Sweet Temptation

Love & Legacy, Book 1

By: Bella Matthews

Narrated by: Andi Arndt, Tor Thom

From #1 Amazon and USA Today Bestselling Author Bella Matthews comes a brother's best friend, bad boy/good girl, football romance.

Lucky Beneventi might be the villain in my fairytale, but given the choice, I’m not sure I’d have it any other way.

My brother’s best friend and Philly’s favorite football player is the same cocky bad boy every girl wants and the dangerous temptation I was never supposed to touch.

Until I did. . . And now I can’t stop.

I’m selfish enough to crave him—his kiss, his body, his heart—even when I know I’ll leave it shattered in the end. But this can’t happen. We can’t happen. I won’t let us. Even if he makes me feel alive in a way my broken body knows won’t last forever. . .

Because the truth is, when the story ends, Lucky isn’t the villain. I am.

©2025 Bella Matthews (P)2025 Bella Matthews

A must listen!!!

Wow. I thought reading this book was amazing but being able to listen to it and feel the emotions through the narrators had me in tears and clutching my phone to my chest. Bella you couldn’t have picked a better duo for this book!! So so good

sweet temptations

This is book is amazing. 100% amazing. I will be listening to this book again.

Meant to Be!

Andi Arnot and Tor Thom did a great job with Lexi and Lucky. I didn't know this book was going to be as emotional as it was. Maybe it was me or maybe it was the fact that denying yourself someone to love because you want to spare them grief hits different. Lucky is the bad boy football player that Lexi should avoid. Lexi is the good girl and little sister of his best friends which should make her off limits. These two are so entertaining as they warm up to each other. It was hard not to fall in love with these characters and hope they get a HEA.

"Lexi. She's the Phoenix forged in the flames. Love her harder. Hold her tighter. Then watch her fly!"

Omg so good couldn’t stop listening

I loved how the voices picked for the characters matched so good absolutely loved the story line pure love and feel god brought some tears but good tears love the kroyden crew never disappoints I can escape reality for a while and live in fantasy

Such A Sad, Sweet & Passionate Love Story!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶
Emotions: 💧💧💧💧
Narrators: 🎧🎧🎧🎧.5

What an incredible yet emotional love story to start out the new Love & Legacy series. Bella Matthews always writes with her heart, and you can always feel the love between her characters. Lucky and Lexie's story was no different except for maybe a little more emotional.

Tropes:
🏈 Sports Romance (Football)
🧁 Brothers Best Friend
🏈 Star Crossed Lovers
🧁 It's Always Been You
🏈 Bad Boy/Good Girl
🧁 Roommates to Lovers
🏈 Forced Proximity
🧁 Childhood Crush

Lucky and Lexie grew up together. They were one close before high school started and changed everything between their friendship. Lucky then stayed Lexie's twin brothers best friend while carrying her aside for other females.

Lucky never stopped thinking about Lexie or caring about her no matter how hard he tried to. Now that she is coming home from Paris, and fixing to start working for his mother's bakery, Lexie is also moving in with Lucky and her brother Linc.

Lucky can no longer stay away from her, and he doesn't want to. He's tired of denying himself and what he really wants, and now he's going to finally go after the girl.

The thing is, Lexie doesn't want a relationship and she never intends on changing that. Lexie was born with CF, and she refuses to add a life that will be shortened to another person. It's not fair for them because that person will one day lose her.

This is such a beautiful and emotional story. I cried for this couple and the fight they have on their hands as Lexie's lungs continue to get worse. Her side made sense in so many ways, but so did Lucky's fight for her. That man went after her with his whole heart. This book wasn't always pretty, and we got to see them hard days and the emotional ones. Lucky is this big strong bad boy Beneventi, yet he had hard days seeing his love sick. It was such a beautiful story.

Tor Thom and Andi Ardt did an amazing job narrating this duet style book. Tor's voice was gravely and deep and sounded like how I would think a bad boy should sound.
Andi always does an amazing job narrating. The author said she was so excited that she was finally getting Andi Ardt to narrate one of her stories because she's such a huge fan of her voice. I totally agree.
The only thing I wanted more of was emotions from the male narrator, Tor. His voice sounds great and he did well. It was just missing that sad emotional part that Lucky Brigitte out in the book.

I'm so excited that were getting some new and some returning characters in this new series. Jamie Murphy and Ryker Beneventi are in this book as well as Caitlin and Callen Sinclair. Dillan Ryan is in her as well as Rome Beneventi. I'm still waiting for them to get together.
New characters were finally seeing is Brea Beneventi, Aurora Kingston, Saylor Kingston and, Linc & Lochlan Sinclair.
We also get Elodie, whom you may remember as the baby born to Carys & Coopers best friends in their story. She's all grown up now and moving to Kroydon Hills. Can we hope she'll get a book with maybe Lochlan, the navy seal like her father was?
Speaking of Cooper... can you believe what he and Sam said to Lucky as a team to keep him away from Lexie. These 2 big men that believe in love so much they went through hell to be with their partners did that to Lucky & Lexie before they even began and without her knowledge.