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The Romantics #2

ALC provided by Must Love Audio 

Author: Maggie Gates

Narrators: Rose Dioro and Anthony Palmini

Thanks, @authormaggiegates and @mustloveaudio for the ALC.

Aurora Whitlock has hit rock bottom. She’s single and broke (her ex-boyfriend cleaned her accounts) and her career as a writer is kaput. She hits shift + control + delete and goes to North Carolina to reboot her life while renovating her great aunt’s beach house. She’s living all the tropes – small town, inherited dilapidated house, forced proximity to a hunky firefighter. That kind of stuff only happens in the books her friend Willow writes. Add to it all an element of mystery, where clues have been left all over the house by her peculiar aunt with a secret past. The worst part in all this is the hunky neighbor. Jack Wharton, firefighter, who insists on helping her with the renovations and keeps behaving like a book boyfriend. The nerve! 

Jack is, at first, annoyed with who he thought was a  ‘summertimer’ squatting in the dilapidated mansion. He wasn’t prepared for HER: Aurora, who pushes all his buttons and makes him want things he never did before. While stripping wallpaper and finding clues to the house mystery, they also find their way to each other. It was meant to be… as they find out.  

Narrated dual style by Rose Dioro and Anthony Palmini, this is the low angst, beachy, swoony and spicy romance you didn’t know you needed. Rose, one of my all time favorite narrators, gives life to Aurora perfectly (as well as all other characters as this is dual narration). Anthony Palmini is new to me, but I was wooed by his lovely voice and his performance. They both give us a sweet North Carolina accent that is lovely in our ears. 

This sweet and spicy story has everything I like: all the tropes Aurora finds herself living, including He Falls First. There is also the wonderful Council of Girlfriends and the small town. You also get bonfires, beautiful and meaningful gifts, aurora borealis and a warm and fuzzy HEA. Great fun! 

Content notes: mentions of death of a sibling, grief. Injuries caused by a fire, fire caused by lightning