Trusting the Ex

I would recommend this book to readers/listeners who like second chance stories with a little danger added in. There is a prequel, but you wouldn't have to read it to follow the events of this story. I'm not a big fan of second chance, so in some ways I liked the prequel better, but I did appreciate that this was more of a story of how they got back together and less about repeating the same mistakes again (repeating mistakes is the reason I avoid most second chance).

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Summer Morton and Stephen Dexter. They were the same narrators as the prequel and they did an equally great job with this story. I would listen to both again in the future.

I received a copy of the audiobook at my request, and the opinions here are my own.

First off, Drew & Pippa’s love story didn’t go the way I had planned.
But their love story had so much more to be written. The way that Drew so selflessly loved Pippa & dropped everything to be there for her when she absolutely needed it was so sweet. Pippa’s hesitance to drop her guard was completely understandable. But the way that she & Drew were just so comfortable in each other’s presence even after years being apart, it just felt like fate.
Their HEA was a long time coming & well fought for, but I’m so glad that everyone involved was able to see how perfect these two were for each other all along.

Audiobook Review:
Summer Morton & Stephen Dexter deliver another phenomenal narration. Their abilities to draw me in & completely embody the characters had me hooked from the start.

Story: 3.5 ⭐️s
Narration: 5⭐️s

Book 1 of West’s 6ix Loves series does a better job of setting up intriguing secondary characters for their potential stories than investing the reader in the central characters of this one. And I found myself much more excited about the potential of Claire and Matthew, or Paige’s story, than the reality of this book’s MCs.

Drew and Pippa return 5 years after the events of Resisting the BF’s Sister and things have taken a turn in the interim. Then there is another time jump (18 mos.) between the prologue and Chapter 1. Drew, torn between his love for Pippa and his loyalty to Finn (her brother) made the “sacrifice” that makes the BF’s sibling trope so frustrating; I suppose one can be grateful that this event, along with Finn’s realizations regarding his behavior, happens in the space between the two stories, but what ends up on the pages of TtEx is not a compelling alternative. And while I absolutely applaud Pippa’s strength to get out of a horrible situation with Brock and admire her drive to reclaim her own self, I wasn’t overly interested in her reconciliation with Drew because she didn’t strike as being all that interested. Their second chance fell a bit flat and the tone shifts given the more serious inciting incident of this book felt a bit like whiplash. I did appreciate the presence of both external and internal conflicts, but neither was handled in a way that did either type of conflict justice. Both needed more space to develop and play out given the plot.

Of the two leads, Pippa was definitely the more interesting character. And while I appreciated Drew’s actions in the end, I did find the “he’d learned his lesson” tone in those final chapters unpalatable. Thank goodness for the audiobook! It really ramped up my engagement with the story. Summer Morton and Stephen Dexter return from the prequel and that is a saving grace for both characters. Morton’s performance grounds Pippa, softening any less appealing character moments. She really had me rooting for Pippa to rebuild her life and seize her independence (maybe even from Drew). However, Dexter’s narration because it is the best thing about Drew, made me content to see the two MCs reunite. Dexter’s layered delivery pushed me out of frustration with Drew and into begrudging appreciation for his happy ending with Pippa.

This is another case of the performance making the story, so definitely listen if you intend to jump into this one.

I received a review copy via Home Cooked Books. All opinions are my own.