Falling for the Charmer

6ix Loves, Book 5

By: S.M. West

Narrated by: Alex Kydd, Devra Woodward

Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Twenty-five hundred miles in a car. All I want is a respectful driver who'll be quiet and let me lick my wounds. Instead, a disarming flirt takes the wheel and propels my life into a tailspin.

My father was supposed to be my road trip companion but abandoned me for his work. Once again. It should no longer hurt, but it does.

To add insult to injury, with his shorts and flip-flops, mussed hair, and a blindingly perfect smile, my driver is…
Annoyingly hot and far too friendly.

From the moment our gazes collide, things between us are hostile. Actually, I’m the frosty one. Tom Raine is a special kind of guy.

No matter how insufferable I am or how many times I stress he’s nothing more than my driver—most definitely not my friend—he persists in tearing down my walls.

Before long, I’m telling him my wildest wishes and darkest secrets. And it gets harder to care that our worlds couldn’t be any farther apart. Living in the spotlight, I curate images of a perfect life, while he truly makes a difference.

We should slow down or, at the very least, pump the brakes. Foolishly, we race headlong into sinfully inappropriate. I’ve never felt like this about any man. Heart aflutter and more alive than ever before. Most of all, he understands and respects me.

Tom’s the man I never wanted. He doesn’t fit into my life. But now that I’ve had him, I can’t imagine letting him go.

©2023 S.M. West (P)2023 S.M. West

Aaah…

Story concept was good but not delivered well. The storyline just dragged. Narrators did a good job.

Sweet Romance

Falling For The Charmer is an easy and fun listen. Leighton is the rich princess, Tom is the every day guy. These two are from different worlds but being in love makes them the same. I liked the whole road trip, I also liked how Leighton dealt with her parents. I think the narrators for this book are perfect. The whole series is very good.

Love S.M. West!

I listened to the audiobook of this title. My first book by S.M. West and definitely not my last. It was very entertaining and kept my interest through the whole story. The narrators, Alex Kydd and Devra Woodward were excellent. You will not be disappointed.

He sure is a charmer!

I'm falling for the charmer too! Hot ham this book was hot! Tom is an amazingly sweet guy just doing his job, but he can see something is bothering Leighton...

Long road trip with a hot charming driver...swoon.

But of course, someone has to interrupt a moment they have and ruin it...well cause a delay in what we know is inevitable! Tom and Leighton are destined to be and perfect for each other. I hate how her parents treat her and make her feel less. She's so much more.

Alex Kydd & Devra Woodward were so good with their performance in this audio! Loved it so much!

I want to road trip with Tom!!

Falling for the Charmer is book #5 in the 6ix Loves Series. It can be read as a standalone, but does have characters from the previous books. Leighton has a list of issues, but her fear of flying is causing her to drive from L.A. to Toronto. The car service sends sexy, flirty, surf boy Tom to be her driver. Leighton and Tom are complete opposites. He thinks she's spoiled, she thinks he's a flake. But the more miles these two put behind them, the closer they become. I did feel like this story dragged a little, maybe too much emphasis on her panic attacks, but it still was a great story. Definitely not to be missed in this series.

The narration was just spot on. Alex Kydd gave the PERFECT voice to Tom, full of surf-y smolder. Devra Woodward brought all the sass as well as the vulnerability of Leighton. This was definitely a 5-star performance.

Fun, steamy read with heart and plenty of swoons!

Falling for the Charmer is the story of Leighton and Tom, who could not be more different from each other. Tom has just returned from truly making a difference in the world while Leighton was raised in a gilded cage. His unflappable nature and charm lead her to confide in him and she finds herself letting go and finding a new perspective. Tom is pretty irresistible, and quite funny. At first I didn’t care for Leighton, but he peeled back her layers and found the real person in there, which was lovely.

The story is well written and has a good progression with cute banter and plenty of steam, even while tackling some tough subjects. Who doesn’t love a road trip romance with the forced proximity factor while both characters are undergoing existential crises. This makes for a fun, steamy read with heart and plenty of swoons.

Narration by Alex Kydd and Devra Woodward was really good. Devra is a new narrator to me and she has a lovely voice and really brought Leighton to life through all the stages of her character development. Alex Kydd did a great job as Tom and was the perfect choice. Excellent casting and new names to add to my list of favorite narrators.

On the road to a safe harbor…

What I enjoyed best about West’s story was that it was about two people who are both at a point in their lives where they are drifting and they became each other’s safe harbor. The road trip trope allowed for an appealing pace in terms of how the relationship developed between the two. However I felt that Tom was the more supportive partner in many ways. He was indeed a charmer and, for me, the better half of this story’s central couple. He was just a grounded, genuinely nice guy, who consistently showed Leighton, and Gus, and all his friends and family how much he cared. Despite being a bit at sixes and sevens about what to do next professionally, he was all there in terms of his connections to others, and I couldn’t help but feel he deserved a better partner than Leighton. I found Leighton incredibly frustrating. I am trying to stay away from that awful dog-whistle of a word, unlikeable, because she’s not; she just often behaved in a way that was incredibly entitled. I appreciated the mental health rep in this book, and understand that Leighton was working to get to a better place, but I just constantly felt exasperated listening to the way she treated others. Though I felt empathy for her struggles with her parents and anger on her behalf when she dealt with them, overall I did not enjoy waiting for her character development to take hold.

The narrators of this audio were well cast; Alex Kydd and Devra Woodward made a great pair. Often a quality performance can salvage a frustrating character for me; however, despite Woodward doing her usual fine work, and her performance fit the story, she still couldn’t fully help up Leighton’s appeal for me. That’s not a reflection on Woodward or on West; not all characters work for all listeners and that was the case here. Kydd was a perfect match for Tom. He has a laid back, natural delivery that fit the charm of the character, but he also handled the more serious beats too.

On the whole, even though I found the FMC frustrating, this was still a good listen and I do recommend it for the lovable MMC, solid pacing, and the positive mental health rep.

I received an ALC copy of the audiobook via Home Cooked Books. All opinions are my own.

Great story with awesome narration

I love cross country road trip stories. This one is fantastic…filled with angst, swoon and amazing banter. I love the dialogue between Leighton and Tom. Leighton is dealing with a lot…people have let her down but she’s trying to be strong. Tom is so good for her and she can trust him with her deepest fears/feelings. This opposites attract stories is so warm, delightful and a great read/listen. Alex Kydd and Debra Woodard deliver an amazing performance. They are new to me narrators and I enjoyed their voices. They gave the characters perfect voice, personality and emotion.

Road trip! All the forced proximities!

Story rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5)

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 The narrators do these MCs so perfectly—Alex Kydd as sweet, fun, and sensual Tom and Devra Woodward as sassy, sexy, and a bit stuck-up Leighton.
🤩 Road trip! All the forced proximities!!
🤩 When Tom stands up for her and Leighton gets turned on by it.
🤩 When Tom is kind even when Ivy is stuck-up and snotty.
🤩 The unwanted physical attraction and desire is so good.
🤩 When Tom does stuff just to shock Leighton. 😂
🤩 Oh, hello steamy massage. Yes, please! ❤️‍🔥
🤩 He feeds her (and other stuff to take care of her)! 🥵

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 I just didn’t like Leighton much of the story. But, I’m glad Tom liked her enough to put up with her.

Acceptance is key!!

SM West shows the complexities of starting new relationships and truly accepting someone for who they are. However, I don’t know how I feel about Latent and Tom. Although both appear a little lost, Latent has so many insecurities, spoiled rich girl habits and people pleasing tendencies, which makes it difficult to empathize with her. On the other hand, Tom only appears to be struggling with career choices. Tom is considerate of others, charismatic and trustworthy. Latent and Tom have plenty of chemistry but is it enough for a successful relationship ? Thankfully, Latent developers a backbone and learns to stand up for herself thereby securing her own happiness !! Alex Kydd and Devra Woodward were great narrators whose performances enhanced the storyline.