Smoky Darling

Darling Series, Book 1

By: S.J. Tilly

Narrated by: Gomez Pugh, Callie Dalton

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Elouise

I fell in love with Beckett when I was 7. He broke my heart when I was 15. When I was 18, I promised myself I’d forget about him. And I did. For a dozen years.

But now he’s back home. Here. In Darling Lake. And I don’t know if I should give in to the temptation swirling between us or run the other way.

Beckett

She had a crush on me when she was a kid. But she was my brother’s best friend’s little sister. I didn’t see her like that. And even if I had, she was too young. Our age difference was too great.

But now I’m back home. And she’s here. And she’s all the way grown up. It wouldn’t have worked back then. But I’ll be damned if I won’t get a taste of her now.

©2022 S.J. Tilly LLC (P)2023 Podium Audio

SJ Tilly, Enough Said!

I am in LOVE with SJ Tilly's books! I usually read REALLY dark books, but this one was spectacular. It was cozy and sweet and a little tiny bit dark, but man... I hope she makes a thousand more books because I CANNOT get enough! (the novella at the end was adorable too)

Enjoyable

I enjoyed this story but I really did not enjoy the lengthy sex scenes. They are not sexy at all. The romance part is sexy. The flirtation is sexy. But the sex parts are way too long and graphic, completely unnecessary. The narrators were good and the characters were great.

SJ Tilly Never Lets Me Down

I'm not usually a fan of the audiobook version of romance novels but had to get this book because I LOVE SJ Tilly's books. This audiobook kept me fully enthralled for nearly 8 straight hours and I only paused because I was forced to go to bed. I'm now anxiously awaiting the release of the audiobooks for Latte Darling and the Sin series!!!

A really good book

This is my first S J Tilly book and it was very good and it won’t be my last book by this author

It's Fine

I really was looking forward to reading this, bit it fell short for me. The book itself is Okay, pretty predictable. I wish there would have been some chase between these 2, but it there wasn't. Also did not care for the make narrator, he sounded old, not like a hot 38 year old millionaire.

Smoky Darling❤️

Amazing!! I loved her Sleet series and this one was just as great! Funny, spicy with a great plot that keeps you interested. Worth the credit? Absolutely!

great stories... I liked them both

smoky Darling - Beckett & Eloise: TRIGGERS: stalking, kidnapping, assault. I thought this book was going to be a typical second chance romance. I really wouldn't even call it a second chance romance because there isn't a first chance at romance with these two. It's more of an unrequited love of a young girl to a boy, eight years her senior. She fell for him when she was 8 and he saved her from some bullies.. from then on, at each major stage of her life, he seemed to disappoint and break her heart. Now she's an adult and an elementary school teacher. When they meet again as adults it's on a field trip and despite being a long book, it's not a slow burn. The romance is almost immediate but without any real discussion between the two about their interest in each other. That was a bit bothersome. Then it seemed as Beckett wanted to move full steam ahead with the sex but kept a lot of information about his life to himself which caused more tears and confusion for Eloise. While doing his best to earn her love, there's someone doing his best to take Beckett out of the picture. The story is good, just a few things that were annoying. I liked it and it was funny in some places.

second Bite (novella) - Michael & Alice: insta romance between a baker and a competition judge gets hot and heavy on this romance. It's short but sweet. Literally.

Loved it!

Elouise has been in love with Beckett since she was 7 years old when he defended her after being knocked down during a game of kickball. Well for a seven year old love might be too strong of a word. After making a complete fool of herself on several occasions when it came to Beckett she decided she would move on with her life. She went to college and became a teacher. She is working at the local elementary school in her hometown.
Beckett is the big brother of Elouise’s brother best friend and was much older than her. He never gave her a thought. He went off to college and got a job and moved away from town he grew up in.
When Elouise went on a spring break camping adventure with kids from her school she was shocked when she saw Beckett as the survivalist that was brought in to show the kids how to survive outside.
When Beckett saw Elouise he knew he had to make her his.
S. J. Tilly did it again. I really enjoyed listening to this book. I didn’t realize that I was listening and reading two different books of hers. I love how alpha protective Beckett was of Elouise.

Second Bite:
Michael is a judge on a cooking competition show and he is getting tired of it and is looking for something new. What he really wants is a woman.
Alice’s cousins applied for her to be a contestant on Secod Bite which is a cooking competition. She has always had a crush on Michael. She couldn’t believe it that she was chosen to be a contestant on the show.
Michael saw Alice and knew she was his, even if he never spoke to her.
This is a short novella that is super quick. It was a great surprise when it was included with the audio of Smoky Darling. Thank you S. J. For the little treat!

4 stars!

I may be biased because I loved the narrators, they did a great job here and I may have liked their work more for book #2 than I did here. It could also be that the story to me was so fast-paced that I wish there had been just a bit more development in their relationship.

Love Love Love S.J. Tilly books! 1000% worth every penny!

There aren’t many authors that I like better them S.J Tilly, especially on a re-read. The character connection between the different series just drawl you in.

Minor spoiler- All S.J’s Series are worth a re-read but I sooooooo hope Nero or King (or Dom/Hans - didn’t read those yet) take care of creeper Adam from Smoky Darling since the Sin Series guys didn’t :-) I’m just saying I LOVE dark hero. My only negative critique is that some minor inconsistencies in the story drive me a little crazy.