Reviewer: Holly & Rowena
Wanderlust by Lauren Blakely
Narrator: Grace Grant, Richard Armitage
Series: Part Time Lover #1
Also in this series: Part-Time Lover
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: March 20, 2018
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 338
Length: 8 hours and 46 minutes
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Series Rating:

From #1 NYT bestselling author Lauren Blakely comes a sexy new standalone romance!

The first time I met him, his sexy British accent almost talked me into giving him my number on the spot. The second time, he nearly charmed the panties off me with his wit. Then I learned he's the key to success in my new job in Paris. The man who tempts me into fling-worthy dirty daydreams has turned out to be my personal translator, and his accent is the hottest thing I've ever heard.My mantra is simple -- Don't mix business with pleasure. I do my best to resist him as he teaches me how to converse with my co-workers, navigate the metro and order the perfect bottle of wine at dinner. But I also figure out how to tell the charming and clever man what I most want to say -- that I want him to take me back to his flat -- tonight. Except there's a catch...

***One more assignment before I take off on my big adventure...

And it involves the toughest work ever -- resisting the fetching American woman I spend all my days with. But you know what they say about best intentions. Soon, we're spending our nights tangled together, and I don’t want to let her go. The trouble is, my wanderlust is calling to me, and before we know it I'll be traveling the globe to fulfill a promise I made long ago.

What could possibly go wrong with falling in love in Paris? Nothing...unless one of you is leaving.

Holly: Rowena and I are both relatively new to listening to audiobooks. Personally, I prefer to listen only when I’m unable to read, i.e., in the car, at work, etc. This month Rowena suggested we listen to a full audio for our Joint Review and we settled on Wanderlust because Richard Armitage narrates the hero’s POV. Let me just say, he was worth it. ::dreamy sigh:: Grace Grant narrates for the heroine, and she did a great job as well.

I feel like we need to talk about Richard Armitage first. Because holy mama, his voice is so effing sexy.

Rowena: This was the first book that I listened to from beginning to end without any lengthy breaks and Richard Armitage was the reason. He did a fabulous job as Griffin and made the listening experience such a pleasure. Man, that accent. swoon

Holly: Right? Lord, every time his voice came up I was all melty. Joy, the heroine of the book, says something in the beginning about how devastating British accents are to her. I didn’t totally agree until RA started talking. Whew.

Rowena: Same. I didn’t know I had a thing like that for a British accent but I do now…haha.

Holly: Anyway, the story. Joy is ready for some major changes in her life, so when her company offers her a year-long position in France, she jumps at the chance to get out of Texas and expand her horizons. Her first day on her own in Paris she runs into the sexiest man she’s ever met…and he just happens to be British, her personal accent kryptonite. He turns out to be witty and funny and she really wants to get to know him better. When they run into each other again, she knows it’s kismet…except it turns out he’s actually her new translator at work. She can’t risk mixing business and pleasure, so she resolves to remain just friends.

Griffin is working as a translator in Paris while saving up for his next big adventure – running a marathon in Bali, then continuing to travel the world. He isn’t in a place to settle into a relationship with anyone, but the hot American he meets at a pastry shop sure does tempt him. Joy is right to put that on hold since they’ll be working together, but staying away from each other is hard when they spend all their time together and their chemistry is off the charts.

I thought this was a really cute story. I loved the premise and the way their friendship developed over time.

Rowena: Great recap of the story. I thought this was a cute story, too. The flirty sparks, in the beginning, were too cute and I really liked seeing Griffin and Joy’s friendship that just continued to grow with each passing day. The narrators were fantastic and it was super easy to fall into the story with them. I think of all the narrators that I’ve listened to so far, they’re both my favorites.

Holly: The main conflict, aside from the fact that Griffin is Joy’s translator at work, is that Griffin has plans to travel the world and Joy is pretty grounded in Paris for at least a year. I thought it worked pretty well. Watching their friendship grow and deepen, I kept wondering how they were going to work it out. I thought Griffin was so sweet, wanting to see Joy succeed. I also thought it was great that Joy didn’t want to hold Griffin back from achieving his dreams.

Rowena: I felt the same way. I really enjoyed seeing their friendship blossom. I mean, sure, they were hella attracted to each other but they didn’t let them get in the way of their working relationship and they genuinely cared for each other. I really dug that. I wasn’t sure how Blakely was going to make everything okay without one of them giving something important to them up but I thought she handled their situation well.

Holly: I also really liked the friendships they had outside each other. Griffin hung out with his mate, Christian, and Joy spent time with her girl, Elise. They didn’t have to be in each other’s pockets all the time. They wanted to spend time together, yes, but they also had interests away from each other. This felt like a mature, adult romance. I loved it.

Rowena: This was definitely one of those straight up contemporary romances where there wasn’t any of that annoying drama that seem to plague younger characters and I liked that. I liked that two consenting adults got to know each other, enjoyed each other, fell in love and then tried to figure out how to be together. I loved that they were each going through something, had decisions to make and were genuine in their feelings for themselves, those around them and each other. This was just a sweet romance all around.

Holly: Exactly. It was two adults figuring out how to have a relationship as adults. I loved it.

Rowena: And their sexual chemistry was off the charts. Griffin put it down in bed and with Richard’s accent, I had to keep fanning myself because damn boy!!!

Holly: OMG, his accent during their sex scenes had me all kinds of warm. At one point he says something like “I have orgasms to give you” and I was like, “you sure do!”

Rowena: LOL, yep. If I was Joy, I never would have left the bed. We would have permanently worked from home.

Is this the first book that you’ve read by Blakely?

Holly: This is my first book by Blakely, but it won’t be the last. I already have two more in my TBB list. What about you?

Rowena: I read one other book by Blakely but feel like I have plenty of her older releases in my TBR pile. I will definitely be checking them out.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars, what about you?

Holly: I’m giving it a 4 out of 5 as well. Though I think I might have to give Richard Armitage 5 out of 5 for his narration. Because, damn son.

Rowena: Yes, Richard Armitage gets 5 out of 5 stars!!

Holly’s Grade: 4 out of 5
Rowena’s Grade: 4 out of 5

Part Time Lover