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pattyfgd's review
4.0
Cup of Sugar
Close to Home, Book 1
By: Karla Doyle
Narrated by: Bradley Ford, Lu Banks
Nia refuses to date her neighbors, though Conn, the good-looking man with no curtains is great to look at. When it's time to go visit her parents, Conn offers to drive her through the horrible storm. Taking him up on his offer, the two begin their journey of trust, friendship and love. Karla Doyle brings to life a fun and adventurous story, giving us all the feels, from frustration to passion to love. Nia is exasperating at times. I know she has a past to deal with but with this man right in front of her, I wanted to push her along. Conn is too good to be true. He too has commitment issues, and though frustrating, his attentiveness and warmth won me over. I loved meeting Nia's family, great secondary characters to build out the story. And Zeus, he just makes the story. A man and his dog, what is not to love?
The narration comes to us by Bradley Ford and Lu Banks. I loved Ford's performance. He understands his character, creates that feeling of warmth, humor and love. Banks has a breathiness to her voice that I was not fond of, but she does bring Nia's character to life. Lots of emotions to deal with, she finds each one and makes it real. The two at times did not meld well, with the female POV much louder than the male, making the volume adjustment constant. The important thing is the narrators made it a fun listen.
Close to Home, Book 1
By: Karla Doyle
Narrated by: Bradley Ford, Lu Banks
Nia refuses to date her neighbors, though Conn, the good-looking man with no curtains is great to look at. When it's time to go visit her parents, Conn offers to drive her through the horrible storm. Taking him up on his offer, the two begin their journey of trust, friendship and love. Karla Doyle brings to life a fun and adventurous story, giving us all the feels, from frustration to passion to love. Nia is exasperating at times. I know she has a past to deal with but with this man right in front of her, I wanted to push her along. Conn is too good to be true. He too has commitment issues, and though frustrating, his attentiveness and warmth won me over. I loved meeting Nia's family, great secondary characters to build out the story. And Zeus, he just makes the story. A man and his dog, what is not to love?
The narration comes to us by Bradley Ford and Lu Banks. I loved Ford's performance. He understands his character, creates that feeling of warmth, humor and love. Banks has a breathiness to her voice that I was not fond of, but she does bring Nia's character to life. Lots of emotions to deal with, she finds each one and makes it real. The two at times did not meld well, with the female POV much louder than the male, making the volume adjustment constant. The important thing is the narrators made it a fun listen.
lsbrns's review
5.0
A+++ Could not put this book down (much like her previous reads). Highly recommend, Karla does not disappoint! Hot hot hot!
sadiecass's review
5.0
I'm up at 2am because I had to finish...what does that tell you?
Full review when I've slept and my brain is functioning again.
*~*
Alright, it's the next morning. I'm not sure my brain is functioning 100%, but I'm going to try.
Conn? Holy crap. The patience of a saint, the body of a God. What more can you ask for? Every move he made was a plus in my book, and I could read about him forever and a day, and then some more...maybe if I read about him enough he'll manifest? (P.S. I'm choosy about my book boyfriends...I don't have many, but Conn is officially on the list).
Nia frustrated the crap out of me, honestly. Don't get me wrong, I adore her and think she's great in all the ways Conn thought she was...but the back and forth she put him through really made me want to shake her sometimes. Especially when she ruined the night of the awesome gift...BUT, once she got her clue I was happy as a clam. I could totally see Nia as my friend and the throttling I want to give her would be out of love...The only thing missing here was a friend to do that...Sara was there, but not THERE...and Nia didn't seem to have many friends. I would have loved for her to have a real gal pal. (Rereading this I think it sounds like I didn't like Nia as much as I really did. I did understand her pain...she got burned...I was just all the way in when it came to Conn...so I got a little frustrated. I do love Nia. :) )
I loved the two together, their chemistry and the way everything worked when they managed to let themselves enjoy the moment. The smexy scenes were smoking hot, and there were plenty of them without being "too much" (yes, I know...but it CAN happen).
The story flowed really well, and everything that happened seemed natural (except those last two road blocks...by that point I was ready to weep. The gift especially, more than that date...although Conn's handling of the date made me laugh out loud).
This was a fast read and in the midst of a handful of books I'm having to force myself to finish...this was definitely a winner! I can't wait to read Icing on the Cake and see what happens for Sara and Curtis!
I'm so glad I shoved this ahead of my miles-long TBR list...and have a feeling I'm going to do the same with Icing on the Cake. I really liked Karla's writing style, her humor, and the story itself.
Full review when I've slept and my brain is functioning again.
*~*
Alright, it's the next morning. I'm not sure my brain is functioning 100%, but I'm going to try.
Conn? Holy crap. The patience of a saint, the body of a God. What more can you ask for? Every move he made was a plus in my book, and I could read about him forever and a day, and then some more...maybe if I read about him enough he'll manifest? (P.S. I'm choosy about my book boyfriends...I don't have many, but Conn is officially on the list).
Nia frustrated the crap out of me, honestly. Don't get me wrong, I adore her and think she's great in all the ways Conn thought she was...but the back and forth she put him through really made me want to shake her sometimes. Especially when she ruined the night of the awesome gift...BUT, once she got her clue I was happy as a clam. I could totally see Nia as my friend and the throttling I want to give her would be out of love...The only thing missing here was a friend to do that...Sara was there, but not THERE...and Nia didn't seem to have many friends. I would have loved for her to have a real gal pal. (Rereading this I think it sounds like I didn't like Nia as much as I really did. I did understand her pain...she got burned...I was just all the way in when it came to Conn...so I got a little frustrated. I do love Nia. :) )
I loved the two together, their chemistry and the way everything worked when they managed to let themselves enjoy the moment. The smexy scenes were smoking hot, and there were plenty of them without being "too much" (yes, I know...but it CAN happen).
The story flowed really well, and everything that happened seemed natural (except those last two road blocks...by that point I was ready to weep. The gift especially, more than that date...although Conn's handling of the date made me laugh out loud).
This was a fast read and in the midst of a handful of books I'm having to force myself to finish...this was definitely a winner! I can't wait to read Icing on the Cake and see what happens for Sara and Curtis!
I'm so glad I shoved this ahead of my miles-long TBR list...and have a feeling I'm going to do the same with Icing on the Cake. I really liked Karla's writing style, her humor, and the story itself.
mandy_pandy's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I really liked Conn a lot - he was sexy and sweet! I'm really looking forward to reading more in this series (especially Sara's story!)
jasminepnwgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Nia never thought that she would fall for her neighbor, Conn. She has only one rule, not to date the neighbors. It has worked out well, so far. But one evening, Nia is planning on going to see her parents. When her car dies, Conn comes over and offers to drive Nia to her parents house. Nia takes the offer, but is reluctant, because she has this attraction to Conn (I mean come on, how could you not, after seeing him naked in his room hehehe ;) )
It's snowing really hard, Nia and Conn, decide to stay the night at a motel. They both are attracted to each other....so.....The next morning, they head out to her parents house. This weekend, will change their lives.
It's snowing really hard, Nia and Conn, decide to stay the night at a motel. They both are attracted to each other....so.....The next morning, they head out to her parents house. This weekend, will change their lives.
jessschira's review against another edition
4.0
This is easily one of Karla Doyle's sweetest stories. I also think it's the one that's most likely to happen in real life. It takes a New Year's snow storm to provide the opportunity for Con to finally find an opportunity to really get to know his next door neighbor, who also happens to be his latest crush. The relationship that develops from the long, snowy drive is hot, intense, and fun to read about.
Although there are times when I found Nia irritating, overall I enjoyed the book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to my friends.
Although there are times when I found Nia irritating, overall I enjoyed the book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to my friends.
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