Falling for the Ex: A Small Town Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

Bliss River, Book 2

By: Lili Valente

Narrated by: Jason Clarke, Lili Valente

Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

To protect my baby, I'll totally make out with the enemy....

Yeah, he's that guy - my first love, Nash Geary, the heartbreaker I've spent a decade trying to forget. But now I'm back in Bliss River, facing an ugly custody battle with Mr. Bad Idea number two, and I'll do anything to keep my baby girl safe.

Go into debt for a fancy lawyer? Check.

Hire a private detective to get dirt on my ex? Check.

Marry my nemesis to prove I can provide my baby with a loving, two-parent home? Um...check?

One too many beers at the county fair and suddenly Nash and I are on our way to the courthouse to tie the knot. He'll get even after a rough breakup, I'll prove my daughter is better off with me and my pillar-of-the-community police-chief husband, and we'll end it amicably when I'm granted full custody - everybody wins.

But what happens when the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, Nash sweeps both me and my baby girl off our feet, and what started as pretend becomes the most important thing in my world?

They say keep your friends close and your enemies closer....

So what am I supposed to do with the fake husband I'm pretty sure is the love of my life?

Contains the bonus short story Waking Up Married! Married to the Enemy was previously published as Keeping You. It has been extensively revised and expanded for this new edition.

©2020 Lili Valente (P)2020 Lili Valente

A great story with fantastic narration!

Ooh, Aria and Nash brought the heat and had a lot of heart! Add to that Skeeter, erm, I mean Felicity, and the whole family dynamic was just too adorable to resist. These two held on to their animosity towards each other for a dozen years, and I understood why they went from young lovers to sworn adversaries. I appreciated that they led separate lives and had their own share of experiences because they did need some growing up. I'm also not one of those readers who expects the main characters in a second-chance romance to not become involved with other people, especially when the separation lasts for quite a number of years. That's just flat-out unrealistic to me--or maybe I'm being cynical, but I'm not going to complain about main characters who live their lives outside of each other when the original run of their relationship ends. I liked seeing Aria and Nash get to know one another again, and create their own dynamic as a couple and a family alongside Felicity. There is some drama, but not from within their little unit, and that added an interesting angle. What made this even book even better was listening to Jason Clarke and Lili Valente narrate. Could these two get any better as a voice-over duo?! There's a reason why their partnership is one of my personal go-tos. Five stars for the story and five stars for the narration, so, no surprise, an overall rating of five stars go to Married to the Enemy.

Enjoyed

I loved continuing the series and learning more about Aria and Nash. They had an incredible journey of their friendship. I always look forward to listening to and reading anything by Lili Valente. She brings the story alive and feels like I am watching it all play out. Would give more details but I like to go into a book blind and seeing all the surprises. Jason and Lili are both extremely talented and always know going in that I will love whatever they narrate.

Fake becomes real.

This is book two in the Bliss River series and it is such a great story. We learned of Aria and Nash in book one, Dating Dr. Dreamy. It was suggested they had a past but we didn't really know what that past was or what all Aria was hiding about her failed marriage. Now we get Aria's story and learn of her young love of Nash and now they need each other and come up with a plan to help each other but their plan of a fake marriage becomes real and now what?

Jason Clarke and Lili Valente were great as Nash and Aria. Loved their voices.

This is so well written and I enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book.

A steamy romance with undeniable chemistry!

Married the Enemy is Aria and Nash's story and the second book in Lili Valente's new Bliss River Series. We first got a glimpse of the dynamic of Aria and Nash's relationship in Lark and Mason's book, Dating Dr. Dreamy. I had a feeling their story was going to be explosive. Lili Valente and Jason Clarke have become one of my favorite narrating Duo's. They do such an amazing job in making the reader feel every emotion the characters feel throughout the story. They were perfect for Aria and Nash's story because although this story was SUPER HOT and STEAMY, it also had some very emotional parts. I felt Aria's pain and desperation through Lili's voice. I felt Nash's love and anger through Jason's voice. There is something so special about being able to feel all the raw emotions, all the love, the chemistry and passion through their voices but picturing Aria and Nash the entire time. It really is a beautiful thing to experience each story with the same narrators but different voices that evoke different emotions. I know this book is going to be one of my top ones to listen to over and over.

A little about Nash and Aria's story:
In the small town of Bliss River, the March Family is well known and respected. Aria is the oldest of the three March sisters. She's single mom to Felicity, works with her sisters as pastry-chef in their catering business, and is currently living back at home with her parents after a failed "not" marriage. Growing up, Nash Geary didn't have the same advantaged that Aria had. His family wasn't as well off as the March Family. Twelve years ago, when they were just teenagers, Aria and Nash fell in love when they met in Art Camp. After a "misunderstanding" tore them apart without so much as a good-bye, Aria and Nash's love turned into hate, but 12 years later Nash and Aria come together in order to help each other in a very unique way. Unable to fight their undeniable chemistry, Aria and Nash give in to temptation, but what happens when the past comes knocking on their door?

I absolutely loved everything about this book. Lili Valente writes such amazing characters who are perfectly imperfect and that makes them very easy to relate to. This book had a lot of steamy scenes and I know the chemistry between Aria and Nash was going to be explosive, but it also had some pretty difficult parts. Aria's dad, Mr. March, is not my favorite person at all. Not only because of his accusations, but also because I feel he placed an expectations on his daughters that made them feel as if they don't do things in a certain order in life then they're doing it wrong. Living in small towns definitely means some drama, but I loved how Aria and Nash stood up for themselves and for each other. It was 12 years; 12 years of misunderstanding and assumptions that stood in their way.

I can't wait to read Melody and Nick's story.

Fun Marriage of Convenience Romance

Married to the Enemy is the second book in the Bliss River Series. We finally get to learn about Aria and Nash’s history and why now hate each other. I loved their story!

Aria and Nash were each other’s secret first loves but had been torn apart by their families and misunderstandings. Years later the attraction is still there, but can they let go of their anger long enough to rediscover feelings that had never died? Throw in marriage of convenience, feuding parents and an adorable baby and you have a fun story with a bit of angst and heartbreak.

Aria and Nash are so great together. Even when they are fighting, they work. They are passionate and the chemistry between them is explosive. As they get to know each other again, you can see that if outside influences hadn’t torn them apart, they would probably still be together.

Jason Clarke and Lili Valente once again narrate the second book in this series. Both of them really bring the characters to life for me and they are the perfect narration partners. Both give their readings inflections that really make you feel the dialogue. I love listening to them.

I highly recommend both books in this series. If you love a single parent, enemies to lovers, fake relationship book that has tons of warmth and heart and will leave your heart feeling happy, you won’t want to miss this book.

Sweet, sexy and emotional! The romance trifecta!

I loved this book!! What a pleasure it was to listen too! Jason Clarke and Lili Valente are absolute magic to listen to as Nash and Aria. They make you feel everything their characters are feeling and going through and have such soothing voices. And Jason with a mild southern drawl is positively delicious and so sexy! I just love when they collaborate on audiobooks. I am also really loving this series so far, the characters are all so likable, relatable and lovable.
Nash and Aria have a brief interaction in the last book that has had me wondering what could have possibly happened between them to elicit that kind of reaction when they see each other again for the first time in years at her sister’s BBQ.
We don’t have to wait long to find out what that was in this book as we are witness to exactly what took place when they were teenagers. Fast forward a decade and they run into each other at a fair, and each have some less than desirable situations going on in their lives especially Aria. To help each other out, they decide on a fake marriage, which of course turns into a second chance for them and it is so wonderful. I love when they realize they should maybe give it a real shot, because Nash is pretty irresistible as a fake husband and step dad and I don’t know how Aria was resisting the urge to jump his bones.
I absolutely adore the way Nash loves Aria’s baby girl Felicity, it is just the sweetest and made me swoon as much as the way he treats Aria does, but that nickname he gives her is awful lol.
But things that are that good can’t possibly last when there are strong forces working against them, especially if they are close family members, can they? This definitely makes the story take a difficult and emotional turn for a little while. My heart hurt so much for them. Can their love see them through? Of course it can, this is a romance after all, so that’s not really a spoiler. There has to be a happily-ever-after!

Nice little bonus short story at the end too!!

Ok story

Marred by female narration. Breathy, rushed speaking. So fake sounding. How did author and producer let this happen? Male was good though.

Married to the Enemy 💜

Lili Valente books are amazing❣ They make me laugh,cry,just absolutely all the feels ❣ This series is epic ❣

Realistic love story

Really enjoyed how this story of Nash & Arie progressed from young adults to adults. This couple grew up apart and learned life lessons & applied to their relationship. Although their marriage was out of connivence & revenge. They are honest with feelings from the past to current feelings and future plans.
Overall & story would have gotten all 5 stars I really wanted epilogue.

Second-chance awesome!!

Oooooh how I love this book!!! I think second-chance romance MIGHT be my favorite. But this one has some twists in the history that make it so much more interesting! Also, the black moment didn’t make me cry or panic, so that’s always a bonus for me. ;)

I loved being back in Bliss River and getting more time with the families and friends.

Ok. Nash is a heart-warming, panty-melting hero. He’s just the best. You will love him.

If you love second-chances, enemies to lovers, books with babies, small-towns, and meddling families, you will love this book!!!

Audio: The audio is PHENOMENAL. Again, you can’t go wrong with narration by Lili Valente and Jason Clarke. Jason Clarke with a slight southern accent. Sigh. It’s so good!

Small Town Romance

An engaging and warm novel from Lili Valente, Nash and Aria were almost high-school sweethearts until fate intervened. A sweet small-town tale of enemies who become much more, via a mutually convenient bargain.

If you enjoy stories that are low on angst, have really likeable and relatable characters, has a whirlwind of chemistry and heat, and also gives you those warm fuzzy feelings, then this is a good book to choose.

I really enjoyed the audio, the two narrators really added to the charm of this story.