5 SMOOCHES!
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SYNOPSIS:
A sexy standalone romance written by #1 NYT Bestselling Author Lauren Blakely and Award-Winning Romance Narrator Joe Arden!
Every man knows there are lines you don’t cross. Like this one — don’t bang your boss’s little sister.
Too bad I didn’t know sexy, clever, irresistible London is related to the guy who signs my paychecks. Would have been helpful to have that intel before I took her out on that first date, before I kissed her on the beach, before I made plans to take her home that night.
But now I know and I’m going to be so damn disciplined. I’m a good guy, after all. And good guys don’t break the golden rules of the bro code. I’m going to follow the f&*k out of all the rules. I won’t break a single damn one.
Even when London asks me to help her with a work project. One that has us working late every night, all alone, in my tiny apartment.
One that tests every ounce of willpower I have.
One that is driving me out of my ever loving mind.
But I resist.
Until the night she issues a challenge I can’t refuse.
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REVIEW:
I’ve read thousands of romance novels over the years, but for whatever reason, I just never got into audiobooks. I think I thought – very mistakenly – that they weren’t going to be my thing. As the 2020 holidays crashed down on me, and I was suddenly dawn-to-dusk busy with preparing to make this holiday season special for my family during a time when it felt anything but. I remember thinking as I was wrapping presents how all of this would be better if someone was reading me a story. Cue the lightbulb moment followed by a scramble to my phone for a quick install of the Audible app and my first audiobook download. I went with my gut and chose one of my favorite authors, one whose writing has never let me down, one known as audiobook trailblazer, and I chose one of her books that I already knew and loved. I chose Lauren Blakely’s Good With His Hands. After that maiden voyage, I quickly downloaded two more books and I devoured all three in under less than three days. So I’m here now, an admittedly new but enthusiastic audiobook lover, and I’m not going anywhere—I’m officially a fan.
How to Get Lucky is the first co-written novel from Lauren Blakely and Joe Arden, a fan-favorite audio narrator. Blakely and Arden have a significant catalog of successful projects (that I’m chomping at the bit to get in my ears!), and you could feel the natural, easy collaboration between them bleeding into their seamless storytelling. For his debut novel, Arden and Blakely crafted a story that played to Joe’s strengths as a narrator and that felt like it was written for his voice. The result was absolutely fantastic, and Arden captured the essence of the hero, Teddy, and brought him to life. Joined by Erin Mallon, Emma Wilder and Maxine Mitchell, Blakely and Arden crafted a story that was as mesmerizing as it was entertaining. I listened to the whole book straight through, start to finish, in a single go. I couldn’t stop, I didn’t want to stop even as I was yawning at nearly 4 AM.
As every great romance should, London and Teddy’s story starts off with a spark. Magnetic attraction, witty and playful banter, and a connection. My heart kicked at that moment, and this couple’s sweet, romantic, desperately sexy love story offered many opportunities for it to race. Teddy was just such a good guy. He had a backstory that left its mark on him and formed the basis for the way he conducted himself. He was honest about it, he was loyal and I loved him from the start. London was feisty and ambitious, she was focused on her career and respected Teddy’s position. The problem was that the heart wants what the heart wants, and their chemistry was just so undeniable, and drew them to each other time and time again. I loved it, I loved that pull between them, that frantic urgency, the drumbeat of desire thumping constantly between them. I also loved how naturally and maturely they communicated with each other. This was a couple who talked to each other about what they were thinking and feeling, and as a result, there were no misunderstandings and no unnecessary drama.
How to Get Lucky was a wonderfully written and masterfully narrated romantic comedy, and it was another example of the magic that Blakely and Arden create together. A forbidden workplace romance, Teddy and London’s light-hearted, feel-good love story was a blends heat, heart and humor with interesting side characters and endearing main characters into a story that charmed me from the first chapter. Five smooches from me for How to Get Lucky by Lauren Blakely and Joe Arden!
~Danielle Palumbo
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