Audiobook Review: The Sin of Kissing You by Maya Hughes 🎧

Title:	The Sin of Kissing You
Author:	Maya Hughes
Narrator(s):	Emma Wilder Tim Paige
Series:	Falling Trilogy (Book 2)
Pages / Length:	328 / 9 hours, 10 minutes
Genre(s):	Contemporary New Adult
Trope(s):	Enemies to Lovers Friends to Lovers Neighbours to Lovers Sports Romance (American Football)
Point of View:	First person, past tense, dual viewpoints (H & h)
Narration Type:	Dual
Location:	US
HEA:	❌ (CLIFFHANGER ENDING)
Release Date:	1st October, 2021

Even better in audio

I read and adored this book before trying the audiobook and even though I wasn’t sure it was possible, I enjoyed the story even more in audio.

To get the important details out the way first, this is not a standalone novel. It’s the middle story in a trilogy chronicling Bay and Dare’s romance / love story. If you haven’t read the first in the trilogy, The Art of Falling for You, you will not understand what’s going on in this story. And this story does not end with a HEA. That will come in the third and final book of the set, The Hate of Loving You.

In this book, Tim Paige and Emma Wilder reprise their roles of Dare and Bay that they took on in the first book in the series, The Art of Falling For You. As with the first book, they both excel at the voices and really give life to our star-crossed lovers.

I loved Bay and really felt for her in this story. She was cute, kick-ass and determined but very real with her emotions. She made the realisation that she was being selfish and was honest about how she couldn’t stop her feelings for Dare – and how their relationship ultimately wasn’t healthy. It might not have been evident from the start, but when Bay started allowing her feelings to resurface, it was clear that she adored Dare with everything she had and it made my heart fit to burst.

Emma Wilder has a raspy quality to her voice that was perfect for Bay’s songstress vibe. Further more, she really brought the emotion to this performance. I found myself really feeling every little thing that Bay did and when the ending came, I was crying like a baby. It was awesome.

“…I was crying like a baby. It was awesome.”

What I liked about this story was how we get to watch Bay and Dare grow both as people and as a couple. Dare especially learns a lot about himself and he wore his feelings for Bay on his sleeve. My own heart broke for him as much as his beat for Bay. He was so desperate to right his wrongs – and took Bay’s previous parting words that he would never be loveable, to heart. He was trying so hard to be a better man but it was so obvious to us – and Bay – that he still had so many issues. I wanted to scream at him to stop his destructive behaviour but I also wanted him to learn. Gah!

Tim Paige as Dare was excellent. He’s got a manly voice but still quite youthful. I believed him 100%. He was very emotive and also did an excellent job of portraying the female voice of Bay during conversations that sounded realistic and didn’t pull you out of the story. He even managed to differentiate between different females and kept those voices consistent throughout the narration. Extra points for that.

Despite the fact we know it’s not going to end well just yet – Dare and Bay were so obviously perfect for each other. They just worked. Both were able to just be themselves around the other and I loved that the spark hadn’t died after 4 years of being apart. I still laughed with them and cried with them and screamed at them to get their stuff together and figure things out. Frankly, even when they were being idiots, I still love the pair.

Even knowing the outcome of this story – and the whole trilogy – I was surprised to still feel the delicious angst that is synonymous with Maya Hughes’ writing. She still managed to suck me in and mess with my head and emotions so much that I had to pull back every once in a while and remind myself it will all work out okay.

I love the way that listening to an audiobook having read the ebook previously, you pick up on so much more detail and really get the emotion from the characters that the author likely intended. I find myself falling in love with these characters as the themselves fall in love. Sadly, that also means that when they break, I break too. I can’t wait to listen to the final book in this trilogy but on its own this truly is 5 star audio romance.

Maya Hughes can often be found sneaking in another chapter while hiding in the bathroom from her kids! 🙂 I’m a romance writer who loves taking inspiration from everyday life, namely my husband and biggest fan. Inspiration also strikes when I hear a song, meet someone new or daydream while at soccer practice.

I’m the mom of three little ones, the wife to an amazing husband and also work full time. Some of my favorite things are cinnamon rolls, white wine, laughing until I can’t breathe and traveling with my family.

Falling Trilogy: