Space Balls: Houston, We Have Liftoff

Finally! Rose got her story! I was so excited to listen to this one. I loved her brother Holt’s story so seeing her get hers, was so refreshing!

I adored this one! Rose and Vance had so much chemistry between them and I loved that this one was an age gap romance! Those are some of my favorites to read/listen to and Sarah Hudson did not disappoint with this one!

Again, I sing the praises of Samantha Brentmoor and Lee Samuels as they croon the story of these two characters. Rose truly came to life for me with Samantha’s voice. And Vance…..I fell hard for him as Lee told his story. Love these narrators!

I laughed and had so much fun with all these characters. I do not want to say goodbye! Well done, Sara Hudson, well done! 5★!

* I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the Author/Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*⁣

This is the fourth book in the Space series and it’s my favorite! So many laugh out loud moments…the pole dancing scenes are some of my favorites!

Rose is very direct, has anti-relationship feelings but is smitten with an older man. She has no shame in her lifestyle and is very confident.

Vance is an astronaut who is also anti-relationship due to his job but is also smitten with Rose. He’s a bit on the serious side but turns into a different person when he’s around Rose.

This is a fantastic age gap story filled with sass, banter and passion! There are many laugh out loud and cringy moments they will keep you listening until the end!

Samantha Brentmoor and Lee Samuels deliver an amazing performance in this book…as well as the others in the series. I’m fascinated how they change their voices and accents to give us each individual character. The emotion, humor and depth of their storytelling is 100% spot on!

Though Book 4 was probably my least favorite in Hudson’s Space series, this was still an enjoyable listen thanks to a great pair of narrator performances and the dynamic that the author has been building among the four friends from book 1. The group scenes between the friends are some of the best parts.

In terms of the MCs, Vance was the more compelling for me in terms of character arc. His struggle with the circumstances of his father’s passing and its impact on his relationships with his family were heartbreaking. And while He had charm and humor, confidence in his work, he also had deep fears and wanted to prevent his loved ones from feeling pain. Of course, he goes about it in a convoluted way and his journey towards realizing that really worked for me.

While there is much to love about Rose and her OTT personality has led to some hilarious scenes (in this book as well as the others), there were also times when her immaturity frustrated me. She is 21, and that is probably part of the problem for me in this context; I am not a fan of the age gap trope when it is the typical older man/younger woman (and 15 years really pushes it IMHO). There were times when I was engaged enough to forget the generation between Rose and Bodie, but there were others when I would grind my teeth or roll my eyes. Another trope cropped up later on the story that is also not a favorite (no spoilers), so that didn’t help either.

The narrator performances were great, as they have been across the previous books. Samantha Brentmoor and Lee Samuels just fit this series so well and are able to bring something new to each couple. Sometimes, when the same narrators are used for all the couples in a series it can feel a bit one note and fail to evoke enough differentiation between duos. That is definitely not the case with the Space series.

Worth a listen, especially if you’ve been following from book 1.

I received a Spotify code via Home Cooked Books. All opinions are my own.