Beautifully written and narrated

In Hannah's debut novel we follow Olena and Jude's simmering love story. This is more of a slow burn, but it is worth it. Trust me. You are going to need a fan and ice water by the bonus epilogue included in the audiobook. 🥵🔥

I found myself relating so much with Olena throughout the entire book. But all the characters and the way Hannah weaves the story kept me wanting more. Jude and Olena are perfectly imperfect and just right for each other. We are never too broken to be loved and they find that love while still being who they were.

The narrators were perfect! Victoria Connolly and Benjamin Sands are new narrators to me, but I this won't be my last listen of their work. I highly recommend both of them. The way they pull you into the story and bring you along is **chef's kiss! * Plus, I already mentioned that bonus epilogue and the other spice right? Whew!

Overall rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5/5)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (5/5)

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Loved it!

4.75 ⭐️

Wow, this book seriously blew me away!

Olena learning how to confront the traumas of her past and take back her life was so empowering. As an ADHD girlie who wasn’t diagnosed until age 31, her struggles with being undiagnosed were so relatable. But I loved that the mere knowledge of her possibly having ADHD, and the struggles that come with it, was all that was highlighted - it was never a forced issue or something that was dragged out as needing diagnosed because she was still a successful business owner and had created coping mechanisms in her life that worked.

Jude was utterly perfect. A *giver* in the best way, not afraid to show his emotions, protective, and communicative. Plus, he was a sexy lumberjack with a sweet dog, so there’s that.

The side characters were so lovable too. They were supportive and protective, but in a way that gave Olena the power to cope the way she needed to when things were hard.

And the spice!! Whew, this one had it good. It was tasteful yet explicit at the same time, and woven into the story seamlessly to add to the plot rather than being the plot.

Also, there’s a reference to the “I carried a watermelon” line in Dirty Dancing, and if I hadn’t already been loving the book, that would’ve done it for me because it’s one of the best movie quotes of all time.

The narration for the audiobook was spectacular as well! I don’t think I’d heard either of the narrators before, but I’ll be looking for more of their books now.

I cannot wait to read the next book in this series to see who else is getting their happily ever after! Hannah was gracious enough to provide me a copy of this audiobook for free in exchange for a review, but I won’t hesitate to buy anything she writes now!

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Narrator+Story= Total Win

I'm not sure if this story was made for this gal narrator or if she's just sunk that deep into her character portrayal, but she has me completely captivated. I'm along for every emotional twist and turn because I feel like I'm hearing the latest from my best friend. Loved every minute!

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Amazing debut!

When Olena moves back to Lennox Valley to flee from a toxic relationship with her ex, she's happy to share an apartment with her best friend and move on with her life. Things get even better when he gets her a wonderful gig as the landscape designer for his aunt and uncle's property. She has the most embarrassing but cute meet cute with Jude Sharpe, who was hired to do the landscaping. After much babbling and putting her foot in her mouth, they get into a nice routine working together, But he looks at her with a special glint in his eyes and oh, she's interested, she's definitely interested. When he ex starts harassing her, her new new life begins to spiral out of control, but Jude is there for her. She'll just need to learn how to so deal with all the baggage she carries. So does Jude. 

A lovely debut novel by Hannah Brixton and I really loved Olena and Jude. They are both a little broken, but both willing to do the work. Olena is pretty funny with her inner monologues and Jude is top tier book boyfriend material. There are some heavy things happening but appreciate how well they were dealt with in the story. 

The audiobook is narrated dual style by Victoria Connolly and Benjamin Sands. I love Victoria and she never disappoints! Benjamin Sands is new to me but I will definitely look up for more titles narrated by him. 

Lovely story, lovely audiobook! Thanks, Victoria, for the gift!

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Wonderful Story & Listen🎧 Gripping & Heartfelt!

I enjoyed this book immensely, the story swept me in right from the start, grabbing my attention and captivating it the entire time, but that was not all, it tugged at my heartstrings, too. I loved the originality and depth of the story and the complexity of the characters. A story that is multilayered and touches on some heavy topics and I appreciated the author kept it all real, including the characters who were realistic and relatable. I adored both lead characters, Olena Macmillan and Jude Sharpe, and their first encounter was memorable, to say the least. There were some great secondary/support characters too, her roommate and best friend Wyatt, being my favorite, oh and Murphy, too. We could all use a Wyatt in our lives, maybe even a Jude, too. Olena and Jude were perfectly imperfect, each having their own baggage and dealing with inner demons or an ex who is a demon. Despite all that, I thought they were great together and for each other. I just wished Olena opened up sooner and revealed the part of her life that she was hiding, though I get she had her reasons, but I think Jude, being who he was, would have understood. Overall, I loved how everything played out in this book, and the writing, plot and world building are fantastic, as are the character growth and development. The story has the perfect balance of drama, angst, charming humor, heartfelt emotions, and steamy romance. Hannah Brixton, thank you for this wonderful story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 Victoria Connolly and Benjamin Sands were the perfect cast to bring these characters and story to life. They understood the characters they were portraying, giving each a voice that was fitting and was believable in every role they performed. Connolly nailed it as Olena, grasping every aspect of her personality, including her vulnerabilities and insecurities, as well as her confidence, which continued to grow. Sands nailed it as Jude, protective, caring and perfectly swoon worthy. They set the perfect tone for the story, captured all the characters’ emotions and have you feel each one. These two entertaining storytellers made a great team and their performance elevated the story to another level. Thank you for this wonderful listen.

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Great Debut Novel

Ok, for a debut novel, this is actually quite good, and the author chose some wonderful narrators. Jude and Elena are adorable together, their meet-cute was embarrassing (on Olena’s part), but Jude is just such a nice guy through and through. He’s truly a cinnamon roll, so smitten with Olena right from the beginning, and I love him for that. I just feel this was a tad bit too long, the story was drawn out, considering how quickly their relationship progressed. This was an 11 hours of audio (almost 400 pages), and considering how simple the plot is, it shouldn’t be this long.

✨ 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚌𝚘𝚍𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚖 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚢 ✨

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The characters were so relatable ❤️

I couldn’t put it down! This book was incredible from start to finish. All of the characters were great and the story was so unique! I loved every second of it.

Hannah’s writing style is top notch and her way of tackling hard topics is wonderful. I read this on my kindle before, and was so glad to get the chance to listen to its audiobook!!!!

Definitely a great listen ❤️

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So relatable!

This is a new to me author and I was drawn to this book for the narrator, Victoria Connolly. I am so glad I tried it! Olena, the female main character, is undiagnosed ADHD and struggles with many day to day tasks and habits, but is a very talented landscape designer. She is sometimes annoying, but so relatable in her struggles. Jude is the landscaper who she works with on a project and he falls for Olena very quickly, borderline instalove. These two characters are likable, relatable, and sympathetic and you find yourself rooting for them right from the start. HEA is very satisfying and fully developed.
Victoria Connolly and Benjamin Sands are amazing and truly embody these characters and draw you into the story effortlessly. It is performed in dual style narration and both Victoria and Benjamin are so incredibly talented with their opposite gender characters that it almost feels like duet style. This book is definitely worth a credit for the audio. Loved it and will look for more by this author and these narrators.

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Truly amazing

This is definitely one of my favorite listens so far this year. The story is amazing! Olena is a woman who has been through a lot and is trying to get her life back on track. Jude is a man just going through life content to be on his own. They come together and it’s so good. This has all the love, laughs and growth of the characters that I wanted to see. The narrators were both new to me and I will definitely be looking out for both of them. Thanks for the amazing listen and I am looking forward to more from this world.

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Great narration, cute story

I liked this book and the story told about Olena and Jude. The narration was very good. Parts were a little slow but overall it was a fun story and kept me interested.

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