Just One Time

Beaumont Creek, Book 1

By: Samantha Baca

Narrated by: Braylee Spade

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

There are worse things than turning 40.

However, I can’t seem to evade the worry of my biological clock, and my fear that time is running out. I’ve always wanted to be a mother, and with each passing day, there is a greater chance that might be a dream of mine that will never come true.

And if the clock isn’t loud enough—my controlling and overly judgmental mom is. Her snide comments never go unsaid, and her numerous failed attempts at setting me up with any new bachelors in town are enough to spur small town gossip for months at a time. Never mind the fact that she tried to set me up with Old Man Bucky down the street from her—the frail but sweet widow who walks with a cane and has grandchildren my age.

But this isn’t about my mom or her obsessive need to see me settle down and pop out the grand babies she so desperately wants. This is about the emptiness that has lingered inside of me for so long that I worry I will never fill it.

I have a lot to be thankful for in my life. I’m in good health, I run a successful cafe that I inherited from my grandparents, and an incredibly handsome best friend who is willing to help make my dream of becoming a mother come true.

It may not be the most conventional way to start a family, but there is no one that I trust more. Besides, we agreed that it would only happen once. Regardless of the outcome, we walk away with our friendship intact. I know this is crossing the line of friendship, but this is my one shot. It’s one night.

What could possibly go wrong?

©2022 Samantha Baca (P)2023 Samantha Baca

Enjoyed the Book

I enjoyed the book. The narrator left a bit to be desired. Unless you paid very close attention, you couldn’t tell when she changed from one person to another in the book. Every person’s voice sounded the same. So, in some instances you couldn’t tell who was talking in the book.

Great Friends to Lovers

Samantha did not disappoint with this one. What a great friends to lovers story that really has all the feels🥹 After turning 40 and still being single with no kids Abby is struggling. Opens up to her best friend Nate and things get spicy. There was always an attraction between the two but fear of what it would do to their friendship neither made the first move, but that doesn’t stop them from just one time together to make a baby. The chemistry between the characters and the story just kept me wanting more. I absolutely enjoyed Abby and Nate's story.

Loved this!

Just One Time is book #1 in the Beaumont Creek series. Abby is now 40 and has baby fever. She tells her best friend Nate about her wish and Nate tells her he’ll be the donor, the old fashioned way. The fine line between love and friendship gets blurred then crossed when their agreement of just one time turns into so much more. This story takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions to get the HEA. I can’t wait for the rest of the series!

The narrator is new to me. She did a good job but don’t expect any change between her female/male character voice.

Samantha pulled me in with her fun and loveable ch

Abby wants a baby and with her age know she is running out of time. Nate is her best friend and kindly volunteers for the job! They figure that just one time should be enough! With the chemistry they had there was no way they could stop at just one time! What they didn't consider is what that kind of intimacy would do to them and what kinds of feelings they would reveal. I'm looking forward to reading the rest in this series and others by Samantha Baca!

My favorite troupes!

My favorite rom com troupes! Mature, not perfect best friends to lovers that is the perfect blend of fun, wit, and spice! Braylee Spade provided a great performance narrating. The only thing that would have made it even better was if there was a male narrator reading Nate’s chapters because occasionally I had to rewind to figure out if it was Nate or Abby’s chapter since they’re written from the first person’s perspective. But overall I enjoyed it!

Cute love story...

Abby wants a baby and her single, hot, endowed best friend volunteers to do the deed-- ONCE. They find chemistry in ways beyond their friendship and things get complicated. They always do.

Narrator is new to me and does a great job, eh. It's obvious that she's Canadian and I don't have any bias against her, but her accent really does comes through.

Loved this story!

This was a great story of friends to lovers. What seemed to be a simple understanding turned more. Secrets were kept, feelings not told until it was almost too late. This story was put together great, buy the narrator.

Love love LOVE!!

Abby and Nate had me rooting for them the whole book!

I loved this story and how these two finally got together. Now let me tell you it’s not an easy ride and there were so many moments that my heart fell out at the pain these two faced but when it was all said and done it made them stronger!!

This is my first book by this author and I truly loved the story. I feel the narrator can do better switching between characters but it was easy to follow and I’m happy I finally got to “read” my first Samantha Baca book!

Easy listen with lots of fire

Story: Nate and Abbey are a super sweet couple with a long history of friendship. They have a simmering chemistry that lay under the surface, and we get to witness it combust as readers. The novel it well written and makes for an engaging listen. The couple's problems with communication and unrequited feelings come across as true. Overall, I enjoyed the story.

Performance: The narrator has an easy to listen to voice and does a good job overall. My critique is that in many parts it sounds like she is just reading the story and emotions are lacking. Also because it is one narrator, one must listen more closely to know when the perspective changes to Nate as her "male" voice is not much different than the "female" character's voice.