Ava fudged a little on her résumé to land her dream job. She’s been working her curvy booty overtime to get her boss’s new lingerie line off the ground. But when her boss’s brother comes in and says Ava should be the face—and body—of the campaign, she’s having second thoughts.Lucas knows what he wants, and the second he sees every lush inch of Ava all bets are off. She’s not only the one for the … one for the job but the one for him, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make her see it.
Warning: This obsessed hero doesn’t hold back, and we were more than happy to let him take the reins. Find out what happens when the thick girl gets the alpha and things really heat up!
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If you listened to Closer on the Read Me Romance Podcast and have been waiting for the epilogues… look no further!! We’ve almost doubled the word count with BRAND NEW content to give you the happily ever after you’ve been waiting on!
If you love this book bio and want to listen to it in audio, check out Closer on the Read Me Romance Podcast and get Ava and Lucas’ story WITHOUT epilogues for FREE!
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I listened to this book through the Read me romance podcast. They have tons of free romance audio books available. Check out their website linked above for more information.
I was not a fan of this at all. Sorry to all the fans of this book out there. I just did not like Lucas Caldwell whatsoever. He is a silent investor in his sister Rebecca’s lingerie company. There he meets Ava. Ava is this curvy girl who is Rebecca’s right hand. It seems Ava has had a crush on Lucas for quite some time now. That confuses me since this is their first time meeting each other. I think she read about him and noticed how close he was with his family? Not sure. At any rate, Rebecca keeps all that locked inside her thoughts. What bothered me was on strongly Lucas came on without Rebecca even showing interest in him.
Lucas demands Ava go out with him and then shows up randomly when Ava is headed to visit a friend. When Ava questions how he knew about the meetup, he replies when you have enough money you can find out anything. A major eye roll happened at that moment for me. Am I supposed to be swooning right now?….because some serious stalker vibes are happening. Then when they meetup with Ava’s friend, Benny, Lucas doesn’t let Ava hug him simply because he’s a guy.
Another issue I had was when the three of them (Ava, Lucas, Benny) decided to go out to eat. Lucas moves Ava’s dress so he can touch her bare thighs….then casually mentions how he knows she lied on her resume to get her job. CREEP ALERT. All kind of red flags popped up…even more so than before. Plus the fact that all Lucas does is mention how much money he has and how he always gets what he wants……major turn offs here.
Overall, this was not for me. I was creeped out and irritated the entire audio book. Maybe I took things differently than they were intended to be? I’m not sure. I know this has a lot of high ratings so try the book for yourself and decide on your own how you feel about it.
I’m really sad that I didn’t jump on Alexa Riley’s work before they left KindleUnlimited because this was —
I was always nervous about picking up a book by them as they were always so insta-everything. Insta-jealousy. Insta-lust. Insta-love. And they are always about the alpha men that sometimes, for me, doesn’t always translate really well to short stories.
Due to Ava, our curvy heroine, having a crush on Lucas for quite some time, it really made this novella work. I was so happy that she landed her man that I forgave Lucas for being a little pushy and a lot alpha.
4 stars!
*Audiobook via Read Me Romance podcast
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Oh, Ava and Lucas are so hot and sweet and this story has all the insta-love alpha-protectiveness I love. Alexa Riley does it right and I there’s no messing around. The hero knows what he wants and doesn’t waste any time in getting it. I love that the story also centers on a full figure woman and her coming to terms with loving herself as she is. Doesn’t hurt that we get all the epilogues because it’s hard to let the characters go.
Listened free via Read Me Romance and then read the epilogues via KU. Novella.
This is a warp-speed instalove. Ava & Lucas meet and are basically engaged in 3 days. No angst. OTT sweet & quick listen. Some of the dialogue was corny. “Stick it in a little.” Seriously?!?!
I adore Joe Arden & Maxine Mitchell as always.
Even free it’s nothing I’d listen to/read again.
Holy moly. I haven’t read anything by Alexa Riley before and I got this audiobook as a part of the new Read Me Romance podcast. I actually enjoyed the story. I love that Ava has curves and that is one of the pluses in Lucas’s mind. It’s a super short listen and the book moved forward pretty quickly. I think this was the first audio I’ve listened to that had dual readers. It’s interesting and makes it easier to follow POV changes.
The book is totally not safe for work. I believe I may have been blushing at one point that thankful that my iPod doesn’t have speakers (in case the headphones disconnected).
The only real downside to this book was that it was short. I mean, there was no character development and I felt the relationship between Ava and Lucas moved forward unbelievably fast. But I’d definitely be interested in reading more by this new-to-me author.
I freaking love this idea of audiobooks in podcast form.
And beginning with Alexa Riley?
You just know it is going to be awesome.
Will definitely be coming back for more.
Already pre-ordered the ebook, that will contain the epilogue.
Check out the Read Me Romance podcast, for a weekly free book, divided by five episodes, delivered to you daily, along with a amazing dose of hilarious chit-chat from authors Alexa Riley and Tessa Bailey.
Edit: I came back for the epilogues, and oh my lord, were they worth it.
Great story! Loved that the heroine was a curvy lady and that the hero really liked that. Lots of fun but also sweet.
Closer by Alexa Riley is a standalone billionaire curvy girl romance novella and the introductory book on the Read Me Romance podcast. My first listen to the Read Me Romance podcast was with this quickie. Sexy, insta-love, curvy girl and alpha billionaire. It was hot and quick and dirty and awesome. If you haven’t listened and subscribed to the podcast you need to do that right now. Free audiobooks. Introductions to authors with exclusive novella length stories.
Go. Go now. And listen. Enjoy!
AHHHH! This is so PERFECT!
Can I just say that every woman needs a Lucas! Romantic, sexy, and kind with an alpha drive and a slightly overbearing need to have her. Yes, I would send my husband to the Lucas training camp. Where the permission slip?
Sexy, sweet, and let’s not even touch the amount of oral delight…
I first listened to Closer by Alexa Riley on their new Read Me Romance podcast and enjoyed Ava and Lucas’ story. Closer was traditional Alexa Riley to the core. Sweet, over-the-top, with a possessive alpha male and instant love. Originally narrated by Joe Arden and Maxine Mitchell and they were amazing narrators!
Now, with the release of the eBook, we get one of the very best parts of Alexa’s books, epilogues! We get to see years into the main characters love story and how life is for them. With characters from Alexa Riley, we know its steamy, sexy and full of love and devotion with overprotective and possessive men. They give us just that with the Closer epilogues! Loved it!
Happy reading!
It was a short and naughty read about an all alpha billionaire and his curvy intended.
As all Alexa Riley’s work, it was sweet and steamy and a little dirty but not too much with a hero, Lucas, who is smitten instantly when he first sees his woman, nothing will stop him to woo his woman even it is rather over the top.
While Ava is she accepts her curves is also self conscious she is very different from the models who show at her work’s place, a lingerie business. So when her brother’s boss shows up and rejects all the gorgeous models and has only eyes for her, she struggles to accept it is not a joke.
It is very fast paced with no angst, full of tender and sweet moments, and the epilogues are all more and more cute.
Audio: Narrators – Joe Arden & Maxine Mitchell
Absolutely loved this performance! Nothing to even make me cringe, adjust my settings, or wish it had been done differently. We each have our own likes/dislikes but this one was exactly perfect for me.
This is your typical Alexa Riley with an over the top hero and a sweet virginal heroine. As always they are perfect for a bit of a reprieve between heavier, darker reads. I make sure to dish these out to myself in small quantities so that I can truly enjoy them when I do pick one up. And this one was timed perfectly. I can really enjoy a novella if the couple has known each other prior to the beginning of the book, but unfortunately that was not the case here so I was left to deal with that disappointment. Still, it is what it is and I always enjoy a strong alpha hero that tends to show jealous possessive moments.
I listened to this on the Read Me Romance Podcast before reading the epilogue in the book, borrowed through Kindle Unlimited.
Dual POV
Ava aka petal, has the biggest crush on her bosses brother, Lucas, and now she gets to meet him for the first time. When she meets him, he is absolutely smitten with her….and did I mention OTT persistent, he totally was. He cracks me up throughout the book with his OTT caveman antics. He and his sister are looking for the next model for their campaign and they decide to make her their curvy model.
Safe read, no om drama, a little catty ow drama. He is an OTT alpha that cracks me up. She is sweet, but not a pushover…I loved that. Same great AR humor. Hot af, shit ton of baby batter, epilogues, one was super sweet…pulled at my heartstrings and an hea.