Someone You Deserve

Carrington Cove, Book 2

De: Harlow James

Narrado por: Aiden Snow, Vanessa Edwin

Rule number one of bro-code: exes, sisters and of course, wives are off-limits.

Don't think about them and sure as hell don't kiss them.

But what if your best friend dies, and suddenly you want the woman who has always been his?

Four years ago my childhood friend lost his life serving our country, and Astrid and her kids became my responsibility.

But before I knew it, something started to shift between us.

Her smile started to make my stomach twist. Our conversations gave me something to look forward to. And working with her made me appreciate just how strong she truly was.

But then one night, I did the one thing I shouldn't have but couldn't fight any longer—I kissed her.

She pushed me away, told me it was a mistake, and begged me to forget it ever happened.

And then she shoved me deep and fully into the friendzone, where I've resided since then.

Until one instance changes everything and I know for certain she's the woman I want.

Just when I think were on the same page, a secret from our past threatens to destroy our future.

I shouldn't want my best friends widow. I shouldn't care what other people think.

But in the end, the only thing that matters is being someone Astrid deserves, and I'll stop at nothing until she believes that too.

©2024 Harlow James (P)2024 Harlow James

The chemistry!

I loved this book! The characters, the chemistry pouring through the speakers, everything! I also loved the way the conflict in the story was handled. Audio was amazing. The narrators did a great job bringing these characters to life.

Hilarious & steamy single mom

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 4.5/5
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥☄️ (0-5) I bump up for public places/outdoor spaces.

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 Vanessa Edwin and Aiden Snow give us a fantastic show in this narration, especially the steamy parts—they are hot! Vanessa Edwin, you did amazing with that first time, making the intimate conversation so scrumptious! Aiden Snow, I feel like it’s been a while, and you totally got me with your f***, baby!
🤩 Deceased husband’s best friend and those forbidden type feelings.
🤩 Such a well-written and captivating story from the start. The flashback chapters are perfectly placed.
🤩 Penn Sheppard (aka Uncle Penn) is so amazing with Astrid and her kiddos—he is total book boyfriend material. I looooooove the Hershey’s kisses and Ferrero Rocher as symbols of his love and care.
🤩 Secret pining, once she’s ready.
🤩 A little jealousy/possessiveness to get things moving works on me.
🤩 The single mom trope and sneaking around, yessssss! It’s laugh out loud hilarious!
🤩 Smells like sugar!!

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 I love how this widow trope starts; however, I wish Astrid would have let sweet, beautiful, amazing Penn in on her secrets quite a bit sooner. I don’t like my MMC feeling second best.
💫 I was wishing for some steamy intimacy after the honesty.

Penn and Astrid

Someone You Deserve is the second book in the Carrington Cove series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Penn was so sweet and caring, and he was absolutely in love with Astrid. Honestly, he was just a great guy all around — always helping others.

Astrid was also sweet, and she was such a great mother. She truly made sure they knew they were loved. And I loved how passionate she was about her baking.

This was angsty and emotional, but it also had so much love and healing. I enjoyed their story and can’t wait for the next book!

Narration Style: Dual

These two did a great job bringing the story to life. Aiden’s voice was perfect for Penn, and Vanessa truly brought out all of Astrid’s emotions. Also, her “male” voice was very believable.

This story was beautiful!!!

Harlow James did it again!! Someone You Deserve is a beautiful story about finding love and fighting for it.

Astrid and Penn have been friends for a long time. Specially after Astrid's husband who was Penn's best friend pass away. Penn has been the friend Astrid and her two kids needed. He was so sweet and caring, always spending quality time with them but what started as friendship becomes something more that either of them wanted to admit for fear of loosing that one of a kind friendship.

Penn has always been a people pleaser, trying to help in any way he can so when Astrid becomes the brand new owner of her dream bakery he is more than happy to help only there is a man trying to convinced Astrid to go on a date and this is what triggers Penn to finally go for what he wants and finally make Astrid his.

Astrid has keep a secret from Penn that might damage their friendship. So she felt guilt and this was one of the reason she didn't let go. She keep pinning after Penn until he made his intentions very clear which it was so hot and with his help she starts to let go of the pass and with every step they take together they realise that they are meant for each other.

🎧The narration of this book was absolutely fantastic. Aiden Snow and Vanessa Edwin did an amazing job bringing these characters to live with the extra layer of passion, swoony moments and incredible family time.

Love this one so much!!

Book 2 of the series, you don't need to read book 1 but I think Harlow James is amazing and this series is fantastic. There is always a better payoff if you've followed the story in sequence.

Astrid is a single mom widow and Penn was her husband's best friend. No matter how much they want each other, they never acknowledge it.

Penn doesn't want to betray the memory of a friend, Astrid doesn't want to cause small town scandal. The angst around these two and their inner thoughts slayed me. They both deserve to be happy and when they finally break and give in to their feelings... hot damn it is the best thing EVER. Frosting and sanitizing workstations go hand in hand.

The audio was performed so amazingly by Vanessa Edwin and Aiden Snow. Both of these narrators gave incredible performances. The emotions and the passion and the kid voices! OMG the KIDS!!! There were some absolutely hilarious moments that broke my composure. Laughing out loud on the street unable to contain myself. Such an amazing production.

I requested and was provided with an advanced copy of both the Audiobook and eBook. These are my honest opinions.

mutual pining that’s oh so good

“He’s so far away from the line that he can’t even see the line. Hell, the line is a dot to him.”

Ohh this book! What do you do when you find yourself falling for your best friend’s widow?! Angst and Mutual pining? Yes please!!

Aiden Snow and Vanessa Edwin did an amazing job bringing Penn and Astrid to life!
You could really feel the emotions, the swoon, the angst, the sweetness and the spice! Love the audiobook!

one of my all time favs!

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.”

5/⭐️
2/🌶️

Audiobook Review 🎧 Narrated by Aiden Snow & Vanessa Edwin

I absolutely adored this book — this is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year, hands down. Somewhere You Belong (book one) was so freaking good, and I ate up the crumbs of Penn and Astrid we got. So this book was one I was highly anticipating and it hit the mark. Penn and Astrid were everything!! Well actually, Penn, Astrid, Bentley and Lilly were everything 🥹

Penn’s relationship with Astrid’s kids was my favorite part. This was so beautifully written that I was emotional at times, but when Penn said ‘𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘺’, I had tears. He was so good with them, and it made Penn and Astrid’s relationship even better.

Astrid is a favorite FMC of mine — she struggling with how she felt, but I loved when she took what she wanted. Her and Penn together was both 🥵 and 🥰. They had the perfect combination of freaking adorably sweet and sweating hot, spiciness!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. Both narrators did an excellent job of allowing us to feel the emotions, and feel like you could be part of the story. I could listen to Aiden all day, everyday 🤭

I’m so excited for what’s to come in this series! 🫶🏼

tropes - single mom, best friend’s widow, friends to lovers, secret relationship, grumpy hero, he falls first

Amazing story with fantastic narration

This series is fantastic and this book is a great addition. Harlow’s books are filled with amazing characters, facing life challenges and beautiful love stories.

Astrid and Penn’s relationship evolves over some time. Both are scared to give into their emotions due to their connection through Astrid’s ex-husband.

Penn becomes an amazing support system with Astrid kids..who already refer to him as uncle. He is so kind, caring, patron and an amazing human.

Astrid is an amazing mom who’s doing her best to raise her children as a single parent. She’s determined to do something she loves and is determined to make it a success. Penn is her biggest cheerleader.

Vanessa Edwin and Aiden Snow deliver a phenomenal performance. They both take Harlow’s words and deliver an amazing audio book filled with beautiful voice, personality and emotion for each character. A fantastic listen!

Penn & Astrid =LOVE

I absolutely loved this book! The build up of emotion that both characters struggled with were perfectly written. Narration was perfect!

Didn’t want it to end!

Someone You Deserve is giving all the angst!

Penn & Astrid have been friends forever and years after Astrid's husband (also Penn's friend) passes they find their feelings are just too much to avoid. I loved the way this story was written! With so many elements, friend/husband passing away, kids involved, etc Harlow James still made this story read smoothly and believable. There were so many great moments (the kisses!) and I just didn't want this story to end. It was beautiful and sad and steamy and I loved them. The characters of Carrington Cove are quickly becoming favorites!

I was able to listen to an audio of this book and I tip my hat to the narrator choice! Vanessa Edwin & Aiden Snow were amazing as Penn & Astrid!