Rumours and Romance

Dogwood Cove, Book 2

By: Julia Jarrett

Narrated by: Heather Firth, Neill Thorne

Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Jackson Holt and I have a mutual problem, with an obvious solution. A fake relationship is the perfect way for both of us to get what we want.

The sinfully handsome new veterinarian in Dogwood Cove needs to show his boss he’s settling down and here to stay so that he can secure his partnership. I need to get my family and friends off my back so I can focus on my busy bakery, and open my new cafe.

Pretending to date each other is no hardship, and the answer to our problems. Two birds, one little white lie of a stone.

The challenge will be avoiding the very real feelings neither of us see coming.

Rumours and Romance is the perfect fake relationship that leads to real love. For fans of steamy small town love stories, with a couple who choose to be child-free, adorable animals, found family friend groups, low angst and high heat romance with a guaranteed HEA. This is the second book in the Dogwood Cove series and can be listened to as a standalone, although the series is best enjoyed if listened to in order.

©2021 Julia Jarrett (P)2021 Julia Jarrett

Swoony fake dating

New vet in town Jackson needs to convince his boss that he's planning to stick around for a while. Bakery owner Mila wants her friends and brother off her back about working too much. The two soon decide on a fake dating arrangement that will ease the pressure on them both while letting them spend time together as friends. Of course, it doesn't take long for things to get a little more complicated...

I really liked Mila and how she knew what she wanted out of life and knew her own worth. Jackson took me a little longer to warm up to, but he had his reasons for refusing to get too close to anyone. By the time they got together for real, I was hooked. I wish he hadn't gone quite so hard on the misunderstanding, that was a bit hard to stomach, but Mila handled it very maturely (more maturely than I would have!).

Dual narration by Heather Firth and Neill Thorne was very well done and really enjoyable to listen to.

Perfect Fake Relationship Romance

This audiobook is freaking perfection! I love how the narrators give life to this story. Makes me falling in love with Mila and Jackson again! Love it so much

Mila, Jackson, Milo and Harley are so sweet, cute, everything wonderful. Of course they are perfect for each other. This story fake relationship is like no other. It’s the sweetest romance story I’ve read in Fake relationship. The people of Dogwood Cove has my heart. It’s so romantic that makes me swoon. Jackson and Mila are in trouble for their past relationship but managed to get over and love again 💕 It’s swoon worthy and the passion is on point. Perfect.

Small towns, baked goods and romance, Oh My!

This was my first book of Julia's a few years ago and the one that had me coming back to Dogwood Cove time and time again. Mila and Jackson are special characters for me so I was very happy to experience their journey in audiobook form, and very pleased with how Heather and Neill brought them to life. The narration was wonderful and brought me right back to all those feelings I had while visiting Dogwood Cove for the first time <3<3<3

***
A delightful fake-relationship romance that feels like a fun and cozy Hallmark movie, but with a decent amount of steam. Mila is a workaholic with big dreams and well-meaning but pushy friends & family who can't seem to understand why she isn't looking for love. When Jackson, new to Dogwood Cove & looking for a fresh start, meets Mila, they quickly fall into an easy friendship. After Jackson realizes his future goals may be contingent on proving he can commit to small town living, Mila may have the perfect way to help him and at the same time get her friends off her case.

It was very easy for me to connect not just to the characters, but to the locations in this story. Between the small-town gossip mill, community Canada Day celebrations and the shout out to BC's wine country 😉, I felt very much at home in this story 🥰 Dogwood Cove may just be my new 'If only I could live there' dream location.

Julia has written so many great lines, funny and sweet moments. I appreciate how she incorporated realistic relationship questions and issues into the story without creating too much chaos.

This story is pretty low on the angst but still has some drama and 'OMG I can't believe you just did/said that' moments. I laughed and swooned and yelled at the main characters more than once, so I will definitely be visiting Dogwood Cove again.