
Cole and Laila Are Just Friends
A Love Story
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $25.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Talon David
-
Andrew Eiden
-
By:
-
Bethany Turner
About this listen
Cole and Laila have been inseparable since they could crawl. And they've never thought about each other that way. Except for when they have. Rarely. Once in a while, sure. But seriously . . . hardly ever.
Cole Kimball and Laila Olivet have been best friends their entire lives. Cole is the only person (apart from blood relatives) who's seen Laila in her oversized, pink, plastic Sophia Loren glasses. Laila is always the first person to taste test any new dish Cole creates in his family's restaurant . . . even though she has the refined palate of a kindergartener. Most importantly, Cole and Laila are always talking. About everything.
When Cole discovers a betrayal from his recently deceased grandfather that shatters his world, staying in Adelaide Springs, Colorado, is suddenly unfathomable. But Laila loves her life in their small mountain town and can't imagine ever living anywhere else. She loves serving customers who tip her with a dozen fresh eggs. She loves living within walking distance of all her favorite people. And she's very much not okay with the idea of not being able to walk to her very favorite person.
Still, when Cole toys with moving across the country to New York City, she decides to support her best friend—even as she secretly hopes she can convince him to stay home. And not just for his killer chocolate chip pancakes. Because she loves him. As a friend. Just as a friend. Right?
They make a deal: Laila won't beg him to stay, and Cole won't try to convince her to come with him. They have one week in New York before their lives change forever, and all they have to do is enjoy their time together and pretend none of this is happening. But it's tough to ignore the very inconvenient feelings blooming out of nowhere. In both of them. And these potentially friendship-destroying feelings, once out in the open, have absolutely no take-backs.
If When Harry Met Sally had a quippy literary love child with Gilmore Girls' Luke and Lorelai, you'd get Cole and Laila. Just . . . don't tell them that.
Author's Note: Cole and Laila are best friends who slow-burn (like, for nearly forty years, so…SLOW) toward love and yet never see it coming in this low-spice/clean, laugh-out-loud friends-to-lovers rom-com. All it takes is the threat of being separated, a trip to NYC, one night in one bed, a fake blind date for the ages, and a little dancing on a penthouse rooftop for the slow-burn to finally, finally ignite.
©2024 Bethany Turner (P)2024 Thomas NelsonListeners also enjoyed...
-
Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other
- A Small Town Enemies-to-Lovers Rom-Com
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brynn Cornell has to be stuck in a nightmare. Just last week, she was riding high as cohost of the popular morning show Sunup. She's America's Ray of Sunshine--the girl-next-door beauty who drives up TV ratings while never exuding anything but her trademark positivity and poise. All it took was one huge on-air mistake to expose her snarky side to the world and make it all come crumbling down. Now she's back in her hometown of Adelaide Springs, Colorado, in a last-ditch attempt to convince viewers she's not the mean girl they think she is.
-
-
Great AFTER the 11th Chapter
- By Silverlure on 09-25-23
By: Bethany Turner
-
The Do-Over
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hot-shot lawyer McKenna Keaton finds herself in hot water with her own law firm when she’s (falsely!) accused of embezzlement. Placed on unpaid leave, she suddenly finds herself with the free time to return home and attend her youngest sister’s wedding activities. But it’s not all fun and games. Waiting back home is shy, nerdy Henry Blumenthal—McKenna’s high school rival for valedictorian who once took three hours to beat her at chess. Scratch that. He’s Hank Blume now, the famed documentarian, Durham, North Carolina’s, darling son.
-
-
Really good story.
- By Rebekah52 on 05-14-22
By: Bethany Turner
-
Plot Twist
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
February 4, 2003, promises to be a typical day for Olivia Ross - a greeting card writer whose passion project is a screenplay of her own. But after she and a handsome actor have a magical meet-cute in a coffee shop, they make a spontaneous pact: in 10 years, after they’ve found the success they’re just sure they’re going to achieve, they’ll return to the coffeehouse to partner up and make a film together. The only problem? Olivia neglected to get the stranger’s name. But she doesn’t forget his face - or the date.
-
-
Eeeeeekkkkk
- By Mike Thompson on 02-07-22
By: Bethany Turner
-
Wish You Weren't Here
- By: Portia MacIntosh
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lana has had enough. Her ‘perfect’ sister is getting married. In Australia. On Lana’s 30th birthday and no one seems to have noticed. To make matters worse, she’s been given a list of rules she must follow so she doesn’t upstage the bride. Well, rules are meant to be bent right? She’s found a killer dress, now she just needs the most inappropriate wedding date she can find. But where to start?
-
-
Favorite author narrator pair hit gold!
- By t-squared on 01-11-25
By: Portia MacIntosh
-
The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Jessica Holtan
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Becoming a Christian is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to Sarah Hollenbeck. Best because, well, that's obvious. Worst because, up to this point, she's made her very comfortable living as a well-known, best-selling author of steamy romance novels that would leave the members of her new church blushing. Now Sarah is trying to reconcile her past with the future she's chosen. She's still under contract with her publisher and on the hook with her enormous fan base for the kind of book she's not sure she can write anymore.
-
-
Clean, sweet, and fun
- By Lindy on 03-28-25
By: Bethany Turner
-
Loyally, Luke
- By: Pepper Basham
- Narrated by: Christopher Ashman, K.C Sheridan, Kathleen McInerney, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
My name is Luke Edgewood, and there are few things in life that I require. Mainly black coffee. And flannel. And lots of solitude. And my dogs, Chewy and Indie. What I don't need is romance, so I have no plans to change my thirty-year-old-bachelor status anytime soon. But my youngest sister thinks that by accepting a short-term construction job in the small European country of Skymar, I'm going to follow along in her footsteps and discover my own romantic adventure. Nope. Bah humbug. The End. This time, her rom-com-movie senses are totally wrong. Or maybe not.
-
-
A lighthearted romance
- By Laura Markley on 11-20-24
By: Pepper Basham
-
Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other
- A Small Town Enemies-to-Lovers Rom-Com
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brynn Cornell has to be stuck in a nightmare. Just last week, she was riding high as cohost of the popular morning show Sunup. She's America's Ray of Sunshine--the girl-next-door beauty who drives up TV ratings while never exuding anything but her trademark positivity and poise. All it took was one huge on-air mistake to expose her snarky side to the world and make it all come crumbling down. Now she's back in her hometown of Adelaide Springs, Colorado, in a last-ditch attempt to convince viewers she's not the mean girl they think she is.
-
-
Great AFTER the 11th Chapter
- By Silverlure on 09-25-23
By: Bethany Turner
-
The Do-Over
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hot-shot lawyer McKenna Keaton finds herself in hot water with her own law firm when she’s (falsely!) accused of embezzlement. Placed on unpaid leave, she suddenly finds herself with the free time to return home and attend her youngest sister’s wedding activities. But it’s not all fun and games. Waiting back home is shy, nerdy Henry Blumenthal—McKenna’s high school rival for valedictorian who once took three hours to beat her at chess. Scratch that. He’s Hank Blume now, the famed documentarian, Durham, North Carolina’s, darling son.
-
-
Really good story.
- By Rebekah52 on 05-14-22
By: Bethany Turner
-
Plot Twist
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
February 4, 2003, promises to be a typical day for Olivia Ross - a greeting card writer whose passion project is a screenplay of her own. But after she and a handsome actor have a magical meet-cute in a coffee shop, they make a spontaneous pact: in 10 years, after they’ve found the success they’re just sure they’re going to achieve, they’ll return to the coffeehouse to partner up and make a film together. The only problem? Olivia neglected to get the stranger’s name. But she doesn’t forget his face - or the date.
-
-
Eeeeeekkkkk
- By Mike Thompson on 02-07-22
By: Bethany Turner
-
Wish You Weren't Here
- By: Portia MacIntosh
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lana has had enough. Her ‘perfect’ sister is getting married. In Australia. On Lana’s 30th birthday and no one seems to have noticed. To make matters worse, she’s been given a list of rules she must follow so she doesn’t upstage the bride. Well, rules are meant to be bent right? She’s found a killer dress, now she just needs the most inappropriate wedding date she can find. But where to start?
-
-
Favorite author narrator pair hit gold!
- By t-squared on 01-11-25
By: Portia MacIntosh
-
The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Jessica Holtan
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Becoming a Christian is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to Sarah Hollenbeck. Best because, well, that's obvious. Worst because, up to this point, she's made her very comfortable living as a well-known, best-selling author of steamy romance novels that would leave the members of her new church blushing. Now Sarah is trying to reconcile her past with the future she's chosen. She's still under contract with her publisher and on the hook with her enormous fan base for the kind of book she's not sure she can write anymore.
-
-
Clean, sweet, and fun
- By Lindy on 03-28-25
By: Bethany Turner
-
Loyally, Luke
- By: Pepper Basham
- Narrated by: Christopher Ashman, K.C Sheridan, Kathleen McInerney, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
My name is Luke Edgewood, and there are few things in life that I require. Mainly black coffee. And flannel. And lots of solitude. And my dogs, Chewy and Indie. What I don't need is romance, so I have no plans to change my thirty-year-old-bachelor status anytime soon. But my youngest sister thinks that by accepting a short-term construction job in the small European country of Skymar, I'm going to follow along in her footsteps and discover my own romantic adventure. Nope. Bah humbug. The End. This time, her rom-com-movie senses are totally wrong. Or maybe not.
-
-
A lighthearted romance
- By Laura Markley on 11-20-24
By: Pepper Basham
-
How to Plot a Payback
- By: Melissa Ferguson
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Steve West
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Successful screenwriter Finn Masters just landed his dream job writing for Neighbors, one of Hollywood's highest-rated, longest-running sitcoms. The only downside? It will put him back in proximity of the show’s universally adored, optimistic, altruistic star, Lavender Rhodes, who has been inadvertently ruining his life since they were school chums in England. But she doesn't even know she destroyed his acting career and wrecked his relationship with the love of his life.
-
-
Surprisingly Funny
- By Kelly on 08-26-24
By: Melissa Ferguson
-
My Lucky Charm
- A Holidays with Hart Standalone
- By: Courtney Walsh
- Narrated by: Stephanie Rose, Bradley Ford
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's no secret that I love life. And Dr. Pepper. But also, I love a challenge. So when the coach of the Chicago Comets gives me the opportunity to help their star player, newly traded to their team, acclimate to life in Chicago, I'm all in. I have to be. After my last job went up in flames, I have something to prove. It turns out that the player, Grayson Hawke, is the rudest, most off-putting, reclusive guy I've ever met. It also turns out that he is the beautiful stranger I kissed on New Year's Eve.
-
-
Grumpiest, sunshine-iest romance
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 01-05-25
By: Courtney Walsh
-
The Break-Up Pact
- A Novel
- By: Emma Lord
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent on her beachside tea shop, Levi is living a New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist, and they've barely spoken in years. But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire across TikTok rabbit holes and daytime talk shows alike, they accidentally make some juicy gossip of their own—a photo of them together has the internet convinced they're a couple.
-
-
Twice as long as it should have been.
- By Deborah on 04-27-25
By: Emma Lord
-
The Dating Charade
- By: Melissa Ferguson
- Narrated by: Kevin Kilpatrick, Liz Stanislawski
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie Everson is an expert at escaping bad first dates. And, after years of meeting, greeting, and running from the men who try to woo her, Cassie is almost ready to retire her hopes for a husband - and children - altogether. But fate has other plans, and Cassie’s online dating profile catches the eye of firefighter Jett Bentley. In Jett’s memory, Cassie Everson is the unreachable girl-of-legend from their high school days. Nervously, he messages her, setting off a chain of events that forces a reluctant Cassie back into the dating game.
-
-
Brilliantly funny and poignant story
- By Patricia on 01-12-20
By: Melissa Ferguson
-
Just Some Stupid Love Story
- A Novel
- By: Katelyn Doyle
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin, Tim Paige
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Molly Marks writes Hollywood rom-coms for a living—which is how she knows “romance” is a racket. The one and only time she was naive enough to fall in love was with her high school boyfriend, Seth—who she ghosted on the eve of graduation and hasn’t seen in fifteen years.
-
-
A rollercoaster ride!
- By Scott on 03-19-25
By: Katelyn Doyle
-
Passion Project
- A Novel
- By: London Sperry
- Narrated by: Alex Finke
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If your twenties are supposed to be the best years of your life, Bennet Taylor is failing miserably . . . with a big emphasis on the miserable. Where’s that zest she keeps hearing about? She’s a temp worker in New York City with no direction, no future, and no social life. And at the painful center of this listlessness is grief over the death of her first love.
-
-
Ridiculous and a waste of a credit
- By Victoria on 04-15-25
By: London Sperry
-
The Spy Who Ghosted Me
- By: Jennifer Peel
- Narrated by: Stephanie Rose, Neill Thorne
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three years ago, I fell truly, madly, deeply in love. It was kind of hard not to when Cash Denton, the sexiest man alive, literally ran into me on the streets of Bordeaux, France, and kissed me. Best. Meet. Cute. Ever. That led to the best two months of my life. Or . . . so I thought, until Cash disappeared into thin air. At first, I assumed he was in a coma or had amnesia after a tragic accident, since there’s no way he would have left me. But that was just wishful thinking because, you guessed it, he ghosted me with a capital G.
-
-
Absolute Perfection!
- By KJ's Book Nook on 12-28-24
By: Jennifer Peel
-
The Meet Cute Method
- By: Portia MacIntosh
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frankie doesn't believe in true love. As relationships expert at popular magazine Stylife, she has learnt that dating disasters are far more common than happy-ever-afters. So when she is tasked to find out if meet cutes can work in real life, she is up for the challenge—but whether it's being a damsel in distress with a flat tyre or spilling coffee over a stranger, she isn't convinced this can really lead to love. But little does Frankie know that the ultimate meet-cute opportunity is just around the corner.
-
-
As ever Karen Cass makes any book come alive!
- By FIRE on 07-24-22
By: Portia MacIntosh
-
Would You Rather
- By: Allison Ashley
- Narrated by: Courtney Patterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Noah and Mia have always been best friends, and their friendship is the most important thing to them. Life is going great for Noah and he’s up for a promotion in a job he loves. But Mia’s life is on hold as she awaits a kidney transplant. She’s stuck in a dead-end job and, never wanting to be a burden, has sworn off all romance. So when the chance of a lifetime comes to go back to school and pursue her dream, it’s especially painful to pass up. She can’t quit her job or she’ll lose the medical insurance she so desperately needs.
-
-
Childhood friends to husband and wife
- By Kindle CustomerNL on 11-04-22
By: Allison Ashley
-
The Roommate Pact
- By: Allison Ashley
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The proposition is simple: if ER nurse Claire Harper and her roommate, firefighter Graham Scott, are still single by the time they’re forty, they’ll take the proverbial plunge together…as friends with benefits. Maybe it’s the wine, but in the moment, Claire figures the pact is a safe-enough deal, considering she hasn’t had much luck in love and he’s in no rush to settle down. Like, at all. Besides, there’s no way she could ever really fall for Graham and his thrill-seeking ways. Not after what happened to her father.
-
-
The story
- By Bianca Rodriguez-Villanueva on 08-06-24
By: Allison Ashley
-
Holiday Honeymoon for One
- By: Jennifer Peel
- Narrated by: Stephanie Rose
- Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All I want for Christmas this year is to be able to spend more time with my son and to finally move us out of our cramped apartment. I have the perfect plan to make my holiday dreams come true. All I have to do is convince my boss I'm the right person for the manager position that's available at the resort I work for. It finally seems like Santa is going to grant my wish, until one Jace Petersen, the owner of a national chain of sporting goods stores, walks into my life. More like literally falls on me. Worst first impression ever.
-
-
A fun holiday romance
- By mara on 03-15-24
By: Jennifer Peel
-
The Rom-Commers
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Center
- Narrated by: Katherine Center, Patti Murin
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies—good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates—The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!—it’s a break too big to pass up.
-
-
A laugh-out-loud, feel good RomCom!
- By meagan on 06-14-24
By: Katherine Center
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Plot Twist
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
February 4, 2003, promises to be a typical day for Olivia Ross - a greeting card writer whose passion project is a screenplay of her own. But after she and a handsome actor have a magical meet-cute in a coffee shop, they make a spontaneous pact: in 10 years, after they’ve found the success they’re just sure they’re going to achieve, they’ll return to the coffeehouse to partner up and make a film together. The only problem? Olivia neglected to get the stranger’s name. But she doesn’t forget his face - or the date.
-
-
Eeeeeekkkkk
- By Mike Thompson on 02-07-22
By: Bethany Turner
-
Wes and Addie Had Their Chance
- A Love Story
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David, Patrick Zeller, Bethany Turner
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When her life crashes and burns in a flurry of secrets and redacted information, Addie Atwater-Elwyn hightails it home to the tiny mountain town of Adelaide Springs, Colorado—back to living with her dad, back to working a low-paying job, back to a life of disappointments. Growing up, nobody expected their local girl to become a high-ranking CIA analyst, married to a gorgeous CIA operative. But that was Addie's life until she lost . . . well, everything.
By: Bethany Turner
-
Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other
- A Small Town Enemies-to-Lovers Rom-Com
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brynn Cornell has to be stuck in a nightmare. Just last week, she was riding high as cohost of the popular morning show Sunup. She's America's Ray of Sunshine--the girl-next-door beauty who drives up TV ratings while never exuding anything but her trademark positivity and poise. All it took was one huge on-air mistake to expose her snarky side to the world and make it all come crumbling down. Now she's back in her hometown of Adelaide Springs, Colorado, in a last-ditch attempt to convince viewers she's not the mean girl they think she is.
-
-
Great AFTER the 11th Chapter
- By Silverlure on 09-25-23
By: Bethany Turner
-
The Perfect Rom-Com
- By: Melissa Ferguson
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aspiring author Bryony Page attends her first writers conference bursting with optimism and ready to sell her manuscript with long-shot dreams of raising awareness for The Bridge, her grandmother’s financially struggling organization where she teaches ESL full-time. But after a disastrous pitch session, she stumbles into correcting another author’s work in a last-ditch attempt to make a good impression with the agent. And she, as it turns out, is spot on.
-
-
Laughed about and loved it!
- By K2 on 05-01-25
By: Melissa Ferguson
-
Everything's Coming Up Rosie
- A Novel
- By: Courtney Walsh
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rosie Waterman has one dream: to become a working actor. But lately, that hasn't been working out. When she loses her apartment and her job on the same day, she does what she always does--puts herself out there, ready to find the next big thing. But a trip home makes her realize that while she's been struggling to make this dream come true, all her friends have become real adults with careers and weddings and babies on the way. Rosie's been at this for years, and she has nothing to show for it. But how does she simply let go of her dream?
By: Courtney Walsh
-
The One with the Kiss Cam
- By: Cindy Steel
- Narrated by: Justis Bolding
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was just one date. My friend told me I needed more fun in my life, so I reluctantly said yes. Fun wasn’t exactly in my wheelhouse. After watching my own mother’s love life implode time and time again, it’s only natural that I have a few rules to protect myself. Actually, it’s just one rule: avoid relationships with men so I don’t get attached. This guy was just a warm body in a chair. I was here for the basketball game. I was absolutely NOT here for my date. Or the kiss cam. Or the kiss. Or the impromptu evening with the one man who seems bent on throwing my tidy world off of its axis.
-
-
Fun Romance
- By Zoeveteo on 03-13-24
By: Cindy Steel
-
Plot Twist
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
February 4, 2003, promises to be a typical day for Olivia Ross - a greeting card writer whose passion project is a screenplay of her own. But after she and a handsome actor have a magical meet-cute in a coffee shop, they make a spontaneous pact: in 10 years, after they’ve found the success they’re just sure they’re going to achieve, they’ll return to the coffeehouse to partner up and make a film together. The only problem? Olivia neglected to get the stranger’s name. But she doesn’t forget his face - or the date.
-
-
Eeeeeekkkkk
- By Mike Thompson on 02-07-22
By: Bethany Turner
-
Wes and Addie Had Their Chance
- A Love Story
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David, Patrick Zeller, Bethany Turner
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When her life crashes and burns in a flurry of secrets and redacted information, Addie Atwater-Elwyn hightails it home to the tiny mountain town of Adelaide Springs, Colorado—back to living with her dad, back to working a low-paying job, back to a life of disappointments. Growing up, nobody expected their local girl to become a high-ranking CIA analyst, married to a gorgeous CIA operative. But that was Addie's life until she lost . . . well, everything.
By: Bethany Turner
-
Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other
- A Small Town Enemies-to-Lovers Rom-Com
- By: Bethany Turner
- Narrated by: Talon David
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brynn Cornell has to be stuck in a nightmare. Just last week, she was riding high as cohost of the popular morning show Sunup. She's America's Ray of Sunshine--the girl-next-door beauty who drives up TV ratings while never exuding anything but her trademark positivity and poise. All it took was one huge on-air mistake to expose her snarky side to the world and make it all come crumbling down. Now she's back in her hometown of Adelaide Springs, Colorado, in a last-ditch attempt to convince viewers she's not the mean girl they think she is.
-
-
Great AFTER the 11th Chapter
- By Silverlure on 09-25-23
By: Bethany Turner
-
The Perfect Rom-Com
- By: Melissa Ferguson
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aspiring author Bryony Page attends her first writers conference bursting with optimism and ready to sell her manuscript with long-shot dreams of raising awareness for The Bridge, her grandmother’s financially struggling organization where she teaches ESL full-time. But after a disastrous pitch session, she stumbles into correcting another author’s work in a last-ditch attempt to make a good impression with the agent. And she, as it turns out, is spot on.
-
-
Laughed about and loved it!
- By K2 on 05-01-25
By: Melissa Ferguson
-
Everything's Coming Up Rosie
- A Novel
- By: Courtney Walsh
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rosie Waterman has one dream: to become a working actor. But lately, that hasn't been working out. When she loses her apartment and her job on the same day, she does what she always does--puts herself out there, ready to find the next big thing. But a trip home makes her realize that while she's been struggling to make this dream come true, all her friends have become real adults with careers and weddings and babies on the way. Rosie's been at this for years, and she has nothing to show for it. But how does she simply let go of her dream?
By: Courtney Walsh
-
The One with the Kiss Cam
- By: Cindy Steel
- Narrated by: Justis Bolding
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was just one date. My friend told me I needed more fun in my life, so I reluctantly said yes. Fun wasn’t exactly in my wheelhouse. After watching my own mother’s love life implode time and time again, it’s only natural that I have a few rules to protect myself. Actually, it’s just one rule: avoid relationships with men so I don’t get attached. This guy was just a warm body in a chair. I was here for the basketball game. I was absolutely NOT here for my date. Or the kiss cam. Or the kiss. Or the impromptu evening with the one man who seems bent on throwing my tidy world off of its axis.
-
-
Fun Romance
- By Zoeveteo on 03-13-24
By: Cindy Steel
Just friends
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
wonderful
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So sweet and so good
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Once we get into Cole and Laila's romance, I really enjoyed it. They're sweet. You can tell how much they care for each other. Cole bakes and cooks for Laila, and Laila heaps praise on Cole. It's kind of perfect.
We spend a lot of time in flashbacks, where we see the friendship of Laila and Cole created and cemented. It's really nice to be able to get so much backstory for both of our main characters. I do wish that the characterizations were a little deeper, though. Cole is the ever competent man, and Laila is the adorkable girl who's main trait is that she's clumsy. But, they're both very likable characters, and I give many kudos to writing Cole as kind and caring, instead of as a smarmy, smug grump so many other books in this genre are fond of. Cole, being kind, and especially given that he loves to cook, is a breath of fresh air in the genre.
My one real critique of the book would be that "slowburn" is a very apt, perhaps too apt, description of this book. They don't even begin to question their feelings or their physical attraction to each other until we're halfway through the book. The first half is interesting, don't get me wrong. It deals with Cole feeling betrayed and he and Laila going to NYC. However, before the halfway point, there is very little, if any, build up to any romance or even any attraction. It is really only once we cross the halfway point that one of the characters, and basically only as a pure thought experiment, brings up whether not they'd work romantically.
I don't need a book to have sex scenes (this book has none, and is in fact incredibly PG-rated throughout), but the two main characters should feel a little physical attraction to each other. It's the basis of most relationships (in the beginning, at least, and not including asexual people, obvs, etc). The two characters had a lot of emotional connection, whether friendly or romantic, but honestly they had very little physical connection. And perhaps that was a drawback to writing the story so "clean". As I said, it doesn't have any sexual tension, or even mention of it. And not having a sex scene is perfectly fine! However, the author over-corrected. There's near zero mention of any kind of physical attraction at all. Near the end, there are mentions that Cole looks at Laila's legs, but again, it's near the very end of the book and bit late.
*I just went back and read the description again, and saw that this is filed under "Clean and Wholesome Romance". And it definitely is! I didn't realize that, but again, spice is not a must for me. But even being clean and wholesome, you've gotta at least have some sort of physical attraction going! "She smiled, and his stomach turned upside down. Since when did that happen?" -- I wrote that, and even small things like that would've gone a long way, but still stayed clean.
This book had some really great stuff just under the surface. I do wish we spent a lot less time on pop-culture references, and more time on the actual characters. One particularly egregious scene has Laila and Cole walking around NYC, and there will be a paragraph explaining how they arrived at a new spot (either walking or by subway), and then a page and a half of Laila recounting the scene from a movie that used that spot. And then another paragraph of them walking to another street corner, and then another full page giving the synopsis of another movie. It happens 4 or 5 times in a row. I get that Laila really likes Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, but I'm not trying to read the wiki for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan; I'm trying to read about Laila and Cole.
A lot of the book is almost circular. They think about the relationship, and then they think about those thoughts. And they talk about the relationship, and then they talk about the talk they just had, and they talk about wanting to talk about that talk. Also, Laila's chapters are in first person, and Cole's are in third person. It's not immersion breaking, but it's odd and noticeable.
I say this, but I did read the book in 2 days. The anticipation of the very, very slow slowburn had me on edge. I had to find out if and when they were going to kiss! I had to find out their happy ending. I had to find out what really happened with those contracts that left Cole with nothing. There's a lot here that could have made this book really amazing. I just don't think it was executed to the fullest.
A Slowburn Romance for the PG-rated Crowd
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The writing, a love story without out the bad words and inappropriate descriptions. Keep up the great work.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
0/🌶
5/✨️
so cute
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I kept inventing chores so I could keep listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Charming story!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s a clean romance, but the characters did not totally seem realistic to me. And they honestly kind of annoyed me (especially Laila). She was a bit cringe. 😬
I gave it a 3 because there were some cute moments - but mostly because there were some good, nostalgic pop culture references. I think that’s why I stuck it out. And because I WANTED to like it. And because the cover art is good. 😂 Apparently, you can’t judge a book by its cover even when the cover is really pretty!
Meh…
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.