Good Story

4 Stars for me!

My rating range of this story...
If significant, why? 4 - 4.25

Main Character Ratings...
H = 8
h = 7

Was cheating involved? No
Any major triggers to be aware of?

Scenes with heat... A Few
What point does it start? Last 20%
How much of the story? 5%
Anything beyond M/F? No
If yes, explained

Heat Rating... 6/10
Clean or Fade to Black - 1 or 2
Normal to Descriptive 3-5
Detailed Descriptive Sex - 6-7
Um, Wow, Beyond Descriptive Sex - 8 or above

Was there so much sex or unrealistic sex that you rolled your eyes and/or skipped forward? No

The back story... The H comes back to town to help the family business after her brother is injured while driving drunk. She had just broken up with her boyfriend and lost her job as well. The H came back to start getting his grandmother's property in order after she passed away. The h is the executor and has lots of angry run-ins with the H.

The Romance... Slow burn and well laid out.

The drama explosion... They confront the bad guy.
Did it feel real or contrived? A tiny bit.
Was it OTT? A tiny bit
Separation involved? No
Was it resolved properly or rushed? Properly

Final Notes...


HEA or HFN? HEA

4 people found this helpful

Loved this so much!!

Oh I just loved this! 😍 Small town romance done in a perfect and fun way. Dillon came home to help the family when they needed it (at a time when she needed it too). And Donovan came back to the place he spent so much time with his grandmother (at a perfect time when his life starts falling apart). These two start out not getting along very well, until one stormy night changes everything. Then you can’t help but be singed by their sizzling connection. I loved all the goings on in this book, trying to figure out who the bad guy was (you’ll see) what’s wrong with her brother (you’ll see) and will they make it (you’ll see!). Truly loved it! And Andi Arndt and Teddy Hamilton as Dillon and Donovan? Absolute perfection!

4 people found this helpful

Grammy Bee!

When your deceased grandma plays matchmaker is what so much of this book is about. Grammy Bee arranged for Dillon and Van to become part of each others lives without them realizing her intentions. Van as the sole owner to her home and Dillon as the executor she knew they would end up with each other, so that aspect of what some of the reviews are saying as predictable...maybe. Still a good story with good narration (again despite reviews). Good story with some decent humor.

2 people found this helpful

Couldn't bear to hear Andi Arndt

Andi Arndt was so boring and the story was snore worthy. I struggled through 2 chapters, but I just couldn't listen to any more.

2 people found this helpful

Sweet and Emotional Romance!

This sweet and emotional story takes place in the small town of Pearl Lake. This tight knit community is filled with close friends and family who are fun, quirky, and despite loving to gossip, they are totally supportive. It's the kind of place that draws you in and makes you feel right at home. It was also the place that Dillion couldn't escape from fast enough. As a young girl, all she could focus on was proving she was more than what the vacationers thought of the small town residents. After ten years living in the big city, she is back home to help her family when tragedy strikes. She is embarrassed at first, but begins to feel more at home when the people welcome her home with open arms. But when the grandson of her neighbor, who she loved and missed dearly since her passing, moves in to the small cottage, Dillion is afraid he will destroy the quaint but beautiful property. Dillion and Donovan do not start off on the best of terms. But I love a great meet cute and this one was so awkward and fun, and set the stage for the rest of this delightfully adorable, moving, and steamy romance. Donovan has always loved his summers with his grandmother, Bee. He always crushed on the towny girl who lived next door. Now she is even more beautiful, and sassy, and he loves to push her buttons every time they run into each other. The more time they spend together, the more they learn to like and trust one another, and their chemistry becomes more passionate. Donovan has always felt at home in Pearl Lake, and Dillion and her family is a big part of it. But someone is messing with Donovan's life, and it could threaten not only the peaceful town, but what he is building with Dillion as well. I love Dillion and Donovan together. She is so honesty, loyal, and fiercely protective, and he is playful, sweet, and caring. They helped each other find themselves, and the home they always wanted. I loved all the local family and friends who felt genuine and made this story so rich, fun and heartfelt. ​
The narration by Andi Arndt and Teddy Hamilton was fabulous! They are so perfect as Dillion and Donovan, as they not only build the tension of the story, but the playful and fiery attraction between Dillion and Donovan as well. Their banter was fun, and they conveyed the depth and complexity of all their emotions beautifully. I always love their work and was completely lost in their moving performance.
​I loved this engaging story and the little twists and turns that the storyline took kept me on my toes, and tugged at my heart. This is a great start to the Lakeside series and I can't wait for more from Pearl Lake!

2 people found this helpful

Perfect small town romance with amazing narration!

I absolutely adored this book!
It was sweet, funny, romantic and even if there's some predictability to the story, like every other small town novel, I really enjoyed my time listening to this one!

Donovan was perfect and Dylan was strong and independent, something that usually is missing in this trope, so I adored her!

The point of conflict wasn't a break up and I'm so glad that I've been reading books with different plot twists! I'm definitely happy about the change!

I certainly recommend this audiobook!

Snarky bantery goodness 😊

I've listened to this 2x now, once when it came out, and again before listening to book 2. The second was just as good as I expect the third time to be!

I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers story. Dillion and Van have great chemistry and fun, snarky banter. I love how they fall for each other while they are falling for Pearl Lake. This story is filled with interesting characters with deep secrets and hidden agendas. Who says you can't go home again!

I found it to be surprisingly low angst while still maintaining a heavy emotional hand in the story. The narration was great - this may be my first Andi/Teddy narration and I really enjoyed it. A great start to a new series.
❤️🎧❤️

Cute enemies to lovers/ neighbors story

I really liked this first book in this series. Donovan “Van” and Dylan were adorable and I loved the early banter between them. There was also some hardships they both faced and I loved watching them grow and realize different things to do so.

Entertaining

So I'm new to Helena hunting, I just started going through her library and I have to say I'm enjoying it very much. Her stories are captivating. Entertaining, And have emotion. Of course I couldn't say anything bad about the narrator's because these 2 are rock stars when it comes to narration. They know how to lift a story up and make it even better than it already is and it's already pretty d*** good.

Van & Linny

Sweet story. Easy read. I love anything that Helena Hunting writes. Great narration from both narrators.