A review by amateur_bookworm
Nero by S.J. Tilly

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

Nero by S. J. Tilly is the first book of her Alliance series. I read this series over a year ago and really enjoyed these books. So the way I ran (actually, well, clicked?) when I saw someone post that this one was free on Audible. 

Nero is still my favorite home invader turned stalker turned man of her dreams, mafioso style.  
“Are you messy, Payton?” has haunted me (in a delicious way) for literally over a year since I read this. And to hear it now was *chef’s kiss*. I wish this story wasn’t quite so insta-love, but other than that, I enjoy Payton’s Cinderella story.  I loved how sweet and innocent Payton is in some ways, but also hardened by life in other ways. And the big, bad mafia man going all soft and crazy for her. This is a delicious, spicy read or listen and I enjoyed it both ways. 

The narrators here are Chloe Ryan and Jack Calihan. It took me a bit to warm up to Chloe Ryan as Payton but once the audiobook was rolling along then I began to really enjoy both her and Jack Calihan’s performances. I see they are the narrators for the rest of the books in this series as well, so I’m happy about that. I will forever wish all audiobooks are duet narration, but the dual narration was fine enough here. 

I think when I say I prefer gray romance vs. dark romance, this is exactly what I mean. My favorite color of fictional men is morally gray, and this one delivers. But it doesn’t have the elements of truly dark DARK romance that I don’t enjoy. It’s the perfect amount of grayness, in my opinion. 
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