Since I already reviewed the book, I’ll start with the part that was new to me, the narration. Shiloh Grey’s voice surprised me at first, and she’s not who I would have thought of to narrate Olivia’s story. Yet the more I listened, the more I appreciated her performance. It has flaws—the characters’ voices aren’t always distinguishable, there are longish blanks between sentences at times—but overall it didn’t matter at all. I can’t really explain why but it works, very much so. In some way, it feels like she emphasises the characters’ humanity. And while it’s easy to love Charlotte, Kate, or Millie, Olivia takes some time to warm up to. Olivia the person, not Olivia the character, whom Clare Ashton makes extremely relatable. As someone who would rather avoid skin proximity with most people (why are cheek kisses and handshakes a thing?), I understood exactly how Olivia felt when she got to physically connect with the love of her life for the first time. Being highly sensitive to touch is often unpleasant, but contacts that are chosen, desired, are heightened as well. And the ADHD representation through Charlotte feels extremely accurate. Charlotte is one of my favourite characters ever, even more so in this book than in her own. Happiness suits her.

Also, I’m both terrified and half in love with Nicola and I can’t wait to read more about her.

Clare Ashton has the precious gift of being able to write stories that are hilarious and heart wrenching in turn, bringing to the reader’s eyes tears of laughter followed by tears of despair. Temporary despair, since the happy ending is promised, which makes it the most delicious kind of despair.

Read my review of Tempting Olivia, the book.

Experience Tempting Olivia:

Bookshop.org (paperback)

Libro.fm (audiobook)

Kobo (audiobook)

Amazon (ebook – audiobook – paperback)

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