Surly, rude, selfish, and inconveniently attractive. Meet Milo Papatonis, the king of all jerks.
I’m not normally one to judge, but I’ve been down this particular road before and I can unequivocally say he’s earned his title. It’s not enough that Milo crushed my dreams when we were kids, but now I’m somehow being forced to dwell under the same roof with his ill-mannered ass. If he thinks his sexy shower noises and ovary-imploding smile can tempt me into forgetting, he’s nuts.
This situation is strictly business and blessedly temporary. Because my dreams are still out there waiting for me, and they won’t be found anywhere near this town—or this guy.
Jerks do nothing but break hearts, of that I’m certain. But I’ve been known to be wrong a time or two…
Title: | New Jerk in Town |
Author: | Sylvie Stewart |
Narrator(s): | Matt Hicks Amanda Stribling |
Series: | Carolina Kisses (Book 2) |
Pages / Length: | 270 / 8 hrs 45 mins |
Category / Genre(s): | Contemporary Romantic Comedy Audiobook |
Trope(s): | Enemies to Lovers Second Chance Romance |
Point of View: | First Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
Narration Type: | Dual |
Location: | Carolina, USA |
HEA: | ✔ |
Release Date: | 30th October, 2020 |
Satisfying, funny and heart-warming romance
I’m doing a strange seal-clap of giddiness as I think about writing this review because I just adored this book. It’s actually the second book in Sylvie Stewart’s Carolina Kisses series – but it stands completely alone with its own couple and HEA.
Jill has ditched her normal life to go on an adventure in order to find herself and make her dreams come true. It’s just sheer bad luck that her car breaks down and she has to hole up in a small town with no money and no friends. Her luck turns around when she finds a room for rent at a really cheap rate. But that room is in the home of Milo, the boy – now man – who broke her heart one summer 12 years ago. And he’s still the biggest jerk in town.
So yay for legitimate and deep-seated enemies to lovers. Milo is a proper grump and is so annoyed by Jill and her sunny nature invading his life once again. I love the way she infuriates him but it’s a hot second before we realise that Milo is properly smitten with Jill. So it becomes something of an unrequited love, yearning and longing thing that made me happy. In the audiobook, Milo is voiced by the drawl-tastic Matt Hicks. His voice is so delicious and he definitely channeled the growly, grumpy Milo.
Jill was a really likeable character – a sunshiny, upbeat sort but still worldly and practical. I loved the way her feelings were so back and forth towards Milo – and how through it all, even if she professed to hate him, she still had the hots for him! Jill is voiced by Amanda Stribling and I believed her portrayal and her voice was nice to listen to.
The pair had explosive chemistry – and not just because of the ‘I hate you’ vibes! It was hot and I was here for it. But on top of that, every few chapters, we’d go back in time 12 years to when Jill and Milo met one summer as teens. Those scenes were adorable and they really showed the beginning of the feelings and emotions between the pair. It wasn’t full on angst, but as we see this young couple having a happy summer, you know that they’re going to end up as enemies and that something is going to go very wrong. Waiting for that to reveal itself was a strange form of delightful torture and it kept me listening long into the night.
This is Sylvie Stewart so of course we get a lot of laughs in the story – but there’s definitely an emotional undercurrent that really gives depth to Milo and Jill’s tale. There were so many things about this story that made me happy and I honestly feel a bit bereft now that the story is over. I enjoyed every single second of this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a satisfying, funny and heart-warming romance. 5 stars.
USA Today bestselling author Sylvie Stewart is addicted to Romantic Comedy and Contemporary Romance, and she’s not looking for a cure. She hails from the great state of North Carolina, so it’s no surprise that most of her books are set in the Tar Heel state. She’s a wife to a hilarious dude and mommy to ten-year-old twin boys who tend to take after their father in every way. Sylvie often wonders if they’re actually hers, but then she remembers being a human incubator for a gazillion months. Ah, good times.
Sylvie began publishing when her kids started elementary school, and she loves sharing her stories with readers and hopefully making them laugh and swoon a bit along the way. If she’s not in her comfy green writing chair, she’s probably camping or kayaking with her family or having a glass of wine while binge-watching Hulu. Or she’s been kidnapped—so what are you doing just sitting there?!!
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