AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Lauren Blakely's CAUGHT UP IN US

Title: CAUGHT UP IN US

Series:  Caught Up in Love, Book 1

Author:  Lauren Blakely

Narrator:  Emily Durante

Release Date:  3-31-15

Price:  $14.97

Publisher:  Tantor Audio

Length:  5 hrs and 3 mins 

Format:  Audible Audio Edition
Purchase at Audible 

My Ratings

Plot:  4.5/5
Setting:  4/5
Writing:  4.5/5
Originality of Plot:  4/5
Characters Development:  4.5/5
Heat Level: 4/5
Ending:  5/5
Cover Art:  3.5/5
Narration:  5/5
Likelihood to Recommend:  5/5

Overall:  44/50 =  88%
 

Synopsis

Five years ago, Kat Harper fell into a dizzying summer romance with her brother's best friend, Bryan. It was a mad, crazy love full of kisses all through the night, but he broke her heart and she had to move on. Five years later, Kat is finishing her graduate degree and building her business as a jewelry designer, when Bryan, head of his own successful company, walks back into her life. Bryan has been assigned to Kat as her new business mentor and the rules are clear. No hanky-panky permitted. Kat can handle that because she's totally over him . . . right? Except, he still makes her laugh, and he remembers all the things she likes. Not to mention that he's even more handsome now than he was then. Then there's the spark between them—the simply undeniable chemistry and the tender ways he shows he still cares for her. Can they resist each other the second time around or will first love trump all? 

Review

Sometimes good can come from the broken heart of a first love.  Kat Harper's first love, Bryan, actually inspired her jewelry line called, My Favorite Mistakes.  This love for the fashion and jewelry business led her to a college mentoring course.  Each student is paired with an alumni business mentor in their field.  Unfortunately, Kat is paired up with her ex-Bryan who runs a men's cuff link company.  Of course he's just as hot and charming as he used to be, and he still seems to have a thing for her.  Her prof has a very strict no romance policy in his courses.  So how is Kat to going to survive the semester?  And you know Bryan isn't going to go easy on her.      

I really enjoyed Kat's story.  She is smart, caring, and sweet.  I enjoyed getting to know her as an adult, and also as a teen via flashbacks.  I love that she took something that hurt her so much, and turned it into something positive.  Her ultimate goal was to make enough money to help her parents failing business, and that really touched me.  She was also willing to try to put the love of her life on hold, to make her dreams come true. I adminred that she wasn't willing to take no for an answer, and in the end she got everything she needed.

I pretty much fell in love with Bryan the moment he first stepped into the book.  He was young and immature when he first met Kat.  And like most guys his age, he messed up his first love.  Fast-forward to the present, here we have a intelligent, witty, and sexy business men.  He does and says all the right things.  He's just so charming, you can't help but fall for him.  I mean the guy still remembers her coffee order.  Also, he's smart and didn't push Kat into a relationship she clearly wasn't ready for yet.     

I really enjoyed Emily Durante's narration of CAUGHT UP IN US!  Her light, sweet tone lent well to this story, especially when it came to voicing Kat.  Her character voices were distinct, and she did an amazing job voicing both the male and female parts.  Emily brought real emotions to this audiobook, from it's heart wrenching lows to it's light-hearted humor.  She really brought this story to life for me!

CAUGHT UP IN US is a sweet and sexy story about second chances.  Though this book had plenty of heat, I really enjoyed how the author made us wait for the really thing.  It made this book stand out so much more in a sea of instant gratification romance books.  I had a lot of fun getting "caught up" in this in this audiobook!  I really couldn't put it down, and finished the audiobook in two days.  I was happy to see that it's only the first in the Caught Up in Love series, so I can run right out and order the next audiobook in this series.

***Audiobook was provided by the author in trade for a fair review***