Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Walk the Shame by Avery Flynn Narrator: Savannah Peachwood, Robert Hatchet
Series: Downside to Dating #2
Published by Recorded Books on February 20, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Length: 8 hours, 45 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Don’t miss Astrid’s story, in Walk of Shame !
One night. No strings. And a really good puck. Five years ago, Astrid O’Malley experienced the ultimate in public humiliation. Being dumped at the altar by her childhood sweetheart was horrifying enough. That fact that he was a professional hockey goalie and her dad was his coach? It was all anyone in sports could talk about. Eff hockey. Eff goalies.
These days, Astrid lives a life (mostly) free of hockey and free to pursue whoever she wants with exactly zero shame in her game. Like tonight’s hook-up. This guy’s nailed the lumberjack aesthetic perfectly. Especially when he has the stamina and creativity to back it up.
Because the rule is: it’s one night only. Which is gonna be a problem because she’s just discovered he lives in the apartment upstairs. And he’s joined her dad’s team. As the goalie coach. To train her ex.
Now Astrid is in some kind of hockey hell—filled with her ex, her family, and the best sex of her life. And somehow she’s been roped back onto the team.
Walk of Shame is the second book in the Downside to Dating series and much like many series romances it can be read as a stand alone.  This is a story about a woman who has decided dating isn’t for her. She likes men just fine, but only for a night and only for one thing, then she is off to enjoy her own life man free. She has been successful at that since the day she was left at the alter by her childhood sweetheart, that is until a hard man in a soft sweater came to her rescue at the bar one night and she just can’t seem to figure out how to keep her panties on anytime he is near.
Astrid hates all things hockey since Tig dropped her the day of their wedding to run off to another city and play for another team. She is now is that city after her dad got a coaching job there. She might be there for family but she still wants nothing to do with hockey. Seems like fate has other plans for Astrid. First, she broke all her rules and had sex with Cal even after she learned he lived in her building, but it gets worse when she figures out he is the new hockey coach brought on to help her ex out of his slump and worse than that when her dad talks her into coming back to help out the team in his last season. Now she is trying to avoid Cal because he is like catnip and she just can’t get enough.
Cal might not be able to play the game anymore but this is his shot to be a part of it. Trouble is he is so distracted by Astrid that he keeps forgetting why hooking up with the head coach’s daughter is probably a bad idea. But there is just something about her and Cal is going to pull out all the stops to see if he can find a way to not only get into her panties but maybe even into her head and her heart. Which might be more difficult than he realized since she keeps dodging him.
I had so much fun with this story. Astrid is a bit on the broken side but after the wedding debacle who wouldn’t be. I loved watching her grow and Cal figure out how to do some adorable things to soften her up. Who knew Diet Coke could win a girl’s heart. Their story is pretty cute with just enough angst to really seal the deal. Once I got going I didn’t want to stop listening to the story to see what it was going to take for these two to figure out they were more than just people who hook up.
The epilogue was a bit strange but worked overall and sets up the next couple solidly. If you have read some of the other series about the Ice Knights, Harbor City or the Hartigans then you are in for a treat as there are quite a few cameos from other books.
Narration:
Robert Hatchet and Savannah Peachwood are gold in this. Both have all the angst and sexy in their voices and really sold the characters. I love that each of the main character had their own voice for the story, it made it flow great. Plus both of their performances were just candy to my ears. The sexy times were soooo hot, so pick your listening place accordingly, you have been warned. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:Â HERE
About Avery Flynn
USA Today bestselling romance author Avery Flynn has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip.
She fell in love with romance while reading Johanna Lindsey’s Mallory books. It wasn’t long before Avery had read through all the romance offerings at her local library. Needing a romance fix, she turned to Harlequin’s four books a month home delivery service to ease the withdrawal symptoms. That worked for a short time, but it wasn’t long before the local book stores’ staffs knew her by name.
Avery was a reader before she was a writer and hopes to always be both. She loves to write about smartass alpha heroes who are as good with a quip as they are with their *ahem* other God-given talents. Her heroines are feisty, fierce and fantastic. Brainy and brave, these ladies know how to stand on their own two feet and knock the bad guys off theirs.
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Avery Flynn is always a blast!
So Much Fun!!!
I love this author, and have the first book in this series sitting on my TBR waiting to read! I had to buy that one as soon as it came out, but haven’t read it yet, lol. Glad to hear this one is good too!