United (Alienated #3) by Melissa Landers:
I totally loved the first two in the series, and while at first I had a bit of trouble maybe getting into this one, by the end I was loving it just as much, and I really like the way it ended. The narrator on this audiobook sounded a little different than she did on the first two. Not sure why. And then she also kept pausing in spots that didn't make sense to pause, and then not pausing when she really should have. But other than those narrating issues, I was glad to be back and see how Cara and Aelyx's story would end, would it be an HEA? If you haven't read the first two, you can go read my reviews of them here, Book 1 and Book 2. Here's the blurb from Goodreads:
After thwarting a deadly coup and saving the alliance between their worlds, Cara and Aelyx have finally earned a break. Their tiny island colony is everything they dreamed it would be―days spent gathering shells on the beach and nights in each other’s arms.
But the vacation is short-lived.
The treaty between Earth and L’eihr has awakened an ancient force that threatens to destroy them all. The Aribol, mysterious guardians charged with maintaining interstellar peace, deem the alliance a threat to the galaxy. They order a separation of the races, decreeing humans and L’eihrs must return to their own planets within the month or face extinction. In fact, they already have agents in place on Earth, ready to begin.
With the clock ticking, Aelyx and Cara assemble a team of colonists and race back to Earth, where they unite with old friends to solve the mystery of who the Aribol are, what they want, and the real reason the alliance has provoked them. As tensions build to a full-scale war, Aelyx and Cara must fight harder than ever―not just for their future, but for the survival of both their worlds.
Letting Go (Thatch #1) by Molly McAdams:
This book had me constantly leaving status updates on Goodreads as I read it. I loved Jagger and Grey, but I did NOT like Jagger's sister Charlie. There were also so many times that I wanted to cry in this. While there was the one aspect that is always in stories that annoys me, even though I know, I know, it's part of what helps with the dram and suspense. I hate how people don't tell the important person whatever some secret is that will upset them, because really it's a pretty stupid reason why they don't. And if they would just do it right away, they wouldn't probably have some of the problems. But as I said, drama. A great book otherwise! Here's the blurb from Goodreads:
Grey and Ben fell in love at thirteen and believed they’d be together forever. But three days before their wedding, the twenty-year-old groom-to-be suddenly died from an unknown heart condition, destroying his would-be-bride’s world. If it hadn’t been for their best friend, Jagger, Grey never would have made it through those last two years to graduation. He’s the only one who understands her pain, the only one who knows what it’s like to force yourself to keep moving when your dreams are shattered. Jagger swears he’ll always be there for her, but no one has ever been able to hold on to him. He’s not the kind of guy to settle down.
It’s true that no one has ever been able to keep Jagger—because he’s only ever belonged to Grey. While everyone else worries over Grey’s fragility, he’s the only one who sees her strength. Yet as much as he wants Grey, he knows her heart will always be with Ben. Still they can’t deny the heat that is growing between them—a passion that soon becomes too hot to handle. But admitting their feelings for each other means they’ve got to face the past. Is being together what Ben would have wanted . . . or a betrayal of his memory that will eventually destroy them both?
Roman Crazy by Alice Clayton and Nina Bocci:
I love Alice Clayton, but the synopsis of this book didn't grab me at first. I don't always get into books about divorced women, as I'm single and never been married. They don't really speak to me because I don't identify with them. But, this story. This Italian hunk, Marcello. I've never been one to lust after Italian men, even though my dad's side of the family is very proud of their Italian heritage. But now, well now I want my own Marcello. My only gripe is one that I've had with some of Clayton's other books, the beginning is so much description of the place and other things, that it often really takes me a bit to get into it. But it was totally worth the pay off, as her books always tend to be! Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Avery Bardot steps off the plane in Rome, looking for a fresh start. She’s left behind a soon-to-be ex-husband in Boston and plans to spend the summer with her best friend Daisy, licking her wounds—and perhaps a gelato or two. But when her American-expat friend throws her a welcome party on her first night, Avery’s thrown for a loop when she sees a man she never thought she’d see again: Italian architect Marcello Bianchi.
Marcello was the man—the one who got away. And now her past is colliding with her present, a present where she should be mourning the loss of her marriage and—hey, that fettuccine is delicious! And so is Marcello…
Slipping easily into the good life of summertime in Rome, Avery spends her days exploring a city that makes art historians swoon, and her nights swooning over her unexpected what was old is new again romance. It’s heady, it’s fevered, it’s wanton, and it’s crazy. But could this really be her new life? Or is it just a temporary reprieve before returning to the land of twin-set cardigans and crustless sandwiches?
A celebration of great friendship, passionate romance, and wonderful food, Roman Crazy is a lighthearted story of second chances and living life to the fullest.
Three great audiobooks, ones that kept me listening! I've still got another four, plus one I'm listening to currently that I'm almost done with to review. But this gets these done!