Tanner by Samantha Skye

Duet narration by Sean Masters and Victoria Connolly

Contemporary Romance with some Suspensese. Standalone, first in a series.

I received this book for free from Hambright PR. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Samantha Skye is a new author to me, and Tanner is definitely the first of many books I plan to read from her. While Tanner is a 20-year age-gap romance, the couple works so naturally together that their age difference rarely feels like an obstacle.

Victoria’s life has completely imploded. First, she catches her fiancé sleeping with one of her colleagues. Then, almost immediately afterward, she loses her job. Just as she’s trying to figure out what comes next, she receives a letter from an attorney informing her that a great-aunt she doesn’t remember at all has died and left her a house and the surrounding farm in a small town called Whispers. Because Victoria has no memories of this aunt, the inheritance feels even more surreal. Still, despite being a city girl through and through, she’s determined to renovate the home herself and keep the land in the family.

Unfortunately, that decision creates a major complication. The neighboring property belongs to Tanner Whiteman, owner of the esteemed Whiteman Whiskey, and he has planned to acquire that land for years. From the start, Tanner comes across as grumpy and determined, and he clearly wants Victoria to give up and sell. However, what he doesn’t expect is the intense attraction he feels toward his new neighbor, who also happens to be younger than his son.

“Get your fucking hands off my fucking woman.”

Their relationship develops fairly quickly, and I melted every single time he called her “baby girl.” Or, honestly, maybe that was just Sean Masters saying it. Either way… yum.

“Fuck me, baby girl. Take what you need. Your pretty pussy feels so fucking good on my cock”

What surprised me most was how the story handled the age gap. No one treats it negatively, and it plays only a small role beyond a few moments of hesitation. That said, I would have loved to see it explored a little more. Even some light banter would have worked well, like Tanner referencing something that happened before Victoria’s time and her calling him out on it. Since the book is marketed so heavily around the age-gap trope, it ends up playing a much smaller role than expected.

I also wasn’t anticipating any suspense. Still, once a certain character appeared, I started to sense where things were heading. Maybe I’ve read too many Catherine Cowles books, but I figured out the bad guy before the story even revealed there would be one. Even so, that didn’t lessen my enjoyment because I stayed invested in how everything would ultimately play out.

Likes:

Sucked me in immediately and never let go.
I loved both main characters.
I laughed out loud several times, which I wasn’t expecting at all.
Tanner was incredibly hot, and his dirty talk absolutely worked for me, even if it would make me cringe in real life.
I loved that he was a good single dad and close to his son who is in his 30s.
It made me want to dive into the rest of the series right away.

Dislikes:

I guessed the bad guy before there even was a bad guy to guess.
I would have liked the age gap to be highlighted a bit more.

The Narration:

Sean Masters and Victoria Connolly deliver a standout duet performance here. Because of that, it’s hard to separate the story itself from the audio experience. From the beginning, both narrators feel perfectly cast for their roles. His dirty talk and his delivery of “baby girl,” in particular, elevate the romance and add an extra layer of heat. Together, they bring the characters fully to life.

The Down & Dirty:

Samantha Skye is a new author for me, but Tanner will not be the last book I read from her. This sexy small-town billionaire age-gap romance, with just a touch of suspense, checked all of my boxes. The stellar narration by Sean Masters and Victoria Connolly took it from really good to genuinely amazing. Going forward, I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Samantha Skye’s new releases.