Ball Peen Hammer

By: Lauren Rowe

Narrated by: Lily Reynolds, John Lane

Keane Morgan wouldn't return any of my calls or texts, and I was pissed as hell about it. I didn't want to drive from Seattle to L.A. with the guy any more than he wanted to drive with me, but I had no frickin' choice in the matter - at least, not if I wanted to use his brother Dax's coveted parking spot at UCLA.

Okay, so it turned out Keane was objectively gorgeous, and, fine, pretty funny, too. But did he have to be so damned in love with himself? I mean, jeez, the cocky way he flashed those dimples was just so orchestrated. And, honestly, what kind of guy uses the phrase "baby doll" with a straight face? Oh, that's right: the kind of guy who's a male stripper.

Yup, the cocky jerk turned out to be Seattle's answer to Magic Mike, a stripper known as "Ball Peen Hammer" - which meant Keane Morgan was emphatically not the kind of guy I'd ever fall for.

Not. At. All.

No freakin' way.

Well, until Keane convinced me to fall for him, that is.

Which I did.

Hard.

©2016 Lauren Rowe (P)2024 Lauren Rowe

Embarrassed to say that I actually fell in love with this d-bag.

Kudos to ms Rowe because she successfully turned an insufferable ass into perhaps one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I am still shaking my head but I am now searching out more Lauren Rowe to obsess about. Awesome job.

That was different...

Plenty of self absorption here... speaking in sarcastic terms of endearments , quick witted conversations, good storyline, cute love story...
BPH, has more names for people than the dictionary... wasn't sure I could get past the immaturity of him, but like our heroine, he grew on me....

I freaking LURVED this book and audio!

Any additional comments?

I previously reviewed the book and have included that review below. But let me quickly do an audio review.

The voices are perfect, they go very smoothly with the character personalities. The narration reflects the situations well. When the character gets choked up or excited or quiet, that's reflected in the narration nicely. This book is legit hilarious and sometimes a book will *read* funny but once it's heard, the funny doesn't deliver through the narration and it's not as great. That's not the case with this book at all! It had me laughing just as hard if not harder while listening as it did while I was reading. I seriously loved it!

Ok now for my review of the book itself....

Ahhhh! I just found my new favorite book of the year. Boom done, son! 🎤 (Mic drop)

Lauren Rowe is seriously one of my favorite authors ever. The way she writes and creates these characters make them seem like actual real life people, people you know and interact with. Uh how I wish that were true because I just love the Faraday and Morgan families and Keane is amazeballs!

This was such a perfect story. One that keeps you thoroughly entertained laughing out loud the entire time but still has so much heart and meat to the story. The way Maddy and Keane fall for each other is my favorite. They start this friendship that just so fluidly builds and falls into an all consuming love. They make each other laugh, hold each other and completely are themselves without any of the awkward hang ups new relationships sometimes have. It reminds me of why I loved Josh and Kay falling for each other so much. It's just FUN. It's not all ultra romantic swooning. It's two personalities that immediately click as friends first. One where you realize you can't live without this friend in your life and how happy and full they make your day. That's how Maddy and Keane are. While their "relationship" progressed in a short period of time, I didn't feel like it was insta-love. Nope. No way. You know why? Because those days were so full of conversation, interaction and depth that I myself had already fallen in love with them. They are completely adorbsicles and I just wanna squish 'em!

Lauren Rowe, PLEASE continue to create and bring us these quiet moments of magic. You truly are amazing.

Great!!

What a fanny, sassy, hot as flame book! I laughed so hard with it and got all hot and bother too🤤! Lauren Rowe love you forever!

Love love love this story!!!

I laughed, I cussed, I cried!!! Such a great story about these two loveable
characters and ALL the ancillary characters!!! Keane is the guy with the larger than life personality and so much charisma that you love and hate and think is a total douche! But at least he acknowledges his douchbaggery!!! Love his wifey, Zander! (Zander needs his own book too, Lauren!!!). And Maddie is such an awesome girl who just happens to be the girl of Keane's dreams!!! Neither of them realize it until later in the book and then it really kicks into high emotional gear as these two friends figure it out! And when they do: BOOM, son! 🎤. Go Lauren and John on the narration!! Go Lauren on penning a great book!!! (Would love to see picked up for a #ahem movie!!!)

High Five

If you could sum up Ball Peen Hammer in three words, what would they be?

hilarious, odd match

What did you like best about this story?

The overall unexpected next step in the plot. You never know what their going to say next. LoL!

Have you listened to any of John Lane and Lauren Rowe ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, and they never disappoint.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yeap!!

Any additional comments?

This is a first for me, my new favorite Author is also my new Favorite Narrator. Lauren Rowe say " Cover that Shit Up" I love it

what a phenomenal story by Lauren Rowe

This is not just a stripper story my friends. This book is EVERYTHING!! You can always count on Lauren to make you howl with laughter especially on the audio versions, but deep down there is an epic story of complete and utter surrender with her characters. They will grip you and hold on tightly from beginning to end. Lauren is a master of words and reaper of emotions. What more can you ask for when reading a book? This is the real deal Holyfield of romance novels. I can't recommend it enough. You can read this as a standalone but I highly recommend reading the whole Club Series so your life is fulfilled. Yeah, its just that good.

So fun the Morgan's are great

I loved this story loved the characters it's a great time. Very entertaining can't wait to get to know the rest of the Morgan's

Interesting listen, great book

When the book first started I wasn’t all the impressed. I wasn’t a fan of the authors reading of the story. As the book continued I loved both narrators and their voices. The story was a little rough at first for me, the lingo/ D-bag slang had me reeling but as the story progressed I seriously fell in love with the adorable douche bag. Over all it was a boom that got my heart pumping and cheering for a happily ever after for the stripper and the documentarian.

Fourth of July Spectacular!

Okay, Not only was the story entertaining but the narrative was Perfection. Who knew? Not only can Lauren Rowe write a book that is addictive she can decorate just as well as she can write. there is no way to articulate the way that I feel when I'm finished reading one of her books. It has everything! Humor, romance , kink, and family and friends that wrap themselves around your mind in your heart and pull you in for more. I'm sure a lot of people think this but I'm beginning to think I'm Lauren Rose number one fan. Everything she writes is like magic. This is one author you don't want to miss.