I've Said Love

The Vals

De: C. P. Cabaniss

Narrado por: Madison Brunoehler

Once bitten, twice shy.

Valarie thought she was living a fairytale–a whirlwind romance in college, an engagement, plans for the wedding of her dreams, and her happily ever after waiting at the end.

When her forever turns into never, she vows that love and romance were left in the past with her broken heart. Then she meets Ethan, a man who knows similar heartache, and begins to wonder if it’s possible to love again.

As the two work together to plan the perfect wedding for their best friends, Valarie starts to reexamine herself and the things she truly wants out of life.

©2024 C. P. Cabaniss (P)2025 C. P. Cabaniss

Relatable characters

Love this story and narration. I want to call it a second chance romance but I'm not sure if I'm using that term correctly. Ethan and Valerie give love a second chance. they become good friends while planning their friends' wedding and fall in love with each other during the process. throughout the story they both overcome fear and heartache. it's short and sweet and everything you want in a fairytale romance with a little more depth. the narrator did a beautiful job bringing these wonderful characters to life.

A sweet relatable, slow burn! 🤍

This narrator knocked this story out of the park! The way she adjusts her microphone when the characters are talking on the phone makes this story feel so tangible and like I was the on the phone call!

This is book 2 of the Vals and I absolutely loved it! This can be read as a standalone, but I would recommend reading Before and After first to have more of an attachment to these sweet characters. There is nothing flashy and forced with the MCs relationships and they are allowed to work through their pain and grief.

Val and Ethan running errands together to get the set up for the perfect wedding for their friends is so sweet!! I was grinning so big and loved how their relationship evolves!!

Sweet Contemporary romance with real struggles

3.5 ⭐️

Book Review: Contemporary romance is typically a harder sell for me but this was a sweet, entertaining read!

This is the second in the Val series, and the first one I read. While it is a companion novel and can technically be read as a standalone, I think I'd highly recommend reading these in order--it took me longer to get my bearings and I felt like I was missing something because I didn't.

Val's desires in life (to marry, be a stay at home mom with a wedding planner side hustle) are very similar to mine so I connected with her character in that way. However, there were a few decisions I had a hard time understanding (mainly the New Years Eve kiss when they first met and the faking dating kiss when they were friends) personally just because they are so different from my own life experience.

I would have liked more detail and explanation in some areas--more showing and less telling. A few phrases also seemed repetitive to me.

I really enjoyed the writing style and was interested/entertained to keep coming back every chance I could listen.


Audiobook review: And excellent performance for a single narrator! I really enjoyed the touch of making phone calls and miked individuals at a conference sound different. Every single character sounded distinct which is impressive. Very impressed of the quality of the audiobook, especially for an indie book.



Content: depression, discussion of past childhood turmoil


Christian faith rating: 1/3 clean fiction with no swearing, a few mentions of church/church friends

A delightful romance of two friends

I really enjoyed listening to this book. It was well written, and Courtney picked a good voice for her book. It's a cute story of the bridesmaids and best man being tasked with planning their friend's wedding together and their adventure as they plan the wedding and find themselves coming closer together. It is a sweet romance with kisses only. My kind of romance. There was a 3rd act break up that I don't love, but if you do, then you will love this book even more. I surprisingly didn't mind this one because of how Courtney pulled it off. I enjoyed the growth of each of the main characters and the dynamic between them. The way that this book ends will make you sing with the way the book is beautifully tied together. So get yourself a copy and find out for yourself.

A sweet, wholesome read

I've Said Love is a sweet, wholesome read. Val and Ethan grow together and their story is definitely healing. I loved hearing Val grow after her breakup and Ethan heal from his hurt. There are chaste kisses and hugs, lots of smiles, and budding romance. Madison's narration was also fantastic! I listened at both 1x and 1.25x speed and everything was still perfectly enunciated with a perfect level of emotion, and it's only 4.25hrs long. Genuinely, it's one of the better audiobooks I've listened to! I loved this feel-good romance. C.P. Cabaniss nailed it again.

I’ve Said Love

The narrator, Madison Brunoehler, did a fantastic job. She really brought the characters and the story to life.

Oh my gosh, Ethan and Valerie are so sweet together. They have both been burned by love and are in the bitter and cynical stage when they meet. The evolving relationship of these two is real and raw. They understand each other and put in the effort that a relationship takes.

When I say that I squealed upon learning that Ethan makes Valerie a playlist-I’m not exaggerating. My millennial heart is so happy.

This book is a great reminder that your dreams and wants can still happen even if it’s in a way that you don’t expect.

No explicit language

No spice (kissing is as far as it gets)

Love after heartbreak

What you’ll find in I’ve Said Love:

Main characters jaded by past heartbreak 👩‍🦰👱‍♂️💔…

… asked to plan their best friends’ wedding (pick venue, taste test cakes, try on bridal dresses, etc.) 👰🏻‍♀️🤵🏻‍♂️…

… while living far apart so they communicate mostly by phone📱…

… which leads to a delicious slow burn friends to more! 💞❤️‍🔥

This is the second book in the series and the events in this story are standalone. However, the characters from the first book are featured so prominently in this book and the friend group is so close knit, that I would probably recommend reading book 1 first to find out more of the history.

It’s worth noting that this story spends more time on the characters’ grieving and healing processes after heartache, instead of just rushing past that part of their lives in pursuit of new romance. I believe the book starts about a year after the heartbreak took place, and Valerie (the FMC) is still going through depression. I think that’s probably more realistic out here in the real world, but generally glossed over in the romance genre, so I appreciated the authenticity. ❤️‍🩹 Don’t worry though, the slow burn does pay off with romance of its own, too! (clean romance/kisses only)

Narration note: Madison Brunoehler was a new narrator for me and I enjoyed her performance! The book is told through the FMC’s perspective, but it’s really important to have a distinguishable male voice for those parts as well and she did. She even had to take it a step farther because the MMC’s voice is specifically written as raspy and with vocal fry, so I think she did a good job!

🎸🍰🥂🪴💐⛈️📱

Loved it!

I’ve Said Love was immediately different than its predecessor, in the best way possible. I love that Valarie and Ethan’s relationship is distinct from Will and Val’s. I love how their relationship grows from mutual interests and physical attraction isn’t the only reason for existence. And how they both understand each other and give each other time to grow. And Dylan is an amazing side character! He is such a troublemaker and I love it. The narrator was amazing! She really brought the story to life. Run and grab this audiobook so you can hear it for yourself! Negatives: None. Cussing: None. Romance: Yes! Kisses and embraces. There is a girl who is briefly flirty with a guy who is in a relationship. Gore: None. I received an ALC from the author. All thoughts are my own, I was not compensated for this review.

I loved this story!!

I love the flow and the writing style in this book. I found myself very captivated the entire time. This is such a fun and quick clean romance. C.P. Cabaniss is an automatic buy author for me. I will always read her books and love every one I’ve read so far. Go read this book! It’s so cute and heartwarming!!

Story of love found again after heartbreak

Language 🤐: Clean

Heat ❤️‍🔥: Kisses only

⚠️both coming off of broken engagements (which I don't feel like is a trigger but I guess it could be) ⚠️

Tropes/Micro Tropes
• Both coming from broken relationships
• Picked her up at the airport
• New years
• Cynical FMC
• Ethan MMC- tattooed- metal head
• Him being a musician- writing a love song
• Planning wedding for best friends together
• Single POV
• Faking being together

Valarie and Ethan's was a sweet romance. Coming off a similar heart break and learning how to trust that love is possible even after this was such a sweet thing to read. This was such a cute read. Seeing Valarie and Ethan's relationship develop as they are thrown together to plan their best friends weddings was enjoyable as they both tried to navigate having thought they would be married at this point.

I had not read the first book but did not feel that it was necessary to understand this book, I do feel like reading the first book would have added more depth to the story possibly but I still fully enjoyed this book without that!

I got the audiobook from the author and am grateful that I got to enjoy this wonderful story! The narrator did a wonderful job with the audiobook! Recommend for those who want a story where love finds away after heartbreak! This was really an enjoyable read! My personal rating was a 4.5 happily rounded up for Audible! 😊