What Hurts Us

Falls Creek, Book 1

By: Maggie Gates

Narrated by: Samantha Brentmoor, Bryant Walker

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Asking Layla Mousavi to be my fake fiancé wasn’t the weirdest thing I had done this week. It didn’t even crack the top ten. Not when my days were filled with escaped pigs, radioactive casseroles, and cow-induced car crashes.

The population of Falls Creek, North Carolina, is a collective menace to society. Layla thought the first line of her orientation packet was a joke, but she soon realized it was all facts. After only a few hours on the job, the whip-smart flight nurse found herself flying headfirst into small-town drama.

Police Officer Callum Fletcher needs a fiancé, and he needs one fast.

His best option? The alluring nurse who had put him back together after one of his worst days on the force. She was the new girl in town and needed a place to stay.

The elusive bachelor could handle a temporary roommate if she could handle a town full of gossiping busybodies, his meddling grandma, and a former date who still had her sights set on being the future Mrs. Fletcher.

The only problem?

Layla Mousavi doesn’t date cops anymore. Especially ones with commitment issues the size of a Ferris wheel.

©2022 Maggie Gates (P)2024 Blue Nose Publishing

They brought this book to life!

Oh my sweet goodness! I cannot even explain in words how well this audiobook was done. I am speechless. The voice actors did a phenomenal job of portraying the characters, and went above and beyond to bring this book to life.
New girl in town, Layla, was hoping to lay low. Work, eat, sleep, repeat. No drama, no stress, and absolutely no romantic relationships- especially with cops.
Enter grumpy, city police, Officer Callum Fletcher... Well, more like Layla saved Callum- in more ways than one. Callum will do anything to get out of the Falls Creek Date Auction, however it's mandatory, UNLESS you are engaged or married. Luck seems to be on his side, because new girl in town, might just be his way out of the auction this year. IF she agrees to be his fake fiancé...
Maybe saying no to Callum would have been a lot easier if he wasn't so easy on the eyes and broody, and Callum might not have fallen for Layla if she wasn't so breathtakingly brilliant. But without a doubt, or hesitation, these two are perfect for each other. Two broken pasts get a chance at a whole future in this small town romance, and we have no one else to blame/thank but Brandie Jean.

Great Story & Narration🎧 Riveting & Heartfelt!

This is a fabulous small town romance novel, a fake engagement romance where neither were looking for a relationship or for love, but it finds them, regardless of their resistance or how hard they fight it. This is my first book written by Maggie Gates and I enjoyed her writing style and how easy it was to relate to her characters and storylines. The story drew me right in and not only captivating my attention the entire time, but it tugged at my heartstrings, too. Layla Mousavi worked her butt off specializing in trauma and emergency care to become a flight nurse, and she landed her first job in Falls Creek, North Carolina. Her first call out was aiding Police Officer Callum Fletcher, injured while on a call, and after they sedated him, he thought he was being abducted by aliens. Callum recovers and returns to work weeks later. When reminded of the annual bachelor auction and who plans on bidding on him again, he looked for ways to get out of it and came up with the fake engagement idea. Now he just needs to find a fiancé and he knows exactly who to ask, the new girl in town, but she already turned him down when he asked her to go out with him, then the perfect opportunity comes up to ask her. Layla does not want to date another police officer, the last one she dated broke her heart, but when the apartment she rented has an issue and there are no vacancies elsewhere Callum’s plan, a pretend engagement for a place to live while her apartment is being worked on. Layla agrees and goes all in, so it is believable to his family and the nosy townsfolk. I  thought those two were great together and for each other, and it was great to watch them get to know each other and see their relationship morph into something more. Callum had some issues and inner demons to deal with, self-worth issues, but Layla sees him, and really gets him. I loved how everything played out in this book, the story is entertaining and has the perfect balance of drama, angst, witty dialogue and humor, heartfelt emotions and steamy romance. Maggie Gates, thank you for this fabulous story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 Samantha Brentmoor and Bryant Walker were the perfect cast to bring these characters to life and do so with a complete understanding of who they are, giving each a voice that is fitting and believable. Both nailed it in their roles as the two leads, and all the secondary characters, too. They set the perfect tone for the story, handled the banter and witty dialogue with ease, landing the humor effortlessly. You could hear how much heart they put into their performance as they capture all the characters’ emotions and have you feeling each one. These two made a great team, their voices complemented each other and their performance elevates this already wonderful story to another level. Thank you for another fabulous listen.  

What a swoon worthy love story!

4.5 Stars

MY FIRST MAGGIE GATES BOOK AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

What Hurts Us is the first book in the Falls Creek Series and follows Layla and Callum. I usually don't like reading fake dating/engagement or marriage of convenience but this was so enjoyable.

From the moment Callum saw Layla he knew she was special. Layla is a flight nurse and Callum is an officer who was injured and Layla answered the call. Layla swore off dating all cops and said no the first couple times Callum asked her out.

Maggie has a beautiful writing style! There was incredible banter, the found family of a small town and a swoon worthy love story.

This was a great audio. Samantha Brentmoor does small town so well :)

lovee the fake fiance trope

I enjoyed so many aspects of this book. It made me laugh, frustrated and also gave me all the feels. I love that the fmc is career driven and genuinely loves her job. As a nurse myself, I could relate to the struggles of being a health care worker. The long hours and the disassociation that we had to learn on our own bc of the trauma we witness. I really like the way the two main characters met even though it was through an accident. Its not your usual meet cute. the author did a good job building up the side characters and the setting. it might be overwhelming at first bc theres quite a bit of them but you learn to get attached to them and the town. Theres just something about this town that feels so homey and sentimental. I love that the author incorporated a lot of the fmc’s persian culture and also some farsi phrases here and there. I get butterflies everytime callum called layla a term of endearment in farsi. His love language is DEFINITELY ACTS OF SERVICE and that made me so giddy and more obsessed with him. Its the little things that he does for her. The way he has made carrying her to her room after a long shift a tradition even tho his leg was still healing was just top tier book husband act.

The interactions between the town people and how everyone treats everyone like family was so endearing. I love seeing how they show their unconditional love for their neighbours. Its so beautiful to see them show acts of kindness with no expectations.

Callum’s slow character development and overcoming the feeling of being a burden to the community was so beautiful to read about. I appreciated that the author explained in detail why he feels that way and why he acts the way he does. Layla’s straight forwardness was so refreshing to read about. No minced words or 20 questions. I like that she nips the problem right in the bud. She wasnt afraid to voice out her feelings even though rejection was a possibility.

the narrators’ performances in this book was astounding. Samantha’s male voice gave me whiplash at first and i was so impressed everytime i heard it. Its usually hard to differentiate different character voices if there are a few in one chapter especially if its a dual narration but samantha does an amazing job giving each character their own voice and personality. I love Bryant’s performance in this. His southern accent was just absolutely addicting to listen to and i wish he kept it all throughout including his inner monologue’s and not just his dialogues. He really embodied the character of a broody tattooed cop but a real softie at heart. His dirty talk made me dizzy everytime and i just couldn’t get enough of him. I kept hoping that the spicy scenes would be longer and dragged out. They both made the story so immersive and I definitely recommend this story. I can see myself doing a reread or relisten on this.

couldn't of picked better narrators!!!

Pure perfection. Samantha captured Layla in every way possible.
Bryant made our hearts swoon with our grumpy cop.
THEIR FARSI IS BEYOND !!! their accents and correct usage of Farsi really took the book above and beyond

They brought to life a book that I have dreamed of coming to life ever since I 1st read it.
The chaotic small town.
The ladies of the auxiliary 😅 I loved listening to them.

There are so many out of bedroom scenes that will live on repeat on my audiobook😅🥵

Narration at its finest

Received this book as an ALC. I have to say the narration was on point. Samantha Brentmoor was wonderful as Layla. Not only that but her male voice is one of the best.
Plus her narrating Layla's family and the accent she does is incredible. Bryant Walker, who is new to me, I absolutely enjoyed. I also loved his southern accent. And his female voice was on point as well. I thought Samantha & Bryant had great chemistry and played off each other well. They did an amazing job bringing Layla & Callum to life.
This is a small town fake fiancée romance. Layla is a flight nurse and Callum is a cop. I loved their occupations. It was fresh to see both characters in a first responder role. To get out of an auction, Callum asks Layla to be his fake fiancée.
After losing her apartment and needing a place to stay she agrees. I just loved the relationship between Layla & Callum. Maggie wrote their relationship beautifully. She did an amazing job with them especially with Layla being from Iran and dealing with the differences between them. As they continue to get to know each other, they realize they are starting to have feelings with each other. But for it work they have to get over their hangups.
This was my first book of Maggie Gates. I enjoyed her writing very much. The way she not only wrote the main characters but the secondary characters as well. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Small town romances are one of my favorites and Maggie delivered with this town and its characters and can't wait to listen to the next audiobook.

What Hurts Us

Layla and Cal have such a great story. I really enjoyed getting to learn about this world through Layla and Cal's eye's. There are so many places available for Maggie to go with the hilarious amount of Creekers around to explore. Getting to listen to this story has been such a joy! Samantha and Bryant did such a great job bringing their voice to this story. This is my first story with these Narrator's and they did an amazing job❤️❤️ I can not wait to see what happens next in the series

Cute small town fake dating romance

4⭐️ 3🌶️ 4🎧
- MF
- First Responders
- Fake Dating
- Small Town
- Persian FMC

I’m a sucker for fake dating especially when combined with a small town where the citizens are a menace to society. Add in a grumpy MMC and a baddie FMC and I’m hooked.

I loved that Layla was a flight nurse. I haven’t read a book with this occupation and it was fascinating! I loved her dark sense of humor and how much she loved her job. I also loved that she was Persian and had such a big and loving family. I did find it a little unbelievable that she didn’t know what her neighbors were cooking up but oh well.

I loved Callum. He tried so hard to be grumpy but he was actually so sweet! The effort he put into his fake relationship with Layla had me swooning.

The two of them were so perfect together and I just wanted to shake them so they could get over their baggage and realize that they were perfect for each other.

As much as I loved these two and the townsfolk I thought they were a little too mean to Brandie Jean considering her character growth.

Samantha Brentwood did a fabulous job narrating. Not only did she voice many accents and speak Farsi, there were times when I thought parts of the book were a duet narration because her male voices were that good!

I really enjoyed Bryan Walker’s voice. So much so that him slipping in and out of a southern accent didn’t bother me as much as it probably should have.

AMAZING!!!

Samantha and Bryant did an AMAZING job with Layla and Callum! It was music to my ears! If you want a small town, fake engagement, old lady shenanigans, a grumpy cop, and sassy flight nurse FMC then this book is for you!

Sweet small-town romance

This is my second of Maggie’s books, and she can absolutely write the heck out of a small town romance. The meddling supporting characters are perfection, and I loved Callum and Layla’s story. Samantha Brentmoor is a favorite female narrator of mine, and she delivered beautifully with Layla’s character. Bryant was new for me but he did a great job as well with Callum. As always, Blue Nose Audio did an excellent job with all aspects of production.