Double or nothing

I loved this book the first 3 times I read it. 😂 There’s something about Cindy Steel books that just make me feel like the characters are my friend and I live a fun Idaho farmer life. I didn’t even think that would be something I would desire, but she sucks me in and makes me love it. I’ve already reviewed and gushed about this book, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to listen to the audiobook too.

The narration was great. At first I was startled by how mature the male main character’s voice sounded, but as I got to know the couple again as I listened, I realized this is an age gap romance and he’s a tough contractor man… why would I expect him to sound younger? I ended up really enjoying the narration and I will undoubtedly listen to it again.

Double or Nothing (Pride & Pranks series) was a first read for me by Cindy Steel. Logan was Tessa's friend's older brother & childhood crush. Now many years later they are both back in their hometown.. A mutual friend (Jake) comes up with a bet that the two need to date for the summer and if they don't fall in love they get to split his $80k truck.. Jake comes up with some fun date ideas for their contest.

This book was a lot of fun with out loud laughing. The romance level is very mild (kissing & nothing graphic). Goodreads says this is 4th in a series that I haven't read but it was fully standalone and nothing was missed by jumping in with book 4. Would recommend this romcom for sure!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

Super cute story. I wasn’t a huge fan of the narrator's mountain west accent but speeding the audiobook up to 1.5/1.75 helped a lot with that. Cindy Steel writes cute and lighthearted romances which I really appreciate.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the chance to listen! First positive I love that the audiobook goes back and forth between M and F voices. It helps the story so much with being realistic. I like that you can honestly picture the two in real life as they seem like normal people, Tessa coming from a past and sharing her troubles with Logan. Starting from not really knowing each other too deeply, to building a budding romance, this made for such a cute romantic comedy. What starts with a bet may end in a happily ever after. I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a cute rom-com sorry to listen to!

Aww, this was super cute! It's fairly standard, but it was a charming and a easy read nonetheless.

A lot of books I've read with a similar premise begin with the couple as enemies, mutually in love but oblivious, or mutually in love but pining, so I really liked how Logan and Tess began the story. Logan was indifferent to Tess, and Tess was mostly indifferent to Logan, though she was still harboring a tiny crush from childhood. The progression of their relationship felt very natural from practically strangers to friends to more.

This was my first read by Cindy Steel, and I'll definitely be reading more!

Content: clean

This was a fun and enjoyable read. It had plenty of humor which I loved. The characters were likable and down to earth- they were people I could hang out with. This is the first book I’ve read by this author , but it won’t be my last.
The narrators did a fantastic job! I love when they have a male and female do the voices for a book (when there are multiple points of view). I do listen to audio books at a higher speed than usual, but it still sounded great.

Okay I actually read this one earlier this year, and now I absolutely loved going back and listening to the story again!

I loved everything about this adorable rom-com! I found this to be a unique kind of story and so engrossing and entertaining. You know when a fake dating scenario starts as a bet, all kinds of things can happen! The narrator did such a great job at bringing all the characters to life including all their witty and hilarious banter! Highly recommend this one, and definitely looking for other things from this author! Thanks so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook!

I was looking forward to reading a sweet romance taking place in my neighboring state of Idaho. Tessa is 24 and graduates as a physical therapist. She returns to her hometown to work for her brother. Logan, her childhood crush, and happens to be her best friends older brother is leading the crew constructing her brother’s new PT offices. A mutual friend sees the sparks flying between the two and makes them a bet they can’t refuse. They need to date once a week, but not fall in love to win a big prize.

Normally I love the childhood friends or enemies to more trope romances. I like that the chapters alternate so we get the story from both POVs. Tessa is sweet as the girl who the year before was stood up at the alter in front of the whole town. Logan is annoyingly too cocky. The story starts well. But I didn’t love the teasing and he is relentless. Yes, she admits she had childhood crush on him. But he never lets it go and what starts out as cute becomes immature and made me cringe.

The dates themselves didn’t do much for me. The rolling in the mud, her always cooking him sweets, sitting on a porch swing. I liked Tessa because she is sharing and being open an honest about her past and her hurts. But he is never reciprocal or vulnerable. He excuses his player past as the girls knew what they were getting. And I can almost move on from that because except he still uses an innocent girl (Jen) late in the story. I don’t think I ever got on the side of team Logan or cared for the predictable outcome.

To me this was an average read/listen. I listened to the narraters Stacey Glemboski and David Bendena and they did a good job voicing the characters. I also read along with the book occasionally as I had access on KU. This is a wholesome, clean, closed door romance. Even though I didn’t love everything about the story I think I will read the previous book in the series as the MCs show up in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

To say I loved this book would be an understatement! I laughed so hard throughout the entire book.
Tessa has had a crush on her best friends brother practically her entire life but to Logan she was considered “jailbait”. Fast forward a few years when both Tessa and Logan are back in their hometown to spend the summer. Their meddling friend Jake sets them up on a bet of if they can go on weekly dates throughout the entire summer and not fall in love, they can have his brand new truck. Of course they agree, and the situations they find themselves in will have you needing a tissue to wipe your eyes from laughing so much. I truly enjoyed this book and plan to read the authors entire backlist now. The audio was great and it was fun being a southerner listening to a northerns audio. Calling drinks pop/ soda is cute.
I will highly recommend this book to all of my friends.
Special thanks to netgalley and Dreamscape media for providing this audio arc in return for an honest review.

THIS WAS SO CUTE!

* bestfriend's brother / childhood friend romance
* small town setting
* fake dating
* silly and swoony
* great banter and lots of fun teasing
* closed door romance (kissing only)

Well this was just adorable! Logan and Tessa grew up together and she always crushed on (he is her BF's older brother) - he's now back in town and helping out on the construction of Tessa's family's new physical therapy location. Their mutual friend bets them that they can't fake date and NOT fall in love... and well the story goes from there! I haven't read the other stories in this series, but still enjoyed this one a whole lot! Would def recommend if you're looking for a funny, sweet, and low angst romcom!

Rating: 4 stars

Author: Cindy Steel
Narrators: Stacey Glemboski; David Bendena
Genre: Romance

I loved the story and the characters. Two people who are obviously meant to be - take a bet not to fall in love. The base storyline is simple and beautiful.

All of the characters and world building are well developed.

I honestly really enjoyed this book and the narrators. I’d definitely listen to more books by this author!

CAAAAUUUUUTTTTTEEEEE! Lovedy love love!! It's like being wrapped in my blankie while bacon is being smoked over the fire or sand between my toes or new baby smell delightfulness.

Book 2 in the Pride and Pranks series ~ fine as a standalone.

Featuring ~ dual 1st person POV, childhood crush, best friend's brother, sister's best friend, boss's sister, small town, farm life, slow burn, no steamage, sweet, fun

Tessa & Logan
I really enjoyed this one so much! I can't possibly list everything I loved because I would essentially be giving the whole book away. They were the most adorable couple ever. Fun banter, fun dates, all around FUN! And that epilogue, I can't take it!

Delightful supporting characters, especially Jake. He came up with some fun dates for them to go on, so I bet his book will be just as delightful.

Narrated by Stacey Glemboski and David Bendena for 10 hours and 32 minutes, easy to follow at 2-2.5x. Stacey did a wonderful job, even her male voices. David was fine, as well, but he sounded a bit older than I think he should.

I hadn't read any of the other books in this series so I was delighted when I realized I really like this author's writing style. I also loved the narrating as it seamlessly went through the story without making me know I was listening to a book if that makes sense. There was nothing jarring that took me out of the moment. The story has been done before, but this story had a unique spin on it. The bet that they wouldn't fall in love with each other and they win?? That was something I had not seen in a story yet. Other than that it has a lot of amazing tropes such as one tent, resolving past trauma, etc. It was overall one of my favorite reads of this month.

What happens when your lifelong crush is home for the summer and you are nursing a broken heart? Why enter a bet to "date" and not fall for each other, of course! Lots of fun and laughs ensue with sweet tender moments and frustration galore set the scene for this friends to lovers rom com and you won't want to miss a second of it! The narration is fantastic and really helps to bring the story, thoughts and emotions of the characters to life! I didn't realize this was a part of a series and enjoyed the book immensely, but now I will be going back and catching up with the series and getting to know this small town and the characters that live there even better! I can't wait to see what happens in the next book in the series!

"Double or Nothing" was a surprising delight. I was a little suspicious of the novel's premise, but this one truly came to life with smart, relatable characters and a fun, quirky town backdrop. I quickly fell in love with both Tess and Logan, as well as their group of hometown friends.
Such a ridiculously fun, light novel that left me hoping for a follow-up to see how Jake's love life works out!

I didn’t realize this was the 4th book in the series when I started listening to Double or Nothing. (At least it’s book 4 according to Goodreads, Amazon has it listed as book 2) Whichever the case, having finished it I still can’t tell you how if at all it’s related to the previous books. I guess that’s my long winded way of saying this can most definitely be read/listened to and enjoyed with no knowledge of the other books in the series.

From the age of eight, Tessa had a crush on Logan, her best friend’s old brother. Perhaps crush is too subtle of a term, she was obsessed with him…to the point of having a number of very embarrassing moments centered around her obsession with him, and with him giving the nickname Jailbait. Now it’s years later. Tess has returned home from her time out in the big world, only recently having gotten out of a relationship and looking to get her life in order. Guess who else happens to be in town for the summer? If you didn’t guess Logan than you probably weren’t paying attention. Well the attraction is still there but Tess is no longer a kid. It kind of all starts with an innocent enough bet, but Tess isn’t quite the silly little schoolgirl she once was and isn’t about to get caught up in a relationship like the one she just got out of. In Double or Nothing Cindy Steel has crafted a wonderfully lighthearted rom-com. The characters are great, the chemistry feels real, and the witty banter really pulls you in. Both Stacey Glemboski and David Bendena do a great job with the narration. I’d like to thank Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review an audio ARC of Double of Nothing.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RCLE9RA4UAHV6/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Double or Nothing is the fourth romantic comedy in the Pride and Pranks series, but can easily be read as a stand alone. When moves back to her home town she is faced with her long time crush and best friends older brother, Logan. Mostly sure those school girl feelings have changed, Tessa agrees to a bet that she won’t fall in love with Logan by the end of the summer. What could possibly go wrong with a sound net like this?

I loved every minute of this book and everything about it! The characters are so fun and enjoyable, the cliche storyline is the type that I will go for every time and the happily every after had me feeling all the feels! This is the first book in this series that I have read, but I will definitely be reading every one of them. This was the perfect best friends brother romantic comedy and it left me wanting more books just like this! I would highly recommend this book if this is your trope and you are looking for a good, quick romantic comedy!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this audiobook!

Overall this was a very cute and enjoyable chiclet/romance/contemporary romance novel. I loved the enemies to lovers trope. How the couple tried hard not to fall in love but ultimately in the end they did. It was a very clean book so this is one that I could recommend to any age group. Overall I give it a 4.25 stars.

Some romcoms are cute and funny and then others make you literallly laugh out loud and spit your drink out.

Double or Nothing by Cindy Steel defintely falls into the latter category. I read her other books and I was so excited when I finally got my hands on a copy of this one and then immediately snagged the chance to listen to it on audiobook!

All the good things you've heard about it are true.

Logan and Tessa have known each other for years. Logan is the older brother to Tessa's best friend Kelsey. (You can read Kelsey's story in That Fine Line. It's another fantastic romcom!)

I love how Cindy Steel ads the backstory at the beginning of her stories. This story packs in so much, I realize I am being very vague, but I don't want to ruin any of the story for you. Just trust me that you will enjoy it.

This book has so many great scenes and so much you will love

Friends to more
Banter
Mud fights
Freaking Jake (laughing face)
The orchard
Tess's treats
The fugitive game

*mild language

I love Cindy's books because they will make you laugh so hard, yet there is always that emotional point where you just feel the pain of your characters.

The audiobook is a dual POV with both a male and female narrator. I really enjoyed listening to it. I did feel like the male narrator sounded a little older than the charcter, but his voice was still enjoyable.

Looking forward to what she has coming next and hoping Jake gets his story!