I Wish I Knew Then

Harbour Village, Book 1

By: Jessica Peterson

Narrated by: Charlotte North, Austin Stone

My grandmother has a saying: what's done in the dark always comes to light, especially in small towns with big secrets. And I was hiding the biggest secret of them all.

Every summer I spent growing up at my grandparents' coastal estate was the same. Same cousins. Same chaos. Same long golf cart rides along the beach.

Everything changed the summer I turned eighteen, when my grandparents' new housekeeper moved in with her son, Riley. With his big personality and head-turning looks, he was the local heartthrob.

We fell in love instantly. Riley was my first everything. First love. First time. And my first heartbreak when he dumped me at the end of the summer.

Ten years later, I'm back on the island for my best friend's wedding as her maid of honor. Who's the first person I literally stumbled into? Riley Dixon. Even worse? He's the groom's best man and a self-made billionaire to boot.

Being forced to spend an entire week together for wedding festivities quickly leads to more—hot hate sex, late nights of sneaking out, and unexpected revelations. The boy I knew a decade ago is gone, and the hate becomes…something else entirely. And I begin to wonder if Riley is hiding some secrets of his own.

I Wish I Knew Then is a small-town, standalone romance, and the first book in the Harbour Village series.

©2023 Peterson Paperbacks, LLC (P)2024 Podium Audio

Cute

It’s a very much like a spicy sweet home Alabama and the narration is perfect!

Wonderful summer listen!

Small coastal towns just do something to me. The sun, sand, fresh air, and summer vibes could be felt throughout Harbor Village! This was my first book by Jessica, and I can say with my whole heart that it won’t be the last!

Riley and Lu have an unforgettable summer of firsts. First kiss, first love, and first time "together". But when summer comes to an end Riley breaks up with Lu via text with no explanation. With their love torn apart Lu has stayed away for 10 years but she has to return back to Harbour Village for a wedding and tries to avoid Riley at all costs. But seeing each other again only reignites the flames once more for their second chance at love.

This is narrated in dual by Charlotte North and Austin Stone and there could not have been a better pairing to bring Lu and Riley to life! They truly embodied these characters to provide an unforgettable listening experience.

Charlotte portrayed Lu’s feisty demeanor and determination to try new things to get out of her comfort zone. When it came to her broken heart and returning "home" the nerves, resentment and unknowns leaves you wanting Lu to face those challenges head on. To see her break down the walls and flourish once more was palpable with Charlotte’s narration. Charlotte connected with Lu on such a level that the emotions and experiences she portrayed felt as if you were right there with her on her journey.

Austin emanated Riley’s love for Lu to unprecedented heights. When Riley loves, he loves big. He’s passionate, invested, kind, and extremely supportive when it comes to helping Lu reach her dreams. His gentleness knew no bounds and the adoration and respect Riley has for Lu could be felt and heard throughout Austin’s performance. All the tenderness and swoon worthy moments were sheer perfection. And the icing on the cake is hearing it all with Austin’s southern drawl accent. He could read the phone book with it and it wouldn’t disappoint!

Second chance romance….ALL the feels!!!

Real, honest, flawed characters...you want to know. This is a second-chance, small-town romance with all the feels. The fierce and genuine connection Lu & Riley shared and the absolute beauty of their friendship provides a rock solid base to build this engaging story off of. Their romance is beautiful and heart tugging. This book had me in ALL my feelings!! Its a wonderful story full of healing, life changes and overcoming your past. I definitely recommend this book and the series!

Charlotte North & Austin Stone do an amazing job portraying the characters, bringing them to life and humanizing them with their emotions, attitude and personality. They do more than giving their characters their voices, they fall into the roles and become the character.

Wonderful Story & Narration🎧Charming & Enticing!

Jessica Peterson pens another wonderful romance novel, a small town second chance romance that captivates your attention and tugs at your heartstrings the entire time. I adored the two lead characters, Louise “Lu” Wade and Riley Dixon, and there were some great secondary/support characters, too. Lu loved visiting her grandparents and spending the summer at their home on Bald Island and when she was eighteen, she fell in love with the housekeeper’s son, Riley. They kept their relationship secret, but snuck away every chance they could to spend time together, share their secrets and their desires. When it was time for her to go back home, she was sure their relationship would continue, but he winds up breaking her heart and ending it in the worse way possible. She was never to see him again, or so she thought. Fast forward ten years later, she returns to Bald Island for her best friend’s wedding and it did not take long to bump into him and he looked better than ever. She wants nothing to do with him, but that becomes impossible since they are both in her friend’s wedding party, she the maid of honor, and he the best man. Lu is Riley’s biggest regret and while she may go by Louise now and did not follow the dreams she shared with him, he still sees that dreamy eyed girl in her, he still sees his Lu. Now all he has to do is make things right and explain why he did what he did, easy peasy, right? I loved how everything played out in this book, the writing plot and world building are fantastic, as are the character growth and development. The story is enticing and has the perfect balance of drama, charm, heartfelt emotions and steamy slow burn romance. Jessica Peterson, thank you for another fabulous story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 And for the fabulous narration, Charlotte North and Austin Stone did an amazing job bringing these characters to life and did so with a complete understanding of who they were portraying, giving each a voice that was fitting. I loved how they took each role and made it their own, sounding believable and just as I imagined the characters would sound, southern accents and all. North nailed it as Lu, grasping every aspect of her personality, from her vulnerabilities to her sassy and feisty self. Stone was just as amazing as swoon worthy Riley. They set the perfect tone for the story captured all the characters’ emotions and had you feeling them all. These two are entertaining storytellers and a pleasure to listen to. Thanks for the wonderful listen.

Perfect story with even better narration

I’m a dyed in the wool Southerner so I’m picky about my narrators with Southern accents. Charlotte & Austin NAILED Riley & Lu! Both of their “drawls” were perfection, especially Austin’s, so sexy & smooth!

As for this story, this second-chance, small town, forced proximity, steamy romance is what dreams are made of! Jessica is absolutely one of my most favorite authors & this series has quickly become one of the best. Set in the low country on Bald Head Island, NC, this story is just dreamy.

Riley Dixon, raised by his single mother, who worked as a maid for one of the wealthiest families on Bald Head, fell in love with their daughter & made it his life’s mission to become worthy of her. After 10 years, Riley has become a self-made millionaire & determined to win back Lu Wade, the love of his life all while pulling off a wonderful wedding for his best friends, overcoming obstacle after obstacle!

Full of tension and swoon feelings!!

This book was such a breath of fresh air. There are so many aspects to this book, the characters, the storyline that I just absolutely loved!! This series overall is such a fun and sexy read.

The chemistry and tension between Riley and Lu was everything! You could tell that things picked right up from where they left it. And even though Riley ended things previously and Lu still feels for him she did not let this man off easy as she should!! And yall the spice… I’m still not over it. I never knew I needed Riley in my life.

I ended up listening to the audiobook for this one as it just released and I highly recommend it!!

I feel like I could go on and on about my love for this book and the characters. You’ve outdone yourself Jessica!! I’m obsessed

Great FMC narrator

Small southern town, second chance romance. I loved this story! Definitely has some notebook vibes. I love Riley and Lou! They are so super cute and raunchy.

Such a good second chance!

I am such a sucker for second chance, and I absolutely loved this one!! Harbor Village is a new favorite small town of mine, I loved the descriptive writing and atmosphere Jessica created, the characters, and everything else that came along with them. Riley and Lu are absolutely adorable, and the rekindling of their relationship, and the enemies to lovers vibes, were incredible.

Austin Stone performing as Riley made the character even more swoonworthy if that’s possible. I love listening to Austin, he’s one of my favorites! And Charlotte North embodied everything I would envision Lu to be. Their southern tones together were the perfect pair!! I’m so excited to listen to them in the next one!

A story of love lost and found again ❤️

This story and performance is everything. Simple as that. I highly, highly recommend listening.

Swoony Second chance w/ AMAZING Narration

Jessica Peterson is a brand new author to me and she did not disappoint people! Wow! She can write the heck out of a swoony, steamy small town romance. I pressed play and did not stop!

Lu loves visiting her grandparents over the summer. She meets Riley, the housekeepers son, and they fall in love. It's a hidden and forbidden romance. They spend as much time together as they can. Summer ends and she believes their relationship will continue only to be heartbroken by him.

Lu leaves upset but years later the two are brought back together by a friend's wedding. Letting her go was the biggest mistake Riley ever made and now he's determined to get her back.

Let's talk about narration....because ladies, if you haven't had the privilege of listening to the swoony as heck, Austin Butler, do yourself a favor NOW and get this in your ears. Wowza! He will swoon the pants right off you! His steamy Southern drawl had me captivated and clutching at my heart. He's an absolute treat to listen to. Charlotte North is absolutely great as Lu capturing her vulnerabilities and sassy demeanor perfectly! This was a terrific duo and I am so excited to listen to the next in this series.

Peterson can bring the heat people so come prepared. It's a Southern steam.bath ya'll and it's absolutely delicious. Highly recommend this audio. The beginning to a great series 🙌