Audiobook Review – Hard Wood by Lauren Blakely

Hard Wood (Big Rock 6) by Lauren Blakely

Narrated by Sebastian York

Male POV Romantic Comedy. Can easily stand alone. Interrelated Series.

I am so sad to see this top favorite “series” end (Lauren just admitted it’s a series before this release). I have loved every single one of these male POV stories and the dual POV ones that relate to it. See the Series Reading Order for the Big Rock series and related books, and how they are related.  Lauren Blakey’s male POV characters are so perfect! My favorite thing about them (besides them all being hot, dirty and dominant in bed) is that they all feature men who respect women—they respect career women and take their jobs as seriously as their own. This is rare in a genre where you often find the woman in a subservient position.

We have met two of the main characters, Patrick & Mia, in previous books in the series, but it isn’t necessary to remember them. The character you didn’t meet before, however, kind of stole the show, and that’s Zeus, the hiking cat. Ms. Blakely often finds clever ways to portray a bit of the female’s POV in her male POV stories. In this one, it’s chapters from the cat, some which reveal personal conversations the cat was privy to. By the way, I kind of want a cat now.

“The reason I said ‘after you’ at the start of the trail is that I’m a gentleman, and I still believe that ladies come first.” I stop, reining in a smirk. “Go first, I mean. Ladies go first.”

Patrick is such a good, upstanding guy (with a dirty streak). He runs an adventure tour company, and his cat Zeus joins him often on his hikes. They’ve become internet famous. His friend’s sister, Mia, lives across country from the rest of her family, way out in California, but she visits New York often, and she and Patrick have shared a flirty friendship whenever she visits.

“She makes all parts of me quite happy indeed. By happy, I mean hard as a rock.”

After an extended stay in NY, the two get a little closer than friends, until her cosmetics company hires his adventure company for some team building. But being the upstanding guy he is, he realizes she is now a client that he can’t fraternize with!

They live on opposite coasts, they are against company rules…how will they work it out?

Likes:

• I smiled the whole way through.
• This book charmed me as much as the series did 7 books ago.
• How Lauren’s men are all dirty and respectful at the same time.
• How neither character ever really doubted their feelings.
• Angst—free.
• Zeus is the best cat ever!
• The creative way of getting the female POV.
• Visiting with previous couples in the series, but I never felt like you needed to have read the previous books (though you totally NEED to because this is one of my favorite series EVER). See my in-depth series order.

Dislikes:

• I can’t think of any!

The Narration:

Sebastian York is more suited to Lauren’s books than any others I have heard him in. The mature, super-sexy voice that always seems to respect women could not be more perfect for this romantic comedy. To me, SebYo will forever be a Lauren Blakely alpha in my head. I loved it!

The Down & Dirty:

Note: Why not 5 stars?  I loved this book, can’t think of anything I didn’t love, but it wasn’t EPIC. It doesn’t stand out as any more memorable than the others in this amazing series. The series itself is 5 stars no doubt, but all being a bit similar, they have lost that epic feel, though I still love them just as much.

Rating: 4.75 Stars, 4.25 Heat, 5 Narration

Purchase Hard Wood by Lauren Blakely

 While they each easily stand alone, I like reading in order since each couple turns up in the next books. Also, I am putting The Sexy One and The Hot One in there where it belongs chronologically because they are all part of the same group of friends in New York City, but The Sexy One, The Hot One and The Knocked Up Plan are dual POV while the rest are male POV.

To see all the couples and how they are all related, see the Series Guide Here.