Love on the Byline by Xio Axelrod

Narrated by Lynn Wright and William LeRoy

First in a Series. Mostly stands alone but there is a continuing story.

Blake Dillon has dreamed of following in her grandfather’s footsteps and changing the world by being a journalist, but sadly she has to pay her dues and is currently working the celebrity beat. She is assigned to move in with a celebrity, Brandon Cody, to shadow him for an in-depth profile.

Unfortunately, that celebrity is the same “Bran” who sabotaged her in college and she couldn’t stand. In fact, Blake had to end an amazing friendship with Ollie in college because he was so loyal to his friendship with Bran. When she got to Bran’s place to start her profile, she was surprised to find her old best friend Ollie, who is still just as loyal to Brandon—he is his executive assistant.

Ollie and Blake start their friendship right back up, but Blake just can’t understand his loyalty. And as their friendship blossoms into more, Blake pushes to find out why.

“The feeling he stirred in her was more than just desire—it was connection. Recognition. Something deeper and more primal than lust. Not love, but a pathway to it.”

I’m going to be honest here. I hated Bran—we were supposed to at first, but I hated his voice so badly in the audiobook that it just added to my dislike, and I agreed that being friends with him is a reason to end a friendship. I never got over that dislike.

Love on the Byline is a bit more of a realistic romance in that the male hero is an executive assistant to a star instead of the star (or a billionaire or a sports star), but honestly, this was the main thing I didn’t like. He is more of a beta hero while she is the alpha, and I prefer my men to be alpha (unless they are super funny).

Likes:

I love the cover.
Such a strong friendship is depicted.
Addresses some important social issues.
Addresses mental health with care.
Wonderful character growth.

Dislikes:

Very Slow Burn.
Beta hero instead of alpha.
I never got over my dislike of Bran.
There was a mystery part of the story that wasn’t resolved.

The Narration:

Both narrators were okay. Accents were botched pretty badly and she put pauses in strange places at times. I think I would have enjoyed this one more if I read instead of listened. He was actually so good at making Bran sound like a douche that I never got over it, his voice made me hate him more.

The Down & Dirty:

I like the way Xio Axelrod writes, and Love in the Byline was a well-written, unique story. It just wasn’t really for me. Ollie was just a little too mild-mannered and beta for me in his everyday life, and I wasn’t able to get over my dislike of Bran even when I knew he wasn’t really a bad guy. I would check out another book by Xio, but I will make sure I read the description better.