The Bluff

Love Stories in Sheet Cake Sweet Rom Com Series, Book 2

By: Emma St. Clair

Narrated by: Meg Sylvan, Aaron Shedlock

Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

I won't be winning any employee of the year awards, but only because my boss is the grumpy boss to end all grumpy bosses.

Did I mention he doesn't trust me to do my job? Challenge accepted.

Not only am I going to help James launch a successful brewery, but I'm going to find out what makes him tick...and what makes him go boom. All this has nothing to do with the fact that the man is unbearably, unfairly, unignorably (is that a word?) attractive. Or that he lost his mom when he was young, same as me.

The more he pushes me away, the more I'm pulled into his orbit. It's a battle of stubborn wills, and I don't plan to concede anytime soon. Except the more time I spend around James Graham, the more I start to lose the one thing I refuse to give to any man: my heart.

The Bluff is an enemies to lovers, grumpy boss rom-com set in the fictional small town of Sheet Cake Texas. You'll find plenty of laughs and sizzling chemistry in this closed door romantic comedy. It's the second in a series, but can be listened to as a standalone.

©2022 Emma St. Clair (P)2023 Podium Audio

Funny & Sweet story

First, this was an excellent performance. Meg Sylvan does a wonderful job. Her intonation, distinct character voices, and the way she embraces the personality of each character brings the story to life. Aaron Shedlock is also talented.
We all saw this story coming after the first book in the series, and Emma does not disappoint. Multi-dimensional characters, who you can relate to, fill the story.

Bonus, this story still has heat without any bedroom scenes or vulgar language.

Absolutely Wonderful!

Swoony, sweet, squeal-inducing. I don’t even know what else to say other than, I LOVED IT!! 😍Another easy five stars for Emma St Clair.

Top 10

This book was Enticing, exciting ,funny. I enjoyed this book so much thank you. I look forward for the next one.

Fun Addition to the Series!

Well, I listened to the audio book of this one (great narrators), just like for book one, and I loved it! It was great to return to the Sheet Cake community that we were introduced to in The Buy-In. This time it was James and Winnie's story.

There was great banter in this one and some really heart tugging moments, especially when James would overreact after getting overwhelmed and end up saying something that caused hurt toward Winnie. He had quite a bit of groveling to do throughout the book.

I really liked these two together, and even though James struggled with accepting help and becoming especially grumpy when things felt like more than he could handle, he did have a good heart that eventually did shine through.

The Audio Makes the Book Even Better

WHAT IT'S ABOUT
I won't be winning any employee of the year awards. But only because my boss is the grumpy boss to end all grumpy bosses. Did I mention he doesn't trust me to do my job?

Challenge accepted.

Not only am I going to help James launch a successful brewery, but I'm going to find out what makes him tick ... and what makes him go boom.

All this has nothing to do with the fact that the man is unbearably, unfairly, unignorably (is that a word?) attractive. Or that he lost his mom when he was young, same as me.

The more he pushes me away, the more I'm pulled into his orbit. It's a battle of stubborn wills, and I don't plan to concede anytime soon.

Except the more time I spend around James Graham, the more I start to lose the one thing I refuse to give to any man ... my heart.

MY TAKE
I read this book as an ebook when it first came out. I'm a huge audiobook lover, so when the audio version came out, I had to grab a copy of that too. Oh, my! The duo narrators--Meg Sylvan and Aaron Shedlock--do a fabulous job bringing the characters to life. Their performances made me love this book even more!

Now about the story. One of the things I love about a series is getting updated on the characters we came to love in earlier books. And get to know really well some of the sides characters from those previous stories. I'd already fallen in love with the Graham family from Harper's story, but getting to see two of the brothers find their life partners has been so swoony.

Each of the brothers are so different, and challenges go deep. St. Clair has a gift for delving into the tender places her characters are trying so hard to keep from getting wounded again. And she manages to show the sizzling attraction the characters have for each other and still keep it clean.

I knew James would be deep. The grumpy people I've known IRL have been just what I described above. People who've been hurt and are afraid of being hurt again. Add to that James's introversion, it really makes sense. He and Winnie really are perfect for each other, the way they fill in the shortcomings for each other. And it's adorable that she loves rather than resents when he goes all cave man when he feels like she's threatened.

Another winner!

Makes you smile

This is such a fantastic story, it will keep you laughing and smiling,just what a great rom-com should do. And listening on audio was awesome, get thinks done with a smile on your face.

Great story!!

The second book in the series doesn’t disappoint! James and Winnie have chemistry that can’t be denied. The Graham family will draw you in and you won’t want to leave Sheetcake. The narrators are fabulous!! A must listen.

Leaves you feeling happy!

Sweet clean love story with some seriously funny conversations! I was laughing so hard my husband was concerned! The narration was perfect! They totally fit the characters!

Love this book

I love this book and this author!! Also, really loved the narration!! Excited to listen to the next book in this series!!

Good

A very enjoyable read. Loved the male voice. I needed more conflict resolution at the end but overall, great!