Loathed: Lagan

The Foster Brothers, Book 3

By: Nora Phoenix

Narrated by: John Solo

Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

When mutual hate turns into something else entirely....

Lagan absolutely despises his law professor, Killian Evans. He’s an arrogant, snobby know-it-all who looks down on anyone who’s not up to his standards.

If only he wasn’t so damn hot.
If only he didn’t make Lagan want an entirely different lesson from him.…

Killian absolutely despises his student, Lagan Foster. He’s a lazy, flying-by-the seat-of-his-pants C+ student who barely can be bothered to pay attention in class.

If only he wasn’t so damn hot.
If only Killian didn’t want to teach him an entirely different lesson…

Loathed: Lagan is a steamy enemies to lovers MM romance that has insta hate mixed with a solid dose of insta lust, an age gap, found family, and two men who discover they’re much more alike than they thought. It is the third book in The Foster Brothers series, a contemporary MM romance series about four men who chose to be brothers that can be listened to as standalones.

©2022 Nora Phoenix (P)2022 Nora Phoenix

Loathed: Lagan

The third book in the series and it wasn’t a favorite but I don’t usually enjoy this trope. I like the brothers and their partners. I’ve read the synopsis for the last book and wont read it. The narrator was ok but sometimes the voices just blend and make them indistinguishable.

Emotional and sweet slow burn romance

I wasnt expecting to be so affected by Killian’s and Lagan story. This isn't just some sultry taboo age-gap professor-student illicit, this was sensitive, sweet and very tender. Lots of hurt and healing for 2 men who thought they would never find love but it found them anyway. John Solo made me tear up a couple of times. Beautifully written

enemies to lovers AND professor/student

This was a very enjoyable story. Hurt comfort, enemies to lovers, professor/student, found family. John Solo did a great job bringing the story to life. I will definitely be relistening to this one and the others in the series.

Such great characters!

Love this series and this book doesn’t disappoint! The combination of such at great story by Nora Phoenix along with the absolute perfection of narration by John Solo is fantastic!

Another Amazing Foster Brother, Story & Listen🎧

Nora Phoenix created something very special with these Foster Brothers, brought together when they were children under the suckiest of circumstances, bonded to became a brotherhood for life, having each other’s backs thru thick and thin. This third book of the series is Lagan’s story, the youngest of the four and yes, each book stands on its own but not only do I recommend them all, but to enjoy them in order written, this way you get to know each one thoroughly so when you see them appear in each other’s books you have the advantage of knowing their back story. Lagan is working full time as a paralegal while juggling law school, while he excels in his job, his grades are just average in school. It seems like one of his professors has had it in for him since day one, and he is not very understanding with him and his occasional tardiness and mentions this to him in class. Professor Killian Evans has his reasons for disliking Lagan and he does not hide that dislike, but has his assumptions about him been wrong all along? I loved watching these two go back and forth with each other and loved it even more once they got to know each other. The complexity and layers of their back stories are fantastic, as is their relationship, Nora Phoenix is a master of building these types of relationships, and does it so well, going deep with the emotions that hit you right in the gut and the heart. This amazing enemies to lovers is a slow burn but once the fire is lit it is smoking hot, another thing Phoenix excels at and you can’t help but love it, just like you can’t help but love the characters she creates, flaws and all. Nora Phoenix, thank you for another beautifully written and told story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧 📚🎧And for the exceptional narration, John Solo continues to do an amazing job bringing these characters and there story to life and does so with a complete understanding of who each character is and gives each a voice that suits them perfectly, sounding believable in every role he plays. His character voices have been consistent throughout the series and not only is his performance top-notch, but so is the quality of the sound. He sets the perfect tone for the story, handles the witty, band and forth dialogue with ease, and switches roles effortlessly, never missing a beat. You could hear how much heart he puts into his work as he captures all the character’s emotions and projects them into his performance. John Solo is a versatile voice artist and an entertaining storyteller who is a pleasure to listen to, and his narration enhances an already brilliant story to another level.

Enemies-to-lovers story

After devouring the last two books by the Forster brothers, I was eager to read Lagan's story.
The story was slow-burning, but also very emotional. I was touched by Lagan's story. Lagan desperately wants to get a law degree, but his professor Killian is not thrilled with his student from day one and makes him feel it. Until something unforeseen happens and Lagan's brothers are out of town.
Nora Phoenix has a wonderful writing style and I found this book entertaining and enjoyable and it quickly hooked me. Both Lagan and Killian have to deal with a lot of pain from the past and it was nice to see them both slowly coming closer.
And then in between there were parts of the book where I would have loved to give one of them a little nudge and shake to make it two steps forward and not always one step forward and one step back.
And now I'm very curious about Nordin's story, the last of the Forster brothers.

John Solo has done a great performance. He brought Lagan and Killian to life with great emotion.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this audiobook.

From Loathing to Love

Loathed: Lagan is the third book in the Foster Brother series, and oh boy was this an emotional rollercoaster. Lagan is a determined young man who has the weight of the world on his shoulders. When personal tragedy hits, he ends up leaning on the last person he thought he would – his immensely disliked professor Killian. Although there were some heavy topics in this book, there was also a lot of humor and sweet moments. I enjoyed this book immensely and John Solo narrated the audiobook superbly.

Good enemies-to-lovers story!

I think I’ve said it before that enemies-to-lovers isn’t really a favorite romance trope of mine…I may need to reconsider that statement. I’ve read a couple of good ones lately, including Loathed: Lagan. Add in a bit of student/teacher thing, only one bed, an age gap and it really hit the spot for me.

I’m sure that John Solo’s audio performance was also a big factor in my enjoyment of this book (I hadn’t read it with my eyes previously). He is one of my favorite audiobook performers and he did a fantastic job with this one.

At first, it’s a bit puzzling as to why Killian seems to hate his student Lagan but as the story goes on, we learn more and more about why that is. When he and Lagan end up spending time together (only one bed scenario) they can no longer fight the attraction they have to each other.

The story held my attention from start to finish and had me shedding more than a few tears. I love it when a book gets all of my emotions involved. It isn’t all that often that an audiobook can do that so I think the credit for it happening in this book goes to both Nora Phoenix’s excellent writing and John Solo’s excellent performance of her words.

This is the third book in The Foster Brothers series but each book stands alone very well (I still need to listen to book one).

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me at my request and my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.

A beautiful story and a wonderful narration!

This book was a treat to me because on one hand, Mr. Solo is one of my favorite voice actors and I enjoyed so much his amazing voice and great performances. On the other hand, this is probably the book I have reread more in the series and a huge favorite. Hearing and hearing Lagan and Killian's story narrated masterfully by Mr. Solo is my new hobby. Lagan's struggles broke my heart and it was a delight witnessing Killian give him the support and love he deserved. A beautiful romance and a wonderful narration!

Third brother Foster.

I love that Nora has made this story about four boys that found each other in foster care and swore to be brothers forever!
This is the third book about the youngest, Lagan, meeting the love of his life. It’s a little hesitant, back and forth between the MCs that both have backgrounds where trust doesn’t come easily. And also, the other three are very protective of their little brother!

John does a great job bringing the story and characters to life!