The Stand In

Olde City, Book 1

De: T.K. Rapp

Narrado por: CJ Bloom, Corvin King

Coming face to face with a vicious looking dog named Peggy, isn’t how Becca expected to meet her new landlord, who also happens to be her very sexy new neighbor.

Becca Patterson is a successful photographer with a string of happy clients, including her BFF who is about to get married. Realizing she can’t be both the maid of honor and the photographer, she enlists the help of her assistant to take the lead. She thinks it’s all figured out until her very pregnant assistant is put on bedrest and can’t help on the wedding day.

Evan Wallace has just taken over management of the building Becca lives in, and despite his initial hesitance over fulfilling family obligations, things start to look up when he meets the beautiful tenant from apartment 302.

After a rocky start, no thanks to Peggy, Evan and Becca end up forming an unlikely friendship in more ways than one.

When they do each other a favor and pretend to be dating in the presence of their exes and family, it’s clear not only are they lying to everyone, but they’re also lying to themselves. Now their friends and family think they’re together, and they’re playing along.

But this can only end one way…Right?

Portions of this story were previously published as the short story Opening Up in the One More Step Anthology by The Bookworm Box.

©2024 T.K. Rapp (P)2024 T.K. Rapp

Enjoyable!

Becca and Evan.

The narrators did a good job. I enjoyed listening to them tell the story and give the characters a voice.

These two meet when Evan's dog run into Becca and she tears him a new one. Then she finds out he not only lives in the building he is the landlord. When her assistant is put on bed rest before one of Becca's good friend's wedding she was standing up in and the assistant was suppose to photograph. Evan steps up and offers to be her Stand In. Then an unexpected guest has him pretending to be her boyfriend. Which leads to her helping him out pretending to be his girlfriend. An entertaining story that I enjoyed listening to as these two fake to be together deal with family, meddling, deceitful ex's, feelings, misunderstanding. The only thing I have a problem with is the end of the epilogue which I hope there is going to be more books which will give me answers.

Cute Romcom with fantastic narration

🎧AUDIO REVIEW🎧
📚The Stand In by TK Rapp
🎤Narrated by CJ Bloom & Corvin King

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Stand In is a cute romcom filled with fake dating, friendship, love & some miscommunication. Our MC's, Becca & Evan have a meet cute of sorts gone wrong.

Becca is a very successful photographer. She moves to Creek Hollow after college & opens her own studio. Evan Wallace is reluctantly helping with his family's business. It's not his dream job but he steps up to help manage an apartment complex where Becca lives.

These two meet when Peggy, Evan's German Sheppard dog, lunges for Becca. She mistakenly thinks the dog is coming for her. Peggy scares the heck outta her but Evan steps in to save the day. The two meet & begin talking & Becca quickly realizes that Evan is her new landlord. To top things off, Becca's assistant is going on maternity leave & won't be able to help her out at her best friend's wedding. Left in a lurch, she's stressed out & worried how she's going to be able to be the wedding photographer & also the Maid of Honor.

Evan offers to help her out by offering to be her assistant at the wedding & an unexpected friendship begins to form quickly. To make things even worse, Becca has to attend the wedding alone since she broke up with her boyfriend & he'll be at the wedding, so....a fake dating situation ensues when Evan offers to go with her. Is Evan a nice guy? Yes, 100% and genuine. Is Becca clueless to that fact that Evan wants to be with her? Yes, 100%. These two have the biggest miscommunication problem but don't worry. They figure things out. This book does leave you on an emotional cliffhanger so watch out!

🎧Let's talk narration....CJ Bloom does a large amount of the narration in this one & she ABSOLUTELY elevated this story for me. She's always such a joy to listen to & makes these romcom situations so enjoyable with her comedic timing. She's so animated with her story telling. She's a favorite of mine & she ALWAYS delivers such great performances. Corvin King is a relatively new narrator to me & he did a great job when he did perform. I do have to say, I wish Corvin would have performed more. I love that back & forth narration especially with a cute romcom.

This is a closed door romance. It does have lots of cute, funny situations & great banter despite that.

Thanks you so much TK Rapp & @homecookedbookpromos for the advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review. Enjoyed it!

Fun story with great narration

This is my first book by TK Rapp. The Stand In is full of laughs, love and amazing characters. Becca and Evans are such a great couple. They have amazing banter, dialogue and become a great pair. Both are experiencing some stressful situation and need help. They become great friends, partners and confidants. A sweet and fun love story. Cj Bloom and Corvin King did an amazing job! They gave the characters perfect voice, personality and emotion. Narrators being a whole new experience to enjoying an authors words. Thank you Home Cooked Books for the ALC.

Becca & Evan!

Can you date your landlord? Becca meets her new landlord when his dog comes to her. Evan is the new property manager, and while he does own that mean puppy the two strike up a friendship and end up being fake dates for each other. Problem is, they can't seem to get out of it. Different circumstances keep occurring, keeping them together. What happens next? This is a delightful story packed with romance. But it's not just about Becca and Evan. There is so much more. It's family and holidays. And neighbors! The relevance of aging, sage advice and love. It's fabulous and I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

CJ Bloom and Corvin King bring this alive. Mostly from Becca's point of view, CJ Bloom dives into being Becca. She is bright and full of all love and compassion. Corvin King is Evan, and his feelings with family are spot on! Unprepared, scared, frustrated, he brings out all the things we know and feel. These two give a fantastic dual narration and it was wonderful for the ears.

LOVEd!

This was such a fun sweet read! I loved how Evan and Becca meet because of his dog Peggy! The story was a perfect fake dating to make exes jealous but turns into real feelings fast! Evan was such an amazing guy. His family was so sweet meeting Becca and welcoming her in. I really loved how caring his family was for each other I could feel their pain when given the news about their father.

Evan’s ex was horrible she of course had to cause some drama that thankfully everyone was able to figure out soon.

CJ Bloom and Corvin King did an amazing job bringing the characters to life in this audio!! I really enjoyed their voices. 🖤 I cannot wait to see where this series goes next! Pops 🖤

A Delightful Romance

This was my first experience with T.K. Rapp's work, and it was charming. Becca Patterson was a successful photographer. Evan Wallace was the new manager of the apartment complex where Becca resided. The story featured a fake relationship trope which has always been one of my favorite tropes. The slow growing relationship between Becca and Evan was lovely. I enjoyed the characters of Becca and Evan as they were likeable and engaging. I loved Peggy as she was a lovely addition to the family. There were some humorous moments. C.J. Bloom's and Corvin King's dual narrations were great, and their performances enhanced the story's entertainment. I was given a free copy of the audiobook by Home Cooked Books, and I have voluntarily posted this review which included my opinions.

Loved this!

Story - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice/Steam - 🌶🌶

The Stand In is book #1 in the Olde City series. T.K. Rapp is a new author to me and I just loved this one. Becca meets her sexy landlord, Evan, and his off-the-leash dog by accident in her building. Both have had heartbreak in the past and are focusing on their careers. When Becca needs an assistant for a wedding shoot (she's also in the wedding), Evan volunteers to help her out...and spend more time with the sexy photographer. I fell in love with all the characters in this story (except Evan's ex) because it was like listening to my own family and friends. All real people with real issues, real jobs, with lots of funny and endearing moments. I sure hope we get more stories from these characters.

The narration was perfect. CJ Bloom and Corvin King were the voices for Becca and Evan. CJ Bloom gave us the focused, no nonsense workaholic Becca. Corvin King brought the business minded, maybe a little nerdy, but sexy none-the-less, Evan. This duo were definitely 5 stars for me!

Enjoyable story with superior narration

Story: 4 ⭐️s
Narration: 4.5 ⭐️s

This was a good read. The fake dating to something motor trope was well-established and the MCs were very likable. Their romance was sweet and the side characters were all fun, with some likely to return as the series continues.

Becca is a professional photographer in need of a assistant, and after an adorable meet cute and a few run-ins with new landlord, Evan, finds herself with the temporary help she needs for her BFF’s wedding. While moonlighting, Evan also winds up being her fake date because of “my-ex-is-at-the-wedding” complications. There’s an adorable dog (❤️ Peggy), some heartwarming family dynamics, and fantastic BFF-vibes to surround our MCs. Their relationship builds very sweetly and believably. And while there is some ex drama and family health scares that crop up, their love story is fairly low on angst. And while evil ex-drama is not my favorite brand of conflict, it works fine here.

The narration definitely elevates this one for me. I adore C.J Bloom and she does a fantastic job bringing Becca to life. While Corvin King also does some fine work with Evan, Bloom was the standout for me with this audio. And it’s definitely worth a listen!

I’m grateful to have received an ALC copy of the audiobook via Home Cooked Books. I also read the book via KU. All opinions expressed are my own.

I Enjoyed This Book

The Stand In is a wild fake relationship romance. I like Becca, she reminds me of the insecure little girl we have inside and the feelings of not being good enough for someone. Evan seems like the hot popular jockey we had the mega crush on, I had that crush. Becca is too hard on herself, sounds like the ex did a number on her. I liked the force proximity moments they had. This book had the laugh and the aww moments. I didn't know what to expect with this book, I was pleasantly surprised as this was the first time listening to T.K. Rapp and it won't be the last. I really like CJ Bloom, her voice is soothing to me and I haven't heard Corvin King before, he was good voicing this book. Together they did a wonderful job bringing this world to life.