Where There's Smoke

Sweet Sins Series, Book 2

By: Kathy Coopmans

Narrated by: Lacy Laurel, Lorenzo Matthews

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

From a USA Today best-selling author comes a standalone in the Sweet Sin series.

The lives of Dean Wagner and Tatum Fields have been ruled by the hand of fate.

The past six years of my life have been consumed by guilt. Since we lost Landon to a fire, I’ve done everything in my power to protect my daughter, Leila, from finding out the truth about how her twin brother died. Nothing in my life means more to me than her.

Not my band, not my reputation. Nothing.

Until I see Tatum, the woman I saved on the beach the same night she dealt with a loss of her own.

The daily routine I’ve settled into is what keeps me going. Work at my chocolate shop, pay the bills, repeat. I don’t date. I don’t trust. And I have never forgotten the man who walked away from saving my life without allowing me to thank him.

I know how to reach him, but I avoid him at all costs.

Until fate decides to make another appearance.

This is a story of how destiny ends up bringing these two souls back together, and how fate, the word very little people believe in is really their friend, after all.

©2018 Kathy Coopmans (P)2018 Kathy Coopmans

Fantastic audio!

Goodness gracious! These narrators were so perfect! As always Lacy Laurel’s voice is like smooth silk that just glides over your body. She was perfection for Tatum. You could feel that woman that has been a bit broken and hurt… is oozes out of her voice, her tone! Lorenzo Matthews was the BEST Dean! Dean was a strong man and you could feel that with Mr. Matthews voice. But he was more than that and Matthews still put that through. I loved how you could feel the difference when he spoke with his daughter and when he spoke with Tatum. You could hear the delight and just charm with his daughter. Then there’s the heat and lust, quickly turning to love. They were great!

Great listen

This was a great listen that takes you on an emotional roller coaster. The characters and story are great, Dean and Tatum have strong chemistry. Lacy and Lorenzo did a great job with the narration.


🎧AudiobookObsessionReviewer

An Emotional Ride

We start this story with a father remembering his children. You would think that would be a happy moment for any parent but in this one we share some sad memories. I think you will find that this will keep your attention as the rest of the story unfolds. It's good at showing how that's a hard job especially when the parent has a very public job.

As a reader, we rely on the narrators to help us feel the emotions of the characters. Mr. Matthews is good in portraying Dean Wagner. With an audiobook, you have no visuals to help you understand what these people are about. You seem to concentrate more on the spoken word when sight is taken away. With this book I found that trying to work while listening became too much of a distraction. I wanted to concentrate on everything that was going on.

Ms. Laurel does a good job with portraying Tatum Fields. She's a character with her own set of issues. Can two broken people find happiness with each other? I rely on Ms. Laurel to show me what Tatum is going through as she tries to find her way to a happier place than where she started.

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end - that includes all the emotional ups and downs. It made me hungry for one of my favorite treats. I'm just not sure if a proprietor of a sweet shoppe would mind if I spent the day just sitting there as I listen to this story again. Yes, this is a story that I would listen to more than once. And because I've listened to one book out of the Sweet Sins series I'm not sure that I would read any of the other books. Listen, yes. But read? Not so sure because of the satisfaction I had with this one.

Ms. Coopmans creates two characters that are far from perfect. They are characters that some people may be able to relate to - they seem very realistic. She shows that sometimes fate steps in and stops us from doing something that could be toxic to our happiness. But the road to that happiness can be a rocky one. Our author also creates one character that if I had the chance would probably want to punch - he's a real jerk, and that's being nice. Then she has another character that you have to really feeling sorry for. And I was happy to find out that his story comes next - good thing I already have it in my TBR list. If I want continuity of this series I may just have to bump his position up on the list so that I listen to it sooner rather than later.

I voluntarily reviewed an Audiobook copy of this book.

Fantastic

This rock star book is great. Not much about the music but so much about fame and fortune. It gets you thinking about what people give up to be famous. Written well and fantastic performance’s from both Lacy and Lorenzo.
#audiobookobsessionreviewer

Very sad story with a happy ending

This was a really good story. Your heart will run through the full set of emotions at various parts of this book. This is the 2nd book in the Sweet Sins Series by Kathy Coopmans. I did not read or listen to the 1st book but will be soon. The book is so full of raw emotions it really drags you in. The book is narrated by Lacy Laurel and Lorenzo Matthews. They both have done an amazing job to bringing this story to life. You can feel the emotion as you listen to this story.

Dean Wagner is a drummer in a popular band. Tatum Fields is a Chocolate shop owner. Six years before they had a brief encounter when Tatum tried to commit suicide by drowning herself in the ocean where Dean was grieving the 1 year anniversary of his teenage sons death.

Dean's teenage son and ex wife died from drugs. Dean is unable to get past his death. He has not told his daughter and the twin of his son how he died. It's been 6 years since he pulled the woman out of the ocean dressed in her wedding dress.

Tatum has not been able to pick the pieces of her life up and move on after walking out on her wedding.

Dean's teenage daughter decides to go to work for a chocolate shop little did Dean or Tatum know they would be pulled back together after that awful day at the ocean nor did they know the other would be the missing key to moving on with their lives.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Love Dean and Tatum

Title: Where There's Smoke
Author: Kathy Coopmans
Format: Audio
Narrators: Lacy Laurel, Lorenzo Matthews
Genre: Romance - Rockstar
Standalone: Yes
Part of a Series: Book 2 of the Sweet Sins series
POV: Dean and Tatum
Steam Level: Slow burn to sexy
4/5

We meet Dean in book 1: The Right Direction. You don't need to have read The Right Direction first but it's fun the see more of Roman and Jocelyn's HEA. Although I liked Where There's Smoke I feel like the ending was rushed. I enjoy this series and Kathy Coopmans' writing and this series and can't wait to read more. I just wanted more to Tatum and Dean.

I received this audiobook for free from Audiobook from Audiobook Obsessions. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Heartbreaking emotional

Audio-book: Narrators – Lacy Laurel and Lorenzo Matthews

I could not imagine either of these characters with any other voice than the one these narrators provided. With all the emotions that flowed throughout this story, both Ms. Laurel and Mr. Matthews gave even greater depth of character to these two lost souls. Voices filled with angst, remorse, love and lust…these narrators hit it spot on.


Dean has suffered the worst loss a parent can imagine. A year later as he grieves that loss on the beach he lands himself smack dab into a tragedy in process. With years between that night and now, he’s doing all he can to keep his daughter from learning the truth of her brother’s death. His life is consumed with keeping her safe from that knowledge and the venom the paparazzi spew. What he is not prepared for is coming face to face with the woman from the beach that one fateful night and how she will change him in ways he didn’t even know he wanted.

Tatum has deliberately kept her distance from Dean. Guilty by association is a remorse she has had to live with. However, when a happy even brings these two together, she can’t keep her secret from him any longer. As they attempt to move forward from the past they are both struggling with the tentacles that hold them in place. Slowly, they find themselves free to give in to their desires even as a deeper connection grows between them rooted in trust and love.

I enjoyed this book and the many facets of both the hero and heroine. This is definitely a character driven story with drama from outside forces and the angst of grief from the inside. My heart broke for Dean’s pain and suffering and I loved that Tatum was the perfect source of healing for him and his daughter.

This is well written with incredible secondary characters, some whose own drama stole the spotlight a bit, and scorching hot steam. The ending was perfect and I am looking forward to the next in the series.

I was given this free review copy audio-book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Loss, pain, sorrow, love, understanding . .

Dean Wagner was in no way you typical hot, sexy, rocker dude and yet at the same time he was typical of your hot, sexy, rocker dude with a family/friends that he loved and respected. His life was not easy. He was not given the charm of having it all and keeping all parts of his life whole and healthy. Tatum was a victim of life also. She had a fiance that was a jerk, leech, and worse. In a mater of hours she find that the man she thought she love did not love her or value her. He would not even get his feet wet to save her life. In a moment of in decision and desperation she finds that she is in a battle of life or death. The man to help her see clear is a man that had his own battle to wage.

This was my first time with a read from Kathy Coopmans in this series. I fell in love with the series. I am so intrigued by the characters that I want more of them. I will be going back for book one and most certainly getting book three.

Narration from Lacy Laurel and Lorenzo Matthews just intensified the enjoyment of this read. I found it to have layers. The tone and pitch of voices were just what was needed to move you. You could visualize every step of the way. In the narration you could feel the pain, loss, and disbelief of the events as they were unfolding.

Good story and great narration!

This is the second book in the Sweet Sins Series. This story is well written. The Prologue is heartbreaking and so well written. The two main characters are interesting and they fit well together. I really love Dean. He's protective and strong. This is a second chance story or maybe is it fate? I loved to see again Roman and Joslyn from book one. I love the Epilogue. The story was good and the narration was really well done and easy to listen. This was my first listening to Lorenzo Matthews and it won't be the last. He has a great voice. I absolutely love Lacy Laurel's voice. She's one of my favorite narrators. I received this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Excellent narration, stand alone story

I would recommend this book to contemporary romance fans who like a lot of descriptions/emotions/character development with a decent percentage of elaborate and explicit steamy scenes. The story itself moved slowly and was a lot of dealing with emotions. It was borderline second chance with more of a missed timing undertone, not an actual previous relationship. In the last 40 minutes of the book there was an interesting and unexpected (and also emotional) twist. This is a stand alone book, but it does lay the groundwork for the next in the series.

The narration by Lacy Laurel (one of my favorites) and Lorezno Matthews (new to me) was excellent. I would recommend the audiobook version.

#AudiobookObsession