This sweet, steamy, and angst-free best friends-to-lovers romance between “relentlessly cheerful” librarian Charlie and his grumpy flatmate Misha is an easy and enjoyable listen.
The snarky banter and genuine caring and affection between the two as friends first really shines. Misha is wonderfully defensive of Charlie (the red knickers…) and once they’ve coupled up, they’re refreshingly open with their emotions and talking things out.
The deepening of their relationship from longtime friends to boyfriends is deliciously steamy and without complication, and watching Misha fumble through dating for the first time is pretty adorable. Charlie’s health (he has epilepsy) is presented respectfully and as an aspect of his life rather than a central focus of the story.
Narrator Joel Leslie delivers a solid performance here, with convincing British accents and female voices. The fairly subtle difference between Charlie’s and Misha’s voices was enough to differentiate.
This book totally works as a standalone. The cover is striking but I’m still not sure who it’s supposed to be given the character descriptions (a slight pet peeve). I received this free review copy audio book by request and have left this honest review voluntarily.