Caught in the Axe

Maine Lumberjacks, Book 1

De: Daphne Elliot

Narrado por: Aiden Snow, Mollie Stark

My ex’s brother is officially off-limits. Right? He’s ten years older. He’s only in town for a few weeks. And did I mention he’s my ex-boyfriend’s brother? But when I agree to be the grumpy lumberjack’s temporary assistant, it gets harder and harder to resist him. He’s all beard, broad shoulders, and growls, but I savor every one of his rare smiles.

I’m so close to the fresh start I’ve been working toward for so long, but while I’m ready to leave behind the moose, the lumberjacks, and the crazy small-town gossip, I can’t stay away from Owen. We’re tasked with cleaning up a disaster in order for his family to move on from their painful past, and we can only succeed if we trust one another. Our late nights, road trips, and inside jokes bring us too close and make it difficult to stay away. And while on a business trip, we don’t just cross the line, we demolish it. We’ve both been burned by the small-town rumor mill, so we agree to keep things quiet. But secrets don’t keep in Lovewell for long, and it’s only a matter of time before we get caught in the act. We’re headed in different directions and living different lives. And no matter how badly I want him, he can never truly be mine.

Author’s Note: Caught in the Axe is a standalone small-town romance featuring a nerdy, grumpy lumberjack with a heart of gold hidden under his flannel shirt and a sunshine ex-beauty queen who loves to challenge him. If you enjoy flirty banter, wood chopping, moose shenanigans, and possessive mountain men, then take a trip to Lovewell and meet the Maine Lumberjacks.

Series Blurb: Welcome to Lovewell, Maine, where the moose outnumber the people and you can’t swing an axe without hitting a hot, grumpy lumberjack. The Maine Lumberjacks Series are ALL standalones but are most fun when read in order!

©2024 Melody Publishing, LLC (P)2025 Melody Publishing, LLC

Owen & Lila

As soon as I saw this was going to be a brother's ex story, I knew I needed to read it! And just 1 book in and I am obsessed with these lumberjacks. I do always set my hopes real high when starting a brother's ex story and this did not let me down! I loved their connection, how well they worked together and began to rely on each other. Now I got to experience this all over again but in audio!

Owen has returned home to help deal with the mess that their father left. And Lila is looking for a job so she can go to grad school and ends up working for Owen. Owen & Lila’s connection had me hooked from the jump. The chemistry, the banter, the slow-build friendship that turns into so much more was so beautifully done. I loved the way they were able to bond over some of their quirky interests. And how they worked so well together handling the family business.

Aiden Snow and Mollie Stark nailed this narration! Their chemistry crackled through every scene. Aiden brought the growly alpha, while Mollie gave us all the sweet but sassy energy. This was very well cast. I was hooked from the first chapter!

This series is starting off HOT! 🔥

Story - ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Spice - 🌶🌶🌶
Narration - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Caught in the Axe is book #1 in the Maine Lumberjacks series. Owen is the CFO for De Luca Construction (Enzo from Mother Hater, Momcom series) and let me tell you as soon as I saw the connection, I was SUPER EXCITED! Grumpy, workaholic Owen has distanced himself from his family, but now he's back in Lovewell, Maine to sell of the family logging business. His brothers hire him an assistant, Lila, that he is immediately attracted to. Unfortunately, Lila is his half-brother's ex-girlfriend. He lives in Boston, she wants to go to NYU. These two look like oil and water on paper, but behind closed doors they are gasoline and matches!! Stoic gentleman Owen becomes dirty-talking, cuddly Owen with some absolutely toe-curling steamy scenes. Ms. Elliot paints a beautiful picture of New England all while spinning a tale of dysfunctional family dynamics, a found family, forbidden attraction, and forgiveness. All this is wrapped up in hilarious banter between the brothers and friends. I can't wait for the rest of the stories for the hilarious Hebert brothers!

The duet narration was absolute perfection. Aiden Snow and Mollie Stark definitely brought their A-game to the plate. His deep, husky "good girl" and her total witty sarcasm and snark made this a 5-star story for me. These two were pure gold!

Loved this age gap, ex’s brother, workplace romance!

Daphne did a great job highlighting the stark differences between a twenty-something’s mentality and a nearly forty year old’s thought processes. Owen is so much more willing to just live in the moment and assured they’ll figure things out, while Lila is still set on her rigid plan and worried about others’ perceptions. But Owen is such a green flag guy! Zero pressure, super supportive, and interested in learning not just Lila’s interests, but things to accommodate her needs and to care for her. The off-limits aspect made the tension fun and exciting!

I also really enjoyed the large family dynamic that Owen returns home too. The family love is one many desire, event with some tension between a couple members.

Mollie was the perfect Lila, full of sunshine and confident, projecting an independent, intelligent twenty-something woman very well. And Aiden was fabulous as Owen. Grumpy, mature, and growly! And the duet narration was performed perfect!

Small Town Lumberjacks

I love small-town romance stories, and the addition of Lumberjacks made this one fun. I enjoyed Lila and Owen's grumpy-sunshine, age-gap, slow-burning romance. The forbidden nature of Lila being Owen's little brother's ex created delicious tension between them. Owen returns home, intending to help his family's lumber business and then return to his life in the big city. He didn't expect Lila, his new assistant, to turn his world upside down. He falls fast and hard for her, but with their lives moving in different directions, they are forced to make some tough decisions.

Lila and Owen were cute together. Their banter and chemistry made this a fun relationship to watch develop. It's always fun witnessing the grump who has no plans of being in a relationship, end up falling in love. Owen is so sweet, and I loved how incredibly thoughtful he was when it came to Lila. Caught in the Axe is an engaging story, however, I did find it to be a bit too long with a good number of plot holes. The pacing was a bit uneven, and some moments seemed to drag. Overall, this is a good start to the series, and I am excited to see what comes next.

Narration:
The audiobook is performed in duet by Mollie Stark and Aiden Snow. Both did a wonderful job with this story and definitely made this a more enjoyable reading experience for me. Mollie and Aiden were very expressive and really brought the characters to life. Their voices worked well together.

lumberjacks are HOT

I continue to devour Daphne's writing and her characters. She does lumberjack the best. Owen & Lila's friendship, connection, chemistry and banter was just perfectly done. This is a small town, age gap, brother's ex-girlfriend romance. I always enjoy girl friendships. The bond and how close Lila is with her best friends, Willa and Magnolia was amazing. Owen has escaped the small-town life, and now lives in Boston, but when the family business needs to help, he returns to Lovewell. Lila is just trying to save up enough money for grad school and when the Hebert's need help in the office to unravel the mess their father left behind, she jumps at the chance. So happy to be back in Lovewell, Maine and beyond ready for more!

Aiden Snow and Mollie Stark were amazing in this book. Mollie is a newer narrator to me, but I've already listened to two other books with her voice and she does such an incredible job. Aiden as always, does a tremendous job of bringing yet another character to life!

Entertaining

Set in small town Lovewell, Maine this is Owen and Lila’s story and one that had me quickly invested.

Owen is Lila’s ex’s older brother and should be off limits. However the heart wants who the heart wants and once they cross the line, all bets are off.

The narration by Aiden Snow and Mollie Stark was spot on in my opinion with voices that are want to listen to. They brought all the drama, passion, humour and romance to life with their performances.

I really enjoyed the push and pull dynamic as their relationship progressed.

Lumberjack perfection! Absolutely loved!

Aiden Snow and Millie Stark were fantastic as Owen & Lila. I loved getting to experience my first lumberjack romance all over again. Aiden Snow had the absolute perfect (what I imagine it to be) lumberjack voice, and Mollie Stark nailed sweet Lilah. I couldn't imagine a better duo to narrate Owen & Lila's story. Simply perfect from beginning to end.

Daphne Elliot is a lumberjack loving, brilliant writer and she has made me fall in love with lumberjacks too! I will forever be in my lumberjack era.

Caught in the Axe is book 1 in the Maine Lumberjacks series and Lila and Own kicked off this series spectacularly.

Owen is a man in love, love and is willing to do anything for Lila. He fell first, fast, and HARD! The way he supports her dreams and always wants the best for her made my heart pitter patter throughout the book. He catered to her celiac disease, and always made sure she had snacks and food that wouldn't make her sick *swoon* like it was his life long mission to care for her. Lila was a determined woman, had a plan, and wasn't going to let anyone or anything stand in her way. That is until Owen came back to Lovewell to sell the family business.

These two had instant chemistry. Their banter was A+ and the sparks were flying! The forbidden, brothers ex aspect just made their relationship all the more enticing for me. There is no man that would ever love and cherish Lila more than Owen. Owen has raised the bar for book boyfriend expectations and anyone else will have a hard time comparing.

When Lila seduced Owen, whooo weeee!!! Hot! Hot! Hot! That man was ruined. He thought he was coming back to Lovewell to sell the business and would quickly resume life back in Boston as he knew it. He didn't stand a chance of life ever being the same after meeting Lila.

This story was so well developed and the family and friends added more dimension to an already brilliant story. I can't wait for more!

We cannot forget about our boy, Clive the moose. *hehehe* Not only did he get Owen before he even made it into town, he had Lila running for dear life as well. He sure is an A-hole but we love that moose like no other.

Lumberjacks ? Yes please

This story was cute. A little long for a small town “forbidden” romance but cute overall. Aiden snow is one of my favorite narrators so ofcourse I would listen to anything he narrates. The story was sweet growth between both mcs. It was slow at first but got better as I continued. On to book 2 since it ended on a jaw dropping ending

Sweet & Spicy Audiobook!

Get ready for hot ‘n’ grumpy Owen Hebert and lovable brilliant Lila voiced by Aiden Snow and Mollie Stark! Their duet narration of Caught In the Axe is outstanding. Aiden’s growly portrayal of Owen Hebert was precisely how I imagined when I read this book, and his performance was perfectly swoony. Mollie portrayed Lila beautifully, drawing you into her character arc from an underestimated, people-pleasing former beauty queen to a fierce, outspoken, enchanting woman. This duet matchup was everything I hoped for and more!

4/5 📖 5/5🎧 Spice Level: 🌶🌶

Owen and Lila are everything!

I just finished my audio reread for this one and it just reminded me how much I loved this book. Aiden Snow was the perfect Owen, just as I imagined our grumpy, serious Hebert brother would sound as he is trying to navigate helping his family through the business troubles, while also avoiding his growing feelings for his half-brother's ex-girlfriend. Mollie Stark nailed it narrating Lila and I loved how the banter played out even more on audio than I did the first time around. And the fact that it was in duet really made for a fun listen!

Thanks to Daphne and her team!

Original Book Review:
Forever in my Lumbersnack era thanks to Daphne's books and Owen Hebert is no exception! This man left Lovewell as soon as he could straight out of high school, doesn't act or look like your typical Lumberjack, but you can take the man out of Maine, but you can't take Maine out of the man!

I was so excited for the Heberts after the last series and this book did not disappoint. It has all the intrigue and suspense I've come to expect from a Daphne Elliot book, along with banter, a swoony MMC, whip-smart FMC, and the oh-so-steamy moments!!

Owen comes back to help his brothers with the family business after their father leaves it in shambles with his criminal activity. Owen wants to sell it off and he needs help getting everything in order. Enter Lila Webster, his younger half-brother's ex-girlfriend. Lila is brilliant and beautiful and before he recognized who she even was, he was a goner. But once he realizes he shouldn't want her and can't have her, that's when the real trouble starts.

These two were amazing together. Owen and Lila really bring out the best in each other and there was no way they were going to be able to resist the temptation.

I'm so excited for the rest of this series, especially Gus' book after that little teaser about what's to come. I look forward to more suspense and cameos from some of our favorite Lovewell residents, including that chaotic moose!