Adrian

Adrian is an age-gap, forbidden, taboo, older woman/younger man romance - that's a lot for such a quick read, or listen as the case may be. I knew from the blurb that this one was gonna be a stretch for me with the son chasing his father's fiancée. Honestly, that didn't bother me as much as I thought it might. What did bother me was this 25-year-old acting like a hormone-filled teenager with zero self-control. I don't find anything sexy about stalking, which is pretty much what Adrian does from the very beginning. But Carmen wasn't bothered enough by the behavior not to sleep with him, so I'll just chalk that up to being a head-scratcher for me. Anyway, one of the biggest turn-offs for me was the dialogue between the characters during the steamy stuff. Then there was the way Carmen was spoken to by Adrian's father. I just felt like that was in poor taste. There's also a big reveal in that scene that should've been a bigger problem for Carmen, but it feels like that was just cast aside. I'm trying to keep this as vague as I possibly can to avoid spoilers. Just because this one wasn't my cup of tea doesn't mean others won't like it. Lacy Laurel and Tim Paige give voice to the characters, and their performance is what saved this one for me. I did enjoy listening to them, so I kept listening where I otherwise may have stopped due to my own personal issues with certain things. Tim Paige is always good, and he delivers nothing less. Lacy Laurel is a bit of hit or miss for me, but she does well here. She especially nails Carmen's indignation and fury over being done wrong. This one's also done in duet, which makes a fun and fast-paced listen. To sum it up, I think it's safe to say that Adrian isn't my kind of read. I would still check out this author's work, but I'll be more cautious of my own issues with specific elements from now on.