Unzipped by Lauren Blakely

Narrated by Joe Arden and Andi Arndt

Standalone RomCom. Available in Audiobook First.

If I had to pick one author’s audiobooks to be stranded on a desert island with, it would be Lauren Blakey’s. I love her audiobooks so much and I’ve yet to be disappointed. Unzipped is the latest of Lauren’s romantic comedies and it was released on audio first The Kindle and paperback will be live December 11..

I listened to Unzipped on a road trip, and two weeks after reading it I still hadn’t caught up with reviews. So when I sat down to review it, I realized I had no memory of what it was about! Sometimes I am not all there when I listen and I thought maybe that was the case, so I listened again and it all came back to me within minutes, but I listened again anyway because it was just as good the second time around.

Kyler (aka Tom) is a rollercoaster designer who, after 8 years decides it’s time to get his old college girlfriend back. He goes for the 80s inspired movie gesture and plays their song on a boom box on her lawn. But it’s not her who comes to the window, it’s Finley, a struggling comedy show writer who just met her muse.

“Look, even though I don’t think you should Lloyd Dobbler your way through life, I did like Say Anything. And I can’t help but root for you to win this woman back. I’ll help you.”

So Finley joins Kyler on a road trip to find his ex and get her back.

“I’ll help you on your quest. And you, in turn, can continue to be one of the most interesting curiosities I’ve stumbled across.”

I loved the way Finley was writing about what was happening for the show as it happened in the book, it was a clever approach to telling this story. She was so much fun! She was a comedy writer and was anything but shy. Kyler was a nerd who grew up with only men and had absolutely no clue what to do with women, so he gets some lessons along the way. Everything Kyler knew about women, he learned from an 80s Romantic Comedy movie.

“Dear God, you might be perfect. You went from Moonstruck to Beverly Hills Cop on one date. Are you going to make me a mixtape next?”

I admit, I had a bit of a hard time with the fact that he was going after a girl he hadn’t even stalked at all in eight years, but he had tried to be a better man for her. Then suddenly after 8 years, he found another. I mean–he was in love with a memory, so it wasn’t a stretch that he would fall for someone else, but the situation was pretty awkward. Finley, however, can’t miss how hot Tom is, and the friendship morphing into more was a totally fun read.

“Those abs are traceable with my tongue. The grooves, dear God, the grooves.”

I love how Lauren Blakely’s heroines are all smart career women and the men truly respect them as equals. Her characters are smart, totally sexy, and always form a friendship, not just lust/instalove.

Likes:

Another smart and sexy romance from Lauren Blakely.
A completely unique premise.
Fun 80s references.
A hot nerd? Yes, please.
Fantastic dialogue.
I love how they ticked off all the RomCom tropes.
I absolutely giggled out loud, maybe even more than other LB books.

Dislikes:

This one didn’t really stand out to me for some reason. I forgot about it so soon after reading.
You really need to know your 80s movies to truly appreciate everything.

The Narration:

I say it every time, Lauren writes these books for audio. I love the duet parts when they text, and you can never go wrong with Joe Arden and Andi Arndt.

The Down & Dirty:

I listened to Unzipped twice, and totally enjoyed it both times but it didn’t stick with me as a favorite of Lauren Blakely’s. It still had everything I love about a Lauren Blakely book, smart and sexy professional hero and heroine, a friendship that goes with the romance, laugh-out-loud moments, great dialogue, hot sex, and awesome side characters. I think because I am not a movie buff I missed some of the references and it may have held me back a bit. Still, I enjoyed it enough to listen twice, because honestly, you can never go wrong with a Lauren Blakely audiobook.