One Night Only

By: Lauren Blakely

Narrated by: Joe Arden, Emma Wilder, Jacob Morgan

Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

A delicious new After Dark novel featuring a strong, protective bodyguard and the beautiful, brilliant hotel heiress he protects....

Performed by Joe Arden, Emma Wilder, and Jacob Morgan, with a special appearance from Teddy Hamilton....

I shouldn’t want my bodyguard the way I do. His job is to protect me. It’s not to fulfill all my nighttime wishes. And so, I resist him, working hard on the hotel reopening, all while fighting the enticing pull of the powerful man who watches over me. Until the night we combust in my penthouse suite. It won’t happen again, we say the next day. Besides, my mission is singular - pull off the event of a lifetime - a one-night-only concert with one of the world’s biggest rock stars.

A man my bodyguard happens to know. And a good bodyguard knows all sorts of things about his client. Turns out he knows my secret desires, and he wants to make them come true. Including a VIP engagement after the concert so I can experience what I've been imagining... I want to say yes, but what if I fall even more in love with the man whose mission is to keep me safe?

One Night Only is a stand-alone romance novel.

©Ten Lauren Blakely Books (P)2023 Little Dog Press

✫✫ 5 Stars ✫✫

I am loving the After Dark line by Lauren Blakely. This book is SO SERIOUSLY HOT!!! I loved both Callum and Ivy. They have chemistry that is off the charts! Ivy knows what she wants and Callum knows how to give it to her. But this book is more than just sexy, It has so much more going on. I really loved the steam and the love story too. Also, there is sort of two story lines going on near the end which has me jumping up and down. I won't say why but I will say I am beyond excited about where this book leads. Lauren is like super women, she can write an amazing, sweet & mature love story and also write a book as hot as this one. I might listen to it again right now, that is how much I loved this book!

The narration was perfection but that is no surprise. Joe Arden, Emma Wilder, Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton, I mean does it get better than that!!!!

One Night Only

I have said it before and I will say it again Lauren does Dirty WELL!
I hope we will get more from her like this… HOT, HOT, HOT. The chemistry between these characters is scorching!

I very much enjoyed that Ivy’s fantasies synced up with Callum’s but she was unafraid to tell him what she wanted and needed. Even though sometimes she didn’t come right out and say it he knew.

The MFM parts holy heck man did I say HOT before… lol it was smoken!

I can’t wait to see more of the characters mentioned in this book get their own books.

Can we take a moment for the narrators because YES, YES they are amazing they give this book that it factor. Loved with my whole heart.

Narration could have been better

This is really one of those stories that needs the narrators read their own parts. Not a favorite of Emma Wilder as a woman narrator; something about her voice and how she stretches her words trying to make every word she utters sexual; it's very off-putting because not everything she reads is about sex. But, she especially is very bad at male voices. Both Joe Arden and Jacob/Zachary are really good at their female voices, but Emma -- sorry....I was not impressed. Hers is a name I really have to remember so that I don't try anymore books narrated by her.

A novella that is scorching HOT!!

Lauren Blakely delivers and then some!! Not only is the story so well paced and filled with chemistry, she goes and casts the perfect narrators to bring these characters to life! This is by far one of Joe Arden's most devilish growly and sexy performance!! He is swoony yet alpha and then, BAM!!! He goes all growly devil and it's delicious! Jacob Morgan is such a gem! Cocky, cool and yet very intriguing. Emma Wilder is ALL OF US!!! She comes in with her gorgeous smooth voice and makes us feel all the feels. I think this audio is an overall winner! Bravo!

What a great series

Another great book in this series and the narration was awesome. Such a fun book. Thanks for another great book

SHORT, SWEET & SMOKIN’ HOT

It may only be a novella but Lauren manages to pack so much delicious sizzling chemistry into this love story and you’re swept away in an intense attraction between a bodyguard and the heiress he’s been protecting, and secretly lusting over, for a year. And, as the powder keg relationship heats up, the friendship and boss lines between them inevitably get blurred.. which leads to some adult conversations, hot hot hot sex, heartfelt conversations and happily ever afters.

Worth a credit? No credit needed for this expertly narrated well-written dual POV no angst love-fest thanks to it being offered as part of the Audible Escape membership.

Risks Worth Taking

Overall 4 stars
Performance 4.5 stars
Story 4 stars

One Night Only is a sexy and delicious forbidden/bodyguard novella. It's part of Lauren Blakely's After Dark series, so readers shouldn't go in expecting her usual light romcoms. I originally read this novella, but listening to it took things to an entirely new level! Joe Arden, Emma Wilder, and Jacob Morgan were scorching hot and the surprise cameo by Teddy Hamilton as Jackson was the best! I am a fan of all of these narrators and they complement each other so well. They all do such a great job voicing both male and female characters.

You can feel the sexual tension between Callum and Ivy right from the start, and I loved the build up between these two. Watching them toe the line between their working relationship and more was so fun. I appreciated how Ivy embraced her sexual desires and really came into her own and how Callum was always so supportive and encouraging. Ivy's happiness was always the most important thing in his mind. There's a smoking hot MFM scene that will have you fanning yourself and it also sets up a future story line very well.

I always love the Easter eggs that Lauren Blakely throws into her books - nods to previous characters and even some real life mentions too (ahem, Candi Kane). One Night Only was just the sexy read I was looking for!

HOT! HOT! HOT!

Ivy, Callum, and Stone will melt your Kindles! Being attracted to your bodyguard isn't a great idea. Unless it seems your bodyguard is also attracted to you. Both are so focused on their jobs, and don't want to risk their working relationship by giving in to their desires. But maybe they could do it once, and then go back to bodyguard and client. One night to get all this want out of their systems should do it. Yeah, right! Not quite how Lauren writes these beautiful love stories.

These two were adorable, and their pull to each other was magnetic. Ivy and Callum are a beautiful, kinky, sassy, dominant powder keg waiting to combust. And what a beautiful sight to behold.

Joe Arden, Emma Wilder, and Jacob Morgan do an amazing job narrating this hot as sin tale. Joe is his usual perfect self. He is wickedly filthy and dominant, and I savored him. Emma has become such a great power amongst female narrators. She totally owns Lily and knows it. Jacob is...Jacob. He makes whatever role he's given uniquely his. His rock star personna Stone is so sexy, and his interactions with Callum and Lily are quite scorching. I fell in love with Stone almost immediately.

Lauren has a great ear for matching narrators with roles, and this trio was sensational!

Sexy escape

Emma Wilder rocked the narration in this sexy tale and Joe Arden was the perfect bodyguard and that growly voice- oh my! Jacob Morgan nailed the sexy rockstar and Blakely wrote a titillating story about a woman in power and her sexual release.

You'll want to meet Ivy, Callum, and Stone. I loved their interactions. A keeper.

Very VERY Hot Story...With No Plot.

This is a steamy hot read but not too interesting, in my opinion. Wonderfully written erotic scenes.

Off the scales hot!!!

I am currently writing this review from my shower, as I had to hose myself down, I was happily listening to this masterpiece narrated by Joe Arden, Emma Wilder & Jacob Morgan, when I inadvertently burst into flames, and could only be cooled down by a cold shower, THAT's how hot this book is, you've been warned!!!!

OMG I need a cold shower

OMG where to start! I’ve had to dramatically fan myself while listening to this. Do not drive while listening to this dark sexual audiobook. OMG the talent that narrators this book do a fantastic job. Looking forward to more in this series

Fun and sexy

This is the first book in the After Dark series from Lauren Blakely that I’ve listened to and what a way to kick things off. It’s like Lauren Blakely on steroids. What I mean by that is it’s pure Lauren goodness; you have a fun, heartwarming story filled with wit and awesome characters, but she’s upped the sexy factor. Like she cranked that bad boy to 10! I loved Callum and Stone, I thought they were fantastic characters, Callum’s all business and Stone’s party boy personas really worked well for their friendship, I loved that they were so different but that it worked for them. Ivy, I wasn’t too keen on to begin with, her inability to reconcile her professional side with her sexual side annoyed me, but at the same time, without it, would there have been a story? And as the story progressed, she did grow on me. I loved her with Callum though. Match made in heaven. His ability to read her and know what she wanted and needed was great and wanting to give her the fantasy in a safe way really made me fall hard for him.

This is a MFM story. Callum and Stone don’t touch, much to my disappointment (I know, I know, it says it on the label - a girl can still dream!) and the story is Ivy and Callum’s, it’s about their relationship and self-discovery, Stone is an added bonus, you guessed it, for one night. So if you’re looking for a book with three way full-time relationship, this book isn’t for you. Just like if sexy times aren’t your thing, this isn’t the book for you either. But if you love stories about couples expressing their sexuality and fantasy exploration, you will love this book.

About the performances. Well, what can I say, Emma Wilder and Joe Arden are just fabulous as Ivy and Callum, add in a handful of chapters from Jacob Morgan as Stone, which was just fantastic, and lastly, sprinkle in a surprise, outstanding Teddy Hamilton chapter as Jackson, Stone’s bodyguard, to whet the appetite for a future book and you’ve got audiobook perfection right there. It was such a joy to listen to, these voice actors are at the top of their game and it shows. The performances were a joy to listen to. The transition from each narrator and character was smooth with very little issue - it’s performed in dual narration, and sometimes the change in the different voices can be distracting but that isn’t the case here, the voices were well matched and complemented each other. In the book, Callum describes Ivy’s voice as honey and whiskey, and I thought I’d never heard a more perfect description of Emma Wilder’s voice. The audio also includes a sneak peek of Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend, which is available now, performed in duet narration by Andi Arndt and Shane East. With additional cameos by Kit Swann & Joe Arden.

Very listenable

enjoyable characters and great narration, I enjoyed the interaction of the different characters it made it more exciting onto the next one

What’s your secret desire?

Oh wow!. A short novella that packs a LOT of punch. It may take stoic bodyguard Callum a lot of willpower to hold back and restrain himself from his beautiful client Ivy, but he’s done it for the last year, friends is all they’ll ever be. Never mix business with pleasure. However, wIth a little push from Callum’s best friend Sloane, the barriers finally fall down, they fall all the way down, it was obvious with the chemistry they’ve got together, they would be super steamy and super sexy with no holds barred. It doesn’t get any better than that until Callum puts the breaks on, common sense taking over both of them, even though neither of them are happy about it. However, when Ivy tells him her deepest, dirtiest desire, he gets the assistance of his best friend to make it happen, because what Ivy wants Callum will always deliver. A super quick, super sexy audio with Joe Arden narrating the brooding, stoic bodyguard Callum, Emma Wilder as sexy entrepreneur Ivy, and Jacob Morgan as super sexy rockstar Sloane. Narration, and as ever with these three, is perfect. I loved it.