A hidden gem amongst Bailey's collection

First of all: Emma Wilder KILLED it. The personality in her voice was so good that I think it made the story even better.

I'm pretty hit-or-miss with Tessa Bailey's books, and I'm also not normally someone who splurges on a short listen (<10 hours). I'm so glad I did with this one. It's a marriage of convenience trope done well. The female main character has dimension and a really refreshing character arch and motivation. The MC is NOT your typical ripped, handsome leading man--he's explicitly described as uniquely unattractive with a beer belly, as well as being a hairy hulking giant of a man. It's a different sort of stereotype, but at least it's novel (no pun intended).

That's the other thing--despite being a shorter story, the romance was believable. The FMC's humour was central to the story, and when the MC starts to make his own attempts at bad jokes because he knows it's her love language... now THAT is romantic.

Finally, the sex... the sex. There's a little bit of roleplay, a tiny little taste of (very) consensual non-consent, and very possessive language and behaviour. I think this is the sexiest book I've read this year. I've listened to it three times already.

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