Never Say Never: The Ladies Who Brunch, Book 1 (Unabridged‪)‬

The Ladies Who Brunch series gets off to such a rousing start with Never Say Never that there is no doubt this will be a favorite to listen to over and over. As soon as you meet the “Ladies” you can’t wait to learn all about them: Charlotte with the toxic always-butting-in mother, Amelia whose career passion is because of her childhood trauma, Penelope of the loud mouth, crass comments and one night only philosophy, and Noelle who has to be a mom, has to be a mom, has to be a mom – NOW.

Charlotte and Damien grew up together, not friends but serious rivals, so unpleasant that on the eve of their high school graduation Charlotte made Damien promise to never think of her again. Charlotte’s mother didn’t get Charlotte’s competitiveness – girls, and women, only needed to use their brains to snag the perfect guy, and everything else was about diets and face lifts and the right clothes. Damien’s father believed women weren’t bright enough to be anything but second best and real men always finished first. Both of them couldn’t wait to escape and were relieved to never have to see each other again.

Twelve years pass with no sightings, but apparently California isn’t as big as they thought, because suddenly they almost bump into each other. Damien does a double take; Charlotte pretends she didn’t see him and makes her escape. He feels something strange at seeing this beautiful woman who was his nemesis at one time. What she feels is strangely close to terror: he cannot be anywhere near her, he just can’t. But Damien needs a fake girlfriend for a promotion at work, and Charlotte could actually use a fake boyfriend to get her mother off her back for a few minutes at her parents’ 30th wedding anniversary in Hawaii. And there you have the premise for a brilliant, delightful book that had me howling with laughter, when I wasn’t sighing and swooning or almost crying, of course.

Never Say Never is hilarious, laugh out loud funny. So many mix-ups and misunderstandings. So many absurd situations. Think fake massages and swingers and pineapples and men shopping for products they know nothing about. But also sweet and tender. Think bafflement about those intense feelings from high school still being intense but not so confrontational, about unexpected protectiveness, about men shopping for products they know nothing about but still shop because they care. And last but certainly not least, Never Say Never is scorching, steamy, sauna-like in its heat.

You will fall in love with Charlotte and Damien right away. They resist and protest and grudgingly go along with things, but we as readers – and Amelia, Penelope and Noelle – know better. This couple is quickly moving from enemies to friends to friends with benefits to – big sigh, can there be a happily ever after for them?

Author Harlow James’ excellent book is made pretty much perfect by the outstanding performances by the narrators. I have to admit that if Home Cooked Books offered me an advance listening copy of “Teddy Hamilton Reads Your Grocery List” I would scoop it up without hesitation. Add the subtitle “Samantha Brentmoor Reads the Menus” and I am so there. However, even though you may be thrilled that these are your favorite narrators, once you listen to a couple of paragraphs you forget it’s “Teddy and Samantha” and you are fully immersed in Damien and Charlotte’s story. Even though I recognize Teddy Hamilton’s unique voice, he subtly alters his voice so no two performances are the same. Samantha Brentmoor brings the same excellence. Pacing, clarity, tone, emotion all there and only enhance the already satisfying story.

Thanks to Home Cooked Books for providing an advanced listening copy of Never Say Never. I just loved it and cannot wait to hear Amelia’s, Penelope’s and Noelle’s stories. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

This is my first book by 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝙹𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜 and it's definitely not going to be my last! Her story line, her characters, her writing style....it all captured me and I couldn't get enough!

This book had me laughing so many times! I loved Damien's character! He was chiseled beautifully! Charlotte's character was awesome. Together these two characters stole my heart! The way their "fake" relationship came together, blossomed into more, and seeing them realize their truths....it was a beautiful thing for sure!

𝑇𝑒𝑑𝑑𝑦 𝐻𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑜𝑛 & 𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑎 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑟. I'm just gonna wipe the drool off now because these two narrators were epically paired! They put their whole selves into bringing these characters to life and absolutely did a phenomenal job!

I loved the friendships in this story. I am very much looking forward to more books by this author and seeing where the rest of the women find their happiness! Great job, 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝙹𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜! You've got a new fan in me!

Never Say Never was a fabulous enemies-t0-lovers story about how the one you thought you would never click with turns out to be your perfect match.

Damien and Charlotte have a long history together, as their parents were best friends and they grew up as rivals in everything school and sports-related as kids. They haven't seen each other in over a decade, even though they both moved from South Carolina to California for college and stayed in Los Angeles. In present-day LA, Charlotte is desperate for a date for her parents' vow renewal to get her mom off her back while Damien needs a girlfriend to get a leg up on a promotion he's after. When they happen to cross paths after years of not seeing each other, it's a perfect scenario for them to enter a fake relationship. Well, of course, it doesn't happen that quickly or easily, and there's some great stuff as these two hash out what it is that they need from each other in this transactional relationship.

Damien and Charlotte were wonderful characters, and I so enjoyed seeing them fall in love. She was more resistant to a relationship than he was, and I wish she'd gotten over herself sooner because they really were sweet together. I especially loved how Charlotte has believed all these years that Damien had the perfect childhood, and that was not at all the case. These two characters were really well developed, and I adored Charlotte's girlfriends in "the ladies who brunch" and the tight bond they shared.

Teddy Hamilton is one of my favorite male narrators, and I loved everything he brought to the table in performing the role of Damien! Samantha Brentmoor is another great narrator, and I thought she did a fantastic job with Charlotte.

I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.