Read by Jason Clarke & Victoria Connolly
Oaks Sisters, Book 1
From the publisher:
A swoony, steamy, STEM romance in which two curators at a science museum—a handsome but grumpy astronomer and an anxious but sunshine-y entomologist—realize they are the perfect match. Now with exclusive bonus content!
Millie has never taken the expected path. Her childhood love for bugs and science led her to entomology, and her role as a curator, inspiring museum visitors every day. It’s her dream to run her own department—so when a rare director position opens, she is determined nothing will distract her from her goal. Especially not Finn, her grumpy coworker with his permanent scowl, electric blue eyes, and endless supply of astronomy ties.
. . . Not that she’s spent time noticing any of those things.
Finn doesn’t mean to glare at everyone, but he’s juggling his role at the museum, navigating the grief of losing his sister, attempting to make his nieces smile, and trying not to ruin dinner for the fifth night in a row. He can’t afford to let anything slip, and certainly doesn’t need more to deal with—especially not Millie literally stumbling into him, with her bright smile and sunny optimism.
He bugs her. She’s too starry-eyed for him. They want nothing to do with each other. But with Finn on the interview committee, avoidance is impossible. And Millie soon realizes it’s one thing when a job is on the line. It’s quite another when it’s her heart.
Give Me Butterflies is a sweet and sexy STEM romance, featuring:
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Heroine in STEM
- Slow burn
- Open door spice
- Found family
- Nerdy banter
“Meadows wows with a contemporary that’s funny, sexy, sweet, and deliciously nerdy all at the same time…Fans of Ali Hazelwood’s STEMinist series should snap this up.” — Publishers Weekly *STARRED* review
“Collectors of perfectly executed grumpy sunshine love stories will want to snare a copy of Meadows’ superbly written romance in their reading nets. With an intriguing STEM-centered storyline, an abundance of steamy sexual chemistry, and plenty of sharp wit, the start of Meadows’ ‘Oak Sisters’ series is a rare specimen indeed.” — Booklist *STARRED* review
“A companionable romance that emphasizes family and friends, support and mental wellbeing, and building a happy life.” — Library Journal
“Narrators Victoria Connolly and Jason Clarke enchant listeners in this heartfelt contemporary romance . . . Both narrators use authentic-sounding voices in the delivery of dialogue, making this a memorable audio experience that will leave listeners smiling.” — AudioFile Reviews
This was such a fun, nerdy read! Millie and Finn both work at a science museum; she’s a curator of the entomology department and he’s the director of astronomy. Finn’s face is permanently etched with a scowl, and Millie is all sunshine and rainbows, at least in public. Turns out Finn has good reason for his unhappy face – his only sister died a few months earlier, and he is now guardian to her twin girls. He loves the girls, but it is a lot and it cost him his last relationship when his girlfriend didn’t want to deal with kids.
Millie was in a long-term relationship with Kyle, a man who was manipulative and cruel to her. Eventually, she ends things but is still recovering and certainly not looking to start anything new. But then she runs into Finn, literally, and spills coffee all over him. Then she hits his car. This is a very damaging meet cute, but he is so kind about it all that it really surprises her.
Millie has applied for the open director position in her department, and Finn is on the hiring committee. She works hard to ace her first interview, and it goes really well. But the more she runs into Finn, the more she sees the man behind the scowl, and when he brings his nieces in for a week-long camp program, it totally changes her opinion of him. She adores the girls, and they love her, too. Next thing you know Finn and Millie are hanging out, usually with the girls, and they start developing feelings for one another. This is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance, and I was completely drawn into their story.
There is a lot of humor and some sizzling sex once they get together. I loved the way they dealt with their respective families – Millie’s is the type of family most people wish for, loving, caring, and close, while Finn’s parents are stuffy and incredibly rude, even to their grandchildren. They are pissed that their daughter left Finn her daughters to raise, but it is easy to understand once they enter the story.
The narrators were great, and I was very excited to recognize Jason Clarke’s voice from another book I listened to. They both do a great job drawing me in and more importantly, keeping my attention. This is a dual narration, with each of them reading their respective chapters as the story moves between Finn and Millie’s viewpoints. There is some added drama with a second candidate vying for the director position, and I loved how Finn handled all that. I couldn’t wait for their happy ending, but the epilogues (plural!) went on too long. The first epilogue was great, but the second one was like a sex scene had been cut from the book and added back on at the end. There are also recipes – well, at least one for Snickerdoodles, but I stopped listening at that point, so there may be more.
All in all, this was a really good story, and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, which, going by the title of the series, will be based on one of Millie’s sisters.
3/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
GIVE ME BUTTERFLIES by Jillian Meadows. Narrators: Jason Clarke & Victoria Connolly. HarperAudio; January 21, 2025. Listening Length: 10 hours and 45 minutes.
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