Say Yes

A New Adult Romance

De: Kandi Steiner

Narrado por: Hannah Chiclana

Two strangers.
Two words.
One unforgettable summer....

When you’re an artist, everything has to be perfect.

Or so I thought, until my professor told me my perfection was boring and unoriginal. Studying abroad in Florence has taught me one thing: I know nothing when it comes to what makes art truly beautiful.

So, with my professor's words in my ear, I step outside one evening and decide to say yes to any and everything I’m faced with until the sun rises.

Of course, I didn’t expect him to show up.

Liam Benson, the broody, sexy, tortured artist from my class who I can’t stand. He’s got a sour outlook on the world and an ego so big no one could properly stroke it to his satisfaction.

When he finds out what I’m doing, he hijacks my “yes” night.
And after just twelve hours with him, I’m desperate for more.

But Liam is running from more than I could ever understand, and with his heart guarded and mind made up about life, I don’t stand a chance.

I convince myself that we can keep it casual.
But walking away from him at the end of the summer is as impossible as painting outside the lines.

I used to think when you’re an artist, everything has to be perfect.

Turns out everything has to be painful, and messy, and fleeting.

If only I’d known that before I fell under Liam Benson’s spell.

©2021 Kandi Steiner (P)2021 Kandi Steiner

An emotional journey

The bio for Kandi Steiner on Goodreads mentions her emotional rollercoaster stories, and that would certainly sum up Say Yes. On the one hand, it has such a great message - from taking a day to just say yes to learning to let go of those things that hold us back. On the other hand, both Harley and Liam have things to work through, some harder to deal with than others and some more emotional than others - but all of it, the good and the bad, add up to one doozy of an emotional rollercoaster. So, yes, the story is without a doubt, angsty and emotional, but the journey is worth every minute of angst. It's impossible to keep from getting caught up in these characters and rooting for them to make a go of it.
Of course, a big part of creating a great audiobook lies with the choice of narrator, and I have to say the author chose brilliantly. Hannah Chiclana lays it all out there. I could not only hear every emotional up and down, I could feel them.
I would recommend making sure you're ready for a journey crammed with all the feels, and you're ready to shed a tear or two, and then to curl up and prepare to get lost in these characters and their story.

A Summer Romance in Italy!

This was such an enjoyable audiobook, which was wonderfully narrated by Hannah Chiclana. The setting in Italy was so much fun. All the fashion, food, events, and music of the late 1990s was such a fun throw-back. Harley has a disability/rare birth defect that I thought really played into her character’s story so much. Liam is a moody and tortured hero, having suffered a tragic loss. Harley & Liam are both Americans taking art classes in Italy. At first Harley is put off by Liam's rudeness and slacker attitude. After one night where Harley sets out to "Say Yes" to everything, she runs into Liam who joins her on the adventure. Having a chance to get to know him and even hear his story of his past, they form a bond that can't be denied. I really believed their chemistry and emotional connection, you can feel that their relationship is fresh and raw and all those first moments of falling in lust and then love. Solid 4 star read.

Say Yes

Tropes
🔆Broken Hero
🔆Summer Love
🔆Disability Rep
🔆Different Worlds


🔆Say Yes by Kandi Stainer

—This beautiful Story about Harley and Liam
Taking place in Italy in the 90’s yes talk about Nostalgia

I Love and Enjoy Kandi Steiner books. This one got me all emotional and all the feels. Harley is a disabled 22 year old who enjoys and has passion for ART 🖼️. Her story of finding herself and Embracing her disability; Finding Love and becoming braver and encouraging herself to keep going and not to give up!

Love Liam because he helps Harley to see herself as he saw her. Liam and Harley both needed each other and they helped each other Grow together and find what was missing in each other life.

“You Made me Want Again. You Made me Laugh again. You Made me Hope and desire and care.” He Swallowed.“You Make life worth Living.”

A Must Listen/Read!!

I don't even know how this is possible but this my first time reading/listening to a book by this author. I so very much enjoyed this book. Harley and Liam. These two really brought up tons of emotion in me. I loved how everything evolved between the two of them throughout the entire book. Liam is broken and has a very tragic past that he’s been running away from. Though at times he did annoy me, I really did love his character. I LOVED Harley. I loved her so much. She’s so easy to understand and empathize with. I loved watching her grow throughout the book. I wish this book was told from Liam’s perspective as well, I would have loved to see that. I loved the amazing job Kandi did with fleshing out these two. She has such a way with words and it brings out a ton of emotion to you while you're reading. This book was narrated by Hannah Chiclana and I thought she did such a great job as Harley! I don’t believe I’ve ever listened to a book narrated by her before I thought she did a wonderful job. Being able to listen to this audiobook gave me such a better understanding and visualization of the characters and setting. This book made me laugh, cry and a little bit of everything else in between. I highly recommend this book to any and all.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Underrated Gem!!

This was such a good book! I really loved the 90s vibes with the setting, music, and things happening during that period. I haven't read any books set in that time and it was almost comforting since it was an era I grew up in. I truly felt for both Liam and Harley. The way they dealt with life, grief, self-doubt, and their feelings for each other tugged at my heart. I loved how he helped her get out of her shell & how she showed him that he could move on and not wallow in his grief. Hannah Chiclana did a fantastic job with the audiobook and it was such a heartwarming story. Definitely one of Kandi's more underrated stories and I wish I had read it sooner!

🌟 🌟 Amazing story and narration 🌟 🌟

Kandi Steiner writes like a dream. She transported me back to the 90s (which, SQUEEL, was so fun) and to Italy as an artist. Steiner has continually brought me to my knees with angst and the beauty of her stories and characters.  I really related to Harley, not as an artist, but as someone who has dreams and is struggling to bring them to life. She's living the dream as a student studying art in Italy over the next 90 days. Harley meets Liam while there. They are the complete opposites... Harley is obsessed with her art being perfect while Liam is more into being free with his art, feeling it. Harley decides to spend one night saying yes to everything in front of her, to live life free and impulsive. Who does she run into but Liam. That yes night was everything! So much feeling. So much live for the moment. This is probably one of the most quotable books ever. Some of the things said or the feelings thought made me pause and really think. Steiner made her own art here with Say Yes.

The narrator, Hannah Chiclana, is one I've heard maybe once or twice before this audiobook.  I'm a fan of Steiner's and she's used her several times now. Chiclana doesn't just read the book to listeners. I felt like she acted the part of them and I lived it. She'd pause during some of the most quotable and monumental moments and it'd really make the statement that much more impactfull. If you're an audiobook lover than you know a narrator can make or break an audiobook, Chiclana definitely made it. More than that though, you'll know a good narrator can add so much more to an audiobook than just a pleasant voice. Chiclana added a pulse to this story. It was beautifully read and she's a narrator that I'm excited to hear more from.

Beautifully moving and heartfelt

I am still drying my tears over this lovely performance of a beautifully written story about love and grief and finding yourself. The magical Italian setting and the depth of the connection between Harley and Liam is so overwhelming at times, but so worth the journey.

Amazing, emotional summer romance in Italy ❤️

Well this surprised me in the best possible way. It was a quick read, yet it put me through all the feels…

Perhaps it is because this book touched me on a personal level. Florence is home to me (I am native of Tuscany). During HS, I often skipped school on Fridays with my friends, get on a train, and go check out the markets in Florence. Be home by 2 pm to an unsuspecting mother 😅😂

Also art. Art is a big part of my life. It is my job, it is my hobby and my passion. The paintings they talked about in the book, are some of my favorites in the whole wide world 💖

And finally… I can very much relate to the need to strive for perfection, while trying to let go and embrace imperfection…

So yeah. I felt this book on my skin. It was sort of bittersweet for me, in a nostalgic way.

I loved LOVED Harley and Liam. They were perfectly imperfect together 💞💞💞


The 🎧audiobook🎧 was absolute perfection. Hannah Chiclana is one of my favorite female narrators. I love her slightly raspy voice, and her emotional interpretations, as well as her ability to modulate her pitch for each of the characters. A 5⭐️ audio to go with an amazing, emotional summer adventure in Italy.


***


“It’s a reminder that the true beauty in life is that we experience both tremendous anguish and remarkable exuberance in tandem, and that neither could exist without the other. We would be numb if we only ever felt happy, and we would be equally as numb if we only experienced pain. It is the fact that they walk together hand in hand that makes life such a wondrous thing. Such a precious thing.”

Stunning Performance

This book was nothing like I expected it to be, but yet everything I needed it to be. How fun to be brought back to 1996! This book was packed with every emotion and had such a unique story with a character with a very rarely talked about disorder, symbrachydactyly. Harley was a strong character not just because she was strong, but because she acknowledged her weaknesses and tried to change. Kandi really makes you feel Harley’s pain and experience her journey. Harley was on a mission to become a perfect artist because in her eyes it's the only thing she could be perfect at.

Liam has been through more grief and loss than any person should have to experience. This leaves him feeling lost and carefree. Liam walked away from his tragic past and never dealt with it so he is still damaged which makes him think he could never love someone like Harley.

Harley started off one night set to say yes to everything that came her way. That night she ran into Liam and from then on they were inseparable. Liam and Harley had such a sweet relationship. They had fun together and they cared about each other but they also pushed each other to be better. I think the only criticism I have about the book is that I felt it abruptly ended. I really loved this book!

I loved this narration. Kandi does a great job at finding these hidden gems of narrators that I haven’t heard of before. Hannah did an amazing job carrying the story herself. She really brought us back to the 1990s!

beautifully written, angsty, nostalgic romance

this book is pure emotional poetry. a perfect summer romance full of angsty drama and 90s nostalgia, with a tortured hero that’s hard to love and a girl learning to love herself.

harley is studying art abroad in italy where her art teacher says her work is predictable—and that is not what she expected. but liam, the aloof and indifferent student from her class, is praised for his art. she can’t understand how he excels while barely trying and she despises him for it. so she decides to let go of her perfectionist ways for a night, and liam joins her for an unexpected journey for both of them.

their romance takes a bit of a back seat throughout, but this book will sweep you off your feet with the most beautiful story of self love, friendship, forgiveness and hope.

i can not recommend the audio enough. hannah chiclana makes you feel all the characters emotions, despite this being a single pov. she is phenomenal.