Paper Roses

Confetti Hitched, Book 3

De: Lily Morton

Narrado por: Joel Leslie

Jed Walker thinks he’s having a midlife crisis. The only trouble is that it feels too good to stop.

Widowed at a young age, he’s spent his life since then avoiding any relationships that might end up hurting him again. He has his successful wedding planning business, Confetti Hitched, and a series of uncomplicated hookups, and that’s all he needs in life.

The one person disrupting this controlled stoicism is his younger assistant, Artie. He’s sweet and kind and has a funny way of calming Jed’s mind. So, when Artie comes to him with a problem, Jed moves heaven and earth to help, which is how he finds himself entering a fake marriage with the younger man and catching feelings. Too bad it’s all pretend. Or is it?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a story about how love can completely derail the best-laid plans.

This is the third book in the Confetti Hitched series, but it can be read as a standalone.

©2025 Lily Morton (P)2025 Lily Morton

Snarky goodness

When you start a book by Lily Morton you know you’ll be getting delicious snark, funny mishaps, medium angst, heartbreak and heartwarming romance with HEA. This book was no exception. Excellent performance by Joel Leslie.

Steamy and funny romcom!

Jed and Artie are the exact romcom protags we deserve—cute, seggsy, clueless and hopelessly romantic!

Everything about this story was steamy, oh so funny, with just enough drama to have me clutching my pearls. Joel’s performance brought
Just the right amount of Brit charm to the Wedding flavoured tea! Brava!

Jed & Artie

I've been waiting for this story since book one. It was a good one overall but I'm still rounding it up from 3.5. There were just a few things that took away from the story for me. I loved Joel Leslie's narration as always. It helped me enjoy the story even more.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

So good

This entire series packs a bit of a punch. I love these characters. Artie and Jed do not have the best communication in the world. Artie is in trouble right from the start because Jed is determined to keep everyone at a distance. Broken hearts are a bit inevitable but this author does not let us lose hope in their HEA. Jed has some serious soul searching to do. This is so worth a listen and Joel Leslie does a phenomenal job as always!

Makes a Perfect Read becomes a Perfect Listen

When you meld Lily Morton’s matchless storytelling with Joel Leslie’s incomparable narration, the outcome is a delightful and delicious dive into the best of MM romance. The text runs the gamut from snark and sass to passion and anguish. I have been waiting for Jed and Artie’s story, and I devoured the book with laughter and tears. Yet listening to Joel bring the characters to life — Jed’s caramel tones and Artie’s sparkling vocal — allowed me to feel as if I know them. You can bet that this will become one of my favorite re-listens. 🎊

Jed & Artie are super sweet together

Seeing them through Joe’s and Raff’s eyes in the previous 2 books, I was excited to see Jed and Artie’s love story play out in the final book of the series. As Jed is a widower I was sure there would be so emotional stuff to play out for him to accept his moving on. But unfortunately Jed made it difficult for me to cheer for him at times. Yes, he is feeling guilty about moving on emotionally after the loss of his husband more than 10 years earlier, but he says some truly hurtful things to Artie. I don’t know if I’d be unable to unhear those things if I was Artie, even with his complicated feelings. As the reader we obviously see inside Jed’s thinking and he thinks some truly beautiful things about Artie, and has wanted him for over 6 months, but those thoughts don’t come out of his mouth, only the things that continue to break Artie’s heart piece by piece by piece. I would have loved a sitdown discussion between them where they confronted some of what was said.

The chemistry between these two was unmatched! Both their working and friendly relationship merged beautifully into a romantic relationship. These two were meant to be, but man did they have to go through it to get there. I just wanted to snuggle with Artie for a good chunk of the story. Overall I do give it 5 stars because Morton does a great job showing it is possible to find love after loss, but there are many complicated emotions (including guilt) that can come from that, but ultimately it is okay to move on if it’s right for you. I had tears in my eyes at times because the feelings were so palpable. The paper roses were a truly beautiful touch to the story.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this audiobook.

Artie & Jed

I had read the ebook of this audio, so the review will be similar.
Artie works at Confetti Hitched as an assistant to Jed. When Artie’s stepmother dies, she was left in charge of his late mother’s house by his father when he passed, but the stepmother is evil and she stipulates that he has to be married and live in the house for 6 months for him to inherit it. Jed comes up with a plan to fake marry. As time goes on while living in the house Artie’s love for Jed gets stronger but Jed is panicked, eventually Jed realises he loves Artie. This is a sweet story and I enjoyed it greatly.

The narrator has done an excellent job and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it.

Awwwwww!!!!!

All the starts!!!

Gag, I love this one. It’s my favorite out of the series. I love them all but Arty and Jed were stunning. Plus Jed’s mom is the mom is amazing. I love her.

I love that these two have this spicy, kinky side to
Then that they keep locked up tight. Except when they play in the office 😉

WOW!

I have been in a reading funk lately, and part of that is because I feel like I have so much going on. So when I received the audiobook of Paper Roses, I had to take a deep breath. Lily Morton has never let me down, but like I said, I've been in a funk. This book was so good.

STORY: 5 Stars
Grumpy boss meets an employee who doesn't exactly cower. There wasn't anything I didn't like about this book. It pulled you in immediately, but more than that, you can see the story and the characters developing and growing, and I had a hard time putting it down when I needed to.

NARRATION: 5 Stars
If you've read my audiobook reviews before, you know I love how Joel Leslie brings the characters he is reading for to live. Each personality comes through and the voices are different and distinct. This book was no different. You need to listen to this because the book will come alive for you.

OVERALL: 5 STARS
Brilliant story, characters, and narration. It's a must read/listen. 5 Stars.

All up in my feels!

I'm old enough to remember the Marie Osmond song by the same title, so I did have it playing in my head when I first came across this third addition to the Lily Morton-penned Confetti Hitched series. While that song was about "imitation love" and heartbreak, Jed and Artie's story was more about heart, heat, and humor, which I certainly will never complain about, especially when delivered via Morton's writing AND Joel Leslie's narration prowess.

Artie was exactly what Jed needed in his life, even if he wasn't exactly prepared to admit it to himself. Their interactions were wholly entertaining, and their more private moments were *fans self* h-o-t! Morton and Leslie are a pair that never disappoints, and just when you think they can't outdo themselves, they bring to life the seemingly unlikely couple that is Jed and Artie, and have listeners swooning. Five stars for the story, five stars for the perfomance...so...FIVE STARS OVERALL!