I couldn’t help myself but jump right into this one after the authors sent it my way (squirreling from my two thrillers I had started) ’cause I kept hearing about a twist many didn’t see coming, and that’s just my catnip!!!! I CANNOT RESIST A JAW-DROPPING TWIST!!! And this one had it, in spades!!! SQUEEEE!!
Susan: I just finished Park Avenue Player by Penelope Ward. It was sooo good and had a twist I didn’t see coming. Oh my heart!! Such a great book 🤗🥰
Linda: Park Avenue Player was delicious and unexpected!!
Jackie: Just finished- Park Avenue Player. I’ve read most of the books by Keeland and Ward and while I know I’m going to get a good story, this was so unexpected. Wow! Definitely the best by this writing duo.
Maryse: I’m reading Park Avenue Player, and it’s kind of… fantastic. WOW. I laughed my butt off in chapter 16, I TOTALLY get her (and even if it’s from both POVs… it works ’cause we don’t always know quite what he’s thinking).
And there’s gonna be a twist and I have TWO guesses. Either way, if I win, it’ll be gasp-worthy. There’s depth here. All that to say, I’m almost done but I had to take a step back right-the-heck-now… ’cause I’m at a part that makes me want to ugly cry, so… yeah. No…
Laina: Me too. Loving it so far!
I love these authors (separately AND together – their writing just flows perfectly), and it always feel like I’m watching a movie. I’m always smiling while reading these love stories, and beaming by the end. Pure contemporary romance sure, but with a touch of everything to make each story stand out.
From hilarious scenes that have me laughing out loud, and re-reading parts to those around me so they can laugh too…
Maryse: Park Avenue Player.
…chapter 16 has me giggling like MAD!!!! OMG I LOVE IT!!!
…to poignant moments that make me wanna cry so hard,
Maryse: I’m at a part that hurts my heart, so I had to step back. Ughhhhhhhh I LOVE THIS BOOK.
Amy: PAP is about to make you ugly cry?! Oh man…CLICK!
Susan: Maryse, I feel you your pain on Park Avenue Player. So good.
…to jaw-dropping twists (like the one in this book!!)
Maryse: I have TWO guesses on a twist. Either way, if I’m right… GASP!!!!
Ali: mmm hmm
Summer: I had it figured out pretty quick
Heather: I was absolutely blindsided, like straight up never saw it coming 🤣
Kathy: Heather… Me too!!
Maryse: OMG!!! Just finishing and I must say, the twists I was guessing at? I WAS WRONG. And THE ACTUAL TWIST is so much better!!! GASPPPPP!!!!!
Jennifer: I guessed it! Would love to hear your other guess. I assume one was the correct guess. Little far fetched, but who cares? Very sweet book! Loved it.
Maryse: I will include both my guesses in a WARNING section below my review rating (so everyone who read it will know, but those who haven’t yet can skip that part). 😀
So what’s it about?
Elodie (I just love her name!!), is sick of seducing husbands for a PI and the wives that hire him. Time for a new job? Nanny to a young girl sounds right up her alley! But the interview doesn’t go so well, when the man hiring her is the one she just got into a car accident with. 😉 He’s none too impressed.
But having met young “Hailey” that day (P.S. I love this little girl! She is TOTALLY believable for her age), she convinces her uncle Hollis to hire Elodie.
The two, together are like fire and ice. He’s a moody workaholic and she’s fiery and fun, but both have their issues when it comes to matters of the heart (I’ll let you discover their stories as you go).
And the fun begins!!! 😀
From his sexy-grumpiness,
“As far as I’m concerned, if you aren’t five minutes early, you’re late. I hate it when people keep me waiting.”
Hollis. The man really needed to learn how to talk on the phone.
to her quick-witted comebacks, to preteen Hailey and her blush-worthy questions about *ahem* life,
Hailey interrupted the conversation when she suddenly asked, “What’s a DILF?”
Hollis and I looked at each other, unsure how to respond.
“Why?” I asked.
“Megan heard her mom call Uncle Hollis that. Is a DILF like a doofus?”
I bent my head back in laughter. “Nice assumption.” Hollis clearly didn’t know how to answer her question.
I was quickly learning that one of my regular duties as
Hailey’s nanny was to save Hollis’s ass when it came to addressing certain things.
“DILF stands for Dad I’d Like to Friend,” I said.
She scrunched her nose. “Like on Facebook?”
I nodded. “Exactly.”
*snort*
To allllll the snort-worthy scenes,
“What are you going to do? Pretend you don’t know?”
I sat back up. “Is that medication also making you delirious? You know me, Bree. I’m not going to let it pass. I’m going to use it to torture the hell out of the man.”
Bree shook her head. “But he’s your boss.”
…to their loving cast of characters (co-workers, friends and family) that love and support them, I simply fell in love with this story.
And as I was reading, “living them” as they got to know each other, navigating their feelings in secret…
I felt like a complete and utter fool. Was I secretly holding out hope that I could change him? Or was I just so attracted to him that I didn’t care about anything other than getting to have him?
…I had totally forgotten about the impending twist.
That is… until it SMACKED ME IN THE HEAD. AND I WAS ALL…. OH. EM. GEE. *thud*
And I absolutely LOVE when that happens. That’s what makes a “romance book” with similar tropes (ie: in this case, the brooding billionaire needs a nanny trope…) stand out in my head forever.
4.5 STARS!!! <—- Just. Too. Fun!!!! Loved it from start to finish. Sure it was a bit sugary in the end, but I haven’t had sugar in ages (you know… my Keto – OH!!! Elodie is on Keto too!! :P), so all the to say, the emotional sugar rush was delicious!!! 😉 Oh AND AND!!! P.S. There’s a couple of character crossovers into this one. 😉 Anyone remember a special fainting goat?
P.P.S. Thank you to the authors for sending me a review copy!!
Okay now… what were MY two “twist guesses”?
Don’t forget: they were both wrong, SO SO sooooooooo wrong, BUT!!! If you haven’t read this book yet, I don’t want you reading my twist-guesses ’cause you might guess the same things I did, and then… you’ll think you’re so clever (like I did). Which is fun, because when you realize what the true twist is, you’ll enjoy it even more. 😉
So… all that to say… skip this next part if your haven’t read it yet!!!
Twist guess #1: One was that Hollis’s little niece was actually Anna’s daughter (Hollis’s ex-girlfriend) and maybe she had left him for his brother (Hailey’s father – that was in jail). So…. she left him for him? And then maybe she died, since we knew Hailey’s mom had died. Which is now why he was his niece’s guardian. GASP!! That would have been crazy, too.
Twist guess #2: The other twist I thought about was that Anna (Hollis’s ex-girlfriend) had actually been cheating with Tobias (Elodie’s ex-husband) which then… would mean he is who Anna left Hollis for, and why Elodie divorced Tobias. And now these two meet, and eventually clue in to the fact that their exes were the ones that broke them by cheating and then being together.
So… what were your guesses?
➔➔➔ Looking for more of my must-read recommendations? Browse my 5 star and 4.5 star and 4 star reviews. 😀
➔➔➔ Love these authors? Browse more Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward features and reviews on my blog. 😀
I want to read this one but am afraid of the “twist”. Plot twists are tricky for me and I often dislike them. 🙁 (some that come to mind are: Black Lies, Hopeless & November 9) But if this one is super unexpected & clever, perhaps I will love? 🤞
Ehhhhh I found those twists pretty great, Leslie… so maybe not? LOL!!!!
I’m always scared of plot twists too. But the cover is pretty nice 😀
Trust us, Leslie…it’s nothing to be scared of. 😉
Well, at least in Marmy standards. LOL!
Ah geez, now I have to buy it and read it! I do love this author duo! But you said the magic words “unexpected twist”!! I’m all over it!
YES, Jean! You want to read this one! 😀
This WAS a great one, wasn’t it?? I went on enough about it on the Tuesday release post so I won’t babble on here and repeat myself, but I agree with everything you said up there.
And I about lost it when Pixy made an appearance!!!
And then the bird picked up on it… LOL!!!