Caught in the Axe

Maine Lumberjacks, Book 1

De: Daphne Elliot

Narrado por: Aiden Snow, Mollie Stark

My ex’s brother is officially off-limits. Right? He’s ten years older. He’s only in town for a few weeks. And did I mention he’s my ex-boyfriend’s brother? But when I agree to be the grumpy lumberjack’s temporary assistant, it gets harder and harder to resist him. He’s all beard, broad shoulders, and growls, but I savor every one of his rare smiles.

I’m so close to the fresh start I’ve been working toward for so long, but while I’m ready to leave behind the moose, the lumberjacks, and the crazy small-town gossip, I can’t stay away from Owen. We’re tasked with cleaning up a disaster in order for his family to move on from their painful past, and we can only succeed if we trust one another. Our late nights, road trips, and inside jokes bring us too close and make it difficult to stay away. And while on a business trip, we don’t just cross the line, we demolish it. We’ve both been burned by the small-town rumor mill, so we agree to keep things quiet. But secrets don’t keep in Lovewell for long, and it’s only a matter of time before we get caught in the act. We’re headed in different directions and living different lives. And no matter how badly I want him, he can never truly be mine.

Author’s Note: Caught in the Axe is a standalone small-town romance featuring a nerdy, grumpy lumberjack with a heart of gold hidden under his flannel shirt and a sunshine ex-beauty queen who loves to challenge him. If you enjoy flirty banter, wood chopping, moose shenanigans, and possessive mountain men, then take a trip to Lovewell and meet the Maine Lumberjacks.

Series Blurb: Welcome to Lovewell, Maine, where the moose outnumber the people and you can’t swing an axe without hitting a hot, grumpy lumberjack. The Maine Lumberjacks Series are ALL standalones but are most fun when read in order!

©2024 Melody Publishing, LLC (P)2025 Melody Publishing, LLC

Cute story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️

This was a cute story. I expected there to be more drama considering it was a forbidden love. While I enjoyed the narration and sweet small town story, I felt like the book was slow paced and missed some opportunities to spice up the story.

•Small Town Romance
•Forbidden Love
•Friends to Lovers
•Lumberjacks
•Golden Retriever MMC
•Age Gap

Small Town Lumberjacks

I love small-town romance stories, and the addition of Lumberjacks made this one fun. I enjoyed Lila and Owen's grumpy-sunshine, age-gap, slow-burning romance. The forbidden nature of Lila being Owen's little brother's ex created delicious tension between them. Owen returns home, intending to help his family's lumber business and then return to his life in the big city. He didn't expect Lila, his new assistant, to turn his world upside down. He falls fast and hard for her, but with their lives moving in different directions, they are forced to make some tough decisions.

Lila and Owen were cute together. Their banter and chemistry made this a fun relationship to watch develop. It's always fun witnessing the grump who has no plans of being in a relationship, end up falling in love. Owen is so sweet, and I loved how incredibly thoughtful he was when it came to Lila. Caught in the Axe is an engaging story, however, I did find it to be a bit too long with a good number of plot holes. The pacing was a bit uneven, and some moments seemed to drag. Overall, this is a good start to the series, and I am excited to see what comes next.

Narration:
The audiobook is performed in duet by Mollie Stark and Aiden Snow. Both did a wonderful job with this story and definitely made this a more enjoyable reading experience for me. Mollie and Aiden were very expressive and really brought the characters to life. Their voices worked well together.

Loved this age gap, ex’s brother, workplace romance!

Daphne did a great job highlighting the stark differences between a twenty-something’s mentality and a nearly forty year old’s thought processes. Owen is so much more willing to just live in the moment and assured they’ll figure things out, while Lila is still set on her rigid plan and worried about others’ perceptions. But Owen is such a green flag guy! Zero pressure, super supportive, and interested in learning not just Lila’s interests, but things to accommodate her needs and to care for her. The off-limits aspect made the tension fun and exciting!

I also really enjoyed the large family dynamic that Owen returns home too. The family love is one many desire, event with some tension between a couple members.

Mollie was the perfect Lila, full of sunshine and confident, projecting an independent, intelligent twenty-something woman very well. And Aiden was fabulous as Owen. Grumpy, mature, and growly! And the duet narration was performed perfect!

An Unexpectedly Fun and Engaging Story Expertly Narrated

I didn’t expect to enjoy this story as much as I did! It was a fun listen, and an engaging story with interesting plot twists and great characters. Aiden Snow is always a fantastic actor, and Mollie Stark was also an excellent actor. Together they did a fantastic job narrating this audiobook.

I really enjoyed this one!

I really enjoyed this one! I started this series on book three and am now going back to read the ones I missed! I will say starting with book one I did understand the dynamics of the family a bit better! I was hooked from the very beginning! I listened to the entirety of this one and I am so glad that I did! The narrators were so good! This one was a duet narration and I loved it! They really brought the authors words justice! I was engaged the entire time! I find sometimes if the narration isn’t hitting just right my mind will wander and that didn’t happen at all with this book! I loved Owen and Lila! This was one of those books that you won’t want to end but the epilogue gets you to want to go straight into the next book! If you’re in the mood for a small town, age gap, work place, secret romance add this one to your tbr!!!