: 8 hours and 38 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Casee's 2021 Goodreads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

I loved him before I knew what the word meant. From skinned knees to first dates and everything in between. But he was never mine to love. I settled for friendship, even though I always wanted more.
That was before. Before he ripped my world apart and didn’t bother sticking around to help me pick up the pieces. I knit every last shred back together all on my own. And I’ve all but forgotten his name.
Now, he’s back, and everything is torn apart once more. But he’s not the only one doing the tearing this time. And there might be no stopping the person who has it out for us both.

Ford, Bell, and Violet were like the Three Musketeers. They did everything together. Bell tagged along with them most of the time. When Violet died in a horrible accident, Ford fled Anchor Island. All he could think about what that it was his fault. His fault that he killed his girlfriend. His fault that his best friend is in the hospital. Never mind that a deer ran into the road. He’s at fault.

When Ford left after Violet died, Bell was destroyed. Devastation doesn’t even begin to cover what she felt when she found out that her sister died and she lost Ford. It’s taken her a long time to find peace with the situation, but she does find it. When Hunter calls Ford to tell him he needs to return to Anchor to help the family business, Bell is once again torn apart. It’s taken her a long time and much soul searching to find her happiness.

I don’t generally care for the dead girlfriend’s little sister trope. I think it’s pretty cliché. Catherine Cowles definitely made it work in this case. Ford and Bell weren’t just best friends; they shared the same soul. It’s all very Megan Fox/MGK minus the blood. Their relationship began when Bell was so young. To Ford, she was a part of him.

These characters were just so well-rounded. When Ford arrives back on Anchor, he is forced to confront how his decisions back then how it wrecked Bell. He’s determined to win her back (friendship at this point) which means he needs to look inward to finally figure out why he left everyone he loved.

This was my first book by this author and I’m really looking forward to reading the series. Yay for new-to-me authors!

Rating: 4.25 out of 5.

Wrecked

four-half-stars

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Review: Pause by Kylie Scott

Posted July 5, 2021 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Pause by Kylie ScottReviewer: Holly
Pause by Kylie Scott
Narrator: Andi Arndt
Publisher: Audible Originals
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible Plus
Point-of-View: First Person
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 6
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Holly's 2021 Goodreads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars

An unpauseable new romance from New York Times bestselling, Audie Award winning author Kylie Scott!

When Anna wakes up from a coma after a car crash, she discovers life has gone on without her. Her husband has been unfaithful—with her best friend—and she’s been long since replaced at work. While her old life is a distant memory, her new life feels like an empty shell. Then she meets the stranger who saved her life during the crash, and he changes everything.

Leif Larsen—tattooist, joker, and player—has his own scars thanks to the crash that put Anna in a coma. Helping her move on from her failed marriage, and create a new life, sounds like a perfect distraction. So when he needs a new roommate, he invites Anna to begin her new life with him.

Although their lives may have been put on pause, together they just might find a way to heal.

Pause, an Audible first release, follows Kylie Scott’s hit novel, Repeat. This is the story of Leif, Ed’s brother. He was an engaging character in Repeat and I’m so glad we got a story for him. I was a little disappointed that this is told strictly in first person from Anna’s POV. I would have loved to see more of Leif and explored more of his trauma from the previous book. As it was, he felt like a totally different character than the one we met in Repeat. I was pretty bummed about that. That’s not to say I didn’t like him, because I did. He was funny and real. He didn’t hide from hard truths, or try to shy away from his friendship with Anna. He was also dealing with some trauma from

I was immediately pulled into the story. Anna’s issues and the betrayal she suffered had me all in, but as the story went on I became less enamored of her and her struggles. Especially since the focus of the story was her attraction to – and relationship with – Leif. I’d have liked to see her focus more on figuring herself out after all the major changes that came about in her life. I wanted to see her focus on dealing with being in a coma for 7 months and the demise of her marriage as a result more than I wanted to read about her waffling over her attraction to Leif.

Still, I loved their friendship and how open they were with each other. I also enjoyed the story as a whole. It’s just hard not to compare it to Repeat (a very rare 5 star read for me) and find it wanting.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

four-stars

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Review: Lick by Kylie Scott

Posted March 3, 2021 by Casee in Reviews | 4 Comments

Review: Lick by Kylie ScottReviewer: Casee
Lick by Kylie Scott
Narrator: Andi Arndt
Series: Stage Dive #1
Also in this series: Lick: Stage Dive 1, Lead: Stage Dive 3, Lick (Stage Dive #1), Play, Deep
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: July 1, 2013
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: First Person
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Length: 8 hours, 37 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Casee's 2021 Goodreads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Waking up in Vegas was never meant to be like this.

Evelyn Thomas's plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure as hell never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened.

One thing is for certain, being married to rock and roll's favorite son is sure to be a wild ride.

After waking up in Vegas, Evelyn Thomas has no idea why she’s woken up in a strange man’s room. She has little memory of the night before. Evelyn is then informed by the stranger that not only did they meet the night before, but they also got married. Evelyn freaks out and leaves. She wants nothing to do with a marriage to someone she doesn’t even remember. She has an upcoming internship that she does not want to jeopardize. She heads home from Vegas not knowing that her new husband is one of the most famous rockstars in the world. It becomes apparent that nothing will ever be the same in Evelyn’s life after this. Her internship is canceled and she has no job. The only thing she can do is hope that staying with her husband for awhile will quiet the press and they can get an amicable annulment.

It’s obvious that David has never had such a strong connection to someone. It’s also apparent that he is deeply hurt by the fact that Ev doesn’t remember their night together, their elopement, their matching tattoos. I really enjoyed David. A lot. He was such a great hero. Which is why I don’t know why he ended up with Evelyn. She was pretty awful. And she didn’t get better.

After about two days of being together they decide to give their marriage a try. They like each other, the sex is good, etc. I still couldn’t like Evelyn. She just treated David like crap with her wishy-washy attitude. There wasn’t a lot of redemption for how she treated David from the beginning. I honestly don’t know why David wanted to stay married to her. Honestly the reason I even liked this book a little was because of David. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. The secondary characters were very interesting and I can’t wait to learn more about them.

I listened to this book on audio. It was really good. I wish we had David’s POV, but Scott did an amazing job of getting his emotions across the page to the reader. Just like in her book Repeat she doesn’t need the hero’s POV because she writes such a good story.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Stage Dive

three-half-stars

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