The Virgin Next Door

By: Lauren Blakely

Narrated by: Teddy Hamilton, Vanessa Edwin

Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Raise your hand if you’ve ever done this. Written a racy message and sent it to—oops—the wrong person.

Yeah, me too. Except, I sent my latest Tales of a Naughty Virgin column detailing my fantasies about my hot, charming, thoroughly bangable next-door-neighbor to…my entire company.

Did I mention I’m a children’s book editor?

Well, I was.

*Facepalm*

At least the column goes viral, but I’m still the gal who gets fired for her not-safe-for-work thoughts about the so-called “Mister Sexy Pants”.

Now I need a job stat, so I jump on the first opportunity. And I come face to face with my new boss.

Mr. Sexy Pants himself.

Item number one on my to-do list? Make sure my boss never finds out his alter ego…since all of New York knows I want Mister Sexy Pants to punch my virgin club card.

©2022 Lauren Blakely Books (P)2023 Lauren Blakely Books

Fantastic

As always Lauren and crew delivered. Vanessa Edwin and Teddy Hamilton did an excellent job as narrators

Fun, Flirty & Fantastic

Anytime I read a new Lauren Blakely book I am transported back to a familiar world filled with friendship and love. The Virgin Next Door is the first book in Lauren's new Dating Games Series. This is a fantastic, fun, flirty, feel-good romance that will fill our heart with joy.

Veronica Valentine is a witty 26-year-old children's book editor/anonymous column writer (spicy column)/social media content creator and virgin, extraordinaire sex toy expert. After a little mishap caused by her mischievous cat causes Veronica her editing job, she finds herself face to face with the object of her every fantasy, Mr. Sexy Pants, her new boss.

After his last relationship failed miserably, Milo Dawson, is done dating. His only focus is his flower/bike shop and his one true love, Truly, his dog, but Milo can't stop thinking about the quirky woman with the skull earrings and devilish underwear. The woman who may just make him change his mind about dating. The woman who is now his new employee.

I absolutely loved both Veronica and Milo. They brought out the best in each other. Their meet cute (or cutes) were hilarious. It fit their relationship perfectly. I loved how much Veronica's confidence turned him on and I loved how willing he was to help her fulfill her fantasies. Lauren's portrayal of Veronica was empowering in so many ways. Despite being a virgin, Veronica was a woman who knew what she wanted. Her virginity wasn't a barrier to her being sexually aware. Not having had actual sex was a choice she made. It isn't that she was waiting for marriage or anything like that, Veronica was very aware of her sexual needs and desires. I loved her confidence in talking openly about sex and pleasure. She was independent, talented, and so outspoken. She was sexually adventurous and had no filter in expressing her desires.

Teddy Hamilton and Vanessa Edwin's narration was excellent. They were the perfect Milo and Veronica bringing their characters to life and giving them their own personalities.

As always, Lauren's books never fail to take me to my happy place. Hers are stories that celebrate love. She gives us this world that we can escape to that is filled with all types of love and acceptance. A world I can only hope we get to experience in real life one day.

Fun, quirky, and good characters

I liked this one a lot. The characters are likable, there aren’t any major, drawn out misunderstandings, and you can feel the chemistry!

The heat and fantasy

This story makes you want everyday encounters to become something way more how often have we all fantasized about a cute guy we saw out and about but in here we see what happens when they come true.

I need a Mr. Sexy pants

I liked the MMC so much. He’s just so perfect and funny. If you love animals and romance then you will love this story because the FMC and MMC are pet lovers who fall in love. I rated the story 4 because, I feel like we could’ve gotten more detailed spice scenes. Especially because of the FMC job. It would of just made it more exciting in my opinion. The narrator’s did a fantastic job narrating the book.

Good Read

I enjoyed the storyline, but the chemistry between the two wasn't as strong as I felt it should have been. I did get some laughs from this story, and the sex scenes were great.

Sexy love story

I actually loved this!! She held on till she found the one for her. You go girl💪🏻💪🏻 took her fantasies and checked them off one by one. Strong female character 💗💗

5 STARS! Flirty, fiery feel-good secret identity/workplace romance!

Lauren Blakely always seem to give me exactly what I need to read, and The Virgin Next Door was precisely the distraction I needed this week. This sexy, sweet and swoony virgin romance was told within a workplace storyline with a bit of a secret identity/next-door-neighbor spin that oozed with charm, wit and heat. Lauren’s contemporaries and romcoms are amongst my favorite stories to read, and I’ve been really excited about The Dating Game series. I listened to the audio version of The Virgin Next Door, narrated in duet by Teddy Hamilton and Vanessa Edwin, and it was a perfect pairing that was wonderfully produced and expertly performed. This playful and passionate contemporary romance pairs a virgin book editor slash virgin-dating-in-the-city covert columnist with a cult following and the super-hot bicycle/flower shop owner—who are both secretly crushing on each other—in a bit of a forbidden romance.

Veronica Valentine was naturally curious and has investigated enough to know what she wants and how she wants it—she even had a list! She was no demure, quivering virgin. She was effervescent and bold, confident and imaginative and just waiting for the right man to meet her high expectations and rise to the challenge. She was right to wait, because she met her match in Milo “Mr. Sexy Pants” Dawson. There was just so much to love about this book! First, the chemistry between Veronica and Milo was positively electric. Everything about them was hot, from their flirty banter, the titillating text messages, the way they jived both in the shop and out of it. For goodness sakes, even their dogs – and that cat! – were adorable. I had so many favorite moments, from Milo learning about Veronica’s side gig to them ticking off the items on her to-do list, I was rooting for this couple from the start.

One of the things I love best about Blakely’s writing is that it’s so sex positive. The virgin trope can sometimes be a bit awkward if it’s not done well and with deliberation. This is never the case with Lauren’s virgin romances, though, and The Virgin Next Door is no exception. Lauren Blakely’s romances aren’t known to be particularly angsty or overly dramatic, but she does include a splash of conflict to challenge her characters. She pens love stories that aren’t driven by drama, but instead are resolved with maturity, and that alone guarantees me that they’ll always be a pleasure to read from cover-to-cover.

Light-hearted and fun, The Virgin Next Door was a feel-good, fire-filled, falling-in-love story full of those can’t-keep-my-hands-off-you, crush-turns-to-more vibes that I just can’t get enough of! I was completely swept up in Milo and Veronica’s romance and burned through Teddy and Emma’s perfect performance in a single day binge-listen! Five smooches from me for The Virgin Next Door by Lauren Blakely!
~ Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads

Cute

Cute story. The male narrator's voice wasn't "deep" enough for me, but it wasn't bad. I liked the concept of this story.

Meet cute fun

Who doesn’t love a good meet cute? This book delivers on that with a spicy flair. The confidence the main character exudes is something many wish they had when it came to meeting their crush.