SHANE MILLER SLEEP DIARY:Went to bed at: Late.How long it took to fall asleep: Forever. I have insomnia. Duh.Number of caffeinated beverages you had consumed: Zero. Thanks for advising me to quit!My stress level is off the charts. I can’t sleep right on a normal day, and lately my days are filled with the best kind of chaos. My ex-wife and husband number two are filming in Poland for three … kind of chaos.
My ex-wife and husband number two are filming in Poland for three months,
so I’m turning down movie parts to focus on the most important role of my life—
impossibly charming and somewhat capable young single dad.
My son won’t stop asking questions.
My daughter won’t brush her teeth unless I sing her showtunes.
Our regular nanny quit.
The only person I could trust to hire as a temp nanny is my best friend’s sister.
If Mary Poppins and Bill Murray had a baby it would be Willa.
Fresh out of grad school and beautifully weird.
She hates my movies, and my kids adore her.
I couldn’t sleep last night because she wasn’t here.
Turns out I can’t sleep unless she’s in my house now.
Turns out she’s what’s been missing from my life all along.
If my friend had any idea what I want to do to his gorgeous troublemaker of a sister,
he would smother me with a pillow.
The chances of us succeeding as a couple are about as good as that little indie movie
that I made being a huge hit.
But it’s a chance I’m going to take.
* This is a 71,000 word novel
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“It just took Shane about twelve years longer to realize what you knew when you met him.”
Look, everything about this book is so wizard. What do you mean you don’t know what that means? Well, it means you haven’t read it. Spoiler alert: it means this book was out of this world for me. It’s not my favorite of Kayley’s simply because… A Very Bossy Christmas is proving hard to dethrone.
“And I say this as a professional perfumer—if I could bottle up and sell this man’s scent, women would try to hump everything you sprayed it on. I would be financially secure for life. For life. But I wouldn’t. I’d keep it for myself. Because I want it all over me.”
Shane is… I honestly don’t even know how to describe him, because he’s so damn perfect it’s killing me to know that I can only meet him in the pages of this book. Seriously. There’s so much to this guy, there’s so much passion in him for everything he does. There’s so much adorable cheesiness about him. I love the way he is with his kids. I adore his journal entries. And I share the same lack of sleep. Also, his passion seriously extends to the bedroom, and other rooms. Damn.
“She is stunning. She is surprisingly gorgeous in the way that a sunset is gorgeous. You just have to stop what you’re doing to marvel at the natural beauty and remember that it’s not your problems and To-Do lists that define you. It’s the things that take your breath away and give your life back to you by nudging you off track.”
I love Willa and the way she sees the world. I love that people think she’s so sweet and innocent, but well, she’s not. She’s so driven and she knows what she wants to do with her life. She’s known it for a very long time. I’m so glad she doesn’t doubt herself or who she is. My favorite thing about her is that she sees everything in scents. She remembers her grandfather, who passed away, but whose scent is still in her grandmother’s house, like he’s still alive. Like your memory of someone is awoken by scents. This seems like a romantic notion, but whenever I smell a certain brand of coffee, I remember my grandmother. So yeah, it really is a thing. Willa, you rock.
“I remember everything about that first time I met you. I remember everything about every second I’ve spent with you. I want to spend all the seconds with you.”
Willa had the biggest crush on Shane when he starred in a hit TV show as a teenager, along with her brother. She was only 12 at the time, but she did one of those magazine quizzes and she was sure she was meant to be Shane’s wife in the future. You know, those quizzes we all took when we were teens. You never know, right?
“This girl. She can explain sunsets to a five-year-old and convey her maturity to a twenty-eight-year-old, and I’m starting to wonder if I’m the one who can’t handle her.”
Anyway, the future seemed to be leading them in different directions. Shane got married and had kids. Then he got divorced. Willa was doing her own thing, trying to get her career started as a perfumer, and living in France for a while.
These days, Shane has insomnia. He can’t sleep for the life of him. He’s exhausted. And he needs help, and a nanny for his kids. What could be better than his best friend’s sister coming over to help?
Well…
“12. Loving someone this much is terrifying.
Maybe I’m just a big baby.
Maybe everyone is this scared when they’re in love and nobody tells you.
I don’t know.”
These two are incredible together, I can’t stress this enough. Their chemistry is off the charts. Shane’s small gestures, how cheesy he is with Willa, and how much they want to give each other everything. That little revelation by Shane’s mom near the end that got my heart beating out of my chest. All the sighing and small awww moments (that awww was definitely mine!) between them.
The fact that scents and smells permeate this book and the descriptions are so vivid I almost feel like I’m there.
“I don’t know that it would even be possible for me to capture the way I feel right now in a perfume. It’s a remarkable thing, to know that a person is yours but to still long for him. To be married to your first celebrity crush. To choose to love someone with an unguarded heart because he has proven to you, time and again, that he will be the one to protect it.”
There’s no angst in this book. I had two major feelings when I finished it. First, I don’t think I ever felt this single in my life. At the same time, there’s this wonderful thing, like I can take on the world, and maybe get what I deserve and my happily ever after (unfortunately, not with Shane, though, ’cause he’s taken).
I swooned so hard I may need to get my head out of the clouds now, but it felt just right. Like great books do.
And that’s definitely so wizard too!
I really enjoyed this book. Can’t wait to read Kayle Loring again.
Loved, loved this story!!
This was my first story from this author and it won’t be my last. She writes fenomenal romcom. The characters have great chemistry and the story just flows.
Shane are Willa are just meant to be, I love their banter.
Willa is going to be working for Shane as a babysitter.
But Shane can’t stop thinking about Willa, knowing is a bad idea since she is his best friend sister… how will they ever make that work!
Fun and quirky, a fast paced read that is gonna have you laughing and swooning.
5 stars
This was my first book by Kayley Loring and I was completely smitten by the end of the first chapter!
u2063I loved Sleeper so much! Shane and Willa are both fantastic characters. Willa is so wonderfully fun and unique. I loved all the descriptions of the things she smelled and Shane’s sleep journal was hilarious (she’s a perfumer). I don’t normally go for single dad romance because my real kids are enough for me, I don’t need fictional kids in my life But, Summer and Lucky were super cute and they endeared themselves to me quickly. This book has some super sexy scenes and I more than appreciated the fact that they didn’t beat around the bush with their attraction to one another. If you love a single dad/nanny, Hollywood star romance with lots of heat and low angst, Sleeper is for you! u2063
It was amazing. I loved it.
I have read and listened to several Kayley Loring books and have LOVED them. She has quickly become a go to author for me. When I read this blurb, I will be an honest and say I wasn’t psyched about diving in to this one, but I am so glad I gave it a chance.
Shane is a actor, and a divorced dad with five year old twins and a sleep problem. Willa is a perfumer looking to start her career, and the sister of Shane’s best friend. At the suggestion of her brother, Willa becomes Shane’s nanny after his nanny quits and he is struggling to manage life and all of his daddy duties on minimal sleep.
Sleeper was cute, romantic, hilarious and overall just an entertaining and engaging book. I enjoyed the story line and overall loved both Shane and Willa as characters. They both seemed genuine and real as people. I enjoyed the scenes with the children and found them to be pretty comical. I think WIlla and Shane had some seriously awesome chemistry. I loved Shane’s sleep diary and the epilogue was absolute perfection. I am so glad I gave this story of the performer and the perfumer the chance it so deserved. I would definitely recommend it!
is the first Kayley Loring book I’ve read, but now I’m excited to read more!
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Meeting Shane for the first time when he was 16 and she was 12, Willa has basically been in love with him forever. She knows it’s probably not a great idea to agree to be his nanny, but she can handle herself. Right?u2063
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I loved Willa! A little nerdy, a lot awkward, and completely unapologetic about it…rock on, Willa! Shane was equally as awesome with his hot, single dad vibes. He was a giant teddy bear who was worried about being attracted to his best friend’s little sister…but not worried enough to stop himself from doing anything about it. You go, Shane!u2063
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These two fit well together. Even Shane’s ex-wife (who wasn’t a crazy ex kind of ex-wife and it made me like the book a little more) knew they were meant for each other. The kids were cute and quirky and also loved Willa. No crazy, no drama, just real-life situations that come up that people have to handle while being in a relationship. Loved that!!u2063
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Since the next book is about Nico, Willa’s brother, I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing a little more of Willa and Shane!u2063
This book has some hysterically funny moments. The sleep diary and the scent diary were strokes of genius, giving us insight into our H and h’s private frustrations and inner witticisms. But the characters are what make this story such a rom/com success. Starting with the kids—unfiltered and outspoken, yet innocent and vulnerable. OMG a five year old putting on a Cockney and a Yiddish accent. I can’t imagine anything funnier than that. A smart, bold five year old would totally do that, which is what makes it so funny.
Willa. God, I love Willa. Just as much as I loved Johnny B. Nerdballs in Sexy Nerd, and that’s saying a lot. Willa is super smart and awkward and she knows it and embraces it with abandon. She cracks corny jokes, explains bananas and farts in science terms, teaches show tunes to the kids, shows them how to work off their anger with untamed movement, and loves and forgives them unconditionally. Pretty much everything she does is with her whole heart. Which is why it’s difficult to enter into a relationship with Shane if he can’t do the same.
And Shane—he’s the perfect book boyfriend. Not egotistical or arrogant like you might expect a celebrity to be, and I’m so glad this wasn’t made into an enemies to lovers trope. It could have easily gone there, but I like Shane a lot more this way—a great dad and a great lover. Well maybe more than a lover, but not quite a boyfriend yet. Somewhere in between until the epilogues which are really sweet.
These relationships all come together in a very modern way, with all parties (including the kids) fully informed and in agreement. It’s all very ‘Hollywood’. In fact the ‘Hollywood-isms’ scattered throughout this story are pretty amusing. The story is all wrapped up without too much drama and I like that. I don’t feel like every romance story needs to make me weep before the H and h get together. That’s what’s so appealing about Kayley Loring books. They’re fun, steamy romantic adventures that don’t drag you through the depths of hell and back.
Kayley Loring has once again written a feel-good story that will touch us and make us laugh. She’s one of my top favorite rom/com writers. So if you haven’t tried any of her books yet, this is a great place to start.
I really loved this book. Second chance read with adorable and completely normal acting children in the mix. Willa loved Shane since she was 12, Shane met Willa at that age, but lived the life of a early teen star. We all want our fairytale to just happen and come true, but life rarely turns out the way we planned. 12 years down the road, Shane has a divorce and twin 5 year olds, who for every bit of word regarding them, act just like every 5 year old child I’ve ever encountered. Those who don’t have kids or have never worked with kids, may be put out by the way the female of the twins acts. But, in reality this is even a softer side of a set of 5 year olds. Trust me 5 year olds are chaos, frustration and hell on wheels, while completely adorable all at the same time. You hate love them and love to hate them. Back to the point, Willa just returns home from Europe after graduating and chance meets Shane again, who at this point is desperate for a nanny and is now a full fledged insomniac from stress. Willa just happens to be desperate for a job and already knows nanny work. Sparks fly, but are sparks enough to build a raging flame? You’ve just got to read it, it is worth it.
This story started out funny and continued funny! I loved the sleep journals that Shane wrote. Shane has insomnia. He can’t get to sleep and being a single dad of twin 5 year olds and your nanny quotes doesn’t help.
Willa has had a crush on her brother’s best friend/co-star since she was 12. The day she met him, she felt as if he was it for her.
They don’t meet again until Willa’s brother suggests that Shane hire her for his nanny until her Etsy store is open. And when they meet again Willa realizes her feelings for him never stopped.
A great quirky story of 2 people who finally realize that they are it for each other and try to make it work. Loved this story. Not your usual Hollywood love story. There really isn’t the usual drama that you get with Hollywood stories and I LOVE it!.
Two precocious twins with a sleep deprived dad and an old crush. This story has it all and it was simply adorable.
Shane is a teenage Disney star turned mega star who is also a single dad who isn’t sleeping thanks to his work schedule and adorable children. He desperately needs a nanny and when his best friends sister comes back to town she is perfect for the job, except for the tiny problem that she had a huge crush on him years ago.
Shane is completely adorable, not only as a parent, but in his inner thoughts concerning the hot nanny. I loved this book and everything it contained.
Willa has come back home from Paris and is expecting to live with her older brother, Nico, and find a job, when Nico finagles his friend, Shane, into interviewing Willa for a nanny position caring for Shane’s twins. Sounds good, but it’s not really, because Willa used to have a crush on Shane, Mr. Hollywood star. Oh sure, she’s gotten over that crush (not really), but is she sure she can handle living in Shane’s house, being in such close proximity to the man?
I loved Sleeper! Shane and Willa are adorable together, forging first a friendship turned much more. Add in Shane’s cutie pie kids, chemistry for days, and Sleeper ended up being the perfect blend of sexy, sweet and funny.
What a fun listen! I completely devoured this audiobook. The perfect mix of humor and sexy, with outstanding narration. This is my first book by Kayley Loring but it certainly won’t be my last!
Awwww just awww that’s all I have. I love this book it’s so adorable. I love how Willa is so smart and dorky but sassy and the kids just love her as much as Shane does. I like how her brother nico just seems to get the bigger picture and how things really need to be. And when you find out what Shane said to his mom when he was a kid after meeting Willa that he totally forgot about you just melt inside. Love the book.
Maybe the best book I’ve read so far this year!
A sexy, best friend’s sister romance. Not only is Willa Todd the little sister of Shane Miller’s best friend, she is also now his temporary live in nanny. Nanny to his two adorable (yet extremely naughty) 5 year old twins. The kids love her, even the ex wife likes her, and Shane is besotted with her. After years of insomnia, Willa seems to be the answer to all his prayers. He can sleep, he can enjoy his children, his stress levels have gone right down, oh, and he can ogle her to his heart’s content. Willa is in her element, she’s finally within reach of her childhood crush, and things are starting to look up, her perfume business is taking off, she’s saving money and she’s loving life in LA. What an earth could go wrong? A great story that had me addicted from the first chapter. It didn’t hurt that Teddy Hamilton was narrating – I could listen to him read the daily news and get turned on, he’s got a voice of pure sex. Dirty and cheeky all at the same time. A full five stars from me.
#AudiobookObsessionReviewer
I absolutely loved this sexy single dad/forbidden rom-com! Loring has fast become a favorite author, as I fall for her stories that are filled with humor, heart, and sizzling heat! This is about Shane, an actor and single dad who is in dire need of a nanny. He is so patient, and doting on his adorable twins who keep him busy and sleep deprived. His best friend’s younger sister is back from France and looking for a job. Willa is a smart, quirky perfumer who has had a crush on Shane since she was young. She connects instantly with his twins, and jumps at the chance to be his temporary live-in nanny while she starts her own perfume line. She is able to help Shane with, not only his twins, but his insomnia as well, with her creative essential oil combinations. I laughed so hard at her inner musing, and how everything relates to smells. She is a wealth of crazy facts and she charmed me just as fast as she charmed Shane, his twins, and his ex. wife. Shane is so down to earth, adorable, caring and funny. He tries to fight his attraction to Willa, to be just friends, but he realizes he has also been intrigued by Willa since their first meet cute. I loved that this romance doesn’t have alot of angst, but it does have just enough bedlam to make me completely satisfied. Mackenzie Cartwright and Teddy Hamilton were so perfectly cast to narrate this hilarious and heartwarming romance. They did a great job embodying these characters and setting the stage for all the fun, and passion to come. Both narrators have a wonderful range of voices and expressions that I love to get lost in and make this story pure pleasure!
Wonderful Story & Narration A Heartfelt Delight!
Sleeper
By: Kayley Loring
Narrated by: Teddy Hamilton, Mackenzie Cartwright
I love, love, loved this audiobook, it is a wonderful story, beautifully written and told! Kayley Loring is a gifted author, I enjoy her writing style, the storylines she created are original and interesting, they grabbed my attention right from the start and held it straight to the end. The characters are likable and easy to relate to. I adored the two leads, Shane Miller and Willa Todd, loved how Willa crushed on him when she was younger. Shane Miller an actor with a successful career is divorced with twin children, he had help fo a Nanny but she decided to quit. Shane is good friends with Willa’s brother, Nico, and it is he who recommends hiring Willa, she was a Nanny while training in France and she is looking for a temporary job while she starts up her own business. Willa was great with his kids, Lucky and Summer, she developed a good rapport with them and even got them to like her. I loved how everything plays out in this book, the alternating POV were great and the diary contributions are a brilliant additions. The story flows nicely and is beautifully plotted, there is never a dull moment with plenty of drama, a bit of angst, some great humor, heartfelt and loving moments all leading to a great romance. I highly recommend this entertaining and enjoyable book!
I listened to the Audible edition, Teddy Hamilton and Mackenzie Cartwright are awesome narrators and voice artist. They bring these characters to life, humanize them with their emotions, giving each their own voice and personality. I adored Teddy’s take on Shane and Mackenzie’s Willa, they also did a great job performing the voices of the secondary characters too, children included. They are entertaining storytellers and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another fabulous and delightful listen
Thank you @AudiobookObsession #AudiobookObsession #AudiobookObsessionReviewer
I loved Shane and Willa. This movie star/brother’s best friend romance was well written first person, dual POV. The addition of Shane’s sleep diary and Will’s scent diary are full of humor and link the reader to internal thoughts of the characters. Shane’s twins are cute and funny most of the time while still causing trouble like five year old kids really do. Margo, Shane’s ex-wife, is not portrayed as an evil villain and I appreciated how her role and feelings in the story. I loved that they are still friends and put the interests of the children ahead of their differences. I love Shane and Nico’s friendship and how Nico is supportive of Shane and his sister. Willa’s education as a perfumer and her ability to pick put different scents are a big part of the story and gave me a new appreciation for how scent and smell affect my life. This one has an adorable HEA and I loved the whole story.
Audio Review
I love this author so I had been patiently waiting on this one to hit Audible and it was even better than I was expecting. So funny and hot and sexy with a great story to back it all up.
Shane is famous and his bank account is full but he can’t seem to manage his 5 year old twins on his own. When his best friend suggest his little sister help him out for a few weeks as his nanny Shane is all in. He had no idea having Willa around would not only relax him enough to be able to sleep but to also get his heart beating again.
Willa has had a crush on Shane for years or it started with the character he played as a teen and now her real life crush is right before her and single and hot and she is playing house with him or at least she is taking care of his children and living in his home. She has had feelings for this man for years but things are definitely different now, these are grown up real feelings instead of a teenage crush. But what about her career? Can she give it all up for this man?
Oh swoon, Teddy Hamilton and Mackenzie Cartwright. They are perfect as Shane and Willa. Their timing is spot on, their humor is right there and the sexy talk, whew, hot. Loved listening to these two tell this terrific story.
I loved this book and it is so worth the credit. I highly recommend it.