Beautiful Distraction

McCullough Mountain, Book 2

By: Lydia Michaels

Narrated by: Lucinda Gainey

Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

When a small town’s hottest lumberjack falls for the full-figured, curvy girl, people take notice in this award-winning, friends-to-lovers romance from best-selling author, Lydia Michaels.

When Finnegan McCullough catches a woman trespassing on his family’s Mountain, he’s captivated by blue eyes and thick thighs. Mallory Fenton might have just moved to their small town, but she won’t be a stranger for long. Funny and sexy as hell, this beautiful distraction quickly becomes Finn’s greatest obsession.

Mallory ran to Center County to escape her past and reinvent herself. Befriending a chiseled, flannel-covered lumberjack was never part of the plan. Sexy men rarely notice her. And after years of being the "fat girl", she can’t figure out what a gorgeous man like Finn might want from her.

A realistic and heartwarming romance that proves love and beauty come in all shapes and sizes. Awarded an honorable mention for writing an exceptional contemporary romance in 2014 by the Rone Awards, best-selling author, Lydia Michaels, brings fiction to life in a beautiful novel about self-love, second chances, and acceptance.

©2019 Lydia Michaels (P)2023 Lydia Michaels

Wonderful Story & Listen🎧 Engrossing & Heartfelt!

Lydia Michaels continues to blow me away with another wonderfully heartfelt novel set in her McCullough Mountain series. The story not only grabbed my attention and captivated it the entire book, but it tugged on my heartstrings the entire time. The characters are realistic, easy to relate to and connect with, they are easy to care about too. Mallory Fenton was unhappy with herself and her life in Philly behind and moved to Center County to start over again, with plans of returning to Philly in a year as a new and improved person. She started a new workout regime that included jogging and new to the area she had not realized she ran onto private property, the McCullough’s property. Finnegan McCullough was riding on the mountain road when his tire blows out, while outside his vehicle he heard strange noises and went to investigate them only to be slammed by another person. Mallory has some serious self-esteem issues, and it is one of the reasons why she struggles to trust people, terrible experiences with people did not help matters. She has a habit of overthinking and questioning everyone’s motives and how they see her in their own eyes. Her way of thinking is a perfect example of how a person can be their own worst enemy and I think almost everyone has been in her shoes at some time in their life. I just adored Finn, he has a heart of gold and is a genuine people pleaser. He has been with his girlfriend, off and on, for ten years but even he knew he was with her more out of habit and then of love but he finally opens up with eyes and sees Erin for who she really is and she is not a very nice person. Mallory and Finn become good friends and their feelings start to more into something more, but Mallory is afraid, afraid to lose their friendship, afraid Finn would go back to Erin because she was not good enough. I loved how everything played out in this book, it is a beautifully written and plotted story with plenty of drama, angst, heartfelt emotions and some hot romance. Lydia Michaels thank you for another wonderful story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 And for the wonderful narration, Lucinda Gainey continues to deliver an outstanding performance, bringing these characters and their story to life. She has a complete understanding of the characters she is portraying, giving each a voice that suits that character’s persona and is believable in every role she plays. Her take on Mallory was spot on, she grasped her insecurities and convictions as well as all her emotions and had you feeling every single one and she did the same for Finn. She was great at performing the roles of all the secondary characters, too. Lucinda Gainey is a versatile voice artist and an entertaining storyteller. Thank you for another fabulous listen.

I’m a new fan

I’m new to Lydia Michael’s and I didn’t know what to expect. This book was pretty insightful about a very important issue. Finn is a pure soul who doubts his own worth. Malorie is filled with self criticism and low self-esteem, and their journey to a happy ending touched on some very real struggles that many people face. The characters were complex and there was a predictable Happily Ever After. The narration was engaging. I am now a fan. I am voluntarily submitting this review after listening to a complementary copy of this audiobook.

Finn and Mallory’s story is a beautiful evolution

Mallory is a plus sized beauty that leaves a big city in search of change and transformation in a small town. She runs into sexy lumberjack Finnegan and has trouble believing he could be attracted to her. She has been knocked down many times in her life because of her weight. Finn is patient and uplifting with Mallory as the both work through insecurity issues.
I think this story does a great job of showing how someone with negative body issues and low self esteem interprets the actions of others. Mallory and Finn’s love did not start easily and their journey is beautiful. The narration is smooth and easy to listen to. Well done!

Loved it!

Mallory is the new girl in town. Finn has been in an on again off again relationship for years. He was ready to settle for mediocre before Mallory busted into his life. Mallory suffers from a bad self image. Always being a little plus sized has left her with a huge complex. She is working hard to get in shape, but Finn thinks she is beautiful the way she is. I loved how he told her again and again, she is perfect the way that she is.

This story hits very close to home. I was never big growing up. I was an athlete, but in later years, I have become larger as bad habits have taken over my life. I can relate to Mallory on so many levels. Ms. Michaels did a great job really getting into her head and telling a plus sized girl story.

The narrator was on point and did a great job telling this story.

Finn’s story was really good!

Sweet guy meets curvy girl in this entertaining story. Finn is the nice, reliable hero and Mallory is the curvy, insecure heroine. While her insecurities were realistic and relatable, it became too repetitive and frustrating at times. Finn was the sweetest guy that did everything he could to prove to Mallory that she was worth his affection. The different point of view caused me to have trouble at times with following along. I did enjoy the story overall and the narration was good.

Very Moving and Raw

As usual, Lydia Michaels finds a way to make her stories achingly real with just a breath of magic in it. I felt for Mallory in such an intense level. I saw so much of myself in her. It honestly was painful but in the best way.

Finn was dreamy and kind and everything I am looking for in my real life too.

The only reason it wasn't perfect for me is that I feel that the ending was rushed through. The 3rd act conflict was like taking all the air out of the balloon. I feel like these two moved past that kind of misunderstanding and I wish Mallory had punched that chick instead of blaming Finn.

Hahaha, but I am a crazy lady like that.

Love this family

I tend to be drawn to series that surround big crazy families (probably because I have one of my own), and the McCullough family certainly falls into that category. Finn gets his HEA in this one, and it's absolutely impossible to avoid falling completely in love with Finnegan McCullough. He is the sweetest guy. and I love that he sees the whole person, inside and out, and not just the shell. Mallory needs that in the worst way, and even then, it takes a lot for her to realize that he does care. The romance is pretty low-angst - well, there is angst, but it's mostly in Mallory's head. And boy-oh-boy is she relatable to this curvy girl. It took me a really long time to get on the body positive train, so I know the ups and downs that Mallory went through. So, I would warn that a lot of Mallory's inner turmoil pulls at the heartstrings and can be hard to read or listen to. To be honest, the only drawback for me lay in Mallory's personal growth. I didn't care for so much of it relying on the number of pounds she lost. At the same time, I've been there, so those things added an element of believability.
Lucinda Gainey narrated Beautiful Distraction, and she does so very well. There were so many feels in this one, and she captures every one. She kept the different characters distinctive, and her timing was spot on whether it was wit and humor or tears or anger.
As far as the McCullough family is concerned, there are still more siblings that need their own HEA, and I'll be looking forward to whoever is next.

Loved Finn and Mallory

4/5⭐️
3/5🌶

MC: Finn & Mallory

Third person POV, city girl/country boy, plus sized h, new start, friends to lovers, body image issues, HEA

Mallory recently moved to Centre Co in the hopes of a fresh start. She feels like she’s being left behind since all of her friends are having major life milestones but she’s just the same as always. She’s out on a hike when she literally runs into Finn when she gets lost and ends up on his family’s property. The pair become friends and when Finn’s girlfriend breaks up with him, he realizes maybe Mallory is exactly the person he needs.
I love this series so far. All the books follow a different McCullough and their love interest. This is definitely a slower burn but the story line was so good. As a plus sized girl, I really related to the body image struggles that Mallory faces. Definitely worth a listen.

Wonderful Story

I felt so many emotions while listening to Finn and Mallory's story. It's such a great story about loving and accepting yourself. I could relate to Mallory's struggle and insecurities. As her friendship with Finn grew, I understood the doubt and inner turmoil that handsome Finn McCullough would want her. Finn was fantastic and didn't tolerate her belittling herself. There were times I wanted to knock him over the head, as did Mallory, for asking about her weight and clothes size, but he was such a sweetheart and talked her through many body image and shaming issues.

Lucinda did a beautiful job narrating.

They keep getting better

After listening to the first book in this series, ALMOST PRIEST, I new I wanted to listen to the next one. I am not disappointed! This one does deal with weight and size of the main female character. My heart cracked and physically ached for Mallory. I absolutely loved her character. And Finnegan won my heart early on! I'm definitely swooning over this guy.

Lucinda Gainey is a great narrator. At first she wasn't who I was expecting, voice wise, but I adjusted and enjoyed her performance. She does both male and female voices well.

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