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Never Say Never

The Ladies Who Brunch, Book 1

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Never Say Never

By: Harlow James
Narrated by: Teddy Hamilton, Samantha Brentmoor
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Summary

“I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”

When those words left the lips of Damien Shaw, my childhood nemesis, I should have told him to kick rocks right then and there.

But sadly, his scheme to impress his boss left me with something to gain from it too—getting my meddling mother, who was obsessed with my love life, off my back just in time for my parents’ thirtieth wedding anniversary celebration in Hawaii.

You see, Damien and I grew up together, but we weren’t friends. No—we were rivals.

And when we both moved out to California to go to different colleges, we promised never to think of each other again.

It had been twelve years since we had been face to face, but when he kept popping up everywhere, I should have known that trouble would follow.

And sure enough, during a lunch with my parents he told them we were dating.

I was hellbent on exposing him, but then my mother’s reaction made it hard to say no. So, I ended up fake dating my enemy while trying desperately not to fall for him.

My gut told me to keep my distance. But my heart? That bastard was falling for the man with every sweet gesture he made and every orgasm he gave me.

But when the reason for our rivalry and our fake relationship comes to light, everyone and everything explodes, leaving one hell of a mess to clean up.

I never thought I’d fall for Damien Shaw. I never thought my enemy could force me to figure out my life. But you know what they say—never say never.

TW: Toxic parental relationships

©2022 Harlow James (P)2023 Harlow James Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romance Fake Relationship Heartfelt Feel-Good Funny Witty Boss
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Listener received this title free

Never Say Never is the 1st book in The Ladies Who Brunch series and my first book by this author.

🎧 I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by Teddy Hamilton & Samantha Brentmoor. They were perfectly cast as Damien and Charlotte and gave an excellent performance. Their voices were clear and understandable and they gave each character their own personality. They brought the story to life and it was an absolute pleasure listening to them narrate this novel.

Never Say Never is a childhood enemies-to-lovers / fake relationship / Romcom romance and I absolutely loved the empowerment message that was entwined in this story.

The fake relationship element of the story was well done. I enjoyed seeing Damien and Charlotte get reacquainted and realise how much they had in common after being rivals all through their childhood. They had excellent chemistry and as their relationship blossomed they had some scorching hot scenes.

Damien was so charming and absolutely swoon worthy and was so perfect for Charlotte. I loved that she was this independent career woman and he wasn't the least bit threatened by it.
The author did a wonderful job with their character development and I enjoyed their banter throughout the story.

I loved Charlotte's girlfriends and even Damien's coworker who all provided comic relief but also a good supportive role at times and I loved how they were always there for each other.

This story was well-written and extremely relatable to many as it includes parental expectations and toxic family drama. It was an excellent start to the series and I would definitely recommend it to lovers of fake relationship.

Loved it

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Listener received this title free

This is an amazing start to “The Ladies Who Brunch” series, a fantastic romantic comedy, a fake relationship between two childhood nemesis who meet again over a decade later. I am not sure how this is my first Harlow James book, I only know she has my attention now. I enjoyed her writing style, the characters and storylines she created are interesting and original, and the story captivated my attention from start to end. Each book in the series will feature a different lady who brunches, and this first is Charlotte and Damien Shaw’s story. The ladies who brunch are a tight-knit group of friends who have each other’s back and meet weekly to catch up. I loved the camaraderie amongst them, and the back-and-forth banter between them, and I am looking forward to hearing each of their stories and their fun times at future brunch gatherings. Charlotte’s mother is a piece of work, instead of praising her daughter for all her accomplishments, she is critical and more concerned about her appearance and finding someone to marry. She was out grabbing lunch when she sees him, her rival from growing up, Damien. Both their parents were friends, and she got stuck hanging with him often and he always gave her a hard time. She ducks out unseen, or so she thought. Damian is looking to advance in his career, but when he did not get picked to work on a campaign because it was for women’s products he made a pitch to his boss, who reminded him he does not have enough familiarity with women, since he is only a player. Damien blurts out that he has a girlfriend, someone he knew when he was younger. His boss not only gives him a go ahead for the project, but invites him and his girlfriend to a party at his house. Oh boy, now he needs to find a girlfriend, and when he sees Charlotte, who he hasn’t seen in years, he comes up with a plan. The only thing he needed to do was to get her on board, which was not all that difficult, because they were both going to her parent’s anniversary celebration, and if she had a boyfriend, it would keep her mother off of her back. Except not all goes as planned, but the going is great for the two of them until it is not, and her mother was not the only difficult parent, since his father was no bargain either. I loved all the layers of this story, the complexity of the characters and how everything played out, the world building is fantastic, and there is never a dull moment and the story has the perfect balance of drama, a touch of angst, witty dialogue and humor, heartfelt emotions and steamy romance. Harlow James, thank you for this fabulous story, the laughs and the emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧Samantha Brentmoor and Teddy Hamilton were the perfect cast to bring these characters to life and do so with a complete understanding of who they portraying. I loved how they take each role and make it their own, sounding believable and just as I imagined the characters to sound. You could hear how much heart they put into their performance as they capture all the characters’ emotion and have you feeling each one. Their talent knows no bounds and their performance elevates this already fantastic story to another level. They set the perfect tone for the story, handled the witty dialogue with ease, landing the humor effortlessly. These two make a great team, their voices complement each other and both are a pleasure to listen to. 

Say Forever!! Excellent Story & Narration🎧

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Listener received this title free

This was my first Harlow James's book, and won't be my last. This is the first book in The Ladies Who Brunch Series. This is a series of interconnected stories. I liked Charlotte and Damien's second chance romance. Their fake relationship is sweet, passionate, and engaging. Damien is very handsome, and supportive. Charlotte is beautiful, smart, and independent. Their story is filled with family drama, angst, and humor. The supporting characters are interesting. I loved Charlotte's best friends, and I can't wait to know more about them. Teddy Hamilton and Samantha Brentmoor did an outstanding job bringing this story to life. I enjoyed it. Looking forward to listening to No One Else, the next book in the series.

Second Chance Romance

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Listener received this title free

This was such a fun and emotional story.
I absolutely loved Charlotte’s friendships, they were so empowering and loyal.
Charlotte was a fierce independent woman, but she still had things that she let hold her back.
Damien is an absolute treasure, he is cocky, in a fun way, he is sweet and caring and understanding. He is open and kind, he is there for Charlotte, and also has his own emotional trauma he had to deal with.
I love how these two really got to know each other and reconnect as adults, and the chemistry between them was so intense.
This was fun and empowering.
I can’t wait for the rest of the ladies’ stories.
Samantha Brentmoor is always a favorite, she always brings so much passion and emotion into every character.
And Teddy Hamilton is always a winner for bringing to life a swoonworthy book boyfriend.

Fun and emotional

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Listener received this title free

Never Say Never is a cute and funny RomCom with fake dating and a dash of enemies to lovers. This is the first book in The Ladies Who Brunch series. Charlotte and Damien have been rivals in school from a young age. Damien was being bullied by his father to never let a girl be better than him. Damien was always trying to get on his father’s good side so he was very arrogant towards Charlotte and kept the rivalry alive until college. They run into each other as adults. Charlotte decides to fake date Damien to get her mother off her back. Charlotte’s mother is constantly reminding her that she isn’t getting any younger. This book is the perfect RomCom and gets a little spicy too! I love this book and can’t wait for the next book.

Samantha Brentmoor and Teddy Hamilton absolutely knocked this book out of the park with their narration. Both did a fantastic job bringing these two characters to life.

Never Say Never

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