🎧 Better Than Friends by Jill Shalvis @JillShalvis @andi_arndt @WmMorrowBooks @avonbooks‏ @HarperAudio #LOVEAUDIOBOOKS

Posted January 21, 2025 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 16 Comments

Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


🎧 Better Than Friends by Jill Shalvis @JillShalvis @andi_arndt @WmMorrowBooks @avonbooks‏ @HarperAudio #LOVEAUDIOBOOKS Better Than Friends by Jill Shalvis
Narrator: Andi Arndt
Series: Sunrise Cove #7
Published by Avon, HarperAudio on January 21, 2025
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Life Fiction
Pages: 336
Length: 9 hours, 30 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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two-half-flames
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

When Olive Porter’s off-the-grid parents go missing, she reluctantly seeks out Noah Turner, her ex and the only person she both trusts implicitly and not at all.

As a special investigative agent for the National Park Service, Noah’s used to living under intense pressure. Or he was until he got injured on the job. Now unhappily recuperating at home while being smothered by his loving but nosy family, he’d love nothing more than a good distraction.

So when Olive shows up looking like a million bucks, he has to do a gut and heart check. Because nope, no matter what, he can’t fall for her again, the woman who once blew up his entire life and never looked back. How ironic then that his own personal hell (Olive) is also his ticket out of town. The question is, will the risk be worth the reward?

I love the Sunrise Cove series which is a newer one.  Not that I don’t love the older series because I do.  This series is set in a beautiful place and has characters which shine.  They have the quirky, realistic foibles one can love. The humor and banter is always enjoyable.

Olive is a very successful PR person based in the UK since college. She is back home to help out her best friend Katie when her brother and husband are in an accident.  Olive lived mostly with her grandmother and the Katie’s family, because her parents are unreliable.  She loves being back home with Katie and her family.  But that includes Katie’s twin brother, Noah who is always the one she wants. Olive is nicer about everything than I could be.

Noah is a hot mess, not that he would show it.  He is always the one who has to hold things together for his mom or sister. But now he is guilty about the accident and hates his own injury keeping him from his work he loves.  Now Olive is here and she was the one who got away.

The story starts pretty slowly building up the characters and situations.  There are flashbacks to the senior year of high school when Olive and Noah are fake-dating but want to be real dating.  Olive is smart but not popular.  Noah is a jock and very popular.  Neither thinks they are good enough for the other. The flashbacks work up to the end of the year when Olive and Noah have an accident and she leaves town for college.  There are secrets, so many secrets.

Olive loves being back here and truth be told wants to stay but realizes if she does Noah will break her heart, if she is honest with herself. She is very worried when she is not able to get in touch with her parents for a few weeks.  Joe uses his job skills to put together lists of places they might be.  He goes with Olive to check out a place because the weather is iffy and he has the right vehicle being a ranger.  They get snowed in and finally have time to talk.

The emotions are always true and strong with reading Jill Shalvis.  There is also humor and really good people.  I always must read her newest.  Next up is The Love Fix in June.

 Narration:

Andi Arndt is a favorite narrator and this is her first series with this author.  I enjoyed her performance and the voices for the characters were appropriate and comfortable.  The emotional tones enhanced my reading experience.  I was able to listen at my normal  1.5x speed.

Listen to a clip:  HERE

 

About Andi Arndt

Andi’s relatively neutral US English accent is a product of a Minnesota childhood, New Jersey high school years, and Maryland/DC/Virginia adulthood. Firm grounding in both theatre and broadcasting led to full-time work in voice over.

About Jill Shalvis

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Rating Breakdown
Plot
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Writing
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Characters
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Narration (Audio)
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Anne - Books of My Heart
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted January 21, 2025 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 16 Comments


16 responses to “🎧 Better Than Friends by Jill Shalvis

  1. It’s been so long since I’ve read JS. I always enjoyed her stories. I loved how she develops groups of friends – a found family. I should pick her up again. thanks.

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