My Favorite Lost Cause

The Favorites, Book 2

My stepbrother’s estate is fading fast. My resistance to him is fading faster.

When my marriage hits rock bottom, I escape to South Carolina to help my charming disaster of a stepbrother, Charlie—aka "the douchiest man in Manhattan"—fix up the decaying Southern mansion he's just inherited.

But the house has other ideas. Doors slam, voices whisper, and something—or someone—wants us to be more than reluctant roommates. An old journal confirms it: Charlie and I seem to be mirroring every step of a love story that took place a century ago.

A doomed one.

With every soft moment and stolen glance, it gets harder to imagine ending up with anyone else. But all I’ve ever wanted is a family, and that won’t be happening with a man who once said he’d rather be murdered than father a child.

Our story was written long before we came to this house. But do we still have time to rewrite the way it ends?

©2025 Elizabeth O'Roark (P)2025 Elizabeth O'Roark

Another HIT from the QUEEN of angst!

Since the very first book I read of Elizabeth's, this sweet woman has been one of my VERY favorite authors & she continues to be. Smashing out, book after book that just have me glued to my earbuds. She is seriously the QUEEN of angst & longing, and I freakin' LOVE it!🙌 She knows how to perfectly write an emotional story & fill it with clever, witty banter, topics that most often hit close to home and a couple that you are just begging to find their way to each other. I LOVED this book! Maren & Charlie's story is emotional, forbidden & the slowest of burns, but these two totally stole my heart!

Maren's stuck in an emotionally abusive marriage, struggles with infertility & has a mother who I'm sure deep down loves her but is so critical of her, every word just stings right to the core! When her stepbrother, Charlie, loses his mother, she drops everything & goes down to South Carolina to help him deal with the aftermath & a rundown mansion he's inherited She honestly uses the trip as an escape, but what was supposed to be a week long trip quickly becomes something much deeper for both of them.

Charlie is as grumpy as they get. Everything irritates him... EXCEPT Maren. He's had is SO BAD for her since they met. There's always been a closeness & tenderness between these two & once they get to SC, their chemistry starts to explode. I won't lie, I struggled at first with Maren's strong attraction & deep feelings for Charlie because SHE IS married. Even though their family ties seem complicated, they become step-siblings as adults. & their emotional connection was immediate, natural & something neither one of them has found with anyone else.

Elizabeth's writing is so rich & emotionally resonates with me every time. I related to Maren's character on so many levels. Her struggles with infertility & feeling like it's "her fault," that hit close to home. She's someone who is constantly apologizing for everything & to everyone! Again...HIT and having a parent who is constantly questioning what you do, making "suggestions" to be better & critical over everything just made me ACHE for Maren.🥺 Elizabeth just really knows how to write messy, complicated & layered characters so well & Charlie's got his own set of issues. 😂

In the end, what made me fall in love with these two was the way they NEVER hesitated to protect each other. There is so much emotional growth from these two characters. They are so good for each other & despite being married to LITERALLY the worst husband ever, Maren & Charlie just can not deny the years they've longed for one another. The little paranormal aspect to the story with a journal was unexpected, but I loved how Elizabeth brought it back around to Maren & Charlie's story, It was so darn sweet.

🎤Let's talk narration: Samantha & Jason give such amazing & emotional performances in this one. They are favorites of mine & they really know how to deliver Elizabeth's words in a way that just grips the heck outta your ears! They can banter with the best & give you all the feelings you want from a story like this. Samantha, in particular, just conveyed all the hesitations & feelings of inadequacy Maren felt so flawlessly. I connected with her character so much! Listen up...if you haven't listened to one of Elizabeth's audios, you are doing yourself a disservice. GET ER' DONE, folks! I can't recommend them enough!

I can't wait for Book 3 🙌

Forbidden romance PERFECTION

I have pretty much decided that Elizabeth can do no wrong for me with a forbidden romance 😭 we met Maren in book 1 and I have to admit that I didn’t care much for her, but getting to know her personality and background better… I ADORE her. She really has deserved more than the way people have treated her for the past and I loved Charlie being able to show her what she’s truly worth. I always enjoy a good stepbrother romance and these two made the story flow easy and romantically, probably because they’ve mostly know each other as adults. I liked that they were both very hesitant to admit feelings and let their relationship grow organically as they worked on the house together. I think my favorite part of the story was Maren interacting with the potential spirits in the house and reading the journal that she found. I absolutely bawled my eyes out towards the end so prepare yourself! I was lucky enough to listen to the audio on this one and Samantha Brentmoor and Jason Clarke did a PHENOMENAL job with Charlie and Maren, they were a perfect casting for the story!

Such a great listen!

Step siblings
Forced proximity

Duet narration - Jason Clarke & Samantha Brentmoor
Phenomenal narration. The performance was excellent. I loved that Jason played Charlie as grumpy but yet there was a playful ton at times.

I was rooting for these two from the word go!!

Maren and Charlie are step siblings but their parents got married when they were in college. Maren is in an AWFUL marriage and desperate for a baby. Charlie is dealing with an emotional situation. These two end up at a mansion in the middle of nowhere together. (No cheating)

This is playful, sweet, and spicy. Amazing writing and plotting. I loved this book it had me laughing and smiling and clutching my chest at moments. Highly recommend it!!

the feels!

ok, I have to start with I normally REALLY don't like step siblings romances so I was skeptical, but considering how much I love EO I of course bought it. it is so so good. the feels , the narration, the storyline, it's all amazing. if you love EO there another question you should get it. if you're just looking for a sweet romance with some conflict but not overdone angst this is it!! worth a credit 100%>

Always a Pleasure!

I love Elizabeth's writing style and her complex characters! The things I treasure about this author's books are that there is the perfect amount of romance, complexity, and some deeper (mildly dark) themes that make them relatable.

The spice was slow to arrive but then holy cow
Great read!

Slow burn

I loved the characters and voices. I want to listen to it again. I can’t wait to check out the rest of the series.

Holy wow. 👀🌶️🚫

@elizabethoroark does it again with this one. This book felt so wrong reading but I couldn’t stop. It had all the tropes I never thought I’d read. 🙈

•Step siblings
•Forced/close proximity
•Forbidden love
•Touch of paranormal

Maren is married to an a$$hole & trying to find herself again after struggling with infertility. She finds herself spending more time with her step brother Charlie and things start heating up. 🔥

The slow burn, that felt anything but slow, kept me turning pages faster and speeding up my audiobook. I was able to read and listen and I absolutely adored the narrators.

🎧 Definitely recommend this one on audio if you want a forbidden spicy romance!

Shocks galore in this thoroughly enjoyable story!

My Favorite Lost Cause, an Audiobook by Elizabeth O’Roark is the heartbreaking story of Charlie and Maren. She heads back home to help her ailing father…only to discover a huge shock!!!! Plus, the man she knew once…is now living in her home! Everything has changed and she’s in total shock.

Neither of them is quite prepared for this change in their lives. She’s trying to get over her own past…and now has to deal with her new present? He is dealing with his own issues. I really enjoyed the back story here and the characters were approachable and appealing.

This Audiobook was narrated by Samantha Brentmoor and Jason Clarke. Loved his interpretations of the characters and their feelings. Didn’t care for her performance of the female characters and POV. Overall good!

*** ❤️ Contented sigh ❤️ ***

Once again, Samantha and Jason were absolute perfection. I loved every single thing about this story.

Loved it

This series is addicting. If it wasn’t for work I’d have finished this one in one sitting. Putting this one down was painful. Charlie and Marin (I listened to the audio so I have no idea how the names are spelled) were like a tornado sucking me in and refusing to let me go. I laughed, I screamed, I wanted to punch people in the face and I’m pretty sure I became the real life incarnation of the heart eyes emoji 😍🤣. I loved every moment of this listen. The characters felt real. Their love, the highs and gut wrenching lows all felt so real. Loved this book and I can’t wait for the next one.