The Path to Loving Him by Meghan Quinn

Narrated by Samantha Brentmoor and Sebastian York

Contemporary Romance. 3rd in the Almond Bay Series, but easily stands alone.

I was provided the audiobook for an early review and purchased the book. This did not affect my review in any way. This post contains affiliate links.

“Is this what it feels like to start the path to . . . to loving someone?”

OH.MY.GOD. This book was AMAZING. The Path To Loving Him by Meghan Quinn is my first 5+++ star read since 2022. Meghan has been one of my top favorite authors for nine years, and this book is officially my favorite. It’s her hottest, sweetest, most emotional book yet— all good emotion. If you check out my Tik Tok you can see how absolutely wrecked I was (in the best way).

I didn’t realize this was the third book in the Almond Bay series until familiar characters popped up. The books aren’t marketed as a series on Amazon, and Meghan has updated the covers, so it didn’t click right away. I barely remembered The Reason I Married Him or The Way I Hate Him, but it didn’t matter—this one absolutely stands alone. If you read the first two, it will only make The Path To Loving Him even better.

I usually separate narration later in my reviews, but OMG, if you love audiobooks, this duet narration is a must. Samantha Brentmoor was phenomenal, and paired with Sebastian York, it’s pure eargasm. Heads up: you’ll need headphones because this is by far Meghan’s spiciest book.

The Story:

Gabby has been raising her younger brother and learning everything she could to train the young man for a career in professional baseball. Now he’s in the minors waiting to be called up and Gabby, a new math teacher, is looking for a job as a teacher and assistant baseball coach. When Ryland, the coach at the school she was interviewing at didn’t even bother to show up for her interview with the Principal, she assumed she had no chance at the job. So when she saw him at the bar later, he didn’t know who she was when they had an amazing, hot AF one-night-stand. And let me tell you, the spice started spicing right from the start.

After his sister passed away from cancer, Ryland was raising her 4-year-old little girl, Mac. Mac was so freaking adorable! She was quirky and fun and loved her horsies. Ryland, thrust into this situation, is doing such an amazing job raising this little girl that your heart will be melting the entire book.

Of course…Gabby ends up being hired after all, and they have to coach together. Not only that, she is renting an apartment above his garage. They try to stay away from eachother…but holy crap, their chemistry was combustible. There was a LOT of spice in this book, but the actual romance was slow-burn. Very slow. It’s a long book and it took its time, which made when they finally give in to the feelings so much sweeter.

“But I can’t deny my feelings for you, Gabby. They’re too fucking strong. So I can either continue to battle them and get eaten alive from the inside every goddamn time I see you or I can do something about it. I’m choosing to do something about it.”

Likes:

I have never SOBBED like that with happy tears…more than once.
I laughed out loud (as always with Meghan).
I loved the sibling bonds throughout.
A woman in a male-dominated position.
Her best friend (and what’s going on there with Gabby’s brother?)
Mac. That little girl stole my heart in the first two books and I was happy to see her and Chewy Charles again.
Despite both of their traumatic childhoods, it was a happy, hopeful book.
Visiting with characters from previous books.
How amazing of an uncle/dad Ryland was.
This book was SPICY. There was a lot of good, not corny spice, that was spaced out enough that it never felt overwhelming to the story.
That epilogue. OMFG.

Dislikes:

She kept the secret for too long.

The Narration:

As I said above, this duet narration is the way to go on this book. Samantha Brentmoor and Sebastian York were phenomenal in this. The spicy scenes were done so well, with more acting than I have heard in most books. The little girl voice just made her so freaking adorable, and the emotions were just amazing.

The Down & Dirty:

The Path To Loving Him is a new favorite. Not just of Meghan Quinn’s but books in general. It was everything I love about Meghan Quinn’s books, on steroids. The single guardian aspect and that wonderful little girl just made it so special! It’s crazy how Meghan was able to make her spiciest book also her most emotional (in a good way). Make sure you have tissues, because if you don’t cry at the end, I’m not sure you are human. Meghan Quinn blended humor, heart, and heat into her most unforgettable story yet—an absolute must-read for romance lovers.