Audiobook Review: Part-Time Lover
Author: Lauren Blakely
Narrators: Shane East & Grace Grant
Audio Speed: 1.0x
Series: Part-Time Lover #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased
We met Elise in the first book, Wanderlust, and Christian has the side job of interrupting like the hero in Wanderlust, but that’s all the connection to the series, making Part-Time Lover feel like a standalone.
Elise and Christian “meet” when she sees him doing a handstand showing off his assets while on a boat tour. She shouts bravo and he invites her to meet for drinks that night but sadly the name of the bar shares a similar name to another place and they miss each other. A year or so later they meet again through a friend.
The two become each other’s Friday night plan. They get together for non-dates and get to know each other. They have a sexual chemistry but neither want a relationship because of their failed marriages.
One Friday night they are out while Christian gets a call from his drunken brother who had been left by his wife. After the details of the wife leaving are shared, Elise feels a kinship to the brother because his wife has treated him similar to how her late husband treated her, and she wants to help. A bargain is made between Elise and Christian to get married to help the two brothers save their family business. The deal is for three months and no love.
Part-Time Lover is a romance filled with laughter, sexy appeal and two people dancing around the idea of falling in love again as a bad thing. Listening to these two characters come to a HEA was an entertaining afternoon.
Grace Grant is an old favorite of mine. Grace’s narration always sounds like she has a smile on her face in the happy moments and a pained look when there’s a sad moment. She brings out the emotions from the characters like they are her own feelings.
I’m no stranger to listening to Shane East. Shane does a good job with Christian’s POV. His natural British accent was key to bring Christian the Dane with a Brit accent to life. His pacing and vigor was on par with Grant’s delivery. Making this narrator duo a delight to listen to.
My Ratings:
Story: B-
Narration: A
Jennifer
About the Book:
I’ll say this about Christian — he made one hell of a first impression.
When I first saw the strapping man, he was doing handstands naked on a dock along the canal. His crown jewels were far more entertaining than anything else I’d seen on the boat tour, so I did what any curious woman would do — I took his photo. I might have looked at the shot a few dozen times. Little did I know I’d meet him again, a year later, at a secret garden bar in the heart of the city, where I’d learn that his mind and his mouth were even more captivating. But given the way my heart had been trampled, I wanted only a simple deal — No strings. No expectations.
Our arrangement worked well enough until the day I needed a lot more from him…
***
Let me just say, this whole part-time lover thing was her idea. I’d have gone all-in from the start, but hey, when a gorgeous, brilliant woman invites you into her bed, and only her bed…well, I said yes.
But then, one hysterical phone call from my brother later, begging me to find myself a wife so grandfather’s business stays in the family, and I need a promotion with Elise. Turns out a full-time husband suits her needs too, and a temporary marriage of convenience ought to do the trick, until we can simply untie the knot…
As long as no one finds out…
As long as no one gets hurt…
As long as no one falls in love…
But our ending was one I never saw coming.