Honeymoon Phase by Amy Daws

Duet Narration by Erin Mallon and Teddy Hamilton

Third in a series of related standalones. Romantic Comedy.

Amy Daws never fails to write an entertaining romance. Romcoms are my favorite, and I’ve been loving listening to all of the Fletcher brothers find love. Erin Mallon and Teddy Hamilton narrating in duet made Honeymoon Phase even better. I do think that to fully enjoy this book, you should read the previous books in the series.

Addison “Roe” Monroe has worked at her father’s lumber yard her whole life and always assumed she would inherit it, until he drops a major condition. She has to be married. Roe is a total tomboy and built like one too, which I loved. Amy Daws consistently writes heroines with different body types and appearances instead of giving us nothing but gorgeous, perfect women.

“Apparently no one wants to sign a prenup stating they’ll marry me, live with me for a year, and divorce me while receiving absolutely nothing in exchange. Weird, right?”

Roe decides to start asking the lumberjacks who work for her dad to marry her. But when her best friend Luke, who has secretly loved her for years, finds out, he decides to throw his hat in the ring. So he enters a lumberjack competition. And he is NOT a lumberjack. Still, he wants to prove he is just as masculine and worthy as the men she is considering marrying so she can inherit the business she loves.

Once again, Everly steps in with all the brothers to help make this match happen. Roe was the most stubborn heroine though. It was like she refused to let herself find happiness. She was afraid of love because of her traumatic upbringing, so Luke had to move slowly and be careful not to scare her away. Even Luke’s pet cock (😂) tried to help push them together.

I laughed out loud several times in Honeymoon Phase. This one also brought more emotion than the preceding books.

“It’s an accomplishment to fall in love with another person. To open your heart and decide to let someone in. It puts you at great risk of being hurt because, well . . . your heart is open. It’s more vulnerable and that can feel scary.”

Likes:

Luke is entertaining. He has such youngest sibling energy.
Rufus the rooster 🐓
Everly, the glue that holds the family together and finds them all love. I can’t wait for her book!
I laughed out loud several times.
I loved the banter so much!
Roe is strong and not very feminine. It was great to see Amy feature all kinds of bodies in her books.
Reverse grumpy sunshine. Luke had such golden retriever energy.
I loved the women supporting each other and the friendships.
The most emotional of the series.
Seeing all of the couples from previous books.

Dislikes:

She was so stubborn it got old.
The beginning lumberjack stuff felt a little choppy and strangely paced, but it evened out after a few chapters.
I felt like we were told about their friendship too many times instead of being shown that friendship.
How many times did she reference Carhartt clothes? Weirdly enough, I had two different books in a row that did that.

The Narration:

Duet narration by Erin Mallon and Teddy Hamilton? YES PLEASE! These two are amazing, and the duet narration brought the whole story to life. I honestly think the narration improved the book for me.

The Down & Dirty:

I love Amy Daws’s sense of humor. Her books just make me happy, but this one also packed a lot of emotion. I loved that the FMC was a tomboy with a body type outside the norm. I laughed, cried, gasped, and swooned. The duet narration by Erin Mallon and Teddy Hamilton took it up another notch. Slow burn with great banter, Honeymoon Phase was a fantastic listen, and I can’t wait for Everly’s book!