Falling for the enemy has never been so deliciously complicated in this standalone romance where a sexy single dad meets his unexpected match! Get ready for all the feels!Never have I ever been so infuriated by a man I wanted to kiss.They say opposites attract, but I beg to differ. Combust is more like it. Because every single time I talk to Zach Nolan, I see red.The too-good-looking, too-smart, … red.
The too-good-looking, too-smart, too-effortlessly charming single dad who works down the hall from me has turned getting under my skin into a sport. Call it the battle of wits between the wedding planner and the divorce attorney.
Trouble is, when we’re forced into closer quarters planning an engagement party for our best friends, I start to see his other sides.
And I fear I’m falling for the enemy.
***
I’m not out to make friends. My goals are simple — fight till the end for my clients, and my family.
The last thing I need is a vibrant, outgoing, snarky, and surprisingly big-hearted wedding planner to spend my precious free time with…except, watching Piper bond with my daughter just might break down the cinder block walls I’ve built around my heart these last few years.
Second chances don’t come around for guys like me…or do they?
NEVER HAVE I EVER is a sexy, frenemies-to-lovers romance in the Always Satisfied series of standalones! The series includes SATISFACTION GUARANTEED, INSTANT GRATIFICATION, NEVER HAVE I EVER, OVERNIGHT SERVICE and the novella SPECIAL DELIVERY, and they can be read in any order.
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I love the stories that suck me in and make me root for the characters and this is it! These enemies have years of practice at not liking each other but when things start to change, they are a bit slow to realize it. Now this is where it gets good…
Definitely a book I recommend and the narrators made it great to listen to!
I absolutely loved, loved the characters, both the main and secondary ones, and story in the audible original Never Have I Ever by Lauren Blakely. Jason Clarke and Amanda Ronconi did an amazing job bringing Zach and Piper to life for me. Such a sweet and charming story that was light, fun and had me just getting lost in the journey.
Zach and Piper knew each other from the same group of friends in college and meet again at a friend’s wedding and the two become frenemies that banter back and forth on very different takes on weddings and marriage based on the career path each took. This has remained the same between them for years. In the present, Zach is a widower and father of two adorable kids. Now as they begin make plans for their best friends upcoming nuptials, they are spending time together and getting to know each other in different ways. Now these sort of frenemies are seeing each other as more, but are they ready for what that means?
I loved the audio of Never Have I Ever by Lauren Blakey. The narrators were amazing and I laughed and swooned and just fell in love with these characters. Watching them fall was half the fun and how they begin playing and continue playing Never Have I Ever was the best! A great story and I loved it!
Happy listening!
Lauren Blakey does it again with another phenomenally captivating, adorable, addictive, and witty romance. I love her writing style. Piper and Zach are cute together, their banter is amazing, and entertaining. I enjoyed every single moment of this book.
5 stars!
OMG, I love this book! A snarky, sweet and sexy frenemies-to-lovers romance with all the feels! I laughed and swooned and I fell in mad love with these characters and their chemistry-filled journey to a HEA. It’s such a fun read, and a definite fave from Lauren Blakely.
Zach and Piper are a part of the same group of friends from College. They didn’t get on then, and now in their 30s, they still don’t get on, which is really awkward considering they share office space.
Zach is a straight-talking divorce attorney with a reputation for fiercely protecting his clients, but as a widowed father of two, we get to see his softer side as his love for his children, and his commitment to being there for them, absolutely shines! *melt*. Piper is a happy, outgoing wedding planner. She is positive and perky, and with her hard work and sincere desire to make her clients’ dreams come true, she’s made a huge success of herself. Complete opposites, their relationship consists of bickering and bantering, constantly undermining each other and other general hilarity. And that’s complicated by the fact that Zach’s sweetly perceptive and intelligent ten year old daughter thinks Piper is the greatest thing ever, and they have a close friendship that exists even regardless of the snark that exists between Piper and Zach.
When Zach and Piper are asked to stand in as Best Man and Maid of Honor for their best friends, they are thrown together even more than normal, and as the wedding festivities take them across the globe, they begin to realize just how well they get along, and everything begins to change.
I love this romance! It’s a beautiful slow burn as they move from enemies-to-friends-to-more. It’s natural and easy, and it’s functional without any unnecessary drama, and I love that! The sexy time is sizzling, they talk about what’s going on between them and how they are going to deal with it, and their feelings for each other are beautifully explored as their relationship develops and deepens. I could feel every single moment of their fall, and I fell right along with them.
“Something breaks inside me. Something breaks beautifully … It’s not the awareness of what I’m feeling. I’m not a stupid guy. I’m smart and I’ve known for weeks what’s been happening. Instead, it’s the acceptance of it, the surrender to it, to falling ridiculously in love again.”
Zach’s relationship with his children is just gorgeous – he’s everything you could want for a father. And Piper’s relationship with his kids is just as beautiful. We get to see lots of time with them together, and I loved that. There’s also a great cast of side characters – some of who have books of their own (Sloane and Malone from Satisfaction Guaranteed and the hero from the upcoming release, Instant Gratification). It’s a great bunch, and I loved seeing the dynamics as they all interact.
I also really loved how the ‘Never Have I Ever’ theme was beautifully carried through the whole story. From a kiddie version to an adult one and even a way hotter one, I thought it was really clever how it was used, and it definitely put a smile on my face.
I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Jason Clarke and Amanda Ronconi, and they do a great job with it! They bring so much life to these characters, perfectly capturing the high and the low moments, and bringing so much emotion to their performance. Definitely a book I recommend listening to.
I loved this story so much. I was completely swept up, and I honestly adored every moment of it.
5 star review of Never Have I Ever by Lauren Blakely
If I could, I would give this 10 stars
This was a slightly more serious story from Lauren Blakely as although it was full of steam and her trademark humour that has made her so successful, it also dealt with grief and moving on. Never Have I Ever is one of the best books that I have read this year.
It is a story of enemies to lovers, overcoming grief, acceptance, family, laughter, friendship and above all love.
I fell hard and fast for Zach Nolan and honestly he just melted my heart; he is my newest book boyfriend. Zach and Piper Radcliff have been frenemies for years and the last thing either of them expected was to develop feelings for one another.
This story was at times highly emotional as Zach and Piper navigated their relationship all the while keeping it on the down low. The relationship that Zach has with his children Lucy and Henry was so heart warming and I loved how the friendship developed between Piper and Lucy in particular.
Of course the chemistry between Zach and Piper was smoking hot and there were plenty of laugh out loud moments through out. I don’t think I will ever play a game of Never Have I Ever without immediately recalling this audio book.
Loved, loved, loved.
I can’t even believe how much I loved this story. Zach is so sweet. He’s so insecure. That kiss… oh, you know the one or will when you read/listen to it, GOOD LORD, I FELT that kiss… Wow! Piper and Zach…. they hate each other so, not at all… so much they might just fall in love. I can definitely tell you that I fell in love with them! I was beyond smitten with both main characters and Zach’s children. The entire storyline was fantastic… if I wasn’t literally laughing out loud, than I had this wistful and happy smile on my face, and I ended the book with tears streaming down my face (no joke)!!!
Jason Clarke had me giggling. I’m in love with the way Jason Clarke narrates little boys and his Bristish accent. I love that at one point wanker was nearly said half a dozen times in this delightfully British voice. I was so obsessed with the way he could change his voice. Now, Amanda Ronconi was fabulous!! I just love her voice. It’s upbeat and fun and it’s just an overall pleasant and happy voice. I can’t help but want to listen to more books with her narration. She’s an absolute gem… a peach!!
I loved this delightful frenemies to lovers romance! It was so sweet, touching, and steamy. Zach and Piper were acquaintances in college, having the same group of friends. Ten years later they continue to hang with the same friends, are both successful and work in the same building. They have always been like fire and ice, exchanging barbs whenever they are together. But all of a sudden, their taunts have become more fun and fiery, adding fuel to their growing sexual tension. They both have things in their pasts that make it hard for them to know how to handle these powerful new feelings. But between Zach’s adorable children, and their fun, loving and supportive friends, that won’t be a problem for long. Zach with his kind and gentle nature and his devotion to his kids, first and foremost, then to his family, friends, and clients, makes him so swoony and my favorite hero! Put them together and I am totally in love with Zach and Piper! They are both strong, witty, and caring people, and their chemistry and passion is off the charts. The narration by Jason Clarke, and Amanda Ronconi, is truly one to savor. Their comedic timing is impeccable, delivering Blakely’s signature witty banter flawlessly. Their voice changes were so compelling, including the young children, and they easily made me feel all the turmoil, fun, and passion between these characters. I loved this unique, refreshing, witty romance, with mind melds, firsts, lists, and letters being some of my favorite highlights that brought me to tears, made me swoon, and laughing out loud. Blakely continues to create hilarious, touching, and hot and sexy romances that capture my heart and Clarke and Ronconi helped make Never Have I Ever a masterpiece!
Audiobook Review:
Never Have I Ever had so many things I wanted to say and yet, the words are just stuck. How many times can I say the word awesome in a review? I mean, I wouldn’t be wrong, because this book is awesome, but I need to be a little more articulate than that. So, here goes…ramblings by Kelly LOL.
Once again, Lauren Blakely hits it out of the park. With Never Have I Ever, Lauren brings depth to her classic rom-com style. Don’t worry, I’m not talking Unbreak My Heart type depth, sheesh, I’m still not over that. But Zach is a single father and the way he navigates that gives the story an extra depth that it wouldn’t have had without it. A vulnerability. It made him likeable. Sweet. I might have developed a crush…oh well, in my defence, he’s the sweetest dad ever, how could I not? But my crush wasn’t limited to just him though, I’m an equal opportunities crusher and Piper got the crush treatment too. I just loved how they were together. The chemistry was palpable from the get-go and it never let up. The back and forth with the jibes was hilarious, I’m a huge fan of banter and I thought theirs was some of the best I’ve listened to recently. Once they finally gave in to their desire, holy mackerel! it was explosive. And did somebody say they wanted steam? Because, I swear, my windows started to condense with the heat level. Zach has a dirty mouth (Thank you, Goddess Lauren). This book is sexy and sweet and swoony. Yes, all the Ss again. But, it’s also super funny and has some emotional moments, some of the scenes with the kids were killer—this emotional girl just couldn’t handle it. But it just gave the book that much more of a heck yeah from me. Lucy is the sweetest ten-year-old and I dare you not to tear up with a particular scene with her. And Henry is a cutie seven-year-old that you just want to hug all day every day. The way Piper was with them was the icing on the cake, and once again proved that biology doesn’t make a family, love does.
Lauren is the freaking Queen of audiobook casting. She always finds the perfect voices for her characters and is willing to introduce her listeners to narrators they may not have heard before. She doesn’t just stick with the popular ones—not that there is anything wrong with that—she’s an advocate for new talent…even if that’s a new talent to you. And I love her for it. I cannot wait to see what she has in store next.
I would love…I’m begging, on my hands and knees, (okay, full disclosure, I’m sat on the bed, but it sounded good, right?) for Lauren to write a full story, or at least a novella, for Piper’s sister, Paige (if this exists and I’ve missed it somebody better tell me right freaking now!). It’s a topic close to my heart and I was so happy to have that included and be painted in a good light, that I’d love to see it expanded upon. There were several threads that would make great stories…or that are already available to read/ listen to, or that I know are coming. Exciting times for LB fans.
I have listened to many Jason Clarke audiobooks. I adore his narrations and have for several years, yes folks, before we knew what he looked like I was swooning over his voice, what I can say? I have good taste. So, I knew I was going to enjoy his performance, but I was actually surprised at how much I adored this particular performance. He delivered the perfect balance of sweet, caring dad, and top-notch lawyer, with a penchant for winding up his frenemy. The exchanges between Zach and Piper where hilarious, and once they started the move from enemies to friends, and then more, gah! It was everything, Jason performed it all to a T, and the vulnerability Zach had shone through. There were several scenes with the children that were fantastic, and one that gutted me. I know, I know, I’m too emotional. But you try and not be affected when you’re an emotional person and the voice actor is killing it with the emotion and kid voices, I can only survive so much. He just nailed it all and it was fantastic. And exactly why he is so sought after.
I’ve never listened to Amanda Ronconi before, so, I’ll admit, I was a little nervous. I’m a picky listener, that is not new information, I like what I like and if I don’t like it, well, yeah, that sucks but honesty is always key. I don’t always follow the narrator trends. But I have a question. Why the heck has nobody been shouting about this particular narrator? Have they and I missed it? Then why did nobody make me pay attention? She was absolutely bloody brilliant. I need to go and purchase all the books she’s worked on— I do own a couple, as it turns out, yay—because I need more of her awesomeness in my ears. Amanda was perfectly cast as Piper, she had the sweet, girl next door, type of vibe, but, could and would stand her ground and pull punches with the best of them, and that shone through beautifully in the performance. The way she switched from each character flawlessly was astounding. I couldn’t get enough.
I think this was the first time that Jason and Amanda have teamed up on an audiobook, and I have to say, it needs to happen again, and stat! Their voices blend so well. The change of character PoV wasn’t drastic. It felt like an easy transition for the listener. They both can carry a British accent too, which, as we all know, is something of a stumbling block for this Brit, when she listens. I honestly can’t say enough about the quality of the performances, if, for no other reason than the amazing narration, you should listen to this audiobook. The production was great too, with no noticeable issues. I also just want to add that the running time of this audiobook is ALL this book. No sneak peeks, no bonuses, it’s all the story and I loved that. I loved that I got to spend over 8 hours with these characters and in their world, not to mention enjoying the voice talent of these particular actors.
Audible Review
Lauren Blakely has a way with words. It’s not what she writes, but the way she presents it. Never Have I Ever finds the smile hiding behind the frustration. Zach and Piper bring out the worst in each other. The wedding planner and the divorce lawyer can’t agree on anything. It’s an uphill battle until a surprising twist has them seeing each other in a whole new light. Blakely provides the emotion, Clarke and Ronconi add the funny and Piper and Zach give off the heat. Over the top becomes larger than life.
Audible Review
Is it possible to just float from all the deliciousness of listening to a Lauren Blakely book? Yes, it is especially when it is narrated by Jason Clarke and Amanda Ronconi.
Zach Nolan is 10 kinds of “hot sexy man”. He’s a shark in the courtroom, he’s an A+ single dad and he’s an expert in giving his frenemy a hard time.
Piper Radcliff is a wedding planner extraordinaire. She has devoted her life to her business and has little time for love even though that is her business. Her office neighbor and long term frenemy irritates her to no end, that is until he doesn’t.
Zach and Piper have a wonderful build up with all their banter back and forth and with them being friends in the same circle as well as sharing an office when their built up attraction finally explodes it is game on. Oh yes, this all begins with the game Never Have I Ever. Truths can be revealed in an innocent game or maybe it’s not so innocent after all.
This audiobook is amazing. The story is fantastic. There is snarky back and forth, fireworks attractions, tender love, family, friends, and just living life in the best ways possible. Then add on the added bonus of getting to listen to Jason Clarke and Amanda Ronconi and it is a win win all the way.
I received an early copy of the audiobook to listen and review and give my honest opinion. This is a definite 5 stars for me. Love the story, and the narration is perfect.