Meeting Millie

Oxford Romance, Book 1

By: Clare Ashton

Narrated by: Gabrielle Baker

Oxford—celebrated city of dreaming spires and class warfare—is an ambition come true for geeky upper-middle-class lesbian Charlotte and charismatic working-class straight Millie.

Against the odds, theirs is an instant best friendship. Forever.

Exuberant Millie is a breath of fresh air for polite Charlotte and a force of nature within the university's hallowed walls. And they are going to be the best lawyers of their year and change the world.

But their world changes instead when things go queerly sideways, and they haven't seen each other since.

Ten years on and Charlotte returns to where it all began. She has a new job at a prestigious law firm and Oxford is as beautiful as ever. She's a safe distance from her overbearing barrister mother Nicola and three office floors from her snappy college mentor, Olivia.

Then Millie bounds around the corner wanting to be friends again and it's as if the last decade never happened. Will it be different the second time around? Can they be friends again? Or will love and attraction change things?

©2023 Clare Ashton (P)2023 Tantor

Engaging Sapphic Romance With Very Likable Characters!

This is a very well written heartfelt and engaging Sapphic romance which kept me interested from start to finish! A slow burn but well worth the wait! The main characters made sense and evolved perfectly. The secondary characters were intertwined perfectly for this story. I read and listen to many authors in this genre and this was exceptional! The narrator has a very smooth tone and was an easy listen on the ears!

Long but great

I love Claire Ashton’s books and this one was as good as the rest of them. A little young MC for me, but the story was good. Narration was good as well.

Sweet charming romance

Clare Ashton is among my favorite writers because her characters are often warm, quirky and smart and the plots have a degree of whimsy that doesn’t rely on the artificial tortured angst that I see far too often in romance novels.

In this book, Charlotte and Millie are inseparable best mates in college. Millie is supportive of Charlotte’s lesbianism but she’s enthusiastically straight and seemingly oblivious to the fact that Charlotte is in love with her. After graduation, Charlotte is heartbroken a they they go through a painful separation. Many years later, a chance meeting brings them back into one another’s orbits. Millie is desperate to renew their friendship, but Charlotte is wary and wants to protect her heart. As they tentatively try to rebuild the friendship they once shared, deeper feelings begin to emerge.
Both Millie and Charlotte can be oblivious and obtuse in their own ways, but as they begin to become aware of their new feelings the realization and their response seems natural and organic.

This is a lovely slow burn romance, sweet but not too saccharine and sure to put a smile on your face. I’d love to see the stories of some of the supporting characters fleshed out in future books.

Happy Heart, Heart is Happy

This was the sweetest story. These two characters are just so lovable and the development of their relationship is just <3. Charlotte is adorable and sexy - what a combination. The descriptions felt so vivid. UK English vocabulary for the win here. A real feel good. I want to know what happens to Olivia and what happens to Charlotte’s mom. I need a follow up for Charlotte and Millie! It’s a good slow burn, but didn’t feel slow. Worth a read.

Slow Burn

This was a longer book that was very much a slow burn. They went from best friends to 10 years of no contact before seeing each other again. At that time they start repairing their relationship before finally for both of them falling for each other towards the very end of the book. Not spicy, more sensual but only near the end of the book. Every other chapter in the beginning was flashbacks to when they were best friends.