Read by Lila Winters & Teddy Hamilton
Forbidden Love, Book 1
From the publisher:
This old flame just might set them on fire.
Conceited, unattainable, and downright delicious, renowned Michelin-starred chef Ambrose Casablancas has one passion in life: food.
Women are a distraction, and he doesn’t do those. Especially Cal Litvin, his baby sister’s best friend. Her entire existence is a complication; she’s awkward, eccentric, infuriating…
And, much to his chagrin, hotter than his kitchen.
Ambrose has a lot on his plate: a new restaurant to open, a multi-million-dollar property deal to execute, and a violent stalker to tame.
Then Cal shows up at his doorstep, looking for both a job and salvation after their messy goodbye. His resolve, like his patience, is ebbing each day she works at his restaurant.
Because Cal is no longer a doe-eyed girl.
Now? She’s the woman he’ll do anything to conquer.
Quirky, compassionate ball of sunshine Calla Litvin can’t catch a break, and not just because she swore off running.
Back in her hometown to nurse her mother’s broken heart after losing her father, she finds herself jobless, hopeless, and penniless. She hopes to rekindle her friendship with her former BFF, but Dylan is attached at the hip to her cruel brother—the one Cal’s been secretly crushing on since middle school.
Falling for the bad boy the second time around would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.
Too bad she’s always been clumsy.
Truly, Madly, Deeply is a grumpy x sunshine, enemies-to-lovers romance. It is the first in the Forbidden Love series but can be listened to as a standalone.
It’s a new year, and I’m trying something new. I’ve been listening to audiobook romances lately, so I’m going to try reviewing an audiobook every Sunday. We’ll see how it goes!
I’ve often wondered how I would feel listening to sex scenes, and this book tested my limits – turns out I didn’t mind at all. Although if I didn’t have AirPods in my ears, I don’t think I’d want to broadcast it into the atmosphere, if that makes sense?
This was one of the longer audiobooks I’ve read lately. Honestly, it probably could have used a bit of editing, it felt long. But I liked the characters and their backstories, and it definitely held my interest. Cal and Dylan have been best friends forever, but what Dylan doesn’t know is that Cal has a crush on her brother, Ambrose – like every other girl in school. Cal decides she wants to lose her virginity before heading off to college, and she asks Ambrose to be the one. Dylan catches them and their friendship blows up.
Several years later Cal returns home after losing her father, and she is broke. Ambrose runs a Michelin-starred restaurant in their small town, and his manager hires Cal. She desperately needs the money and would like to try and rekindle the friendship she had with Dylan. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Cal, Ambrose has been carrying a torch for her for years. He is mercurial and demanding as a boss and, as Cal comes to find out, as a lover. These relationships are new and somewhat precarious, and there is a lot of small town drama as well.
I liked how all these relationships were explored, and the character development kept me engrossed. This is a very spicy romance with some humor and witty banter, but it’s the drama that is the big draw here. These characters were complex, and the storyline was compelling. The narrators were very good and added dramatic tension to the story. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.
1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
TRULY MADLY DEEPLY by L.J. Shen. Narrators: Lila Winters, Teddy Hamilton. Dreamscape Media; September 10, 2024. ASIN: B0D5ZJWQZS. Listening Length: 15 hours and 50 minutes
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