The RSVP

By: Lauren Blakely

Narrated by: Vanessa Edwin, Joe Arden

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

Our days are full of secrets. Our nights are for seduction....

For the last year, I’ve wanted someone I can’t have. The man my father built his latest multimillion-dollar business with. He’s nearly a decade older than I am, and he’s entirely forbidden. The fact that he’s never given me a second glance only makes me long for him more.

But the other night, across the room at a gala, everything changed. His broody gaze lingered on me and grew darker. So I’m officially done being the good girl.

Tomorrow I turn 21. As a gift to myself, I plan to seduce my father’s business partner. Happy birthday to me.

©2023 Lauren Blakely Books (P)2022 Lauren Blakely Books

Lauren keeps writing really good books.

I have no idea how many books I’ve listened to from LB and there all good and this one is really good as well. Great narrators as always with Lauren’s book Thanks

I switched back and forth from reading to audio! Loved it all

Harlow & Bridget stole m attention right from the start! Great chemistry, same values , same instinct to protect each other while trying to find a way to get to their HEA with out destroying everything. They build such a strong bond through it all, it was a beautiful story. The narrators did a wonderful job also !

Bridger & Harlow HOT!!

I absolutely loved The RSVP by Lauren Blakely. Harlow and Bridger are one combustible couple. I have been reading Lauren Blakely books for almost 10 years now and will 1-click to pre-order when I learn she has a new book coming. Her writing style is fantastic. Totally love the first person and dual POV’s. She creates an amazing back story for all her characters no matter whether they are the hero/heroine or secondary characters. This author is super talented and truly knows how to create characters, settings, and emotions with ALL the feels and heat. Vanessa Edwin and Joe Arden narrate the audio version of The RSVP. Wow, do these two bring their A game! Their voices are amazing, smooth, rich, and completely bring this story to life in my head. Absolutely recommend The RSVP by Lauren Blakely.

top notch!

loved this story, the narrators were absolutely perfect and made this story one of my favorites.

Fantastic

I loved the book. I have read almost all of Lauren Blakely's books. You are one of my favorite authors.

Loved every minute of it

This review is for both this book and its prequel novella, The Crush. It isn't a secret that I love me some Lauren Blakely. Whether it is a sexy vet and his boss' daughter, best friends pretending to be engaged, friends using each other for research, your friend's ex-wife, a guy walking into your bar, a virgin society, rivals, a client, best friends sharing a special lady, or meeting in a dating app (I can go on and on) - Lauren just delivers. Her stories for me are the best "feel good" stories especially during these difficult times. They are my go to when I want to escape into a world where love is always grater than conflict.

With that said, The RSVP was a bit different and I am all for it. First of all it is narrated by Vanessa Edwin and Joe Arden who were the perfect Harlow and Bridger. Harlow is one of my favorite characters.. She owned who she was and what I mean by that is that she acknowledge that she had some privileges others didn't grow up with. Despite her conflicting feelings for her dad, she learned a lot from him. Another thing I will say about Lauren is her portrayal of her characters who are virgins. I think some people still have this misconception that someone who is a virgin is shy and not in tune with their sexual being but that isn't the case. Just because someone is a virgin doesn't mean they aren't aware. I loved that about Harlow - she was aware of her crush for Bridger and eventually aware of her desire for him.

Bridger was just different. He could have easily used his past as an excuse to be careless, it was the opposite for him. He was focused and determined even if it meant putting himself in situations in which he was uncomfortable. Despite their age different, Harlow and Bridger were perfect for each other even if it meant risking it all.

Intellectually Beautiful ❤️

I'm not big on age gap, but reading The Crush, I went for it. I love how LB brings you into the story and paints this beautiful cultured and intelligent story. The growth in Harlow and Bridger's affections were captivating. I couldn't stop listening! Beautifully written LB, thanks for all of your treasures. 😍

A long, slow, delicious seduction

Harlow’s story is that of a college senior ready to take on the world and come into her own. While she seems like she had to grow up sooner than most, she still has a vulnerable side.  How better to work through her wants and desires, mainly her father’s business partner 10 years her senior, than with the help of her two ride or die bffs. Vanessa Edwin brings to life Harlow’s zest for life with her bright voice but also conveys the growth of a woman coming into her own.

Bridger, narrated by the soulful Joe Arden, has a conflicted soul, that makes you feel for him. Already a wild success in his 30’s,  he increasingly feels drawn to Harlow and yet struggles with his need for her at the same time.
These two seem to have their hands full, not only with their growing attraction to each other, but with the guilt they feel within their relationship with Harlow’s Father, his business partner. Arden does a masterful job portraying the hunger and need you feel from Bridger. 

With each chapter that ticks by, you are drawn more and more into this couple’s orbit. This story is longer than most of Blakely’s other books and at times I wanted to skip ahead because I needed to know what happened, but trust me when I say that the ending pays off. This story is like a long seduction …
a delicious tale of wanting and putting in the work to make it happen.

Delicious forbidden romance - excellent narration!

RSVP is book 1 in the new Virgin Society series. I can’t help but love forbidden, age-gap romance and this one definitely ticked all of my boxes. Lauren Blakely is brilliant at witty banter and strong female characters! Harlow has been crushing on her dad’s business partner, Bridger, for years. Now that she is all grown up she makes it her mission to get him to see her for the woman she is now. Her father is a bit of a mess in the romance department, and I really enjoyed how Harlow handles that and learns from it. It’s a real issue and you don’t see it represented in this way - so that was another big plus for this book… at least for me. There is an age gap, but it’s only 10ish years and Harlow is an adult and they have quite a bit in common. In her quest to seduce him they develop a true bond and I really enjoyed their romance and building connections outside of the physical attraction and blending them beautifully into a strong foundation as the slow burn. As always, this is well researched and brings a new aspect to Lauren’s brilliant world and characters.

Lauren is an audio pro and always casts excellent voices. Vanessa Edwin has a beautiful voice that is very flexible and fully delivers Harlow’s innocence, determination, and inherent maturity. Joe Arden’s performance as Bridger is another definite plus. Kudos to the editors, engineers, casting, and Lauren Blakely for picking only the best to bring us her wonderful world in audio. Definitely worth a credit!

My RSVP is YES!

Sometimes an age gap can be a harder trope for me to get into because I always question if they really have that much in common. I loved that Bridger and Harlow both loved Broadway shows, art, storytelling, and more. As I always do with Lauren Blakely books, I totally fell in love with these characters and the was rooting for their HEA from the very beginning. Harlow's father was a problematic character in so many ways, and was the perfect villain to contrast against Bridger as the hero in Harlow's story. I have come to expect great side characters in her books and this one was no exception, and I look forward to their books which are coming up in the next books in this series, The Tease and The Tryst.

Vanessa Edwin and Joe Arden are two of my favorites to begin with, so I knew the narration would be outstanding and I wasn't disappointed. They pulled off a believable age gap, and poured all the emotion and sensuality into the characters that this story demanded. Well done.

Nehh

This book was a little disappointing. Had hoped it would be good because of Mr Arden, but no.

Love this sweet forbidden romance

I absolutely adore Harlow and Bridger’s story. It is just the right amount of sweet and spicy. There are some swoony moments too. I love it when the characters know what they want & fight for it.
If you want a full on age-gap forbidden romance this is the story for you.

Delicious forbidden romance of intense longing

This book is the start in another series by the prolific and incredible Lauren Blakely. An age gap, forbidden romance of a 21 year old attempting to seduce her father’s 31 year old business partner who she has had a crush on for years.

It is as delicious and enticing as it sounds. There is a reason that Blakely is a prolific bestseller, she somehow manages to weave in magic to all her characters and stories that just suck you in and make you want to read on. Harlow, our intrepid virgin heroine, is a beautiful mixture of exuberant confidence and determination with large lashings of kindness and a hint of youthful vulnerability.

She is instantly likeable and relatable; we can all relate to that all consuming crush you had on that one person you just can’t stop thinking about. The hours spent crafting the perfect nonchalant texts to send to them, or engineering ways to “casually” bump into them, yep like looking in a mirror to my own 21 year old self. The intense longing, the agonising over whether they like you back or you are reading too much into it. It is all spectacularly captured here.

This story moves on though when Harlow decides to take control the summer she turns 21 and go after the man she wants, namely Bridger, he father’s business partner. Bridger is a smart successful TV producer with a love of musical theatre (something he and Harlow bond over) but has an anxiety of being in crowds of people and drinking and needs to be in control all the time. He knows the risks of losing his job, his one constant, if he gets involved with Harlow. But she is too damn tempting for him. There is a beautiful phrase Bridger uses much later in the story when he describes having Harlow in his life as what he’s always been searching for, Passion & Peace. That’s an extraordinarily way of putting what we are all looking for in these stories and I love it.

Cue, delicious tension between the two, Bridger valiantly trying to resist until they both give into their feelings and enjoy those hot and spicy scenes Blakely has become adept and crafting for us. There is nothing quite like a forbidden romance for me, the excruciating tension and the blissful payoff when they finally give in. Harlow and Bridger are clearly meant to be together as well, they are both people who can only seem to be their true selves with each other and share a love of stories and art for its own sake and to be enjoyed. They complement and build each other up. It’s a cute and beautiful little love story.

Vanessa Edwin is simply sublime as Harlow in the audio and carries most of the book on her shoulders like a pro. Her voice is always a pleasure to listen to and she captures the youthful confident Harlow perfectly and draws you into the drama of her world so that you are rooting for her from Chapter 1. I might add Vanessa is one of the many #WomenofAudio who can do really sexy male voices. Trust me, if she had done this one solo I would not have had a problem 😉

However, she was joined by Joe Arden for this one and well, you don’t need me to tell you that is always a guarantee for an intense listening experience. And this time is no exception, he plays the inner dilemma of Bridger perfectly and his raspy intense tones WILL make you swoon. It’s a sugar rush you need in your life in the January blues season.

The backdrop for the book is New York but there is Blakely’s obvious love for Paris sneaking back into the story which I love. Her vivid descriptions of both cities makes me want to instantly travel there and go exploring.

Overall, the story is a sweet and intense exploration of longing and the power of stories and art to make us feel. I love Harlow and Bridger’s story and look forward to the next one in the series.

Sweet forbidden romance

I love a little forbidden romance, and I just love it when the girl crushes on her dad’s business partner. Harlow did just that, and as she turned 21 she owned her feelings, and went for it. ‘It’ being her father’s business partner, Bridger, 10 years her senior. Bridger has never particularly looked at Harlow ‘that’ way before, he’s never let himself even think about it, but when she starts working alongside him, things start to change. This is a sweet, emotional read. Both characters dealing with parental issues, and both, finding solace in each other’s company. I loved their honesty, their vision, and their drive, together they were a force to be reckoned with, both in, and out of the bedroom. Another winner from Lauren Blakely. A true romance. If you’re a fan of audio (like me), you’re in for a treat with the help of Vanessa Edwin and Joe Arden, utter perfection. They were the perfect Harlow and Bridger.

Hooked from the first minutes

I loved this forbidden romance! I listened to it in one day, Vanessa Edwin and Joe Arden had me hooked from the first minute. The journey from lust to love was so good, and all the emotions and drama felt so real to me. Harlow and Bridger are great together, and I loved all the secondary characters as well. Can’t wait for their stories!