Love Unwritten (Lakefront Billionaires, 2)

It was a marathon, not a sprint, but I had such a great time going along for the ride. This is a true S-L-O-W burn between two characters who need to battle their own demons before they have any chance of getting things right together. I loved that it was a new spin on the single dad/nanny trope, where spending time together has actually made their relationship worse. Getting to know the grumpy man has extinguished the teenage crush our heroine once had, while watching the sunshine nanny effortlessly bond with his son has made this single dad jealous and resentful. It takes some time before they can build up a level of trust - or even like - and I loved seeing them slowly make their way together. It’s tender and emotional with plenty of darkness in both characters’ pasts, so watching them grow stronger and brighter together was immensely satisfying. It’s the kind of love story that requires some patience, but there was never a dull moment for me - I loved it!

The story follows Ellie, a songwriter who is working as a nanny while her music career is in shambles. She’s been working for the man she used to crush on as a teenager, but living with the closed off, jaded and depressed dad has changed her feelings about him. Rafael has shut down since his messy divorce, so he has all kinds of trust issues. But once the two are able to let down their walls a little bit, they quickly realize how much they have in common - and that their broken pieces might just fit together.

Asher likes to write beefy books - sometimes too beefy - so I was a little nervous to see that this is even longer than the first book in the series. However, this took no time at all to draw me in, and I was never bored with it. I loved the slow burn, actually. It was important for these characters to build trust with each other before becoming something more, and it was still easy to see the undercurrent of connection and chemistry beneath the surface. They’ve both gone through a lot in their lives, and it was only by opening up about those experiences that they were able to grow together. Rafael was such a great guy - imperfect and vulnerable, yet loving and steady. He’s the perfect counterpart to Ellie, and I also loved the side she brought out in him. It’s such a quiet love story in so many ways, but their connection shone throughout. And when they finally made their way together? It felt so, so good.

Audio note: The audio is excellent, highly recommended! It’s duet-style, which I love, and so well done. Vanessa Edwin is a talented narrator, and her performance was very good. I was nervous about Noah B. Perez because I’ve only listened to one other audiobook from him and he really played up his accent in that one in a bad way - I’ll forever be haunted by the way he said “Lucas” in The American Roommate Experiment. That was not the case this time; I actually loved his accent and had no trouble with it. The audiobook is nearly 15 hours long, so I listened over the course of three days, but I was never bored or disinterested. I was excited to pick it back up each time. It’s also a super slow burn with just a bit of spice, so it made a great workday listen. All in all, very pleased that I chose this format.

Audiobook: Narrated by Noah B. Perez and Vanessa Edwin

Single Dad / Nanny Billionaire romance

This was such a heart warming story, not only between the two main characters, but also between father and son. The writing was so beautiful and really painted a picture of the difficulties this small family was navigating. Rafael’s character progression through this story was so fulfilling. Elenor also grew so much and I truly appreciated the emphasis on mental health and dealing with difficult emotions in healthy way, not only for themselves but also as a legacy for Nico. The banter between Rafael and Elenor was so fun and a pleasure to experience, especially on audio. Great characters, interesting plot and epic chemistry!

This is the first time I’ve listened to a book narrated by Noah B. Perez but I will be looking for him in the future. He has the perfect tone to voice a broody alpha male character. Not only that, his vocal dexterity in playing multiple characters was impressive, particularly when voicing Nico’s young character. I literally forgot until near the end that this was the same person. Vanessa Edwin was also a wonderful choice. She has such a beautiful lyrical tone to her voice that was so pleasing to listen to for long periods of time. The emotions came through in spades in this audiobook.

OMG, this book is amazing. It will bring out your need to protect those who are hurting, betrayed, abandon, abused and afraid of living. The characters are awesome and well developed, intense and composed of many levels. You will cry, laugh, shout when the bad guys get what they deserve. This is a great and different storyline and you will get a glaze of the music and entertainment arena. The lovemaking is off the charts. Beautiful family-friends dynamic. This book also show some light on mental illness and the effects it has not only on the patients but also the family. I loved this book. What's next?

This was a fantastic story with wonderful characters. Rafael and Ellie had so much sexual tension that it was only a matter of time before they acted on their attraction. They both tried to keep it professional, because they didn’t want to affect her relationship with his son, who she was a nanny for. He came across as unfriendly and untrusting, which was due to his childhood trauma. Now, his son is facing a disease that will have him go blind sooner rather than later, and his ex is flaky as all get out. When he learns that Ellie kept something from him about his son, he overreacts and fires her.

Ellie is loving her job as a nanny, even if working for her high school crush is difficult. She loves his son and tries to give him time to tell Rafa about his eyesight (he doesn’t want to ruin his birthday), but an accident happens. When she is fires she decides she is no longer going to let people walk all over her, so she doesn’t readily accept when he offers her her job back.

I loved the progression of their relationship and how he grew as a character. It was also nice to see her grow stronger in her self esteem and go after her dreams. The outcome of the lawsuit was surprising but I really liked her response. His son was the cutest and I loved his relationship with both Rafa and Ellie.

Duet narration is my favorite and Noah and Vanessa did wonderful jobs of bringing emotion, depth and realism to the characters. I enjoyed the slight accent of Noah, especially when he spoke in his native language. I enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see what happens next. I would also listen to these narrators again. Fantastic. I received an ARC, ALC, and bought my own copy of this book, and this is my honest, voluntary review.

Oh Rafa and his very heavily guarded heart...but getting his story in this series was beautiful. This book touches upon so many aspects of mental health issues and I love seeing how our characters process and put in the work to move past their trauma. And I love both Rafa and Ellie are able to eventually open up and share their past/current struggles with one another. I absolutely LOVE Nico! He is literally the sweetest kid, despite his visual issues and I could not love him more. Also the softie that Rafa is and rescuing animals had me swooning! This is a very very slow burn that had me itching for some more spicy, but I did enjoy it with the plot and character growth we got! The audiobook was duet and was narrated so well - very enjoyable to listen to!!

Noah and Vanessa are great voice actors, I loved them so so much! I love romance books of all kinds, I can appreciate a nice slow burn. But I feel like when a book is lacking in the steam to keep people engaged (that’s ok, it isn’t for everyone!) you’ve got to have the plot to keep the book driven and interesting. And I just think the is particular book was lacking a bit in plot. It was difficult at times to stay engaged, and I think having a previous connection to Rafa in the other books helped somewhat, but getting through the book was tough at times. All in all though, still a cute story, just not necessarily the strongest in the series. Still a great series though, still worth keeping up with the characters and stories, and I cannot wait for the next one!

A four for a Lauren Asher book doesn’t feel great. In all cases, a four is a solid book - but I’m so used to finishing her books and wanting to scream about them to everyone I know… and this just wasn’t my favorite.

📕 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Love Unwritten by Lauren Asher

📙 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: Lakefront Billionaires character series. Book 2.

📗 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: E-book on Kindle. 🆓 on KU.

📘 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Contemporary romance

📔 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: Single dad, nanny, forbidden romance, slow burn, vacation vibes, he loves her scars, all of the feels, forced proximity.

📖 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Ellie has been a nanny for the closed off Rafael for about a year, and she’s no closer to figuring him out. Their relationship has had ups and downs - he fired her, then begged her to return… but as his little boy Nico begs for one last trip with his eyesight intact, the pair is forced to put their feelings under a microscope.

🌟 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: When Lauren Asher said she was writing a single dad/nanny romance, I was so down. So I’m a little bummed I didn’t LOVE it. But I truly think it was a good book as long as you know what you’re getting into - and luckily, you have me!

Ellie and Rafa’s story was ALL of the feels. Both characters were deeply broken, and there was a lot of work that had to be done to bring them to a place where they can find love. It’s absolutely a slow burn - as advertised - and the couple don’t do much more than kiss until 75%.

Unfortunately, that messed with all of the pacing to me. I truly admire Lauren Asher’s proclivity to do right by her characters, but I needed this book to be 150 pages shorter and have a little more romance. I felt a little like I was trudging through the middle (it was 600+ pages). The last 10 percent was so swoony, and I wish I got more of that.

All in all, I’m still up on this series… and I can’t wait for Lorenzo and Lily’s story next.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹: 3/5 🌶🌶🌶

This was the ultimate slow burn, with tension and growth and thought. I liked that the attraction was there from the beginning but they waited to act on it until they were both willing to open up to each other. There was a lot of focus on Rafael and Ellie working on themselves individually and I loved that.

Rafael had such a drastic character arc. He had a lot of baggage from his childhood and his experiences with his ex wife really compounded that. He loved his son, but carried a lot of guilt over his medical condition and the fact that his mother was uncaring and absent. He was hiding his heart and once Ellie convinced him to start letting people in it really changed him. He was able to be comfortable being himself and exploring what he liked without feeling overwhelming guilt.

Ellie carried her own baggage. She had been betrayed by someone she thought was her best friend and came home to find a new dream to chase after. She fell in love with Nico, Rafael’s son, long before she fell for Rafael. I loved her loyalty to Nico, even if it caused her to lose her job. I loved that she brought Rafael back to life and showed him how to be in a relationship with someone who was willing to be a part of your team.

There was an underlying theme of trust in this book. Both main characters struggled with trust after having their trust broken. It took time to develop the trust between them. Rafael was convinced he was okay being alone the rest of his life but Ellie really showed him what he was missing.

This book surprised me in the best possible way. Raphael and Ellie working through their traumas together with little Nico, who was more than a plot device, had me crying and laughing for much of it. One thing that really started to frustrate me by the end was Raphael's grand statements about doing better at the end of chapters. There would be a paragraph in his POV with him promising to do better only for the next chapter to come along where he does not, in fact, do better. The repetition of it and grand statements like that in general became a stale footnote I could have done without. However, I am happy to say that Asher learned her lesson from the first book when it comes to showing the rich throwing money away. Charities are donated to in this one, promise! For that, 4🌟...

PS. Love Unwritten was worlds away from the amateur editing that riddled its predecessor. Or at least, the Kindle version was. I have yet to thumb through my hard copy, but I am crossing my fingers.

PSS. Whoever came up with putting content/trigger warnings in as QR codes deserves to be fired and put on trial for their crimes. Websites can change, and some day, QR codes might be a thing of the past (VHS tapes anyone). Putting something current on something timeless is a mistake, and when it comes to content warnings, irresponsible. The same page that has a QR code on it could have been used to list those same warnings.

When I originally picked up this book and saw the QR code for warnings, I didn't bother scanning it. Is that lazy? Probably, but I know I'm not the only one. My judgment for doing so was assuming the warnings would be similar to previous books- parental abuse/trauma and eat the rich billionaires. I was dead wrong. Please please please check the trigger warnings for this one. It has descriptions of self-harm, severe neglect and abuse by parents, and suicidal ideations. Take care of yourselves and don't be lazy like I was.

Highly anticipated read for me. I’m a sucker for the grumpy single father trope. I did love Rafael and I did understand his walls being up and how he reacted about things, for some reason I just felt like the connection was kind of forced. Ellie starting out the narration in chapter 1 telling us readers how she feels so unwelcome in their family because Rafael hates her YET a second later she’s telling us about how he’s checking her out? Umm? They did not have a whirlwind romance? Like the pull didn’t feel like it was there? The flirty banter wasn’t there, the question of wow he hates her through her eyes but deeply wants her through his eyes wasn’t there? They trauma bonded by opening up for the first time to someone other than friends or family. Then when the finally get together, all of a sudden Nico is not even being brought up? Like he just went to summer camp, went to his aunt and uncles house like he was the whole reason they needed Ellie to be around. And then when he came around again, there was no mention of his vision? Like such a heavy plot in the beginning to literally not even a thing to talk about? Even the intimate parts felt forced to be added to their story because around 70% of the book, the author remembered she had to have the burn show up sooner or later? Mixed thoughts, if I were to recommend reading this book, I’d say get the audiobook like I did because they were reallllllyyyy good!