Irish Rogue

McCullough Mountain, Book 3

By: Lydia Michaels

Narrated by: David Allen Vargo

Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Opposites attract in this scorching romance from best-selling author, Lydia Michaels, when a small-town bad boy falls hard for the town virgin.

Kelly McCullough has always gotten every woman he’s wanted. Of all the McCullough men, his charm and magnetism is unmatched. However, there’s one woman he cannot have. Ashlynn Fisher is saving herself for marriage.

Ashlynn is everything Kelly is not. She’s quiet, shy, and—above all—virginal. But after losing her heart to Kelly in grade school, no other man compares. When Ashlynn decides it’s time for her to find a husband, Kelly, a sucker for brown-eyed girls, offers to help but soon finds himself in a situation he never expected. Chaste kisses and stolen secrets put Kelly’s virility and Ashlynn’s virtue to the test. Sooner or later, one of them will break, because neither want to bend when it comes to their needs.

Best-selling author, Lydia Michaels, has created an unforgettable family saga bursting with sizzling secrets and scandalous moments in this award-winning series, McCullough Mountain, where each story can be listened to as a stand-alone!

©2015 Lydia Michaels (P)2023 Lydia Michaels

Kelly McCullough stole my heart 💚

Awww Kelly McCullough I knew he would be the one with a heart of gold under his manwhore ways. This book is just as funny as it is sweet. The talk of confessions and going to the confessional is hilarious 😂 But I love the Irish Rogue and actually seeing more of Kelly's point of view. (I also listened to it and this one was by David Allen Vango.) It was nice to check in with all the McCullough siblings and see how they rally around each other in good times and bad. Can't wait to read the next book, British Professor!

Opposites Attract

This story was an opposites attract, romance. You have Kelly, the town playboy and Ashlynn, the town virgin who's never been kissed (this part was a little hard to believe).

Overall, the story was enjoyable. I loved how Kelly changed his ways for the love of his life and all their struggles. I've loved the entire series so far, and I can't wait for the next book!

Listened to audiobook and enjoyed narration

Great writing

Very smooth to listen to. No over explaining or too descriptive when you don’t want it to be. No boring parts that make you want to fast forward anything. It is a fun listen and unpredictable!

Emotional read...

This story was a sweet, opposites attract, romance. It was an emotional read. You have Kelly the town playboy and Ashlynn the town virgin who's never been kissed (this part was a little hard to believe for me). However the overall story was enjoyable. I really loved how Kelly changed his ways for the love of his life and all the struggles they dealt with. I can't wait to jump into the next story. 3 1/2 stars for me.

The narration was beautifully done by David Allen Vargo. He did a great job with all the voices.

a nice surprise

well I wasn't sure what to expect with this one but it was a nice surprise. you have the town rogue who falls for the quiet daughter of a farmer and market owner too.
what you don't expect is how thier story goes. how then end up together and how he said good bye to his Rogue status. I love that on top of the narators voice the added music to make the scene that much better.

I really want to hear how the rest of this series goes and I hope it has the same narrator too as he was very engaging to listen too

All Audiobooks Should Come with soundtrack

First I have to say I loved the soundtrack that was integrated into this audiobook. Every audiobook should have a soundtrack. It adds so much and I loved it.

This book was recommended to me several times and every time I said no. I wasn’t interested in the book based on the blurb and I didn’t want to waste 14 hours on a book I thought wouldn’t hold my attention. Boy was I wrong. This is a character driven story that grabbed me in chapter 1 (not the prologue that was boring) and would not let me go. I found myself doing house work I had been avoiding just so that I had something to do that gave me an excuse to listen. It’s an emotional heart wrenching beautiful listen that was so hard to walk away from.

The narrator did a fabulous job, I definitely want to listen to more done by him. Again I loved all the sound effects and wish they were in more audiobooks. They added an extra layer to the story that I really enjoyed. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves romance with some angst and characters that have to go through a lot of growing before they can have their happily ever after.

Great story and amazing narration!

Kelly had to wake up his brother Bray as soon as he snuck back into the house. He was so excited to tell him about 'doing it' for the first time. He had other brothers, one in seminary to become a priest so he definitely couldn't share his news there, and he felt closer to Braydon than the others.

He raced downstairs the next morning excited to get to school to see Rachel again when his mother stopped him in his tracks telling him she knew what he was up to and he had better knock it off. He tried to deny any wrongdoing, but she narrowed her eyes telling him she could tell when her sons were up to no good and in all his years he had stumbled downstairs like a zombie and had never raced to go anywhere in the morning, especially to school.

The next weekend his father called him in before he could rush to meet friends telling him that Rachel's father had called him about her sneaking out at night and to inform him that since she had gotten caught it wouldn't be happening anymore. After speaking with Rachel's father he thought about Kelly's sister Sheilagh and how he would feel if she had snuck out to meet some punk and Kelly realized that he would kill anyone trying to mess with his sister.

Then his father looked him in the eye and told him that he knew that his five sons did stupid crap, but that Kelly needed to make sure that he realized his actions had consequences and that his mother was upset and bought him condoms. He would prefer that his sons practice abstinence but he knew they were young and they would prefer him to be safe than having a child when he was in high school with someone he didn't intend to spend his life with. Above all his father demanded that he never mislead anyone with a future that he didn't plan to give.

Kelly learned at the age of fourteen when he first slept with a girl that it meant something different to girls and he never made the mistake again of not making it clear there was no future involved. Until he met Lexi. Lexi turned the tables on him... after a night at a party she was appalled that he kissed her at the lockers the next day. Saying she had plans for her future and everyone knew that all he was good for was a good time... he was no one's future.

So ten years and many women later Kelly lived up to his reputation. The bad boy who could guarantee a girl a good time. His Aunt Colleen was the only one who saw beyond the facade of what he could be and offered him ownership of the family pub, O'Malley's, but he had to earn it.

I loved this story! It is very well written and the characters are fully developed and relatable. I would highly suggest that you read this series from the beginning as the characters are recurring and several of Kelly's siblings have their own POV is this story that gives you even more insight into this family.

Kelly is one of seven siblings to a very vocal and interfering Irish family. Not even his family sees him as anything but a playboy out for a good time. A poker game, a family bet and his life flips upside down.

Ashlynn has had a crush on Kelly since they went to school and ten years later she comes into the pub just to stare at the gorgeous man she would never have a future with. Why would he be interested in the shy, wallflower, town virgin who didn't know anything outside of farming?

This book is action-packed from beginning to end. I listened to the audiobook version of this story narrated by David Allen Vargo and I don't think I have enjoyed an audiobook as much as this one!

This is the first time I have listened to David Allen Vargo and I could listen to him all day as he does impersonations of characters. He is total entertainment as he does over ten different voice adaptations in this story and they transition throughout perfectly. His emotional pitch is perfection and I love his background and sound effects.

If you want a steamy hot, small-town romance look no further! Highly recommend this story and am looking forward to listening to this narrator again in the future!

The Rogue Falls Hard! Elizabeth @ Carolina Chic’s Read

The Rogue Falls Hard! Elizabeth @ Carolina Chic’s Read

Kelly and Ashlyn are totes cute in this story where the rogue falls hard for the town virgin. Kelly will never settle down, Ashlyn is fully aware that she has to move in from her feels if from a boy who never looks her way. Only trouble is when she does Kelly makes a play for her that she cannot resist.

I teared up for their love story. The hard truth and brutal truth that makes them love harder.

5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

opposites attract!

🅰🆄🅳🅸🅾🅱🅾🅾🅺 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆

So this was an interesting listen. I've not listened to many books that include background sound effects. It was a little a little distracting for me but I appreciated the effort to immerse the listener using sound effects.

Narrated by David Allen Vargo, who's totally new to me. I FLOVE his voice!! It's sexy and smooth and totally fit Kelly's character.

Kelly has a bit of a ladies man rep he got as a teen and it has become larger than life. He's the most outgoing of the McCullough boys and one of his best traits is how personable he is.
Ashlynn is his female opposite and resident virginal wallflower.

I love how well they complement eachother and build eachother up.

Overall, I loves the book because I love the series and I needed Kelly's HEA!

Kelly & Ashlynn

Kelly McCullough is the bachelor of the family. He has no intentions of getting married, he is not good enough for anyone. A playboy by reputation, he enjoys his single life. When a friend of his begins to date Ashlynn, the town virgin, Kelly begins to show an interest in her. Ashlynn has had a crush on Kelly for years. He is the one that showed her compassion in high school, but she never thought he really noticed her. Now the two are pulled together by an impossible thread, and Kelly is in for the pursuit of his life. Will be be able to win over Ashlynn? We he be able to give up his promiscuous ways? Ashlynn is strong in her beliefs, and I love her conviction to remain true to herself. She loves with her whole heart and faces her insecurities head on. Kelly may seem secure in who he is, but it's Ashlynn who is able to see his lack of confidence and build him up to the man he truly is. Plus we get to see all of the McCullough family, which in itself is a treat. Their craziness, witty banter and true family feel make this series very special and a pleasure to listen to.

There is nothing better than a perfectly cast narrator telling us a story, and David Allen Vargo is just that. He is fantastic, bringing each character, male and female to life. I love how he tunes into each personality, uses his Irish accent and breathes life into story. And the use of sound effects at the most appropriate times gives us a very visual picture what is happening. He does not overuse the effects, so they are not distracting, but an enhancement, creating a movie in our minds. He is fantastic!