Always Have

The Always Series, Book 1

By: Claire Kingsley

Narrated by: James Cavenaugh, Stephanie Wyles

Kylie's best friend Braxton is the hottest man she's ever known, with a rock hard body and a smile that melts the panties off every woman he meets.

Except Kylie. Mostly.

Kylie is anxious to get off the dating carousel and find something real. Despite the way Braxton tends to suck the air from her lungs, she knows he's trouble. He's just another player, and she's tired of the game.

But Braxton isn't the man she thinks.

The real reason he's sh*t with women is simple. None of the women he's with are the one he wants. None of them are Kylie.

He wants to love her in every way imaginable, but there's always something in the way. So he stays her friend, watching her date men who are too stupid to realize how special she is. Always worried the next one won't be. The next one will be the man who takes her from him forever.

Loving Kylie risks every fiber of their friendship, but losing her might be more than Braxton can take.

©2016 Claire Kingsley (P)2019 Tantor

Could Not Finish with Audiobook Version

I may finish reading the book, but cannot listen to the female voice any longer. Every sentence she reads has the same inflection and I can’t get through it. Five hours in, but I just can’t anymore. Male voice was good though. Story to this point was good.

The female narrator is AWFUL!

This is a great book. I love the story line. However, I found myself fast forwarding a lot when the female narrator was talking and then just piecing the story together later on. Her voice is beyond annoying! It’s nails on a chalkboard annoying! Only other thing I disliked was how short it is compared to other authors. Kinda wish I wouldn’t have wasted a credit on it.

Character development and story line were great

Loved the characters from the start, even when they did dumb things. Definitely worth the listen.

I really enjoyed Braxton

I enjoyed the male narrator all right, but the female not as much. It wasn’t as bad after I sped up the voices to 1.2.
Braxton has been in love with Kylie since he was a child. He didn't think anyone knew. He his it so well. You know, with all the women. Kylie never dreamed he would ever be interested in her. The two of them along with Braxton's twin sister are inseparable. No one wants to do anything to rock the boat. Especially when his sister is adamant he leaves her alone. What if you can't stay away.

This is why I don’t do YA

Yes, I know they were almost 30, however, they acted like college kids. The FMC was so vapid, especially in the beginning. And the narrator helped that perception. She seemed like she was portraying someone far younger than the character.

The MMC’s narration was much better. His character was also better than the MFC. I definitely tuned in during his chapters and tuned out during hers.

But by chapter 3, I changed the speed to 1.5x faster and blew through the book as quickly as possible to finish.

Friends to lovers is in my top 2 fav tropes. This one just didn’t do it for me.