Never Have I Ever by Lauren Blakely

Narrated by Jason Clarke and Amanda Ronconi

Contemporary Romance Standalone with Crossovers

Looking for a quick review? Skip down to the Likes and Dislikes and Down & Dirty.

Never Have I Ever…listened to a Lauren Blakely audiobook without completely falling in love. Lauren Blakely is my go-to author when I’m looking for a feel-good audiobook with perfect narration. She has never failed me, and Never Have I Ever is no exception to the rule.

Piper and Zach have the same circle of college friends, but they never really got along. Especially after Piper caught the divorce attorney taking bets on how long a marriage would last —at a wedding she organized.

Cut to 10 years later and Piper’s wedding planning business and Zach’s divorce attorney business share the same office suites. Zach and Piper still don’t get along, but she has become fast friends with Zach’s young daughter whenever she visits the offices.

When the two rivals are best man and maid of honor at a wedding, the widowed single dad doesn’t seem like such a jerk anymore. He’s an amazing dad to his two kids, successful, and gorgeous. But is he ready to move on? Does Piper want to follow behind the love of his life as well as take on 2 kids?

“Get your lips on mine. I need to taste you.”

I loved seeing them navigate the process of moving on and how much a part of the story the kids were. I hate when there are stories of single parents and the kids are just a blur in the background. I think taking on a story about a widower who very much loved his wife before she passed is a tough topic to do justice to, but Lauren tackled it beautifully.

While Never have I Ever isn’t quite the comedy that Lauren usually writes, it was still light on angst and made you feel good but there were definitely a few more emotional scenes than in most of her books.

Likes:

Friends to Lovers banter.
Crossovers from the Satisfaction Series (and maybe others? I can’t keep them straight).
I love the way Lauren handled the fact that he lost his wife.
How the Never Have I Ever game was integrated into the story.
It was a slower burn.
The kids were a big part of the story and I loved them.
Low on angst.
A little less comedy than usual worked for this story.
I loved Piper’s confident sassiness and Zach’s insecurities.

Dislikes:

I can’t think of one thing.

The Narration:

As always, I loved Jason Clarke, but Amanda Ronconi is new to me. I don’t think I have ever listened to her before. I thought she was amazing and hope to hear a lot more from her. She was perfect for Piper. I loved the narration for the kids.

The Down & Dirty:

I feel like a broken record reviewing Lauren Blakely’s books. When someone asks for an audiobook recommendation, I just have to say “any Lauren Blakely book” and it’s a guaranteed winner. Never Have I Ever was a little more of a contemporary romance than many of her Rom Coms, but it was still a happy, positive read that made me smile throughout. Lauren brought us a slow-burn, single widowed dad book that was the perfect balance of emotions, lightness, kids and sexiness. I adored it.