The Words by Ashley Jade | Audiobook Review • Ana's Attic Book Blog

The Words by A. Jade

Narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Erin Mallon

Rock Star Romance Standalone

“Once upon a time, Phoenix Walker made me believe I was special. Then he destroyed me.”

Wow. I haven’t read an angst-fest like The Words by Ashley Jade in a LONG time. I was a panel MC at Wild and Windy Chicago, and in the “Sexy Scenes” panel, one of the books featured was The Words by Ashley Jade. So of course, I had to read it before the panel. I haven’t picked up an angsty new adult rockstar read in years, and let me tell you, this checked all the boxes. It was edgy, angsty and you sometimes didn’t know if you should root for the couple at all. At almost 17 hours, it was a long listen but never felt like it.

The book begins in high school. Lennon (OMG, I loved the name, my son is Harrison) is relentlessly bullied for being overweight. The kids were so horrible to her it brought tears to my eyes. When she was tasked with helping a fellow student pass English and graduate, she had no idea it would be the gorgeous Phoenix Walker, whom she had been crushing on forever. While working together, they developed a special relationship that Lennon needed so badly in her life. They both did.

“Writing songs was my outlet for all the pain I held inside. It’s what made me go on living when life got too hard.”

Lennon was always writing songs but would never have the self-confidence to perform them. They were just for her, an outlet for her pain. Her dad was famous in the music world, and she knew talent when she saw it. When she saw Phoenix’s band, she knew they were destined for greatness. They let her hang with the band and treated her like a person instead of an object to bully, and it meant everything to her. Until Phoenix did the unforgiveable.

Part Two is 4 years later.

“The world thinks I’m a god…but I’m in hell.”

Phoenix is a rock star, but he’s a full-on mess. Drugs, alcohol, sex, he does it all in excess. They’ve hired sober companions who ended up drinking with him or fucking him, and band management is at their wit’s end—until they suggest Lennon.

“Officially, I’m your new sober companion.” I’m trying to process this when she leans down. The close proximity, her sweet scent, and her lips touching the shell of my ear have my cock thickening. Until she speaks. “But unofficially? I’m here to ruin you when you least expect it… and I want you stone-cold sober when I do it.”

Lennon has new confidence and has lost some weight (I wish she was confident in her bigger body!), and this is her chance to make a lot of money and make Phoenix regret the day he ever fucked with her. But can she resist the magnetic pull he has on her?

“He’s like the sun. The energy radiating off him pulls you in and you can’t help but get closer. Aching to feel the heat on your skin. To make contact with something so powerful. So beautiful. Even if it burns you.”

While I think Phoenix paid for his mistake with the mental toll it put on him, I think he needed to grovel to Lennon WAY more than he did. Even though Lennon grew up and was more confident, I still thought she was a bit of a doormat. But then again, some of the things Phoenix did for her were pretty hard to resist. And the sex scenes????? HAWT!!!! You can see me acting one out with blow up dolls here.

“Music sets my soul on fire, but she makes my heart beat.”

Likes:

I loved Lennon! I loved that she was a bigger girl.
I loved Lennon’s and her father’s relationship.
Amazing side characters.
Hate sex.
So much angst, I couldn’t stop listening.
I have so many amazing highlighted quotes!
17 hours and I never felt like it dragged until the very end, and only a little bit then.
SO HOT!
“TMDLAGG”
I like that it’s a standalone.

Dislikes:

Not enough groveling.
That she had to change her looks and weight to be gorgeous.

The Narration:

Erin Mallon and Teddy Hamilton are two of my favorite narrators and they did an AMAZING job with The Words. I usually prefer Erin in romcoms, but holy hell, she was amazing in this.

The Down & Dirty:

The Words by Ashley Jade is both ugly and beautiful at the same time. I thought I was a little too old to read books like this, but it grabbed me and never let me go. I loved Lennon, and even Phoenix won me over in the end. It’s edgy, dirty, emotional and engrossing, and I see why it’s such a big hit, especially with the younger crowd.
“Don’t let your insecurities overpower that which makes your soul come alive. Otherwise, you’ll walk this earth never feeling whole…..and that’s no way to live.”