Home Is Where You Park It

Blueball Band of Brothers, Book 3

De: Marika Ray

Narrado por: Marie Hawkins, TJ Clark

He's a giant of a man who grunts for words and barks out orders, yet circumstances require I be his fake girlfriend and spend the weekend with him in an isolated cabin.

And of course there's only one bed. Just my luck . . .

But I need this commission check that only Boston can guarantee me. So I hike up the mountain 'til I can't feel my legs, eat questionable canned beans for sustenance, and vow to simply ignore him for two days. What I didn't count on was a freak blizzard to lock us in the cabin for a bit longer. I also didn't expect to discover that beneath all those muscles and long hair and smoldering looks, Boston has a soft heart and a sad past that makes me itch to fix it.

And of course we have to snuggle to preserve body heat. My luck is turning . . .

We find more—ahem—creative ways to pass the time, and holy snowstorm is Boston creative! We both know this charade ends when we get off the mountain, so we use our time together wisely.

Turns out there's one final twist: he's my best friend's estranged brother. Yep, my luck has officially run out . . .

Contains mature themes.

©2024 Marika Ray (P)2024 Tantor

Boston and Audrey - swoons, growls, and love

I loved, loved this forced proximity, snowed in, opposites attract, just a fling, brother’s best friend romance of all the tropes, all the hilarity and all the big feelings. And the acronyms - EFRRWAB for the win! Boston is a growly, loner, lumberjack of a man who has recently been discharged from the military and has come to Blueball to try to repair his relationship with his sister, Keva, who recently married his best friend, Lincoln (book 2 in the series). Audrey is a perky and optimistic real estate agent who is best friends with Keva. She also has some family drama and pain of her own. When Boston gets help from Audrey with a real estate deal that will benefit Keva and Lincoln, things get twisty and tangled between the two of them pretty quickly. A freak snowstorm and a washed out bridge cause a bunch of unplanned alone time for Boston and Audrey and soon feelings start to try to push through the fake part of their relationship. But to get to their HEA, they’ll have to take some big leaps of faith while both doing major baggage unpacking. These are my favorite kind of angsty moments - screw up because of your past and then fix it out of hope for your future. This heartwarming and hilarious story was well written and included witty dialogue, three dimensional characters, and an engaging storyline I am loving the town of Blueball, the chosen families, and its stories.

TJ Clark and Marie Hawkins did a phenomenal job narrating the story and characters into life with enough change of inflection, tone and cadence to voice multiple characters quite convincingly.

For some reason, this didn’t cook

Maybe it’s flip-flopping Audrey does, refusing a fling because she only wants a serious relationship, then seconds later changing her mind and jumping his bones, then getting jealous when Boston’s single status gets him propositioned. Boston’s sister Keva was equally hot and cold.

Boston himself was a mountain man shut-in. I wasn’t really sold on his past trauma, I didn’t feel the chemistry between him and Audrey, and it didn’t make sense that he’d abandon Audrey for even a small length of time when the whole premise of him returning to town was to apologize for abandoning his sister Keva.

Series annoyances were amplified here. First, every story goes from meet-cute to love at lightspeed. Second, the F bombs gives this a trailer park feel. Third, Mr. Clark’s narration is expressive, but his male voices make the MMCs sound like lanky hipsters, which was especially jarring here given the constant reminders the Boston, The Beast, is huge. A bearded bear of a wounded veteran should have a baritone voice, narrated by someone like Troy Duran, It wasn’t awful, just blah and mildly annoying.