Duet narration by Erin Mallon & Teddy Hamilton

Mountain Men Matchmaker, Book 2

From the publisher:

A Steamy Small-Town Rivals-to-Lovers Romance Filled with Witty Banter and Unlikely Romance at a Destination Wedding

Alone and Looking to Bone! Loudmouthed Mountain Man Seeks Fiery Woman to Grow Old With.

I might look like a tall, tattooed, bearded neanderthal…but like an onion, I have layers. Swipe right if you like a proud cat daddy who catches feelings after direct eye contact.

All I wanted was a casual plus-one to my brother’s destination wedding, but those idiots on my family tree hacked my dating profile and sabotaged my quest for the perfect weekend fling. Now I’m stuck on a tropical vacation with only my hand to keep me company.

Until I’m forced to share a room with the bane of my existence: my sister-in-law’s best friend.

Dakota has hated me for the past seven years. I wasn’t losing much sleep over her screaming rants because she was some other guy’s problem. Or she was, until she got divorced.

Being stuck in paradise with a woman who loathes your very existence doesn’t sound hot, but after an unexpected moment in our shared palapa, she starts screaming at me in a different way.

What happens in paradise stays in paradise. That is, until Dakota shows up on my mountain with a proposition: be her wingman to help her regain her pre-divorce confidence.

Suddenly, Dakota’s not just the person I love to fight with. She’s the woman I want everything with.

Perfect for fans of:

• Enemies to Lovers
• Small Town Romance / Vacation Romances
• Quirky Animals
• Meddling family
• Meghan Quinn and Tessa Bailey

https://amzn.to/3JfaD15

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After enjoying the first book in this series, Nine Month Contract, this sequel was a disappointment. While that book was a bit far-fetched, I was able to suspend my disbelief and get swept up in the story. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case here.

Calder is the brother of the mountain man from the first book. Seven years ago, he met Dakota when he did renovations on her home—his first solo job, which didn’t go smoothly. Dakota was incredibly hostile toward him during the project, but since her best friend is now his sister-in-law, they’re forced to maintain contact. When his other brother plans a destination wedding in Mexico, circumstances force Calder and Dakota to share a palapa* with only one bed.

After a night of passionate sex, they return to ignoring each other. This arrangement works until they’re back home, where Dakota—fresh from a painful divorce—decides to visit a sex club to rebuild her confidence. When things go badly, Calder, who happens to be a member, comes to her rescue. From there, these two can’t keep their hands off each other until they eventually find their happy ending.

The problem is that this book felt like 80% sex scenes and only 20% actual plot development. I never got to know either character well enough to invest in their relationship, which for me, is a fatal flaw in a romance novel. Without that emotional connection, even the steamiest scenes fall flat.

The same narrators from the first book returned, and while I thought they did excellent work previously, I found their performance here deeply frustrating. I had to pause the audiobook multiple times before finally pushing through to the end. Mallon delivered a sing-songy reading that became increasingly irritating, while Hamilton sounded perpetually angry throughout the entire book. Their performances did nothing to elevate the weak material.

While this wasn’t my favorite, I’m still willing to give the next book in the series a chance. Sometimes authors hit rough patches, and I’m hoping the series will get better.

*Palapa was a new word for me, which came in handy while I was playing the NY Times Spelling Bee!

8/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitchSEVEN YEAR ITCH by Amy Daws. Narrators: Erin Mallon & Teddy Hamilton. Harlequin Audio. June 17, 2025. Listening Length: 10 hours and 47 minutes.

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Duet narration by Erin Mallon  &  Teddy Hamilton

Mountain Men Matchmaker, Book 1

From the publisher:

Help Wanted: Grumpy mountain man seeks baby momma. Job is an incubator position only. Surrogate must be impervious to grunting as the form of communication and nosy brotherly neighbors. Rustic mountain range housing available upon request.

I wanted to pummel my irritating brothers when they posted their own version of a wanted ad to help me with my life. But I can’t fault the results once the right woman lands in my lap. Becoming a single father is not a decision I made lightly. In fact, it’s the biggest decision of my entire life.

Which is why when I interview Trista, I know she’s perfect. Which is why when I interview Trista, I know she’s perfect. She’s the exact type of person I was holding out for.

And to my great horror, I realize on our first night of attempting this baby-making dance—when the lights are low, the cheap wine is flowing and the home-insemination supplies are laid out on the kitchen counter—I want to do a lot more than just make her my surrogate. I want to make her mine.

Perfect for fans of:

• Grumpy/Sunshine
• Small Town Romance
• Age Gap
• Curvy FMC
• Meghan Quinn and Tessa Bailey

https://amzn.to/40GTe7v

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This romance offered a premise I hadn’t encountered before. At 38, Wyatt has sworn off relationships after experiencing romantic trauma. He lives on a mountain near his brothers, and his devotion to his teenage niece, Everly, sparks a desire for a child of his own. However, with no interest in finding a traditional partner, he decides to pursue surrogacy.

Wyatt approaches a reputable agency but finds none of their candidates appealing. When his brothers place an ad that proves equally fruitless, his enterprising niece takes matters into her own hands. While visiting the agency, she literally runs into Trista, a 28 year old woman the agency had rejected because she weighs over 200 pounds, despite being otherwise healthy.

When Everly tells her about Wyatt, Trista agrees to meet with her uncle. Trista herself has no interest in relationships or children. Her true passion is rescuing wild animals, and her dream is to open a wildlife refuge—but she needs money to make that happen. Surrogacy offers the perfect solution: she can help Wyatt while funding her dream.

Facing eviction along with her pet potbellied pig, Trista gratefully accepts Wyatt’s offer of an apartment above his barn. His lawyer draws up the paperwork, and everything is set—Trista just needs to get pregnant. She suggests using her own egg instead of a donor’s, and they opt for the “turkey baster” method she’s read about in lesbian forums. The process adds some humor to the story, and it works.

Once pregnant, Trista thrives, gradually adopting more animals despite Wyatt’s lack of enthusiasm for her menagerie. His soft heart prevents him from refusing either the animals or Trista’s requests. As they spend more time together, both develop feelings they’re determined to resist. However, their hearts ultimately override their heads, leading to their happily ever after.

My one concern involved Trista’s frequent self-references as a “cow.” While clearly intended as breeding terminology rather than body-shaming, I found it uncomfortable despite her supposed body positivity. The author introduces what’s apparently called a “breeding kink”—new territory for me in romance—but the backstory and rationale were well-developed enough that I could embrace this element.

The narration enhanced my enjoyment significantly. The readers effectively drew me into the story and brought both characters to vivid life. I’m looking forward to the next installment in this series.

8/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

NINE MONTH CONTRACT by Amy Daws. Narrators: Erin Mallon & Teddy Hamilton. Harlequin Audio. October 29, 2024. Listening Length: 10 hours and 50 minutes.

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Duet narration by Scott Rose & Willa Jaymes

Lake Starlight, Book 5

From the author:

One wild night turns into two pink lines.

Sleeping with the best man at my cousin’s wedding felt right at the time—he was a hot, available firefighter, and I was the tipsy maid of honor. It’s a rite of passage.

No regrets… until two pink lines flipped my world upside down.

Now I’m wildly unprepared and trying to hide my pregnancy in my small Alaskan town where privacy is a myth and gossip spreads faster than frostbite.

But wait, it gets worse.

Baby Daddy just came back to town—with a fiancée in tow.

And guess who she wants to plan their wedding?

Me.

Keeping the secret was hard enough.

Keeping my distance from the father of my baby? Impossible.

Just when I think I have it all figured out, he reveals his own secret that changes everything.

Authors Note: There is no cheating in this book. Gasp! We would never.

https://amzn.to/40GTe7v

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Harper Bailey runs a thriving wedding planning business in the small Alaskan town of Lake Starlight. After serving as maid of honor at her cousin’s wedding, she has an unforgettable one-night stand with Finn, the best man. Despite taking precautions, Harper discovers she’s pregnant. With Finn living thousands of miles away in Vermont, Harper knows she has to tell him, even though she expects nothing in return.

While summer keeps her busy with destination weddings, Harper never expected fall and even winter to become so popular for Alaskan weddings, with couples choosing Alaska’s scenic beauty over traditional sunny destinations. When a new client arrives for a consultation, Harper is stunned to see that the woman’s fiancé is Finn. Unable to risk losing clients in her growing business, Harper decides to stay quiet about their situation for now.

During the couple’s return visit to tour venues, only Finn shows up—his fiancée is swamped with work and has left the wedding decisions to him. As Harper guides him through potential locations, she finally reveals her pregnancy. Finn’s reaction is far more supportive than she anticipated from what was supposed to be just a one-night encounter.

After returning to Vermont and telling his fiancée the truth, Finn’s engagement ends. The relationship had complications from the start, involving a family inheritance and his family’s struggling ski resort that needed financial help. Determined not to be an absent father, Finn decides to relocate to Alaska. As a firefighter, he’s confident he can find work there.

Harper is amazed when Finn expresses his desire to be actively involved in their child’s life. Though the attraction between them remains strong, they agree to focus on friendship and co-parenting rather than complicate things further. In tiny Lake Starlight, Finn struggles to find long-term housing, so Harper offers her guest room as a temporary solution. She also asks her uncle, an Anchorage firefighter, to recommend Finn to both his station and the local Lake Starlight department.

Living under the same roof intensifies their connection and the undeniable chemistry between them. Pregnancy hormones add fuel to the fire, and eventually, they give in to their physical attraction. When Finn gets hired at the local fire station, a colleague mentions his rental property becoming available. As they tour the place together, Harper impulsively admits she doesn’t want him to move out.

In the end, Harper and Finn choose to be together and find their happily ever after.

The narrators brought this story to life brilliantly and kept me engaged throughout. It’s an entertaining tale with just the right amount of heat, and now I’m eager to find the earlier books in this series. Piper Rayne never disappoints!

8/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE COMPLICATION WITH THE BEST MAN by Piper Rayne. Narrators: Scott Rose & Willa Jaymes. Piper Rayne Inc. June 20, 2025. Listening Length: 7 hours and 32 minutes.

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