Out of Bounds

Frozen Hearts Series, Book 2

De: Julia Connors

Narrado por: Alex Kydd, Callie Dalton

Beau Shanahan is my best friend's younger brother.

He's also an arrogant jerk and a globe-trotting, snowboarding bad boy—in other words, everything I despise.

When I'm jilted by my cheating fiancé and left homeless in the process, being Beau's roommate for the next few weeks is my only option.

As a roommate, Beau's inconsiderate, perpetually half-naked, and ridiculously unreliable… except when he isn't. Because he keeps coming to my rescue—he cooks me dinner, saves my puppy's life, and shows up for me when I need him most. In fact, the more time we spend together, the more obvious it is that his playboy image is just that: an image.

As barely tolerating each other morphs into barely restrained attraction, it's harder and harder to keep this casual. But he's leaving in two weeks, and if anyone finds out about our relationship, we both stand to lose the things we care about most.

If you don't like adorably possessed shelter puppies, sexy roommates in gray sweatpants, family curses, unexpected trips to Las Vegas, and steamy off-limits secret flings, this book isn't for you. But if you like all that and a happy ending, start listening!

©2022 Julia Connors (P)2024 Podium Audio

5 year older woman and younger brother of friend trope

Best friend Sierra and younger brother Beau become roommates then lovers though it takes much of the book. Cute story but so -so narration. Alex Kydd has limited male voices and not good female voices plus he sounded smug even when he was supposed to be emotional.

🎧 Audiobook Review: Out of Bounds by Julia Connor

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I could not stop listening to this one. Julia Connors delivers another addictive story in the series with Out of Bounds — a slow-burn best friend’s brother romance that had me hooked from the very first chapter.

Beau completely stole my heart. With Sierra, he lets down the walls and shows a version of himself no one else gets to see — softer, more vulnerable, and absolutely irresistible. Their banter is top-tier, the kind that makes you smile like an idiot while you're listening in public. And as a fan of the series, I loved getting to revisit Jackson and Nate — seeing the whole crew again just made the world feel even more alive and connected.

🎙 Narration: Tor Thom and CJ Bloom are a dream team. Tor brings just the right level of depth and growl to Beau’s POV, while CJ captures Sierra’s fire and humor effortlessly. Their voices breathe life into the story and made every scene hit even harder.

Beau Shanahan!!!

Out of Bounds was such a wonderful sports romance, I can’t get over it! I was unprepared for the swoony charm of Beau Shanahan!! He’s the wandering, playboy, snowboarder younger brother of Sierra’s best friend. Social media manager Sierra Lemieux is starting fresh after a harsh breakup. She needs a place to crash and ends up with the least expected roommate. I loved the dynamic between Beau and Sierra and the way it evolved throughout their story. Beau is a surprising, complex, crunchy cinnamon roll who will make your toes curl. Sierra is a bighearted, jaded, beguiling book bestie I’d love to shred the slopes with. I was smitten with Beau, I adore Sierra, but Winston definitely stole my heart. An unrequited childhood crush in a sports romance is my catnip and this was one of the best I’ve read. The close proximity, opposites attract, and best friend’s brother tropes worked well together in this low-angst love story. If you’re looking for a spicy, heartwarming, saucy ski town romance, Out of Bounds is what you need in your ears.

Alex Kydd and Callie Dalton gave flawless performances as Beau and Sierra! Alex’s portrayal of the aloof, restless pro snowboarder was charming, emotional, and made me flat out giggle. Callie was sweet, brassy, and sultry as Sierra. I enjoyed the personality Callie and Alex brought to the booth for this delightful, unpausable audiobook. Out of Bounds tugs all the heartstrings and will make you feel like you’re snugged up at the ski lodge with a hottie book boyfriend.

Extra forced proximity, captivating plot, and witty characters.

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5)

What I'm Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 She's not in my notes, but just know I always love when Callie Dalton narrates my books. She gives an amazing audiobook performance.
🤩 Forced proximity. Extra forced proximity.
🤩 Captivating plot and witty characters.
🤩 Unwanted physical attraction.
🤩 I love a smidge of jealousy and in Alex Kydd's voice--it's so scrumptious! (Okay, I need to listen again.)
🤩 The supportive moment that makes me so full of love and longing for them as individuals and as a couple/team.
🤩 Their neediness/unwanted physical attraction is so hot, especially when it turns into shower self pleasure.
🤩 Oh my goodness, his secret crush.
🤩 The gray sweatpants discussion with Beau's party boy personality and in Alex Kydd's voice had me smirking so big.
🤩 Winston! Pet lovers, be ready! The social media photography competition between Sierra and Beau is fantastic.
🤩 I have 🫠, yessss! and Yessssssssssssssss! in my notes, but that was back in April.
🤩 So much sexual tension while trying to have so much self control.
🤩 When Beau shows up in Vegas so Sierra won't feel like a fifth wheel.
🤩 I adore their closeness.

What I'm Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 I hated Beau in Aspen, but his apology feels real.
💫 Why did I not write this review in April?

Predictable, But Good!

Read the blurb and you've read the book - just add little moments to assist in Beau and Sierra falling in love, a 3rd act break up then a nice little reunion towards the end. What made this title "good" instead of "fair" is I like the performers Alex Kydd and Callie Dalton. This technically was a "reverse age-gap" but does that count if it's she's only 5 years older? I see so many age-gap titles where the man is 15 years+ older than the woman....*SMH*

3.5 Starz - I won't listen again