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C-Bomb, aka Caleb Baumgarten, has been the bad boy drummer of world famous Red Card Riot. He’s had a few “come to Jesus moments”: learning he got a girl pregnant (not his finest moment), losing his mother… but the biggest one came a couple of years later in the form of a cute, blonde, adorable toddler who shares half his DNA and just lost her mother. With his life in turmoil, he needs to find himself a sober companion and a nanny. They come in one package – Aubrey Capshaw, little Raine’s “Auntie Aubbey”.  Now, he sees himself relocated to her small town in Montana, trying to learn how to be a dad, fighting his intense attraction to Aubrey and behaving like a model citizen so that he can gain custody of his kid. Aubrey is a rule follower. Caleb has been prone to break them… but in the middle of it all he finds love and family. A family for which he will fight. No holds barred. 

Every time a book by Lauren Rowe comes out, I squeal. In a very undignified way. I’d been waiting for C-Bomb’s redemption story (if you have been reading Lauren’s books, you know… )  and boy! did she deliver!

Lauren’s managed to get a lot of tropes (single dad, rockstar, age gap, nanny, surprise baby, small town) and, in her masterful way, make them all fresh. I loved seeing Caleb become a dad in the true sense of the word and finding love (and peace) in Aubrey’s arms. 

The audiobooks for Lauren’s books are always phenomenal and this one is no exception. We even get drum riffs! It’s narrated duet style by Andi Arndt and Sean Masters and that was some perfect casting! We all know what Andi can do with any material, let alone good material. Her Raine is just adorable! Sean wowed me as he becomes Caleb in your ears! Stellar performances! 11 out of 10. No notes. 

We also catch up with the several characters in the rockstar circle, which was a treat!

Thanks, Lauren and @mustloveaudio for the gifted audiobook.

Content notes (SPOILERISH): death of parent, child abuse, SA of a minor (mention), domestic abuse (off page), rehab, custody battle, death of a secondary character by firearm, grief, anger management issues