I received the audiobook from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was really, really hard to get into. And even by the end I was not into it really. I just wanted to see what happened.

The writing was really weird to me. Granted, I didn’t know that this was part of a series, so I’m sure I wasn’t getting the full experience since I was coming in late. However, I think it can stand as a stand alone. Even so, it was just not good.

I hated Luke’s perspective. I didn’t like how forced it all felt. I didn’t like that the sister kept being “meet cute! Meet cute!” I didnt like it and sometimes Luke just didn’t feel like himself. Like his story was forced.

Overall, I just did not enjoy my time with it and didn’t fall in love with the characters

I didn't realize this book was a part of a series but I feel like it was fine reading it as a stand alone. I think the narrator did a great job of bringing the characters to life. I loved Luke's golden retriever energy. I loved the message of self discovery. The opposites attract trope was done so well. I laughed out loud many times during this story. Overall just a fun hallmark vibe book.

This is the audiobook. I'm going to paste my book review below. But let me say that I truly loved listening to this book. It did not take away from the voices I heard in my head. Yes, I know, that sounds bad. But normally when I read a book I have their voices and faces in my head and it's like I'm actually watching a movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the voice of this audiobook. It was relaxing but also kept me listening and hooked on the story!

I literally could not wait to read this book. You see, I’ve read the other two in the series and the wait time between them is not for the faint of heart. Penelope and Izzy came first in this series. They’re both amazing and I loved their stories. You can find my reviews for them on my blog as well. While I identified with them in some areas I think I identify with Luke more. I’m not comfortable in the spotlight. I don’t want to be famous. Oh, and I prefer my animals to other people most of the time. I’m an introvert you see. And people can be too much sometimes.

Luke accepts a job on Skymar. It’s a construction project. And it’s on an old historical building. These are things Luke enjoys. But he’s not here for romance. Just because his two sisters have found romance involving this island doesn’t mean he has to. He also has no need for a royal family. He’d prefer to steer clear of them for good. Let’s just say Luke doesn’t even know what any of them look like.

Luke is amazing. He’s what you think of when you dream of a wonderful guy I think. He wants to protect his sisters and he wants to solve their problems. But what he doesn’t want is romance.

WELL. HE FINDS IT. IN THE FORM OF A GRACE KELLY LOOK-ALIKE.
As he gets to know Ellie he doesn’t know she’s a princess. So when he finds out he naturally feels a little betrayed and let down. But she was so real and so wonderful. Can he let her go?

Luke knows romance movies like no other man. He won’t admit it of course. He also has seen his share of masculine movies but this mix of movies is what makes Luke Luke. You’re going to love him. And you’ll love the bits of suspense and mystery surrounding the royal family and Luke.

Can Luke overcome himself and his limitations? What about the super sweet orphans? And what about Skymar? But maybe the most important thing, what about Luke’s family? You see, they mean everything to him, and he can’t just leave them.

Read this series in order. Don’t ask. Don’t think about reading out of order. Just don’t. You’ve been warned.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from JustRead Publicity Tours. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

Audio Book Review
Loyally Luke by Pepper Basham

Genre: Modern Rom-Com; Christian
Romance Level: Kisses only

What I loved:
Luke (enough said)
Meet Cute
Forced Proximity
Rivals to more
Looking for the names scene
Fake dating
Alley scene
The kisses
The list
Fishing
And so much more!

Story Review:
Luke. Luke Edgewood is this unforgettable character who is “rough around the edges”, sarcastic, loves making fun of his sis “Penny Girl aka Penelope” (in a fun brotherly sort of way), and your typical outdoorsy, manly man. Underneath the surface, he is “ooey gooey”, tender, loving, and fiercely loyal to his family. He has a good heart and even though he isn’t perfect, his heart is in the right place.
The romance in this including all of the kissing scenes is all just so *chef’s kiss*.
And I really liked princess Ellie! She was a fun character and had some really funny lines. She is so perfect for Luke!
I loved this story; definitely my favorite of the 3 Skymar romances by Pepper Basham. It has so many tropes because of course Penny Girl has mapped out Luke’s love story and wants him to live out every single rom-com trope. Lol!
From fake dating, to forbidden romance, to a bit of enemies to more, Pepper definitely packed in so much rom-com goodness into this beautifully hilarious and entertaining story.
I definitely snickered, sighed, swooned and almost cried with joy and excitement during so many of the scenes.
This is also a story of redemption and change and becoming a better person despite what the world or media tries to portray.

Audio Review:
I loved the cast! They all did so well. I especially love who did the voice for Luke. He had a perfectly grumpy, sarcastic and handsome voice. But you could also feel the underlying goodness coming out in him. Christopher Ashman plays Luke in the first two as well.
I also just loved the narrator for Maeve; perfect blend of smooth and Scottish lilt.
I highly recommend listening to this series as audiobooks because they are all so excellent!

I was given a free copy of the audio from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Content Warning: kisses only, no swearing, uses of word: s*xy
Trigger Warning: discussion of hard topics: cancer, slandered on media, alcoholism and rehab

The audiobook narrators for the whole Skymar series are great! I'm so glad Luke's narrator came back becacuse he does a wonderful job showing Luke's gruff and tender side. The narrator for Ellie was also perfect in portraying Ellie's character!

A satisfying conclusion for the Skymar series and the Edgewood family! I just ADORE the sibling dynamics and am sad to be done with Luke, Izzy, and Penelope... (well, Pepper announced a Christmas novella with one of Ellie's brothers, so I know we're not completely done with everyone :).

Can someone find me a Luke, please and thank you? He's protective and kind, resourceful and down to earth, clever and witty, and unbelievably cute with kids. Ellie's backstory was really sad (and sometimes a bit *too* much tragedy to make her feel like a real person). But I love where she's at now in life and her desire to build up her people and the land. I love her "list" and her attempts at feeling like a normal citizen rather than a royal. Yes, she makes some choices I didn't agree with, but she takes accountability and makes up for them in the end.

I was squealing everytime Luke and Ellie were together in a scene because their chemistry was just so perfect. They understood each other and encouraged each other to be their best selves. And a few swoony kisses too :) The ending was perfect and I'm so happy that everyone ends up incandescently happy <3

*Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for an advanced digital reader’s copy. All opinions are my own.

Oh, man...This one is so stinkin' good! It is hands down the best royal romance I've ever read. Emma St. Clair is so right with her quote on the cover...Luke is beyond dreamy. The swoon is strong with this one. I did read this book before the previous ones in the series, but now that I've also fallen in love with Izzy and Penelope, I'll be backtracking into their stories soon!

This was my first Pepper Basham book and I loved how she wove Christian themes throughout without being super in your face about it. I know that can be a reader complaint sometimes and I think she did an excellent job of letting her faith speak for itself, but not too loudly. I'm definitely looking forward to checking out her backlog and any new books she releases in the future. I'm absolutely hooked on Pepper's writing style. ❤️

Ellie...What a perfect princess! She had a tough past reputation to overcome, but she did exactly that with grace and poise. I love how genuine Ellie seems, how dedicated she is to serving her people. Even though she is a huge deal as a famous royal, she's just so down to earth and lovable. One of my favorite FMCs lately for sure!

Luke...Oh, my. This man is a top tier book boyfriend for sure. He's absolutely my type so that of course helps, but he's also just an incredibly decent guy. He loves his family and friends with ferocity and just truly loves living a simple life. Throw in a bit of flannel and coffee...What's not to love?!

Things I loved...the epistolary portions of the story (specifically Luke's conversations with his sisters and Ellie's talks with Maeve), Luke's relationships with Faye, Amara, and Jamie, the entire world of Skymar, Gordon and Nessa, all the movie references, the humor (I laughed so much), the voice acting for the audiobook (top notch - one of the best I've ever listened to), and so much more.

Don't sleep on this one. Grab a copy and get to reading today!

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, Zondervan Fiction Audio, and Pepper Basham for access to a free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️

What a cute royal romance!! I love the “nothing box” reference. Because it’s true! Ellie and Luke are so cute together and I almost lost hope of them having their happily ever after! Perfect for Bridgerton lovers!

Loyally, Luke by Pepper Basham is a part of a series but can easily be read as a standalone novel. I read one of the other books in this series and enjoyed it, but it was not my favorite. Reading this book as an audiobook completely changed my perspective. The audiobook is narrated by a group of people and they really bring the book to life. As an audiobook, the brilliance of Ms Basham’s fun plot really shines. The plot is a sweet romance and yes predictable. However, readers of this genre expect this. If you like sweet romance, you will adore this book. I received a review copy of the audiobook from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Thank you, Netgalley, for an audio arc of this book.

DNF - I really wanted to like this book. It had all my favorite tropes, I really loved the description of the book, the cover looked cute, and there have been great reviews of it. I guess this was just not for me. I don't usually DNF books, but I just couldn't connect with the characters or plot. For me, it was slow and I didn't see any dimensions to the characters.

Loyally, Luke audiobook was first Pepper Basham, I know it's part of a series, but I didn't feel lost at all reading it as a standalone. It's a cute story with good characters, but I found this too saccharine and cheesy, personally. The audiobook narration was great. Having multiple narrators and both doing all the accents helped prevent confusion since so much of the story is told via text. Thanks to HarperCollins Publishing and NetGalley for an audiobook to listen and review.

This is a great addition to a fun series. The narrator helps duck you into the story. It is well written and charming. A sweet romance for those you love an impossible situation.

Thank you to HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Pepper Basham and NetGalley for an ARC audio copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

WOW! I had high hopes for this book and it blew right past them! Such a fun, witty, full of banter book that had me smiling and giggling as I was listening (I'm sure those passing by me on my daily walks thought I was a little loony!)

While this is the third book in a series, this was my first time reading both the series and this author - I will 100% being going back and reading/listening to the other two books and Pepper Basham is now added to my auto buy author list.

this book gave the perfect balance of clean romance (enemies to lovers) and banter which made it such a refreshing read/listen compared to some other more popular romance authors.

Would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a summery-vibe romance novel to take to the beach this summer!

This was such a cute story! I feel like fans of Friends or similar sitcoms would especially appreciate this plot. The pacing felt a bit off, since we went from plotting payback to deeply in love, and it took a while for me to get invested in the story. The first chapter is 36 minutes, and it really just lays the groundwork for the plot. Once you hit chapter three, though, it is really engaging!

This book was so predictable it was like reading about the hallmark movies that I grew up watching , and yes… it even had the references to boot!
Luke a country appalachan man
Ellie a PRINCESS of Skymar
What could possibly go wrong

This story was so gushy and crying and wonderful you couldn’t help but smiling 😊 it was the feel good pallet cleanser I needed 💕

I received an audiobook arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book and the characters. The storyline was on point and you could feel the love between Luke and the Princess and how much they were struggling with trying to deny their attraction due to her being a princess and Luke a commoner.

Always love a HEA ending and this one did not disappoint. Definitely one I would recommend to others. First time reading this author and will definitely be reading more from her!

Luke's cousin and sister found love in Skymar and so naturally, his sister thought he'd follow the same trend. He disagreed of course. He was only there on a short-term construction job. That was until he bumped into annoying Ellie who turned out to be in charge of the job he was undertaking to restore a castle-like orphanage.

I enjoyed this so much! Their first meeting had them both at each other's throats after their coffee orders were switched, they weren't so thrilled when they found out they'd be working together. I couldn't get enough of Penelope's predictions of how Luke's life would play out like a Hallmark movie and it was 😂

Finding out Ellie was a princess definitely put a damper on their budding romance but they fought to keep their friendship intact as Luke's departure drew near.

I loved the steadiness with which Luke carried himself. He reminded Ellie to give herself grace in that her shaky past needn't affect her demeanor. She brought him out of his shell and I loved them for each other.

My highlight was the audiobook. It made the experience even more enjoyable. I laughed out loud a number of times and flew through the story. All the narrators did an amazing job.

What a wonderful conclusion to the Skymar series! Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

happy pub day to this sweet lil closed door romance❣️this gave me big PRINCESS DIARIES vibes + it was a fun home-renovation read. I loved how authentic + down-to-earth Luke’s character is. And it was refreshing to read about sobriety! it did have a pretty slow start, but it captured my attention around 40%. it was a little cheesy, but I think all hallmark movies are 🤪 so if you enjoy those, I think this book will be right up your alley. lots of solid life lessons tucked in between the storyline too 🥰

3 Stars

*Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Loyally Luke is a sweet romance about handyman fixer, Luke, who arrives in the Island nation of Skymarr (Scotland adjacent) to spend a few months working on the orphanage. In the process he meets Elly, an interior designer, and sparks start to fly between them.

But to Luke’s surprise Elly turns out to be none other than Princess Elliana!

Elly, who’s suffered from a bad public image, is trying to turn things around in the media and reintegrate herself back into the royal family. Only ahead doesn’t plan on being swept off her feet by Luke.

Loyally Luke is a sweet, fast-paced romance between a princess and a handyman with meddling side characters, far off places and happy ever afters.

Closed door romance (No spice)
HEA
Third book in the series

"Deep down, they communicated something everyone wanted. Everyone hoped to find. Being worthy of someone’s love just as you were. Being enough."

Luke finally got his book, and I was here for it!! Ms. Basham has created a fictional world with wonderful characters and fun banter. These are my people. I thoroughly enjoyed all the Hallmark and sweet fairytale vibes throughout the book. I love Luke and Ellie! I was also glad the story put a nice bow around Penelope and Izzy's love stories, too! It ends with a huge round of happily ever afters. If you need to read or listen to a book that will leave you feeling all happy, then this book is for you!!
*I was given a copy of this book by Thomas Nelson Publishers and this is my honest opinion.

Loyally Luke is a 3.5 star read for me. I struggled in the first 30% of the book to feel a connection to the main characters, but by the end I really did love them together. I found the writing quirky and fun. This was a low angst rom com where the love interests struggled to decide what was right for them and the outside world. I have to add that the narrators did an outstanding job bringing the characters to life.

I received a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley, but this did not affect my review.