I think the narrators did a fantastic job with the story. However, I don’t think the book is necessarily for me. Friends to lovers/second chance romances typically have some baggage for the characters that cause conflicts that I’m usually not a fan of. I also couldn’t get behind the FMC, I think that she was supposed to come across as firey and independent, but to me she came across as reckless at certain points. I think this might just be me and the book may work for a lot of other people.

Thank you NETGALLEY and MACMILLAN AUDIO and Sarah Castille for the ALC

4/5⭐️

Tropes:
💕Brothers best friend 💕
💕Forced proximity 💕
💕Bodyguard💕
💕Second chance💕
💕forbidden💕
💕collage romance 💕

Hayley's mom (a senator) wants her to go to college, but she wants to be a singer. Her life is threatened, so her mom hires a bodyguard. Ace was her brother's best friend and her childhood crush. He is also her new bodyguard. They haven't talked in years, but now they have to spend a lot of time together.
I enjoy a good second-chance brother/best friend relationship. IT WAS THE IDEAL COMBO!!! The flashbacks to the past improved the novel 100 times!!! I enjoyed learning about what had occurred to them in the past. I really liked how Haley evolved during the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audio! The narrators did an excellent job.

I absolutely loved Steal My Breath Away. The characters, setting, storyline - everything was perfect! I loved the development, growth and healing for both of the main characters. This was my first book written by Sarah Castille, but it won’t be my last. I listened to the audiobook and both of the narrators did a great job. 💖

I would like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for giving me an ARC (which did not sway my opinions or review).

I wanted to love this book and don’t get me wrong, the book was not bad at all. I was just bored. I was hoping for more excitement considering the premise of the book is that there was an attempt to kidnap a senator’s daughter and her dead brother’s bff is hired as her bodyguard. I think I assumed there would be more action than what there was. It was very, very minimal. Also, the relationship between the two MCs would flip flop so quickly between instalove and not that it was confusing at times.

The narrators were phenomenal so kudos to them.

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and Sarah Castille for allowing me to listen and review.

Sarah is a new to me author and I was SO pleasantly surprised! This book absolutely lived up to its title because I did in fact forget to breathe more than once. You’ve got a broody, tormented hero with serious protective instincts, and a badass heroine who isn’t afraid to call him on his nonsense (bless her). The chemistry, tension & plot blended seamlessly. Sarah really something special!

Samantha Brentmoor and Anthony Palmini are a dream duo. I swear I could never tire of listening to their voices! They brought so much depth and emotion to every scene. 🥹

There’s trauma. There’s healing. But also hope and redemption. I’ll definitely be grabbing a physical copy on release day!

Thank you to NetGalley and @MacMillanAudio for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Steal My Breath Away is packed with chemistry, tension, and just the right amount of drama, all wrapped up in a bodyguard romance that delivers both heat and heart.

Haley’s the type of heroine I really enjoy—fiery, independent, and totally unafraid to push back, even when it’s clearly not in her best interest. Her love for music feels genuine and gives her character real depth. Then there’s Ace—grumpy, broody, and trying (and failing) not to fall for the one girl he knows he shouldn’t want. Their history adds a ton of emotional weight to their story, and watching it all unfold with that delicious slow burn made it hard to press pause.

The college setting mixed with the high-stakes political subplot kept the pacing interesting, and the “fake dating but not really” trope hit all the right notes. Plus, the forced proximity? Chef’s kiss.

Anthony Palmini and Samantha Brentmoor absolutely nailed the narration. Their voices brought so much nuance and feeling to each scene—I felt every moment and feeling.

My only tiny gripe? Some moments leaned a little heavy on the melodrama, but honestly, it worked for this kind of story. If you’re into second chances, protective heroes, and music-fueled tension, this one’s definitely worth the listen.

4.25 Stars!

#NetGalley, #MacMillanAudio, #StealMyBreathAway, #SarahCastille, #Audiobooks

4 🌟
Spice: open door
Format: ALC

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the alc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. The audio is good and the story kept me interested. There is a pretty heavy theme of grief so be warned. I love the brothers best friend trope and this one definitely checked the right boxes. Him coming back after years away to be her bodyguard was chef's kiss. I loved the suspense aspect and how it played out.
I do feel they fell into a sexual relationship so quickly without either dealing with their shit. It was hot though 🤭

The narrators did a great job with bringing the characters to life! I loved the dual narration. I'm not typically a suspense romance girlie, but I liked this book more than I thought I would. The flashbacks helped provide insight to how they got to where they are, and I liked reading about both present and past Ace/Haley. The bodyguard trope is always fun to read :)

Thank you to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for this arc!

This is my first suspense romance and I really enjoyed it. It was a gripping story and I finished it in about a day. I also really enjoyed the narrators, especially Samantha Brentmoore. She is one of my faves!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for giving me this arc of Steal My Breath Away by Sarah Castile.

I gave this audiobook 3.75 stars rounded up to 4.

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first… For the couple days I was listening to this audiobook, I constantly had the song “Take my breath away” stuck in my head the whole time! Not a bad thing, just a funny byproduct of this book.

Haley Chapman is trying to break into the music scene. She loves music and although she has other responsibilities, music is the thing she loves most.

Ace was Haley’s brothers best friend growing up. He was loved and considered part of Haley’s family as well. Haley and Ace connect and get close as they’re growing up. But Ace leaves for the army after he graduates and stops communication with Haley.

While Haley is giving an impromptu concert, she is almost kidnapped after. Her mom realizes it is due to her job, being a Senator, asks hires Ace as a bodyguard for Haley.

Haley and Ace have a lot to make up for over the years. Hurt feelings, miscommunications, love… and they now get the chance to confront those things with Ace as her bodyguard.

This is a suspense romance. I enjoyed it and it kept my interest throughout. While I wanted to know what would happen, I wasn’t entirely connected to the characters. They felt a little flat at some points. But overall I enjoyed it and especially liked the ending. I do recommend this audiobook. It’s a quick, fun book to listen to.

I also enjoyed the narration. Are first I was a little unsure, but the voices of Anthony Palmini and Samantha Brentmoor grew on me and were perfect for these characters.

Dual Narration -Anthony Palmini & Samantha Brentmoor
Fabulous narration! Loved them so much!

Brothers best friend
Friends to lovers

This was a great listen. I truly enjoyed the story. The emotional depth that the author has given us in this book is absolutely amazing. These characters are dealing with grief and learning to let themselves be happy. To find love and to learn that they deserve it.

Thanks to @MacmillanAudio and NetGalley for the advance listener copy. Good plot and the love story was good. I was not a fan of the narrators or the writing style. This book was not for me but I know my friend enjoyed it!

I listened to the audiobook for this. The narration by Samantha Brentmoor and Anthony Palmini was so good! It was dual narration and I can’t imagine any other narrators voices being a better fit for the characters in this book. The ability Samantha Brentmoor has to voice charachters and their emotions is incredible. She brought out the emotions and personality of Haley perfectly. Anthony Palmini is also incredible at voicing characters and their emotions. His velvety voice could melt anyone’s heart like butter 🫠 and he was perfect for Ace. They’ve quickly become two of my top favorite narrators!

I loved this story so much! Sarah Castille done an amazing job writing it. It was beautifully written and a beautiful story. It will have your heart melting and breaking throughout. So maybe grab some tissues before starting this one. I got a little teary eyed a couple times. The losses the characters suffer. The guilt and blame Ace feels. The emotions Haley buries inside to get through each day. The love and chemistry between them despite their messy, complicated history and emotions. The angst. The slow burn that’s so worth the wait. The spicy scenes. The family and friends who were great side characters. The banter. I loved it all.

The pace was steady. It had a good plot. The characters had change and growth. It was a 5 ⭐️ read for me and I’d give it 2 1/2-3 🌶️ on the spice.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this AlC!

Sarah is a new author for me, and I enjoyed this book. Haley and Ace are both somewhat emotionally unavailable due to their pasts. Haley has dealt with grief due to losing her father and brother in her younger years, and Ace has dealt with survivor guilt and trauma from his past in the Air Force. When Haley is the victim of an attempted kidnapping, Ace, now a private bodyguard, is hired to keep her safe.

I loved the dual timeline and getting a glimpse into their relationship as teens as well as their current relationship. The bodyguard trope was a little cliche in some parts, but overall it was enjoyable. The spicy scenes felt a bit stale. Samantha and Anthony did an amazing job with the audiobook!

TW: mentions off page death of sibling, PTSD, past child neglect

I loved all the childhood flashbacks of the two of them. Ace's thoughts about her are so cute and loved how his POV was written. It gave me such giddy kilig feelings. His shut off personality is so sad.
Haley's internal black box of pushed aside feelings was so infuriating! Girl needed a big ass hug and to let it all out!!

Favorite line: "I just wanted one thing for my self. I wanted you." UGH YES.

Shout out to the entourage of friends and I hope some of them get their own books. Paige and Chad seem so great.
Interconnected to book 1 Skye/Dante and takes place 6 months after.

First time author for me and excited to go back to read book 1.

Audiobook narrators: Anthony Palmini, Samantha Brentmoor
Dual POV, First Person
Tropes: Childhood friends to lovers, Brother's Best Friend, Bodyguard MMC, Singer FMC, Mental health Representation
Notable Microtropes: "Fuck it"
Spice: 2.5/5

Listened at 1.75x speed.
Love both narrators! I'm very familiar with Samantha Brentmoor so I was comfortable with her delivery and thought she fit very well for Haley. Her male voices are not overly distracting either. Anthony Palmini had great narration making the prefect delivery for Ace's reluctant personality.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing an ALC. This was my first one ever and it was so special.

Haley is dealt a hard hand of loosing her father at a young age, and then loosing her brother in her teenage years. But she also lost her brother's best friend (and her crush) too, when he left for LA after the death. So when she is attacked due to her mother's political influence she needs a bodyguard, her mother calls on Ace (brother's best friend) and he comes back to help watch over her. This forces her to start dealing with her emotions and she now needs to figure out if she can get past everything and open up, not only to Ace but for her music career as well.

Bodyguard
Forced Proximity
Brothers Best Friend
Fake Dating
Past Trauma (Death in family)
Dual POV

Anthony Palmini and Samantha Brentmoor did an amazing job narrating this book.

I received an advance review copy audio version. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the opportunity to listen to this book.