The Way We Collide

The Bradford Boys

De: Tia Louise

Narrado por: Aaron Shedlock, Stefanie Kay

A surprise baby, marriage of convenience, football romance

Football is my life. I’m not interested in marriage or babies or poopy diapers. Yet here I am, standing in front of a judge saying “I do,” with a six-month-old on my hip and an aspiring storm-chaser on my arm.

From the time I was a little boy, sleeping with my head on a football, I’ve had one goal: carrying on the Bradford-family legacy.

Our famous father trained all my older brothers and me to be star athletes just like him, but seven years later, I’m the only one still focused on the game.

Until Raven Gale storms into my life.

She’s smart, sassy, curves for days, and lightning in the sack. When I met her at my little sister’s wedding we bonded immediately over our dedication to our dreams, our determination to let nothing stop us, and our insatiable, all-night, barrier-busting chemistry.

A baby girl is a surprise neither of us expected, but Raven has a plan. We’ll have a quickie marriage to secure her trust fund, be together three months tops, then shake hands and walk away.

The only problem is with every late night I spend chatting with my wife or consummating our marriage (which we both agreed was a bad idea) or rocking my baby girl to sleep or yes, even changing poopy diapers, the stronger our bond grows.

It never rains in California, there’s no football (for me) in south Alabama, but when you collide with a cyclone, everything changes, including what you thought were your plans.

(THE WAY WE COLLIDE is a small-town, surprise baby, sports romance with a marriage of convenience, close proximity, an over-protective alpha daddy, a feisty plus-sized FMC, and a few twisters. No cheating. No cliffhanger. No third-act breakup.)

©2025 TLM Productions LLC (P)2025 TLM Productions LLC

Fabulous narrators make this story even sweeter

Another Bradford Boys story? Yes, please. Both advance reading and listening copies? Yes, please and thank you. Over the moon with smiles and happiness and tingles because the author is the always fabulous Tia Louise and the narrators are talented, oh-so-good Aaron Shedlock and Stefanie Kay. The Way We Collide is the fourth entry in author Louise’s small-town, sports romance Bradford Boys series. You will love it – flipping those pages and keeping those earbuds firmly in your ears.

Hendrix Bradford is front and center this time. Kind of in the background until now. The baby brother (much to Garret’s dismay at times since he really enjoyed his time as baby brother), the only one still active in football and that suits him just fine. Still young when their parents died and it’s important to him to continue his father’s legacy. A little cocky and cynical – no long-term relationships, no commitments, of course no children with all the poopy stuff that entails. I didn’t mention eye-burning handsome because that’s a given; he’s a Bradford brother after all.

Hendrix may be against long-term, but he’s not blind or immune to fascinating women and a little bit of (safe) fun. And that’s what happens the night his sister Dylan gets married. Bridesmaid Raven is beautiful, clever, independent, sexy, and – Danger! Danger! – someone he could actually enjoy spending more time with. He shoves that scary thought out of his mind and they have one incredible night because they discover they have insatiable, all-night, barrier-busting chemistry. Ha ha ha, barrier-busting. That says it all. They were careful, but maybe some things are just meant to be because nine months later, “Heeere’s Haddy!”

Raven was not intending to trap Hendrix and marry a rich, famous (exhaustingly good-looking) football player; she has career plans and a baby wasn’t part of them. Nor is marriage. But with a baby to care for it’s now become important she secure the trust fund her rotten, evil mother left her. A trust fund with the appalling condition that Raven must be married. And turns out Evil Mom even had somebody in mind. Her mother always cruelly criticized her – her size, her choices, her ambition. Her father never stood up for her. And the “boyfriend” hand-selected by her mother parroted the cruel words. Raven just wants the money to care for Haddy and pursue her career goal of becoming a meteorologist, a storm-chaser, and help make folks safe. So she packs up the adorable baby girl and heads out to ask Hendrix to temporarily marry her, just long enough to meet the conditions of the trust.

The Bradford family learns first, and if you’ve met them before in the previous books you know that this is not ever going to be a temporary thing for them. They want Hendrix and Raven and Haddy to be a forever family and move to Newhope, Alabama. To say Hendrix is unprepared and shocked is an understatement, but he is a Bradford and they are good people. Responsibility is responsibility. And once he accepts that responsibility he’s all in, even if the marriage has an expiration date. That insatiable, all-night, chemistry with Raven is still there, which is not a surprise, but what is absolutely unexpected is the way his daughter owns his heart immediately and how quickly he comes an over-protective Alpha-Dad.

Author Tia Louise has done it again, magnificently. Hendrix learning to be a daddy is hilarious. He wasn’t kidding about those poopy diapers and wearing a scuba mask and sniffing a coffee pod prove it. But he’s also sweet and tender when he always – always, always – sternly corrects Raven when she refers to herself as fat, lazy, undesirable, unwanted, thank to her mother’s never-kind words.

They are a forever family from the start. We see it. The rest of the Bradfords see it. Now they just have to see it. Raven doesn’t want to interfere with his career, Hendrix doesn’t want to ruin her dreams. Haddy is just her adorable self every single minute. Visiting the rest of the family in this book is so much fun, especially the daddy rivalry between Garrett and Hendrix, since Garret and Olivia also had that insatiable, all-night, barrier-busting chemistry the night of Dylan’s wedding and daughter Kimmie Joy is their proof of that.

The Way We Collide is romantic, fiery, funny. Reading it is a joy, and listening to amazing voice actors Aaron Shedlock and Stefanie Kay is a special treat. Kay captures all the hurt and insecurity from Raven’s past, her comfort, sizzle and perfect fit with Hendrix and her spectacular feistiness and fearlessness. Shedlock takes Hendrix from that committed-only-to-permanent-bachelorhood through the eye-opening night with Raven, his fear that his heart might want her, his instant protectiveness and overwhelming love for Haddy and everything in between and beyond. The Way We Collide is a perfect addition to the series, makes you laugh and cry, and leaves you absolutely satisfied. Go back to the beginning and read them all, read this, and then get in line for Jack and Allie’s story. Thanks to everybody for the advance copies. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Swoony, romantic and sweet

The way I couldn’t stop listening once I started. “The Way We Collide” is a swoony, romantic and sweet accidental pregnancy/football romance that was a great addition to the series.

Hendrix Bradford and Raven Gale had a chance meeting at his sister’s wedding and the connection between them is instant. Fast forward several months later, Raven is back in Hendrix’s small town with a surprise. A baby girl named Haddy who was conceived from their night together. Hendrix is shocked at first but he’s all in and wants to be a Dad to Haddy. Raven has another idea, she wants to get married for 6 months to gain access to her trust fund that her mother set up for her. They agree to a fake marriage and they move in with Hendrix in L.A. because the football season is starting. But as they spend time together, the lines start to blur into something real.

Hendrix and Raven had an instant chemistry from the beginning and grew more intense as they spent time together. I loved Raven’s career choice of wanting to become a meteorologist and chase storms as they came in the U.S. It was something so different and fit her perfectly. I loved her as a career woman and she is a great mom to Haddy. You could tell they had a close bond. Hendrix is a swoony Bradford brother and focused completely on being the best he can be in the football world. But having Haddy slowly changed his focus on what was important to him. He became a great girl Dad and loved her so much. Raven and Hendrix had great chemistry and I was patiently waiting for them to give into the feelings to show how real they could be if they gave up the fake part of their marriage. All the football scenes were great and had me cheering for him and his team. The ending was so sweet and I loved these two together so much.

Stefanie Kay and Aaron Shedlock narrated in duet and I loved listening to them bringing this story to life. Stefanie’s narration was genuine and sweet, just like Raven. Aaron turned up the swoon for Hendrix and he was the perfect choice. Aaron and Stefanie kept me smiling and swooning throughout the whole story.

Duet Narration - football romance

Nothing super special but I do enjoy this series and the family this series is based on. I don’t know why but I prefer football to hockey romances but there’s very few of them.

🎧AUDIOBOOK REVIEW🎧
Duet narration! Which is honestly was drew me to this series in the first place. Both of these narrators are new to me, or new enough that their names are not recognizable. The performance was good - I can't say it particular stood out to me, but often that's a good thing since bad narration can really take away from a story for me. Great overall!

Even better in audio!

The Way We Collide follows Hendrix Bradford, professional football player, and meteorologist storm chaser, Raven Gale. They meet at a wedding and spend a hot and heavy night. This surprise baby, marriage of convenience, Football/sports romance will capture your heart. I loved how cute Haddy and Hendrix are together. The first time he experiences changing a diaper is just too funny. I was dying. I was just chortling and had to wipe tears from my eyes. The way Hendrix loves Haddie (after the initial shock wears off from finding out he’s a dad) just warms my heart. Reading Hendrix and Raven figuring out parenthood while falling in love will make you swoon.

Stephanie Kay is a new to me narrator. Initial impression is that I’m impressed. I totally forgot it’s Duet!!! So, I was pleasantly surprised. Stephanie does a great job with all the different character voices. I absolutely love her voice for Haddie and Kimmie.

Aaron Shedlock narrates as Hendrix and the male characters. The high pitched voice he uses when talking to Haddy had me chuckling. The first time he experiences changing a diaper is just too funny. You can feel their emotions with the voice changes in tone and pitch.

Overall, I just had a great time reading The Way We Collide. You can read this as a standalone but truly appreciate all the characters if you read the rest of the series.

Thank you to Home Cooked Books for the ALC that I voluntarily reviewed.

Sweet, heartfelt, and sizzling romance!

I love the Bradford family and it continues to capture my heart with Hendrix and Raven's sweet, heartfelt, and sizzling romance. I was completely caught up in the lives of these delightful and complicated characters and couldn't help but cheer for their HEA. Hendrix and Raven have instant chemistry when they first meet and have a night of fiery passion. Neither of them are looking for a relationship as they focus on their careers on opposite coasts. But a surprise baby brings them back together. Raven asks Hendrix to get married temporarily to to secure her trust fund. Hendrix is excited to get to know his new baby girl, but didn't expect how much he would fall in love with his temporary wife, and being a married dad. Raven is also falling for Hendrix and swooning at the way he takes care of her and their little girl. But as the end of their arrangement gets closer, will they find the strength to ask for more, and make their beautiful family official? I really loved Hendrix and Raven and the way they found their way to making a sweet family together. They were multifaceted, funny and relatable, and their chemistry was palpable. I also loved their family and friends who were fun and supportive and added so much heart to this addicting story. I love a book that can make me laugh, cry and swoon and this did all that and more. It captured my heart and had me totally engaged from start to finish.
Narrators, Aaron Shedlock and Stefanie Kay did an amazing job at bringing this story to life. Their expressive voices and ability to convey their complex emotions from the dramatic to the funny, from panic to passion, and all the sweet moments in between was superb, allowing us to feel empathy at their struggles and joy for their triumphs. They helped to make this delightful and heartfelt story even better.