Heart of Stone

Road Trip Romance, Book 19

By: A. K. Evans

Narrated by: C J Mission, Sophie Daniels

Reid Erickson was perfectly happy with his life as it was. But when he gets a call that he needs to return to his Ohio hometown to carry on his family’s business, he’s perfectly miserable.

And things don’t get much better when he meets the one woman who understands the business better than anyone else.

Natalia Barton has a zest for life. She enjoys her work, is happy every day, and doesn’t care that Reid wants to be a grouch. It won’t stop her from doing what she loves.

But when something happens with the power to crush Natalia’s spirit, everything changes for Reid.

He finally admits Natalia got under his skin and softened his heart of stone.

©2025 A. K. Evans (P)2025 A. K. Evans

Nice Slow Burn

I really enjoyed this story, I love the road trip series and how you can read a book in it and it’s a standalone. We have Reid who is what I call a grumpy guy. He has to go home and run his parents retreat. He has never wanted to do that but he ends up meeting Natalia who is sunny to his grump. This is a slow burn which works out really well when we see her past. Loved the audio just as much as the story.

Emotional grumpy/sunshine, workplace romance

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 is Book 19 in the Road Trip Romance Series by A.K. Evans, featuring a grumpy/sunshine, workplace romance for Reid and Natalia. The last place Reid ever wanted to be was back home in Ohio taking over The Retreat for his father after an emergency. His tainted memories of the place steer his goals for the future, that is, until he’s bowled over by the endlessly positive manager who views the Retreat as her saving grace. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the emotion beneath the grumpy/sunshine exterior of both characters. It was interesting to see how all that evolved into intriguing plot twists that had me emotional myself. Reid showed a great deal of growth, and I loved how compassionate he was as Natalia’s past came out, moving at her pace. You have to appreciate a slow burn that is exactly what the characters need. They had a very sweet connection that allowed the chemistry to ignite when the time was right. The only thing that interrupted the flow for me at times was the dialogue felt a bit formal, but the emotion and heart of the story were great. The audio was released early, so I downloaded that as well. C.J. Mission and Sophie Daniels conveyed every nuance of this story very well. There were a few highly emotional scenes that really stuck out to me, and they really did those justice!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶.5
🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙

Powerful, Emotional, and Intense

Heart of Stone is a powerful story of love, forgiveness, and learning to communicate. Full of intensity, both Reid and Natalia carry deep emotional wounds from their pasts. When they are thrown together, his ultra grumpy is magnified by her bright sunshine. They sure do trigger each other with their opposite personalities, while their physical chemistry pokes at each of them in different ways. Author AK Evans does a lovely job of character development and relationship connection as the story progresses, peeling back one layer at a time until we get a complete understanding of why each of the leads is who and how they are. The narrators were fabulous at expressing the complexities of each of these characters, bringing out the essence of Evans’ writing in ways that truly do the story justice. The road trip romance series is delightful, as each story is a standalone, so you can enjoy them all in any order. This latest installment is a great addition that covers hardcore real life issues, but it does so in a way that focuses on healing and the love story building between the two leads.

4.5 stars!

Reid Erickson is summoned back to his hometown by his father. Thinking the worst, Reid returns only to find out that his mom had a medical emergency. Reid wants nothing to do with their retreat; he wants to raze the whole thing and build something else. His father asks him for six months, to which Reid agrees. Enter Natalia Barton. She's the sunshine of the retreat. Her personality is fit for running the retreat. She's personable, likable, and good at what she does. Reid, on the other hand, is one grumpy man. Their working relationship starts off tenuously. Neither one knows how to act around the other, but Natalia powers through. Eventually Reid begins to thaw and his feelings for Natalia begin to change. Just when we think all is good for an HEA, here comes the plot twist. But, as this is a romance, Reid and Natalia eventually get their forever after.

Sophie Daniels and CJ Mission did an amazing job of narrating this story. Their talented voices brought the characters to life!

I received a complimentary copy of the audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this review.

Rollercoaster ride of emotions

In this latest addition to the series we have two complex and likable characters.
Natalia Barton loves life and her job at the Ohio wellness center.
When Reid Erickson, son of the owner of the center, is called back home from his business in Pennsylvania to help run the wellness center during an emergency, he is not a happy man.
Natalia was ready to welcome Reid and help him navigate the business, and instead of being appreciate for her help, Reid is an absolute grouch.
But what happens when Reid, in a moment of rage, scares Natalia away?
The story is one filled with ups and downs emotionally . It will stir the listen’s feelings taking them on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
In the end , will these two find their individual and collective happiness?
Once again the narrators C J Miossion and Sophie Daniels bring the story to life.
I was entrusted a copy of this audiobook. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

Reid & Natalia have a bit of an enemies to lovers

Reid and Natalia have a bit of an enemies to lovers story, as they are thrust into each other's lives with secret reasons lurking. Reid has a lot of anger, and Natalia's peppy attitude doesn't help that. An attraction simmers that they both would prefer to ignore it seems, but when something happens shaking up Natalia's world, it also shakes up Reid's and a protectiveness and caring side emerges that burrows in. Those walls around their hearts fall and love blooms, but the rocky road isn't over yet as misunderstandings and secrets threaten, but in the end they get all they never knew they needed. The narration brought these characters to life.

Grumpy/Sunshine Slow Burn

Reid has resentment for his father that is deep. But Reid strikes a six month deal with him to run the resort as normal before he takes over and dismantles it while his mother recovers from a heart attack. Enter ray of positive sunshine, Natalia, who helps him run the resort. She has a troubled past, but is grateful for the job and Reid's parents for providing her with a safe place to work and recover. At every rebuff, Natalia tries to maintain a positive attitude towards the boss's son, who seems to get grumpier every day. As Reid tries to fight the pull he has towards Natalia, he soon finds that he cannot resist her. Then the past comes back and he is all in. I loved this story and the narrations was topnotch in bringing this couple to life. Fun banter and great ending.

This was great!

Road Trip book 19 takes us to Ohio!

Reid finds himself having to come back home and help with the family business while his mom was sick. Determined to only help, Reid let’s his thought wonder to other possibilities, well until he met the manager!
Natalia loves her job at the retreat, and it shows in everything she does and then Reid shows up.

These two couldn’t be anymore different and it was funny to watch them navigate around each other.
A wonderful story to listen to. I have the audio version and C.J. Mission and Sophia Daniels were perfect for these two. Both narrators really expressed the emotions perfectly!

Great grumpy sunshine story

Reid and Natalia are may just be my new favorite Road Trip couple. Reid puts the GRUMPY in the Grumpy/Sunshine trope. Whew, he really really doesn't want to be there, have any part of it, or get to know Natalia at all. Natalia is just a ray of sunshine and truly LOVES what she does. She has such a vibrant energy that Reid tries so hard to push away, but once he lets down his guard and takes her in for all she is, it's BEAUTIFUL!! I could reread this one many many times.