Speakeasy Taproom #9
True North Universe
Audible audiobook
Author: Stephanie Rose
Narrators: Lessa Lamb and Tim Paige
Melanie just got a waitressing job at Speakeasy to help pay for her tuition and her apartment. She’s back in town for her graduate studies after a bad breakup.
Matteo is a NYC transplant. A single dad to a lovely 5-year-old girl, he has severe trust issues when it comes to women since his fiancée and mother of his child just one day packed up and left. He’s been a devoted father to Lauren ever since.
When they meet at Speakeasy, where he is now the night manager, they truly bond as friends (though the attraction is there, but they work together and all that jazz…). Things start to change when Melanie starts nannying for him on her free nights. The M&M soon become more than friends and everything seems to be going well… until Callie, Lauren’s mom, shows up.
I loved how the relationship between the two developed, hope Melanie fell in love with both Matteo and Lauren. It was sweet and nice and low angsty.
I was a little disappointed at how quickly things got resolved with Callie. After all, it was 5 years of resentment and it felt like it all got all good in a hot minute.
I enjoyed it a lot though. It’s pure single dad/nanny catnip.
Narration: Lessa Lamb is perfect as the loving, fun, but vulnerable Melanie and Tim Paige does a great job as Matteo – swoony, protective, lovely. Great listen!
Possible triggers: child abandonment
