Lips Like Sugar

Bluebird Basin, Book 2

By: Jess K. Hardy

Narrated by: Andi Arndt, Stephen Borne

It’s official, Mira Harlow has finally lost it. Between running her small-town bakery, parenting her fourteen-year-old son, and taking care of her mom, she’s a stretched-thin mess. But kissing a total—and very sexy—stranger before begging him to be her date to Ashley and Madigan’s wedding just so her ex won’t see how lonely she really is? That’s a new level of chaos, even for her.

The last thing drummer Cole Sanderson expects when he drives into the small ski town of Red Falls, Montana, is to score a date to his best friend’s wedding. But since his life in Seattle is stagnating, when the gorgeous, green-eyed bakery owner propositions him to be her long-distance boyfriend, stirring his punk-shenanigans roots to their core, he doesn’t even hesitate to tell her “Hell yes!”

Mira doesn’t expect more than a fun night with her fake date, but when their wedding weekend turns into a genuine connection and when Cole returns to Seattle and she tries to go back to her normal life, she can’t help but wonder if she missed out on something real. But Cole isn’t done with her yet, and when he finds his way back to Red Falls, she’ll have to decide what’s more important—holding down her world or taking a risk, embracing the chaos, and maybe even falling in love.

Lips Like Sugar is book two in the Bluebird Basin Romance series but can be enjoyed as a standalone. Content notes: Living with and caring for a parent with mild cognitive impairment, addiction, relapse, an unhealthy ex, grown men deeply in their feels, strong friendships, conversations about love languages, and an absurd amount of Say Anything references, including a steamy riff on the airplane seatbelt sign scene…

©2024 Jess K. Hardy (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

Annoying male narrator's voice

I didn't like the raspy male narrator's voice. If I had rented it from the library I wouldn't have listened to the end. But since I bought it, I did.

So he’s too good in bed?

I can suspend disbelief just as much as the next romance reader, but I honestly can’t get my head around the conflict here. You’re afraid to tell him he’s good in bed? You’re pretending to like it less than you do? Maybe it makes sense later on, but I was already struggling to stick with this one. DNF at about 70%