Love Me Today by A.L. Jackson

Love Me Today
(Time River, #1)
by A.L. Jackson
RELEASE DATE: MAY 29TH, 2023
COVER BY RBA DESIGNS
PHOTO BY MICHELLE LANCASTER

What to expect:
💙 Single Dad⁠
💙 Enemies-to-Lovers⁠
💙 Small Town⁠
💙 Billionaire⁠
💙 Nanny⁠
💙 Close Proximity⁠
💙 Grumpy x Sunshine⁠

A jaded single dad.
A woman returning to her small-town roots.
Neither was prepared for their paths to collide…

I should have known I was in trouble when I backed my old, beat-up truck into the shiny Range Rover.

The driver looked like a gorgeous fallen angel – one who’d been booted right out of paradise for being a giant prick.
Good thing I’ll never have to see him again.
Except when I show up for my new job to teach a little girl how to ride her horse, I find the same icy blue eyes glaring back at me.

Paisley Dae is completely reckless. She’s also the best trainer in this small town. And Evelyn gets the best.

Protecting the little girl is my one focus.
Only the sassy trainer in her cut-offs and cowgirl boots quickly gets under my skin. Distractions are dangerous, but she soon becomes everything I crave.

One reckless night of giving in, and Caleb and I spiral into a web of passion.

But when I begin to unravel the secrets hiding in this place, I find there is more riding on this job than I thought.
Caleb and Evelyn are worth any sacrifice – only Caleb has to decide what he will sacrifice for me…

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Narrated by: Joe Arden & Andi Arndt

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Love Me Today by A.L. Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

🎧📚AUDIO & EBOOK REVIEW📚🎧

PERFORMANCE REVIEW & RATING: 4 STARS

Joe Arden & Andi Arndt are a force to be reckoned with when they come together to narrate a story. They are both incredibly talented and did a good job bringing this story to life for me. Although Joe still tends to sound like he’s trying to “beat the buzzer” when he narrates, it didn’t happen throughout his entire performance with this title so that’s progress :)

Thanks to Valentine PR and their team, I had the pleasure of both listening and reading this story with an early copy of both formats. Some of you might be thinking this just means I *read* the story twice, but it is so much more than that.

Listening to a story incorporates narrators who may or may not change your perception of the ”who, what, where” of it all for the better, worse, or none at all. It has happened to me time and time again and ever since the first time I experienced a stark contrast in my ”experience” with a story, I have sought out both formats whenever possible.

Obviously, if you’re reading a story only for the ”mechanic” of it, this wouldn’t pertain to you, but if how a story makes you feel is also part of what you, as a reader, consider part of the full experience of a story, these are my 2 cents on that subject. Do with them what you will :)

As for which format, I would recommend, I’d say which ever one you prefer will do just fine. This is not one of those times where there was a stark difference in my experience.

STORY REVIEW & RATING: SOLID 3.5 STARS with just enough to justify a round up to 4 STARS (because half stars are not a thing)

There are two things that kept floating in my head while listening to this story that just made me twitchy. One was the past circumstance between Caleb and his sister and the other was Caleb’s past and his upbringing as a whole. Caleb used his past circumstances to define who he was today to the point where it actually became a bit repetitive in his inner monologues. The repetitiveness of it all made me want to experience his past in more ways than a couple of flashbacks because it was important in how he defined himself as a person and his actions and reactions to present day circumstances. It was a missed opportunity, in my opinion, to make this story more powerful, which is what I’ve come to love about A.L. Jackson’s style of writing. The second plot-point I felt should have been fleshed out in more in-depth was his relationship, or lack of, with his siter, especially because of Evelyn. We only got bits and pieces about their relationship or lack of, but the mystery surrounding this storyline very much surrounds his sister. I can’t say I have an opinion on how it could have been done because I’m not a writer lol but the reader in me felt that particular plot point too superficial for its impactful consequences. Maybe a full-length prequel? UGH, I don’t know, but something!!

The story did hold the passion I’ve come to expect from an AL Jackson story and the chemistry did not disappoint. But here again, Caleb held out on his attraction and feelings because of the person he perceived himself to be and the baggage he didn’t want to ”touch” anyone else but as a reader I couldn’t connect with his turmoil because I just didn’t know it. Again, one or two flashbacks just weren’t enough for me to believe he was this persona he kept telling us he was. There’s a difference between being told something and being shown and in this case, being shown would have been more impactful, in my opinion. *shrug*

I appreciate being surprised by the who behind the mystery surrounding this story. Yes, the actions (you’ll have to read the story to get details) were somewhat predictable, but I did not see the who coming for nothing! Well done in that respect. The best part of the entire who of it all was (view spoiler)! I mean the absurdity of it all just made me laugh way too hard for such a devastating plot-point!

Sidenote: Sometimes the most benign and innocuous things get me all riled up and here’s one for you LOL This isn’t a single dad romance. #fightme

View all my reviews

Meet The Author: A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.

If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.