It Started with a Bang

Red River Romps, Book 1

By: Piper James

Narrated by: Melissa Green, Jarman Day

First, I hit him with my car. Then I hit him with an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Annabelle

My father really outdid himself this time. If he wasn’t already the worst, his newest demand surely gave him that title—if I wanted to take over the family company, I needed to get married.

Within the next six months.

He thought he had me right where he wanted me…that I’d marry one of his lackeys. A man who’d keep me in line with Dad’s vision for both me and Parker Industries.

Well, dear old Dad had another thing coming. I was no pushover, bowing to the whims of him or any man. I had a plan. And that plan’s name was Ryder Perry.

Ryder

Red River, Texas was worse than I thought it was going to be when I moved here with my brothers to renovate the old ranch home we inherited from a distant relative. Mosquitos, flies, and the lung-clogging humidity were making me miserable, and that misery was only compounded when a spoiled rotten princess slammed into my truck and had the audacity to blame me.

The next time I saw her, she offered me two things—an apology for her behavior and a million dollars…to marry her.

I thought she was drunk. Or crazy. Or maybe a little bit of both. I wasn’t sure.

But one thing was for sure—my time in Red River just got a lot more interesting.

This is a standalone romance with lots of spice and snarky humor. It is book one in a series of standalones featuring four hot brothers finding love in a small town. HEA guaranteed!

©2021 Piper James (P)2025 Pink Flamingo Productions

Good Story!

Annabelle and Ryder

I think the narrators did a good job. I enjoyed listening to their story. This was a cute, sweet, sexy hot story. Annabelle meets Ryder when she hits his truck. Then later sees him at a bar and propositions him to enter into a fake marriage. Loved it the interaction between the two and his brothers makes the story interesting. Throw in a conniving father makes the story entertaining.

Great start to the Perry men!

Well hello Perry brothers. I am so happy to meet them, but especially Ryder. When he accidentally is hit by Annabelle, he is propositioned with an offer he can't refuse. Annabelle needs to be married to take over the family business and when Belle gives him the price she is willing to pay, he takes her up on it. But is that the reason he does it? This is a fun, instant chemistry, fake marriage listen that had rooting for the couple from the start. Belle is a fantastic character, full of ideas and compassion for those around her. Her feelings are genuine and she is easy to read. Ryder is quite a man. He is loyal and right there with Belle as things get messy. But will they be able to pull the wool over Belle's father's eyes? Fun! Fun! Fun! This is a great beginning to the series and has left me wanting more! I can't wait for the next one.

Melissa Green, what a great voice! She comes in full barrel as Belle. She is a strong personality with a hint of vulnerability that grows as Ryder gets to know her. I love the way Green portrays her with all the emotions. Jarman Day is so smooth and sweet, it's impossible not to fall for Ryder. He finds this man's Achilles heel and let's all the feels come through. Loved this combination and their narration.

Enjoyable!

Good story! Wonderful intro into the Perry brothers. Each seems to have a distinct personality. In here we see Ryder and Annabelle. They are crazy together and have wonderful sexual tension. It was great seeing them work this through. Enjoyable easy listen with narration by Melissa Green and Jarman Day. Both narrators are new to me and did a good job.

Great Characters!

Annabelle and Ryder both make quick assumptions when they meet with a bang. Annabelle is strong and appears to have everything anyone could ever need. Annabelle's father is a sexist uncaring individual who plays a big role in their story. Ryder has a great support system with his brother's and nephew. I definitely want to see more of them. Annabelle has the best friend group; a friend who will stand behind your decisions and agree with you at all costs, one who will give you a different perspective if they think you're wrong and one what is a happy medium! Annabelle's one goal was to make a difference in her community and Ryder helps her find a different path to do just that. These two are prefect for each other and I couldn't love them more! Get ready for a great story with characters you'd want to go out for drinks with!

fake marriage

I really enjoyed this story. Belle needs to marry in order for her dad to hand over the family company. She meets Ryder as she literally runs into his truck. Obviously, the first meeting doesn't go well, but she still gets the idea of asking him to marry her. It's definitely a cute, quick pace story.

The narration was really well done. I really enjoyed the narrators.

Fabulous Story & Narration🎧Steamy & Entertaining!

This is a fantastic small town romance and a banging start to Piper James’ “Red River Romps” series, a series of standalone novels with each book featuring a different Perry brother. The first book is Ryder Perry’s and Annabelle Parker’s story, a story that grabs your attention right from the start and holds it captive the entire time. Ryder and his brothers moved to Red River, Texas, to renovate the old house they inherited, and while Ryder was picking up lunch for them, his truck gets rear-ended by a snarky, rude, uppity driver who tries putting the blame on him, even though his truck was not moving. Annabelle was not having a good day and was not at her best when she went off on Ryder and texted him an apology later. She works for her father and hopes to take over running his company when he retires. Despite all the hard work she has done, he added a stipulation, a marriage clause, in order to take over the company she needs to be married in six months and started arranging dates for her. Not liking his choices, she said she’d find her own husband and after running into Ryder again, she comes up with a plan and it includes him and a proposition. These two jumped to their own conclusion on what the other was really like and the reason Ryder said yes to her offer, but stuck it out with her for another. I enjoyed this multilayered story and how it all plays out with a balance of drama, angst, witty snark and dialogue, heartfelt emotions and steamy romance. Piper James, thank you for another wonderful story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 Melissa Green and Jarman Day did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life and delivering a perfect portrayal of each. Green nailed it as Annabelle, grasping all aspects of her personality and demeanor, from her fierceness to her vulnerabilities and all in between, also handled her angst and snarky dialogue effortlessly. Day was just as fabulous as Ryder and showcasing his personality and demeanor perfectly, as the swoon worthy character he was. Both were great performing the roles of the secondary characters, giving each their own voice and personality, making it easy to follow along and tell who was who. They set the right tone for the story, captured all the characters’ emotions and had you feeling them all. These entertaining storytellers are a pleasure to listen to and their performance takes the story to another level.

Excellent narration! Cute story.

Leads I loved instantly and a ‘villain’ I loved to hate, right off the bat. What’s not to like?!

Ultimately a really fun read—though the writing could be a bit stronger at times. For example, several chapters in, after I’d obviously been along for all that unfolded, suddenly the ENTIRE BOOK so far, was recapped. That was both insulting and painfully boring. Things like this didn’t happen a ton though, and outside of them, this was a great read!

Also, dangling modifiers. For example, “Picking up her whiskey sour, she drained it…”. This is a continuity issue, she couldn’t be drinking and picking up said drink at the same time. 😉


Sexism.
Enemies-to-lovers.
Fake relationship.
B0dy shaming.
Paparazzi.
Scheming.
Secret millionaire.
Billionaire x heiress female lead.
Sizzling chemistry.
Fun banter.


Overall:
While predictable, this did still basically grip me right away because the characters are likeable, there was a parent I loved to hate from the very start, and the plot, though very overused, was executed in a fun way.

Super cute, and mostly fun. Based on this read, would I read more from this author? Yes.

3.5 stars.


🎧 Audio:
Two absolutely fantastic performances! Both narrators sound incredible and the overall sound is flawless. 5 stars. 🦩

It Started with a Bang

It Started with a Bang is the first book in the Red River Romps series. This book is about Ryder and Annabelle and is told from both of their points of view.

Ryder and Annabelle meet when Annabelle hits his car. She comes off as a princess, and he treats her like one. When Annabelle goes to him and asks him to marry her for money so she can take over her father's company, he says yes.

However, during their fake relationship, he finds out there is more to Annabelle than he originally realized. They start to have real feelings for each other.

Something happens that could rip their relationship apart. What happens when her father finds out? Will she get the company for which she's worked so hard? Will their relationship survive everything that is thrown at them? Or will a betrayal rip them apart for good?

I enjoyed this book, and can't wait to read/listen to one of Ryder's brothers' books next!

Heat that exudes personality.

Heat that exudes personality. No one does over the top quite like Piper James. Annabelle and Ryder bring the funny without ever losing sight of the heart. It Started with a Bang is a breath of fresh air. From flirty to frustrating, Green and Day tickle the senses.