Stronghold

Vino & Veritas Series

By: Ana Ashley

Narrated by: John Solo

Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

A second chance at love? Or a second chance to ruin everything?

When Skyler spots the new bartender at Vino and Veritas, his body responds before the guy even turns around. But when he does, it takes only a heartbeat for recognition to set in and for sparks to fly. Judson's been gone for ten years, but he's the man Skyler never forgot. Or forgave.

The last place Judson wants to be is back home in Burlington, living with family. Not so long ago he was a world-class chef with the lifestyle to prove it. Now he's serving drinks and flying under the radar until he can get the hell out again. But when his childhood best friend reenters his life, looking finer than any entree at a five-star restaurant, he wonders if it's time to update his menu of life choices.

Working through past wounds with Skyler won't be easy, though, especially with family obligations-and the occasional dairy cow-interfering. When their loyalty is tested, will their newly built stronghold be sturdy enough to withstand the storm?

Contains mature themes.

©2021 Ana Ashley (P)2022 Tantor

John Solo’s narration is so good!

He was perfect bringing the author’s characters to life. If you like low angst served with sweet, spicy, and a side of maple syrup, you’re going to love Judson and Skylar’s second-chance love story. This was my first book by this author, and I’ll definitely be checking out more.

Aww second chances

This childhood bff, second chance romance is so sweet! We get to see poor Skylar who dated the pathetic Theo in an earlier book reunited with Judson, the formerly chubby, formally trained super chef. They’re cute together and the author does a great job working in V & V regulars. The audio performance is fantastic!

Short and quick read that packs a punch filled with romance!

A second chance love story that left me smiling ear to ear with such sweetness like the maple syrup described in the book. Childhood friends Judd and Skylar had parted ways by a pained miscommunication but the author didn’t drag it out and cleared it quickly once they reunited. Loved it!

Better Than Expected

I’m not sure why, but it took me several starts until I actually listened to the whole book. Although the narration was just ok for me, the story was better than expected.

One of the best friends to lovers

I liked this book. There's a lot of detail for a five hour recording and it had a lot of realism.

So good

The storyline and the performance are stellar. I couldn’t stop listening to it. It’s so enjoyable

Amazing.

I love the romance of the Sky and Jud. Although the ending could have just a little more for me. it seemed a littled rushed.
but overall a great listen!

Sweet second chance romance.

3.5*

Stronghold was a sweet childhood friends to enemies/lost touch second chance romance. Judson and Skyler had been friends since birth, but one misunderstanding blew their friendship apart, until 10 years later when they're both back home.
This is another one of those books that makes me sad for the characters, having been separated for so long due to a lack of communication. But thankfully they got their second chance and were able to clear the air, even if it took too long.

I enjoyed the narrator, although there were times it was difficult to differentiate the two characters.

Sweet

Sweet, low anxiety, and well written. And the scenes with the creative use of maple syrup don't hurt. I'm actually surprised that it took this many books in the series to get to that since maple syrup is literally discussed in every book.

Another winner in this series.

John Solo brought sexy kindness to the 2 main characters. Everytime Skyler said 'Baby", my heart melted a bit more. When they finally connected all the dots after 10 years it was magical. The writer set us up with a loving, caring, creative, and intelligent couple with a lot of heat mixed in as well.