Close to You

A Laurel Heights Novel, Book 2

By: Kathia

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

When Treat Byrnes walks into her bookstore café, Eve Alexander wants to eat him up. Bad boy isn't her usual flavor, but for the sexy contractor, she's willing to take a walk on the wild side.

Treat has a history of falling for damsels in distress, but Eve doesn't need rescuing. Not even when her café is sabotaged. Only when Treat finds out the saboteur is his own mother, he knows he has to do something before things go too far.

©2021 Kathia Zolfaghari (P)2022 Kathia Zolfaghari

Pretty good addition to the series :)

3.5-4 stars

This was a pretty good story. I liked both Treat and Eve and their story was enjoyable.

Eve used to work in marketing for her father but managed to leave that behind to start up her dream coffee/book shop. She has a welcoming place, greets her customers with a smile and bakes wonderful pastries for her customers but she's struggling a bit with making ends meet until the shop starts making a profit. When Eve finds out about an chef (who Eve loves) with a new cookbook coming out that's looking for the right place for a launch party, Eve's convinced that if she can get the launch party to take place at her shop, it'll take her in to solvency.

Treat owns his own construction company and is a good guy. His father died 8 years ago and his mother (Margaret) owns a tea shop locally but Treat worries about her as she hasn't been the same since his dad died. When Treat is at his mother's shop, Margaret asks him to spy on the coffee house across the way as she's worried she's losing customers to the shop. Treat tries to refuse but gets pushed in to it.

Treat goes to the coffee shop and finds that he likes Eve very much. They flirt a bit and Treat tries the coffee and a pastries, even taking a pastries back to his mother afterwards. He is resolute in his refusal not to do any more spying for his mother, telling Margaret that the place is completely different and not a direct competitor of her tea shop (which doesn't just do tea but does proper tea services like you'd see in England and her shop doesn't even open until noon). Regardless of Treat's reassurances, Margaret isn't going to be dissuaded in her belief that Eve's shop will put her out of business. Margaret is also worried about some other money issues due to a downturn in the economy and since she lost her husband she feels her shop is the only thing she has (other than Treat). To be honest, it seemed a bit weird to me that it took Margaret until 8 years after her husband's death to realize her life is nothing but a shop she admits to herself that she really doesn't like and not much else. But maybe it took a while to build up? Anyways...Treat didn't plan to return to Eve's shop but finds that he really wants to see her again (not to mention he loved her coffee and pastries). Treat has a tenancy to be attracted to women that need saving but Treat realize very quickly that Eve is a strong and independent woman that doesn't need him to get by. That doesn't mean that Treat doesn't still want to help her when things get rough. Eve really likes Treat and finds herself looking for him to come in to the shop. She hasn't taken time for romance recently but suddenly Eve's hoping to change that with Treat.

After a few visits in to the shop, Treat asks Eve out and their date goes great. It soon becomes apparent that they're good with each other. The only issue becomes the problems that Eve is having with Margaret, the horrible owner of the tea shop across the street. Eve has had issues with Margaret competing with Eve for the launch party and having fliers for her shop handed out to Eve's customers as they enter and leave her store in order to make trouble for her. Eve has further issues with a rash of bad (and false) Yelp reviews and a false tip to the health department, both of which she can't prove but she thinks are Margaret's fault. Eve doesn't realize that Treat is Margaret's son and shares her issues with him. He's surprised by his mother's actions but realizes that she hasn't been acting like herself recently and has an unhealthy fixation with Eve's shop. Treat tries talking to his mother but she quickly starts avoiding her calls as her actions get worse. Treat is worries about not telling Eve about the fact that Margaret is his mother and intends to tell her but thing keep getting in the way. There's some additional issue caused by Margaret and when everything explodes there's some major drama unloaded. Margaret comes to her senses and realizes that she's hurting people and sets out to fix things. Treat and Eve have some issues to work out but they manage to get past the mis-understandings and come together for their HEA.

This was a very enjoyable story. I liked Eve and Treat a lot and liked their story. Margaret was a real witch (with a B) when she kind of lost her mind for a bit but seemed a decent sort once she got past her brief bout of insanity. Overall the story was good and the only annoying characters was the bad guy (or woman in this case). I'll probably read more of this series in the future. I'd recommend this story. :)

Too short for the money

I love a little romance but this one seemed just a little too short for the money. Too quick due to brevity of novel.

Sweet Romance

What did you love best about Close to You?

I loved the secondary romance in the book. An older woman, who is a widow and really lost in life, lost in fear of being alone and unable to support herself, finds a wonderful man of her age who pursues her dispite her objections. It is very sweet.

What did you like best about this story?

I have read all the Laurel Heights stories. When I saw it was in Audible, I was so excited to hear the narrators take on the characters. I love to listen while I work and this book didn't disappoint me.

Have you listened to any of Xe Sands’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I have not

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There wasn't a reason to cry. It is a fun chic lit that makes you feel good and giggle here and there.

Fun & Quick read

What did you love best about Close to You?

I liked the different views from the characters dealing with their situations & how the relationship progressed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Close to You?

I liked when Treat was trying to comfort Eve & Grant was talking to Margaret.

Have you listened to any of Xe Sands’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I enjoyed Xe Sands's performance & how each character sounded different.

Laugh/Cry/Get aroused

Where does Close to You rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

First

What did you like best about this story?

The persistence of old man pursuing Treat's mother.

What about Xe Sands’s performance did you like?

I have nothing to compare it to but at least she made the story come alive for me.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The sexual interaction between Eve and Treat.

Any additional comments?

This was my first time with an audiobook and even though it took me a while to wrap my imagination around having a female voice in my head, I thoroughly enjoyed it and even posted a recommendation on Facebook. Loved all the characters, even Treat's mother. At least it all worked out in the end. Loved Eve's friend (gonna have to get me some sexy shoes :-) ) This book is a must read, or should I say a must listen. Good job Xe.

Sweet Romance

This was the perfect book for a weekend 'audible rendezvous'. Short, sweet, and just a bit sassy. I wanted to listen to something somewhat lightweight and romantic, and this totally hit the spot. #1 Xe Sands' smoky-smooth-sultry voice is a little intoxicating so that was really enough to put me into a trance which is just what I need after a long week. The storyline is a little predictable, but, it was interesting and funny enough to keep me listening and willing to buy the next one in the series. Looking forward to the next!