Narrated by Sebastian York
I’ve enjoyed some Lauren Blakely books recently so I was happy to get the chance to listen to Nights With Him.
Jack Sullivan is the CEO of Joy Delivered, a sex toy manufacturer. He runs the business with his sister, Casey, who is a marketing genius. A year before the book begins, Jack’s fiancé, Aubrey, died in a skiing accident. As one of the most eligible bachelors in New York, the media are very interested in Jack’s love life (or lack of it). They have been eagerly watching for him to come out of mourning and hit the dating scene again.
The story that most of the public knows about what really happened between Jack and Aubrey is very different from the truth. Jack does feel a lot of guilt and remorse about Aubrey’s death but he isn’t exactly in mourning as the pundits would have everyone believe.
Casey makes an appointment for Jack to see a psychologist, Michelle Milo. Michelle is an expert in intimate relationships and Casey is worried about Jack not dealing with his feelings about Aubrey and her death.
The night before the appointment, Jack meets a sexy woman at a bar. They exchange first names only and have a lot of flirty banter but not much by way of substantial conversation. They have a hot night – the best sex of Michelle’s life (are you seeing where this is going? :D) and the first sex since Aubrey’s death for Jack.
This meeting and their night of hotness is actually contained in the prequel novella One Night with Her which is included in the audiobook of Nights With Him. The latter book itself begins immediately after Jack and Michelle realise just who each other are – when Jack turns up with his appointment with the shrink he only knows as “Dr. Milo”.
Michelle immediately marches Jack downstairs to a fellow psychologist – she clearly cannot see Jack as a patient now. (I was very relieved about this – unethical is not sexy).
Jack doesn’t think one night is enough but Michelle is reluctant to commence a relationship with him. She spent the previous 10 years being in love with her brother’s best friend, Chad. Only, Chad was never in love with her. He is now happily married and Michelle has realised that there is no future for her feelings and she’s struggling to put them aside. Jack is seeking therapy over the death of his fiancé. Michelle sees a relationship with Jack as a very risky proposition. Potentially, she could end up in the same (or similar) boat as she was with Chad – losing her heart to someone unattainable.
Still, the sex was out of this world and she is unable to resist when Jack proposes 30 nights of sex. It’s just sex after all. After 30 nights, they will go their separate ways and no-one will be hurt. (Yeah, sure, that always works in romance novels Michelle!!).
I did wonder how Michelle didn’t end up with a UTI because oh boy howdy did she and Jack have a LOT of sex. I mean, EVERY DAY and most often more than once in that day. As hot as it was, I was kind of glad it was her and not me. When did she sleep!
Of course, feelings are engaged for both Jack and Michelle over the course of their steamy trysts. But trouble looms in the form of a client with a potentially dangerous (soon to be ex-) husband, a political campaign for a city council spot which is impacting on Jack’s business, media intrusion into Jack’s and Michelle’s budding romance and, the truth about Aubrey and her death. (He didn’t kill her or anything. Fear not. Jack is a good guy. Really.)
I liked the way the story kept me guessing what exactly would be the cause of the black moment I knew would come and I liked the way the story ended – I don’t see enough of this in romance.
Also, the book is extremely sex-positive – both in terms of the sex Jack and Michelle have but also in the way Joy Delivered is portrayed, as well as “Eden” a franchise of adult shops where Joy Delivered products are also sold. (Eden is owned by a couple who have clearly appeared in earlier books of the series – which I haven’t read or listened to.). Nights with Him stands very well alone but I am thinking that I will check out the other books because I enjoyed this one a lot.
Sebastian York narrates. He has a wonderfully deep voice and it is very pleasant on the ear. He is able to deliver the raunchy and explicit sex scenes without overplaying them or making them cheesy or cringe-worthy. These are, for the most part, sex scenes that translate well to audio.
Mr. York doesn’t have the best female voices though. They’re not quite falsetto (thank god) but they aren’t good either. I got used to his performance of the women in the cast and I didn’t actively hate his depiction, but neither did they draw me.
I must also say that French accents are not his forte. Or British ones actually. He had the “opportunity” in Nights With Him to showcase both and I thought they were, frankly, pretty bad.
Fortunately, he has other winning narration skills which mostly make up for this lack. Mr. York is good at delivering emotion and he excels at tension and pacing in a story.
There were some less than stellar aspects of the narration but the worst of them (the accents) were not in the story long and were relatively easy for me to get past. While I’d like it if Mr. York could improve his female character voices, there are enough other great things about his performances that Igenerally count his narrations in the win column and I did again here.
Nights With Him is super steamy but also really sweet. Jack isn’t a dickbag – he’s a really nice guy. He’s respectful of women, not into slut-shaming, good-looking and great in bed – and Michelle is a more than competent psychologist who also is not ashamed of her sexual nature. They make a lovely pair and it was a pleasure to listen to their story and HEA.
Kaetrin
Narration: B
Book Content: B+
Steam Factor: For your burning ears only
Violence Rating: Minimal
Genre: Contemporary Romance - Erotic
Publisher: Lauren Blakely Books
Nights with Him was provided to AudioGals for a review.
