Pushing You Away

Noah & Katie Duet #1 (Ex-Con Duet Series, Book 3)

By: Kennedy Fox

Narrated by: Lia Langola, Tor Thom

Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

I’ve been in love with my best friend Katie Walker for as long as I can remember. We may have shared our deepest, darkest secrets but that one I’ve kept to myself. Before I got the courage to confess my true feelings, my cousin Gabe moved to town and swept Katie off her feet. 

I should’ve admitted how I felt but I couldn’t - especially once they got married. 

When I caught Gabe cheating on his pregnant wife, I snapped. A deadly fight erupted and before I could comprehend what happened, I was charged with his murder and sent to prison. 

The day I’m released, I go straight to Katie’s house. But after pushing her away for a decade while I was behind bars - she slams the door in my face - wanting nothing to do with me.  

While she’s determined to pretend I don’t exist, this time I’m not going anywhere.  

Pushing You Away is a slow burn, angsty friends-to-lovers romance with lots of small-town, Southern drama. It's Book 1 in the Noah & Katie Duet and must be listened to in order.

©2021 Kennedy Fox (P)2021 Kennedy Fox

Amazing beginning of this duet!

Well Book #1 in Noah and Katie’s duet was just what I thought it was going to be.....EPIC. Add this to the long list of Kennedy Fox books that I will forever be addicted too! But after reading it and now listening to it with Lia Langola and Tor Thom’s narration made me love this story even more!

I don’t think I could accurately tell you exactly how much I was looking forward to listening to this story! And I was NOT disappointed in the least. It is heartbreaking, emotional, steamy, and like I said above EPIC! I know that book #2 is going to be the same! But honestly if you haven’t decided if you want to start listening the ex-con’s duets by Kennedy Fox, what are you thinking? Of course you should listen to them in audio with Lia and Tor’s narration, it adds to the story when you can hear the emotion behind this story and these two do an amazing job! Highly recommend!

Such a powerful story!!!

Gah!!! I have been waiting on this one for a while! After getting a bit of their backstory during Travis & Gemma's duet, I was ALL OVER THIS ONE!!! Didn't disappoint..... no it did NOT! And as per usual Kennedy Fox left me totally hanging.... wanting more.... and needing answers! I knew there would be a cliffy (duh! It's a duet) and I totally saw it coming.... but there was still one crazy surprise that happened right at the end..... Anyway for those who don't know.... Noah has been in love with Katie since they were pre-teens.... she was in love with him too, but neither of them fessed up and they just stayed friends. So when Noah's cousin Gabe moved to town and asked Katie out, she said yes.... a few years and a wedding later, Katie and Gabe are expecting a baby.... well Katie is....Gabe is just out doing what ever (and who ever) he wants. When Noah goes to confront him about it..... it ends with Gabe in the ground and Noah in prison. BUT that isn't the story! That is all about Noah FINALLY trying to win Katie!!! And boy do they take you for a ride.... not I am just waiting to get part 2 so I can REALLY rave about this duet!!!

Warning ⚠️

This is part 1 of Noah and Katie's story. it is a wonderful story of forgiveness and love. the ending will have you on the edge of your seat ready for part 2! Noah and Katie are such a sweet couple and show that second chances can be worth facing the challenges life can bring!

Noah and Katie!!!

An amazing first book in the duet. Narration makes this book even more amazing. Could not stop listening. Love Noah and katie!!! So many interesting twists and turns. True love, best friends and best friends brother tropes. These two have a lot to overcome. Can not wait for next book. Was not expecting the cliff hanger...

Noah in audio = ovary explosion!!!!

When I read this book I wanted the audio ASAP! If you like a best friends to lovers story read by two of the best narrators then Pushing You Away is definitely for you. Hearing Noah and Katie's story in audio made me fall in love with them all over again. For some reason I felt like Tor's voice sounded so much sexier in this one then others he has done and I loved it. Lia delivered perfection per usual. She has a touch of a southern accent but it isn't overkill.

Take a trip down memory lane with Noah and Katie as he is released from prison 10 years after being sentenced for the death of Katie's husband. He refused to see her while he was behind bars but is determined to explain to her once he is able to get her to talk to him. Soon they are reminiscing their teenage years and admitting what their feelings were for each other back then and still are to this day. There is no doubt I will be listening to this one multiple times.

Loved this!

I loved this book, and Noah and Katie's story is so complex, and they're so sweet when they're together! My new favorite type of romance with a touch of mystery around the attacks against Noah. The narration was just perfect for the characters' povs too!

Another sweet addition to the series....

Its another sweet start to the Ex-Con Duet Series! This time around with have Noah Reid and Katie Walker's story and it is filled with some up tension from the past, present, and needless to say their future. They have a history that stems up from their childhood and have been best friends. Afraid to become more they never confessed their true feelings and ended living a life that changed everything. One being where Noah was doing time for an incident that is closely connected to Katie and because of it he constantly pushed her away and ignored her and had his reasons. She did not understand why, accepted what had happened and tried to keep in contact (to no avail), and moved on.

Noah is release a decade later and he is determined to make things right with Katie; however, so much as been said and done and she is not letting him getting get away with what has happened between them. That poses a challenge because their lives are constantly crossing paths. When Katie's bestie asks for a favor; this in turn gives Noah opportunities to try to explain things with the woman that got away.

As the story progresses we gets snippets of what yet to come and will have you trying to connect the dots. Just when you think you know...we are left with a cliffy that will have you itching for more stat!

Worth the wait

I’ve been waiting for Noah and Katie’s story. It was worth the wait. Loving someone for a lifetime abs not knowing how they feel is hard on anyone especially these two. Looking forward to the sequel. Love the narrators!

Unforgettable listen!

Such an emotional listen! I love Noah and Katie! They started out as friends growing up and both of them had feelings that they didn't admit to each other. Katie moved on but the man she is with is no prince charming. Noah can't stand by and let his very pregnant friend be betrayed and hurt like that by the father of her baby. Things take a turn and Noah is caught in the crossfire.

So many years apart now and Katie is hurt by Noah's actions. She'll always love him but she doesn't know if she can forgive him for him pushing her away. But Noah is no quitter, he's more determined than ever to make things right even if it only leads to friendship. Things get extra steamy on their journey back to each other. All the pent up emotion and longing makes for an explosive new beginning.

But with like anything else, there's unfortunately something that wants to get in the way of their happiness. I was so scared and infuriated with the way this first part of the duet ended. The angst and emotions, my heart could barely take it. The narrators did a phenomenal job as always, making them perfect to bring Noah and Katie to life. On to the next and final book in this duet and I can barely contain myself! Must listen!

If only...

Like most Kennedy Fox book series’ this one ends with a cliffhanger. But, don’t let that stop you from settling in and reading about Katie and Noah. These friends turned enemies turned lovers have been through so much in the last 10 years. Katie refuses to see or talk to Noah when he is released from prison. But when someone in Lawton Ridge was targeting Noah, his sister Gemma asks her best friend Katie to let him stay in her fixer upper. They eventually talk about the past and grow close again. If only they both had the courage to speak up before Gabe moved to town. Their families are supportive but they keep their relationship secret because not everyone would be accepting. I love how Gemma, Everleigh, and Tyler were part of this story as well, which gives the reader the feeling of small town life.

While it was inevitable that Noah and Katie would act on their feelings, it was a slow burn. Oh that cliffhanger! I wasn’t expecting THAT person to be behind the hits on Noah. What’s the connection???? I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

Tor Thom and Lia Langola are the perfect duet for Noah and Katie. The characters come to life with these two talented storytellers.

I received an advance copy of the e-book and a complimentary copy of the audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this review.

S-ex-y con

Kennedy fox's books just keep getting better and better, I absolutely loved this story , after reading about both characters in the previous books I was so happy to listen to their story , what follows is a fair bit of drama but the most explosive relationship once Katie finally forgives Noah
An absolute must listen and I can't wait to start book 2 of their story

Loving Katie and Noah's story so far

After listening to Tyler and Gemma's duet, I was dying to get my hands on Katie and Noah's story. After the hints at their history, their ruined friendship following Noah's 10 year jail sentence I was hoping that this was going to be one angsty ride!

Noah holds so much regret over what happened the night that changed his life in everyway imaginable, finally getting the full story over what happened truly made me feel for him. Then living the next 10 years in jail, in shame and regret knowing the damage you caused to the only woman you can picture spending your life with seems such a cruel existence. So on the day of his release when he goes to see Katie and she slammed the door in his face I was ready to see how the table were going turn during this one.

Katie and Noah's history is too intertwined for them to avoid each other for long and Noah's persistence and determination to get just 5 minutes we Katie is handed to him when he is targeted with vandalism and violence feeling unwelcome and unwanted by a lot of townsfolk. My heart continued to hurt for Noah, he's trying to live an honest life and at every turn he is met with judgement and rejection. When Noah and Katie are put in a situation of forced proximity, their chemistry sizzled. My mind is spinning with worry over their budding relationship becoming public knowledge, with Katie's son finding out Noah's past in regards to his Father. And of course as ever that bombshell at the end about who is being the attacks... I have theories and I need book 2 stat.

Tor Thom and Lia Langola performed brilliantly as Katie and Noah. They managed to portray the longing and the regret, the determination and the connection these characters had towards themselves and each other. It made for easy listening and I am looking forward to another great performance in book 2.

Noah and Katie!

Noah doesn’t remember a time that he hasn’t loved his best friend Katie, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to take the chance of destroying the best relationship he had and then it was too late. When she ended up marrying his cousin Gabe and pregnant with his son things becomes a whole lot more complicated when Noah ended up incarcerated for Gabe’s death. A decade later he is back in town trying to pick up the pieces of his life and his relationship with Katie but that is easier said than done.

When Gabe passed away Katie lost the two most important people in her life when Noah cut off all contact with her. Now that he is back in town, she isn’t about to just let him back into her life but that isn’t so easy to do when someone isn’t about to let Noah’s past stay in the past and they don’t care if others get caught in the crossfire.

Everything that Noah and Katie have faced may have changed them but not their feelings for each. Just when they start healing from the past and have hope for the future, we get a cliffhanger that leaves us wondering what the future holds for this couple. The narrators complement each other and bring out all emotion and intrigue to perfection.

Fast-paced, full of suspense and drama

• Ex-con
• Friends to lovers
• Slow burn
• Small town romance

Another ex-con finding love with his old best friend, delivered with the signature tension, passion and emotion that is so inherently Kennedy Fox? Yes, please! That I’ve been dying to get my hands on Katie and Noah’s story since I’ve read the first book in the Ex-Con duet series only sweetens the deal. Their story definitely has some major – and for Kennedy Fox rather unusual – slow burn feel to it, which I hated almost as much as I loved it.

Theirs is a story of star-crossed lovers. Two best friends in love with each other, but too scared to do anything about it, before life stepped in and tore them apart. Now, after Noah’s prison sentence, they are slowly rekindling the profound bond they shared when they were younger, awakening all those feelings again that lay dormant under all the heartbreak.

Quick, fast-paced, full of suspense and drama, sweetness and ever-changing emotions. I swooned, I laughed, I choked up, then swooned some more, before cursing at that cliffhanger that I knew was coming with this being book one of a duet, ugh!

The audio book is done to perfection by the talented Lia Langola and Tor Thom. There’s just something about Lia’s male voices that makes me shudder – in a totally good way – and Tor, well, his rich voice is an experience all in itself. These two transported the emotions of their characters beautifully and made this story even more of an experience.

Love Katie and Noah!

Once again, the ending snuck up on me!

I'm not sure what it is about Kennedy Fox that hooks me so much.
Could it be the budding romance?
The cute kids?
The air of mystery?
The danger lurking in plain sight?

Whatever their recipe is, they have nailed it. I absolutely devoured this book.

Noah was so sweet. His imprisonment has had me curious since I read Gemma's book - so it's safe to say I have been waiting to hear the full story. His guilt, regrets, and love for Katie bleeds from the pages and I even teared up at one point.

I figured out the "villain" in this story early on, though I'm sure the girls have crafted something more elaborate than I could ever imagine.

Having loved reading this book I was eager to listen to it, so I could relive this wonderful book. As always, Lia did an absolutely fantastic job with narration. Tor was also fabulous, he gets better and better every time!

I'm so excited to read the rest of the story that I can't even be mad about where they have left us in the story!

All the freaking stars ✨

I love this couple

Great slow burn and although you know what's going to happen, boom the cliffhanger happens and you can't believe it. Ugh, I want the next part so bad! The flow was perfect. I didn't want it to end.

The narration was excellent but that is not a surprise with these pros.

4.5 Stars

4.5 stars I feel like I've been waiting for Noah and Katie FOREVER. (I haven't but it feels like it, I get attached easy, fight me) This story does not have the best of beginnings, but considering this entire series is called Ex-Cons..never mind. Noah and Katie used to be best friends, until something happened. Fast forward a decade and now Noah is back and Katie ain't having it. Or is she? This was such a vibe, and I was sucked into small town life real quick. I adored Katie and my heart broke a bunch for Noah. I want the best for both of them. It does end with QUITE the bang so to say I'm even more looking forward to Holding You Close might be the biggest understatement of the month. I volunteered to read and review an early copy of this and all opinions are my own. (less)