Cup of Sugar

Close to Home, Book 1

By: Karla Doyle

Narrated by: Bradley Ford, Lu Banks

Nia has one rule—don’t date neighbors. Simple, except the guy next door is single, handsome, and not inclined to close his blinds while naked. When her car dies, Conn takes “being neighborly” to a new level by offering a ride to her long-distance destination. Nia has resisted his looks and charm for months. Surely she can handle a few hours in his truck...

For months, Conn has blatantly put himself on display, hoping his pretty blonde neighbor would tire of secretly watching and come knock on his door for a cup of sugar—or more. No such luck—until an unusual opportunity arises. After a six-hour drive turns into a sweet-and-sexy weekend, Conn wants more than neighborly status with Nia. To get it, he must convince her to break the rule protecting her heart—by putting his on the line.

Note: Hot contemporary romance with some explicit sexual content.

©2014 Karla Doyle (P)2022 Spectrum Audiobooks

Enjoyable But a Bit Confusing

I generally enjoyed listening to Cup of Sugar, my first book by Karla Doyle. I feel like the choice of narrator was spot on for both H/h. Their pacing and inflection made the story come to life.

The storyline was pretty good until the very end. I was confused and had to re-listen to the last chapter to confirm I hadn’t missed anything. I don’t feel like either of their issues were resolved (him being a commitment adverse and her issue with him being a neighbor). Up to the last chapter, the story line flowed well and had the perfect amount of heat and angst.

I received a copy of this book for my honest review. Thanks for the opportunity!

A little confusing

There were good parts, but I found this book confusing. Conn is steady and sincere throughout the book, but Nia keeps projecting her insecurities on him. She basically accuses him of several things and he just keeps disproving her calmly while falling more and more. The rest of the time there is an extreme lack of communication from her side.

The end of the book and the epilogue don't connect as far as I understand.

The narration was done well by the voice artists, but there is a significant volume difference between the two narrators and I had to change the volume every time the narrative switched between them.

Steamy Romance

This was my first Karla Doyle's book. This is the first book in the Close to Home series. Nia and Conn's story is sweet, sexy, funny, and heartwarming. I liked their banter. Nia is a beautiful character, insecure and prudent. Conn is handsome, charming, sweet, sexy, kind, and patient. I liked his determination. Their push and pull relationship is sizzling. The storyline is fast-paced. The supporting characters are interesting. I liked the family ties in the story. Lu Banks and Bradley Ford did a great job with the narration. #SpectrumAudiobooks

Steamy, sexy and an HEA

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was my first from this author and, I believe, this narrator. The narrator did a fantastic job. While I liked the book and the story line I felt at times as something in the storyline was skipped or missing.

Why can’t neighbors fall in love???

This story was a cute romance. I loved how Conn has been watching Nia for a while while she seemed oblivious towards him lol. It was sad to hear how Nia got burned by a previous ex which ruined her looking for love right next door. I am glad her car broke down and weather was bad so she had to take Conn offer or miss out on seeing her parents lol. The ending seemed really fast but since this is a series I am thinking it will pick up more in the second book. Bradley and Lu did an awesome job telling the story and using so much expression it was easy to follow and stay hooked. I will def be listening to book when it comes out <3

Getting over insecurities

Nia and Conn have chemistry but Nia has problems with insecurities which threatens a possible good relationship.

Just Meighbors

Mia has been burnt by dating a neighbor and having to live; or a co-worker and having to switch jobs. She vows to never fall into that trap again. But her sexy new neighbor has other plans.

Throw in a great supporting cast that includes a loveable dog and awesome parents, and this is a winning combination. I felt the chemistry between these two and fell in love with them right away.

I liked the story line...

I liked the story except the ending was abrupt. Like the author decided they were done and wrapped it up in 4 minutes. I also did not feel any spark between the main characters. They were not developed well enough.

Just okay for me!💜

This story was good but not great. It’s a charming next door neighbor romance but it didn’t seem to wow me for some reason.
I didn’t care for the female character. IMO she was too weak and insecure. No matter how happy he made her she never gave him the benefit of the doubt or even confronted him when she had doubts. I don’t know, there was just something about her I didn’t like. In regards to the storyline, there were things that were never addressed, such as the details of his ex-fiancé and after a particular breakup between the MC, the author doesn’t explain how they got back together. They just did. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I didn’t like her sister’s character either. One minute she’s acting like a slut not giving a care for Mia and next they are like best friends sharing secrets. IMO her character would have been better if there was more character building.
Not a fan of the ending. 🤔
The narration was good, actually Bradley Ford was amazing but I wasn’t a fan of this female narrator, and the audio quality wasn’t set right. Meaning every time they switched narrators I had to adjust my sound.
Overall, the story was cute but it was just okay for me.
This is book 1 with an HEA and can be read as a standalone.

Sisters Spotlight 💜