The Sweetest Seduction

The Kelly Brothers, Book 1

By: Crista McHugh

Narrated by: Therese Plummer

A new contemporary romance series that's a sexy, modern twist on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Never, ever, mix business with pleasure...

Lia Mantovani has created one of the hottest restaurants on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, but all that could disappear if she loses her lease with Kelly Properties. Having had her dreams ripped away from her before, she'll do everything in her power to keep her restaurant. Her fate hangs on the whims of the frustratingly handsome Adam Kelly.

Adam has spent years trying to convince world-famous chef Amadeus Schlittler to open a restaurant in Chicago, but he wants the prime location held by Lia. Business has always come first...until sparks fly when Adam meets her. When things get hot outside the kitchen, though, they're both in danger of getting burned.

Warning: Contains a hero who always gets what he wants; a heroine who is just as deadly with gamberi as she is with a baseball bat; meddlesome, matchmaking mothers; and a Great Pyrenees with a penchant for sweeping the heroine off her feet.

Recommended for those who like:

• Sexy, contemporary romance
• Alpha males
• Enemies-to-lovers stories
• Billionaire heroes
• Self-sufficient heroines
• Big, slobbering dogs
• Mouthwatering food descriptions

©2014 Crista McHugh (P)2015 Crista McHugh

Great Narration

This is a sweet but rather routine and predictable listen. Overall I'd have to say I was entertained, but there was no real depth or emotional involvement. Therese Plummer is probably one of the best narrators in the business so the story is enhanced significantly by her reading. She can make almost any book gain a couple of stars just by her ability to develop the characters and bring on their personalities.

Great story and narrating!

What did you love best about The Sweetest Seduction?

Love the story and the passion. Therese Plummer is an amazing narrator!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Adam! He goes after what he wants!

Have you listened to any of Therese Plummer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I was struggling to find a good series and searched by narrator to find this series after the Virgin River series. She keeps me in the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Love the passion!

The Sweetest Seduction by Crista McHugh

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Sweet love story. Excellent narration. One of the best I've heard.

What did you like best about this story?

So many things. The meddling mothers, the sibling reading and loyalty, I'd easy relationship with her co-workers, but most of all the head-over-heels love that almost instantly ignited between Lia and Adam and takes them both by surprise.

What about Therese Plummer’s performance did you like?

She has an amazing range of "voices". Each character had a clearly defined personality, cadence, accent and tone.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

?

Any additional comments?

So many things I liked about THE SWEETEST SEDUCTION by Crista McHugh. The meddling mothers, the sibling reading and loyalty, I'd easy relationship with her co-workers, but most of all the head-over-heels love that almost instantly ignited between Lia and Adam and takes them both by surprise. This is a sweet love story about two people too busy living their lived to even date, but their Mom's are tired of waiting for grandbabies and take matters into their own hands. What follows is a few misunderstandings, humor, and steamy, heated can't keep my hands off you scenes. All in all a fun read. I definitely want to see what Mrs. Kelly has planned for her other sons! 4.5 stars

I listened to the audiobook version and have to say the narration was excellent. One of the best I've heard. Therese Plummer has an amazing range of "voices". Each character had a clearly defined personality, cadence, accent and tone. She took a good book and made it great.

A smart contemporary romance, with deep characters

Meddling mothers might just be the biggest thing that chief Lia Mantovani and real estate mogul Adam Kelly have in common. The two mothers decided to trick Lia into cooking an marvelous, authentic Italian dinner for Mrs. Kelly and her boys. They hoped that Lia would find a love match with one of the Kelly boys. After meeting Lia and trying her amazing cooking, Adam isn't sure which he like more her flavorful food or her sexy body. Sparks fly between these two from the very beginning. To get away from the prying eyes of their family, they decide to escape on the Kelly family boat. Then things escalate quickly, until the two are interrupted by passerby.

Adam's having one heck of a week. He meets this amazingly interesting women, while also working on a deal to bring world famous chef, Amadeus Schlittler, into one of his Chicago properties. To bad the only place chef Schlittler is willing to set up a restaurant, is right where Lia's restaurant is currently located. Adam had no idea that he held the lease for Lia's restaurant space, until he walked in with eviction papers. Now that's the way to a women's heart! Adam and Lia have two big even bigger problems. He isn't the kind of man that mixed business with pleasure, and she isn't the kind of women who would rely on man.

I picked up this book expecting a light hearted, run-of-the-mill contemporary romance, but this book was anything but cookie cutter! Although this was a short audiobook, the author took the time to create rich characters and storylines that hooked me in. I fell in love with Lia and Adam right off the bat, and their chemistry heated up my headphones. I liked how Adam was this confident, powerful male, but he didn't feel the need to control Lia. And I love how Lia had so much passion for her cooking, that she wouldn't let anyone get in the way. Both characters made mistkes, but over all they were good people. I loved how both characters were smart, talented, driven, and family oriented. From the outside they seemed so different, but underneath it all they were very similar. They both went about doing things in very different ways, which lead to many of their misunderstandings and miscommunications. I really enjoyed the sweet HEA ending in this book.

I will admit, that the biggest reason I picked up this audiobook was fact that the narrator was Therese Plummer. She my might just be my all-time favorite female narrator. When it comes to narrating romance titles, she has a magic touch. Her voice had a sweet tone to it, that lends well to this genre. She has a wonderful ability to give such an emotional performance, that totally captures the listeners attention. Therese takes the time to give each character their own very specific voice. Not to mention that she creates such wonderful male voices, that the audiobook almost sounds like it has narrated by a male and a female. I got so lost in her fantastic performance that finished this audiobook in one day!

Overall, THE SWEETEST SEDUCTION had a lot of heart for such a short book. The storyline kept me hooked from the first chapter. This was a smart contemporary romance, with deep characters and great dialogue. This first book in the Kelly Brothers series, sets the readers up for a real treat. I can't wait to see what kid of mischief Adam's brothers have in store for us. If you're looking for new romance series, with a spectacular narrator, this is the one for you!



***Audiobook was provided by the publisher in trade for a fair review***

Intriguing.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because the story is very interesting it takes twists I did not expect.

What other book might you compare The Sweetest Seduction to and why?

The others in the series, they all have unexpected twists and turns.

Which scene was your favorite?

The quickie in the staircase at the restaurant.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

It was hard to listen to the narrator speak in the male tone, voice not sexy enough as you would expect for the role of the men.

New listener!

So far so good. I just started listening to Crista McHugh and I like it!!! Good story line! Ready for book 2!

Great book with a great narrator!

Really enjoyed listening to this book. I enjoyed reading the book but listening to Therese brought it to life. You can feel the emotions through the narrator. I can't wait to hear the test of the series!

The narrator was incredible.

The story was too short and almost half the book was sex and it was almost childish with the descriptions like a teenager would write. The book really had potential but somehow the author list it

Amateurish writing to frame some soft porn

There is so much wrong with this book that I couldn't possibly list them all. The incredibly unlikely events piled into the incredibly simplistic plot and delivered with some incredibly trite dialogue reminded me of college level creative writing - with sex scenes.

As you listen to this book you will find yourself asking "Wait... what?" often enough to be distracted by it. One prime example: Adam Kelly is going into a meeting of his company's BoD to discuss competing proposals for leasing the restaurant space in his Michigan Avenue building to two different chefs. He gets into the Board room to discover that one of the two chefs is in the room. Now ask yourself, does he proceed with the meeting with one of the principles present? Of course not! That violates so many ethical and compliance rules as to make one's head spin!

Or how about this - SPOILER ALERT! - our heroine's restaurant has burned just as the lease is up and the decision needs to be made. Does Lia the chef have to meet with her employees to do termination paperwork or the insurance company to discuss the causes of the fire and the settlement or anyone else to close her business? Oh heck no! She can get on a plane the next day for Italy.

The plot actually had some really good potential, but this novelist just phoned it in.

The Performance: I consider Therese Plummer one of the best narrators of all time ever. But I think this book reflects differences in direction. She is SO bloody brilliant reading Robyn Carr's stuff (although the quality IS magnitudes of order better) but so "meh" reading this. She's breathy and gasping and very intense and I think it may be the direction she received.

So, not recommending.