Better Have Heart

Harrison Campus, Book 2

By: Andy Gallo, Anyta Sunday

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

They hate everything about each other, so why do they harmonize so well?

Isaiah Nettles wants a chance. A chance to help his family.

The prestigious Gage Scholarship will secure his future. He needs this. The competition might be hot, but Darren Gage is a golden child. No way will Isaiah let an entitled rich kid be handed the award.

But what if Darren is more than an entitled rich kid?

Darren Gage wants to be seen. Seen as more than just his name.

The Gage Scholarship will let him shine. He needs this. Sure, Isaiah is insanely sexy - and right to stand up for himself - but he is the competition.

No way will Darren let just anyone take his legacy.

But what if Isaiah isn’t just anyone?

Better Have Heart is an enemies-to-lovers slow-burn M/M romance with an HEA. This new-adult college opposites-attract rich-boy/poor-boy novel can be listened to as a stand-alone.

©2020 Andy Gallo & Anyta Sunday (P)2020 Andy Gall & Anyta Sunday

sweet rivalry

This is a great continuation of the series. it's a pretty sweet, snarky but relatively low angst story with an enemies to lovers vibe. It also had a great cast of characters. Narration is done well and it's overall a pretty fun listen.

You are the only prize I want to win

Enemies to lovers trope has always been my favorite so it’s really no wonder that I enjoyed this audio.

Harrison has no luck with boys. Well, to be exact, he has no luck when it comes to dating rich, ass***e, arrogant frat boys. He also desperate need the scholarship to support his struggling family. And Darren, the richest frat boy who also happened to be quite arseholish is also striving for that same scholarship. Daren doesn’t definitely need that scholarship but he wants to get it to mend the broken relationship between his-once-close father and him that has shattered since he came out to him. Two men, one prize and two hearts in that mess, it’s going to be interesting.

Very slow-burn romance and really lovely writing. When they found out that they can’t work against each other, they decided to work together and it brought a huge change to both of them. Music is a big part of this story and it’s very poignant and beautifully written. I really loved Darren and Harrison together. Overall, this was both what I expected and what I didn’t. I also really enjoyed NJR’s narration. He rocks!


4 You are the only prize I want to win stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️




Audio rating

Story - 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration - 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Performance - 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall - 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Solid story and narration, but nothing special

This is the second book of the series, this one focusing on Isaiah and Darren, who come from different worlds and are vying for the same scholarship, for very different reasons. These two are “pseudo” enemies - they don’t really hate each other as people; they barely know each other when the book starts. They are rivals for the same prize but as they get to know each other, they learn they aren’t so different after all. The characters are likeable and the romance is enjoyable, although nothing particularly grabbed me about the plot. It’s a set-up that’s been done many times before and there was nothing particularly novel about its treatment here. That being said, it’s a cute, low-angst, slow burn romance and definitely an improvement from Book 1.

The narration by Nick Russo is, once again, very good. He does a solid job here, and his tone, enunciation, pacing and inflections are great. I thought the emotional delivery was better here than in Book 1, but that could have been more about the book itself rather than Mr. Russo’s narration. Overall, I think the audiobook elevates the story so I highly recommend incorporating it into your reading of the book.

I adored this sweet, slow-burn college romance

Sometimes when I read college-themed romances, the main characters' lack of maturity and poor decision making really bothers me. Luckily, I didn't have that problem with Darren or Isaiah. These two showed all the responsibility and respectfulness of adults without losing their youthful innocence.

As a former scholarship kid myself, I instantly understood a lot of what Isaiah was going through with his studies. I think it would have been impossible for me not to love him after seeing how hard he worked to help his family out. While I can't say I have that same familiarity with Darren's situation, I still found him immediately likable as a character. His hurt and confusion about his dad was heartbreaking for me to hear. I will say that I didn't read the first book in this series and there were multiple points in this story where a big incident involving Darren was brought up. I got the sense that he was painted as a bad guy in book one, but since I didn't read that story, my opinion of him was unbiased from the start.

As much as I loved the main characters, I was equally excited about the storyline of this book, particularly how these authors didn't shy away from pointing out instances of favoritism and unfair advantages in a college environment. It was fascinating to "pull back the curtain" and see how the systems in place allowed individuals to get away with abusing their authority for so long. Outside of the administration and scholarship competition, Darren and Isaiah's romance was relatively angst-free. Their bonding moments over music were absolutely precious, and it was so sweet to see them falling for each other with every conversation they had. When the big conflict of the story popped up, as I knew it would, it didn't involve any drama between Darren and Isaiah themselves--once again, it was the university trying to separate the two of them at all costs.

All in all, I enjoyed this audio a lot more than I had anticipated. The narrator did a wonderful job adding emotion and depth to Darren and Isaiah, and it was always easy for me to tell when the chapters switched from Isaiah's to Darren's perspective. I thought the storyline was highly entertaining, the side characters were engaging, and the happily-ever-after was more perfect than I could have imagined. I'm definitely planning to go back and read book one before devouring the rest of this series!

**I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.

This was wonderful!

What a cute story this was. I thoroughly enjoyed both MCs and their quirkiness. I've always enjoyed Andy's stories and this one did not disappoint either. The narration was spot on with Mr Russo's smooth voice making all the right intonations for the different characters. Well done!

Enemies to lovers

This was a slow burn opposites attract romance adventure. The storyline was interesting and I enjoyed Isaiah and Darren’s story. The narrator did a good job bringing the characters to life. Great listen.

Great slow burn

This is a great slow burn, enemies to lovers story. I really love how it completely defies the typical romance formula of what happens at which part of the story, so it made it more unpredictable for me. I never read, or listened to, book 1 of this series, and there were a few references to what happened in that book that I felt were not explained well enough for someone reading or listening to this as a standalone, but it wasn't enough to take away from the story. Nick Russo did an amazing job narrating and bringing the characters to life.

Nice series

A nice slow burn story, I just don't have a whole lot to say.

Nick Russo did a great job as usual with the narration.

A new-adult, enemies-to-lovers which is so lovely!

I loved this second instalment in the series.
A new-adult, enemies-to-lovers which is so lovely!
The story is as sweet as the two main characters, Isaiah and Darren, who are as opposites as can be and are rivals in a competition that means a great deal to both of them.
When forced to work together, they get to know each other and they find out that, despite all their differences, they have more things in common that keep them together.
A truly beautiful book, superbly narrated by the always great Nick J. Russo.

Excellent

Thoroughly enjoyed this one in the Harrison Campus series by Andy Gallow and Anyta Sunday. I loved the main characters in this one and though the plot was very well done. Nick Russo is amazing, as usual!