One Night Only

4.5 stars


This is the first book in the After Dark series from Lauren Blakely that I've listened to and what a way to kick things off. It's like Lauren Blakely on steroids. What I mean by that is it's pure Lauren goodness; you have a fun, heartwarming story filled with wit and awesome characters, but she's upped the sexy factor. Like she cranked that bad boy to 10! I loved Callum and Stone, I thought they were fantastic characters, Callum's all business and Stone's party boy personas really worked well for their friendship, I loved that they were so different but that it worked for them. Ivy, I wasn't too keen on to begin with, her inability to reconcile her professional side with her sexual side annoyed me, but at the same time, without it, would there have been a story? And as the story progressed, she did grow on me. I loved her with Callum though. Match made in heaven. His ability to read her and know what she wanted and needed was great and wanting to give her the fantasy in a safe way really made me fall hard for him.

This is a MFM story. Callum and Stone don't touch, much to my disappointment (I know, I know, it says it on the label - a girl can still dream!) and the story is Ivy and Callum's, it's about their relationship and self-discovery, Stone is an added bonus, you guessed it, for one night. So if you're looking for a book with three way full-time relationship, this book isn't for you. Just like if sexy times aren't your thing, this isn't the book for you either. But if you love stories about couples expressing their sexuality and fantasy exploration, you will love this book.

About the performances. Well, what can I say, Emma Wilder and Joe Arden are just fabulous as Ivy and Callum, add in a handful of chapters from Jacob Morgan as Stone, which was just fantastic, and lastly, sprinkle in a surprise, outstanding Teddy Hamilton chapter as Jackson, Stone's bodyguard, to whet the appetite for a future book and you've got audiobook perfection right there. It was such a joy to listen to, these voice actors are at the top of their game and it shows. The performances were a joy to listen to. The transition from each narrator and character was smooth with very little issue - it's performed in dual narration, and sometimes the change in the different voices can be distracting but that isn't the case here, the voices were well matched and complemented each other. In the book, Callum describes Ivy's voice as honey and whiskey, and I thought I'd never heard a more perfect description of Emma Wilder's voice. The audio also includes a sneak peek of Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend, which is available now, performed in duet narration by Andi Arndt and Shane East. With additional cameos by Kit Swann & Joe Arden.