A Real Good Bad Thing

By: Lauren Blakely

Narrated by: Stella Hunter, Ryan West

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Enemies turn to lovers, but can they trust each other as they chase the same prize? A sexy romantic comedy adventure from number one NYT best seller Lauren Blakely....

I live my life by three simple rules. Don’t mix business with pleasure. Always work solo. And family comes first.

But when I head to the tropics for a quick job and meet a fiery woman who makes my pulse roar, I can’t resist bending the first rule for her.

Trouble is, after we spend a scorching night together on the beach, I discover she’s my new enemy. The quick-witted and clever beauty is on a treasure hunt for the same damn prize—beating me in a race to find millions in stolen diamonds.

See you later, sexy stranger.

Too bad I keep bumping into my gorgeous rival all over this tropical paradise as we chase clues.

Maybe it’s better to partner up. But the more time we spend together sneaking into nightclubs and art galleries, the harder it is to keep my hands off her. And soon, I'm not just sleeping with my very irresistible enemy.

I’m starting to give her my heart.

That breaks my biggest rule of all. Don’t ever fall in love. Because it always screws you over.

©2023 Lauren Blakely Books (P)2023 Lauren Blakely Books

Exhilarating, suspenseful and sexy story!

Blakely has done it again! She has given us an exhilarating, suspenseful and sexy story that captures you from page one and never lets go. Jake Hawkins is a rugged, former soldier who is now a 'Recovery Specialist'. He uses the skills he learned in army intelligence to recover stolen property for the rightful owners while raising and supporting his younger siblings. Ruby Ashley is re-building her eco-adventure tour company in vacation spots around the equator after her ex boyfriend nearly destroyed it. Ruby is sweet but brave and adventurous and never backs down from a challenge. When she learns that her step father, Eli, may have embezzled money, she is determined to uncover the truth. When she and Jake meet by chance in a bar over darts, the sparks begin to fly. Their banter is clever, and filled with hot, sexy innuendo. They can't deny their chemistry but have a hard time completely trusting each other. When they realize they are after the same man, they agree to team up. They have fun working in tandem, assembling the clues they uncover. But will their individual motives for the truth cause them to betray one another despite their passionate attraction? Jake and Ruby are wonderful characters. They are both smart, caring, and playful yet they challenge each other making them so perfect together. Blakely expertly introduces us to the other players in this mystery and reveals just enough clues to keep you turning the pages without making it predictable and lifeless. This allows the story to be all about the thrill of uncovering clues, the excitement of the chase, the fun and sexy banter, and the intense and fiery passion.
Stella Hunter and Ryan West are fabulous as Ruby and Jake. They easily deliver all the excitement, emotion, wit, and steam, as they bring these characters and story to life so beautifully. I loved every moment and was completely captivated from start to finish and possibly beyond?

Fun Story

This book takes a duet she wrote a long time ago and changes things to first person and changes the caper about some. I listened to those books a long time ago so not too much of this story felt familiar which was nice.


The story seemed to drag on a bit though and I had some trouble staying involved with it for a few days. I picked it back up yesterday with the desire to finish though and the story finished strong.

It was super interesting how Ruby ended up getting the closure from Eli that she needed as well as how she found a caper partner and a life partner in the process of finding this closure.

This gem was narrated by Ryan West and Stella Hunter.

Ryan has a yummy voice and such a good rhythm to his speaking! Deep and gruff!

Stella is just phenomenal! I love her soft sweet voice and cadence is perfection

I loved it!

Wow! I loved it! Jake and Ruby's story is fun, engaging, and heartwarming, filled with mystery and intrigue. I liked this enemies to lovers romance, filled with banter, slow burn, passion, and romance. Stella Hunter and Ryan West did an excellent job bringing this story to life. They are perfect as Jake and Ruby. The audio production is perfect. This audiobook is very pleasant to listen to. I enjoyed it.

Fun, romantic, & sexy!

A Real Good Bad Thing by Lauren Blakely is a romantic comedy with a mystery/suspense to the storyline. This story is a rewrite and better characterization of the characters from Lauren Blakely’s The Sapphire Affair duet. Jake and Ruby are so fun. I really enjoyed their story. Stella Hunter and Ryan West do a fantastic job of bringing these characters alive for your hearing enjoyment. If you enjoy Lauren Blakey books, Stella Hunter, and Ryan West as narrators then you can’t go wrong with A Real Bad Thing whether you're reading or listening to Jake and Ruby’s story. Enjoy!

Caper and meet cute

I disliked that the bonus epilogue wasn't included on the audiobook. I liked the the twist and turns of the diamond recovery with numerous people involved and that ruby saw Eli's true colors and was able to help her mom in the end, and I'm assuming an engagement in the epilogue that I now gave to go search on line somewhere, which I'll probably forget, so I'm just gonna guess it's a HEA! Just wished I could have enjoyed it along with the story narration. Something to consider in the future. Overall a great story!

Lauren Blakely just knows how to tell a story.

Lauren Blakely does it again! Her books are always an instant read for me, and I was fortunate to get an ARC for this one, but I also wanted to listen to it, so I waited to post my review. It doesn't disappoint in either written or audio form!


Jake and Ruby meet by chance, and they are both after the same goal. Sort of. Her stepdad left her mom high and dry financially, and he also allegedly stole some money from a former business partner. Jake is a pro at his job as a recovery specialist, and Ruby is just trying to help her mom get back on her feet. They meet, and it all goes wild.

Like any other LB book, this is full of laughs, witty banter, and steamy scenes.

A solid 4.25, and I'm always eagerly awaiting her next release!

The audio version is perfectly cast, as well! I wasn't familiar with the narrators on this one, but they certainly didn't disappoint.

Thrilling, steamy and seductive

This was a little different from past Lauren Blakely books and I enjoyed it so much! “A Real Good Bad Thing” is a thrilling, steamy and seductive enemies to lovers to partners rom-com suspense that was a great listen.

There’s a treasure hunt for some stolen diamonds, two people are after them and for different reasons. Ruby believes that they belonged to her former stepdad and that they should be for her mom whom he wronged in the past. Jake is a recovery specialist who was hired to recover them. The two meet on the beach one night and have an incredible time together. And both are equally shocked when they realize they are after the same treasures. They quickly figure out that they should work together to recover the diamonds and the chemistry they had the first night is still very much there.

I was excited to dive into this book because it was an old book that was no longer available. It has been revamped and it’s great. I loved Ruby from the beginning. She’s genuine, caring, and her drive to bring her business back to its former glory. Jake was a bit of a mystery at first, which I loved, and he opened up as the story went on. The chemistry between the two was apparent from the start and only grew stronger throughout the story. And their banter was great and had me laughing several times. The action of trying to find the diamonds had me even more invested in the story as they worked together.

Stella Hunter and Ryan West brought this story to life perfectly and I enjoyed their performances so much. Stella is always a pleasure to listen to and she was the perfect choice for Ruby. Ryan was great as Jake and his deep tone voice was exactly who I would have picked to narrate Jake.

Ryan West not the right narrator

Mr. West does not sound like he's in his 20's or 30's as the cover indicates. In fact he sounds like a dirty, old man. haha. maybe that's the point. Would have liked a younger sounding man. Better for the story.

Fun romantic suspense!

I really enjoy a romantic suspense story. Lauren delivers on this one, once again! Jake & Ruby are *chef’s kiss* I hadn’t read the original book so I can’t compare what was reworked but I really loved this story. The narrators were perfection, as usual! Lauren always gets the best ones!

Loved this romance with a suspenseful twist

This is one of my favorite Lauren books. I loved the suspense aspect that is something we don’t normally get from her and I just couldn’t get enough. I was kept on my toes for the entire book. I also listened to the audio and loved Stella Hunter and Ryan West’s narration. I couldn’t have asked for better narrators for this story.

Jake and Ruby met by chance but they ended being the perfect partners for the mission they were both out to complete. They needed some truths from Ruby’s stepfather, Eli. Truths that were very hard to come by. Neither knew who they could trust but they hoped that they could trust each other. But that trust is put to the test with all the twists and turns brought within this story.

I loved how it all played out and couldn’t ask for a better story. I really hope Lauren will give us more stories like this in the future.