dnf for me. I really wanted to like this one. it sounded so good in the synopsis but it was so slow and it just didn't hold my attention the way I would have liked.

This is the second of the Good Southern Women series but could easily be read as a standalone novel.

Hyacinth Dawson is a meticulous person who not only has her dream job of dealing with wedding dresses, but she can also sew her own patterns. The monkey wrench is a lovable hockey player, Robbie McTavish who is more like a flexuous kind of guy who has the best intentions but sometimes has disastrous results. When their world collides, it's not smooth as silk but more like “smooth as burlap.” Remember, your burlap comes from silk.

It is brilliantly narrated by Courtney Patterson. Both the author, Alice Hunter Pace, and the narrator, Courtney Patterson bring to life all the characters and had me smiling and feeling the warmth of the southern hospitality. I love how Hyacinth and Robbie’s journey to not only getting to know each other but learning to accept each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I especially love how Robbie was so caring towards all people and made each and everyone feel cared about. His warmth counters Hyacinth’s mannerisms and eventually, they both understand not only each other but themselves better.

It is a light read and I found Hyacinth’s language when she is angry or surprised or anywhere in between when it came to Robbie, as rated PG. A heartwarming Hallmark rom-com vibe that keeps you wanting more which made it a fast audiobook. I just couldn’t stop and found an excuse to stay up longer, listening to it, at night. I look forward to more of the Good Southern Women series. I give it 3 1/2 stars.

Thank you to @NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the digital audio to review.

This has been on what I’m calling my NetGalley backlist for quite some time now. It released Feb 22, 2022 so I’ve had it at least that long. I generally read (or listen in most cases) to my NetGalley books immediately, but I have about 8 on my backlist right now! This is review 1:

This book features Hyacinth, a bridal shop owner trying to get her shop featured on a hit bridal TV show. In order to do this, she needs to land a celebrity client. The TV producers happen to see a viral video of the interference of Robbie McTavish and agree to feature Hyacinth’s shop providing Robbie is included in the package. There’s one big problem. Hyacinth cannot stand Robbie and his meddling, even if he does know what he’s doing.

I wasn’t expecting a sports romance going into this. Those are not my thing at all. It’s also a clean romance - which also isn’t my thing. So considering that - here is my review:

I found myself surprisingly drawn into this story. There’s something about the forced proximity trope that always gets me. While there are adult parts to this book, it’s all fade to black type stuff so you know what they’re doing without the details. I especially enjoyed the epilogue with the story wrap up. It was perfect. The narration was also perfect and I have no complaints about that at all.

I’d recommend this to anyone that enjoys sports romances, wedding planning or the forced proximity trope (while remembering it clean)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shoutout to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC of this one!

This is cute and sweet. And apparently the second book in a series didn’t know that walking in. 🤣 sometimes I need to read more carefully on NetGalley. Good though, a lot of fun. As always thank you to NetGalleyShelf sending me this review copy all opinions are my own as always.

This is book 2 in the Good Southern Women series. I really hope there are more in this series because I really like the characters. In this edition of the series we get to spend time with Hyacinth. She has opened a bridal shop. She works hard to grow her successful business. Her life is on the track she wants it on and she has no time for love. In walks Robbie a player on the Yellowhammer hockey time. At first they are like oil and water. Robbie is like a bull in a china shop. But everyone loves him except Hyacinth. But she really wants on a popular reality wedding show to help her business and Robbie may be her way to get on the show. But it won't be easy. They fight each other every step of the way until they don't. Will she get the reality show? Will they stop fighting each other? Who gets the happy ending? This is a fun, entertaining story.

Hyacinth Dawson likes order and knows exactly what steps to take to get to her next goal in her life plan. The current next step is getting her bridal boutique showcased on the popular reality TV show All Dressed in White…

Hockey player, Robbie McTavish goes with the flow, whether its from lady to lady or party to party… but that’s dried up at the moment now that his partner in hijinks has gone and gotten married…

Looking for some diversion he decides to lead his his wedding expertise to the very unwilling Hyacinth.

With Robbie’s charm and appeal, All Dressed in White is finally interested in her shop, but what is she going to do with the bumbling Scotsman that just doesn’t know when to stop helping!?!?

I absolutely adored Robbie and wished Hyacinth would have looked deeper into him earlier on- could have saved them both a lot of hurt! This was a sweet romance with lots of forced proximity and chemistry!

🎧I was fortunate to receive an audiobook arc and was transfixed by narrator, Christy Woods use of accents and her variation between characters, even the side characters were provided with unique and appropriate voices. This excellent voice work really transplanted me into the story and had me very invested in the outcome. This was a pleasurable book to listen to and the audio definitely enhanced the storytelling.

Smooth as Silk by Alicia Hunter was released February 10th, 2022.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Harlequin Publicity Team and the audiobook from Dreamscape Media through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#SmoothAsSilk #AliciaHunter #Netgalley #pinkcowlandreads

This is a cute light read. I didn't realize when I started reading it that it is the second book in the series. It was okay because it could be a stand-alone novel as well.

The main characters Robbie, a professional hockey player, and Hyacinth, a wedding dress store owner, were likable. I would have preferred a little more banter from the two and a little more passion. It seemed like their relationship was lacking a little. The narrator, Courtney Patterson was great and I really enjoyed her and she did a good job at the Irish accent. Overall it is a fun romcom.

I didn't dislike this book but I didn't like it either. I struggled to find a real connection between Hyacinth and Robbie. I liked each of them on their own but not as a couple. There was very little romance. Also at times I thought maybe this was a Christian book. There were quite a few Christian phrases used.

This was an opposites attract romance and a pretty clean one at that. Hyacinth Dawson owns the bridal shop in her small town and she is all about control. What she really wants is to design wedding gowns and she thinks by getting on the reality show Dressed In White she will be able to get enough money to be able to do that but her chances of that all but nixed until the difficult bride is helped along by Robbie McTavish when he stops in and offers suggestions. He knows a thing or two about weddings as his family has a wedding venue in Scotland and even though he causes havoc and Hyacinth loses her mind a bridesmaid catches it on video and posts it to social media. That starts the whirlwind of the two working together. Opposites, yes, but they do manage. I enjoyed this one and look forward to more in this series.

Reviewing
Smooth As Silk
By Alicia Hunter Pace

The meet cute in Alicia Hunter Pace’s new enemies to lovers romcom will have readers grinning from chapter one. Readers will be shaking their as they watch Robbie and Hyacinth try to navigate a cringe worthy bridal shoot in completely opposite ways. This light and well paced story is made even more magical by Courtney Patterson’s narration. A great recommendation for any reader looking for a romantic comedy that will keep them smiling.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 bright stars for this clean, feel good romcom

Smooth as Silk was a great listen. It kept me engaged and I enjoyed the banter between Robbie and Hyacinth. It has nearly everything you could want in a romance novel. It's funny, witty, and sexy, and Hyacinths up bringing give her character a pinch of grit. Courtney Patterson did a great job bringing out the Southern Cham, and the Scottish accent wasn't half bad. I do think that out of the many audio books I have listened to in the last year, this one was a little on the long side for being a single audio book, and not a set of audio books.

Hyacinth Dawson is happy with her structured life and is working hard to reach her goals. She is certain that getting her bridal shop featured on an episode of popular reality show All Dressed In White will give her the boost she needs to take her career to the next level. However, she knows she will need a celebrity client to make the show happen. Robbie McTavish may play professional hockey for the local team, but he grew up in a family who owns and works one of the premier wedding venues in Scotland. When he sees a bride through the window of Hyacinth’s shop, he can’t resist rushing in to help because the silhouette of the dress she is trying on is all wrong for her body type. The last thing Hyacinth wants is his help, especially when he gets ice cream on one of her $8000 dresses. One of the bridesmaids videos the encounter with Robbie, and the video goes viral. Hyacinth is mortified until All Dressed in White calls to say that they want to feature her shop on their show – as long as Robbie will be in the episode, too.

Not one, but two of Hyacinth’s best friends told her, “He must really like you if he had to blackmail you into going out with him." Yeah, that is a gigantic <b>red flag</b> for a relationship, not a sign that you should be with the guy. I did not feel the connection between them, and if they were a real-life couple, it’s hard to imagine them staying together long term. Courtney Patterson did a good job with the audiobook narration. This is the second book in a series but can easily be read as a standalone.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Smooth As Silk by Alicia Hunter Pace has a very unique meet cute that is made even more adorable by leading man Robbie's Scottish accent (though Jamie Fraser's is still #1). Hyacinth's bridal shop needs a boost and as she is dealing with a hard to please bride Robbie sees through the shop window that the dress is all wrong. His family owns the premiere wedding venue in Scotland and though he plays pro hockey he knows what works on a bride. Rushing in to give advice he spills his coffee over the one of a kind bridal gown!

Someone films the event on their phone and it goes viral. A reality show wants to film in Hyacinth's shop. There is only one hitch - Robbie has to be part of the deal! Robbie has very specific conditions to helping Hyacinth make her store popular and Hyacinth has no love for Robbie.

I really enjoyed how narrator Courtney Patterson has Robbie get to Hyacinth just by calling her "Lass" with a smooth Scottish accent. This romcom enemies to lovers hits all the feels we want from our fun romances.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Dreamscape Media via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hyacinth owns a bridal shop and one day she hopes to design dresses. She also wants to be a part of a reality bridal show. She is very focused; makes spreadsheets, lists, and has plans A, B, and C. When things do not go her way, she is beside herself and not fun to be around. When working with a new bride, the new hockey player, Robbie McTavish, enters her shop. He is Irish, very good looking, and charms everyone. His family is in the bridal business in Ireland and although he is just trying to help Hyacinth, she finds him annoying! His efforts to help her go viral, and the producers of the reality show wish to film at her shop, but Robbie must be a part of it. The more time they spend together, the harder it is to tell what their relationship really is. There are lots of humorous scenes, and struggles to please, yet remain true to themselves, and a great love story. Wonderful characters and a great example of what love looks like.

Exuding Southern charm, Courtney Patterson’s vibrant narration brought Smooth as Silk by Alicia Hunter Pace vividly to life, drawing me into the audiobook from her first words spoken. Patterson’s voice is a perfect fit for Pace’s characters—especially Robbie and Hyacinth with her affinity for accents. Her narration for Robbie, from the Highlands of Scotland, is marvelous. The dialect and cadence in Patterson’s narration for Robbie is so good I kept forgetting she’s the sole narrator and that there isn’t a male counterpart for Robbie’s and Hyacinth’s dual, first-person POVs. She narrates Robbie’s Scottish brogue, accent, and personality so easily. Robbie’s culture shock, awe and love for the South—the novel is set in a small town in Alabama—and utter bafflement with Hyacinth and cluelessness when faced with her ire all come through so clearly in Patterson’s narration. Most of all, his feelings for Hyacinth soften his voice despite his inability to figure her out.

Patterson’s narration for Hyacinth is emotionally intense and powerful, capturing her high-strung, prickly, driven, uptight personality and the tough façade that protects her fragile heart. When she goes into a hysteric worry spiral, Patterson’s voice is frantic with a flurry of emotion—frustration, fear, panic, desperation to succeed. Hyacinth’s tendency to look at Robbie with scorn, judging his clothes, behavior, and choices, comparing them to her parents comes through in Patterson’s snooty/condescending tone when voicing Hyacinth’s thoughts and words. Not to mention how tight her voice becomes when she feels things not in her control.

Although the chapters don’t indicate shifts between Robbie’s and Hyacinth’s viewpoints, it’s easy to tell who’s speaking based on Patterson’s narration because of the distinct voices she creates for each character. Listening to the audiobook is a better experience for me than reading would have been because I wouldn’t have been able to get Robbie’s accent right in my head. He wouldn’t have sounded anywhere near half as good as Patterson makes him sound. Her southern accents also added color and charm to the story for Pace’s fascinating small-town characters. Patterson’s narration is a great match for Pace’s humor, angst, small-town and Southern charm, and hate-to-love romance. She made the novel a fast-paced, entertaining listen that flew by.

Paces’ description is colorful, and she wonderfully develops her interesting characters through emotional, hilarious, and emotionally intense interactions that make you care about her characters and their lives. Robbie is a straightforward, funny, down-to-earth guy, who doesn’t understand why his mere presence and everything he does irritates Hyacinth, but at the same time, he likes getting her worked up—he likes her. His tendency to rush in and act without thinking makes Hyacinth crazy because she’s a list-making, contingency-forming planner who needs to be in control at all times. They are total opposites—the unlikeliest of a pairing. Yet, the mutual attraction drawing them together is strong. Robbie’s chaos shakes things up and brings excitement into her staid existence, but also love and someone who cares and looks out for her. She gives him someone to love and care for and brings much-needed order into his life. They balance each other’s worst tendencies with love and respect.

Smooth as Silk is an emotional, sweet, and hilarious, one-sided hate-to-love small-town romance with bits of hockey and wedding dress design/fashion. It’s a thoroughly entertaining audiobook I highly recommend to readers who like small-town, southern, opposites attract, hate-to-love, or enemies-to-lovers romances.

Smooth As Silk by Alicia Hunter Pace .

An uptight wedding store owner with dreams of being on a wedding show vs a Scottish Hockey Player that ruins an $8000.00 wedding dress .
When her dream becomes a real possibility will he ruin her chances ?

This book is a real romance, the chemistry between the two main characters is palpable. I enjoy a good enemies to love book, but this one is heads above the others I have read lately. .

What is it with Scottish guys ? Enjoyed that he was rough around the edges , with a secretly giant heart. I was hooked ! Who says chivalry is dead ?A reference to Outlander and the tiniest mention of Oklahoma ( the state I live in ) reeled me all the way in .

This one caught me . A true romance without getting raunchy, sprinkled with laughter and fun . It was delight. This book will just make your heart happy .

I didn’t realize this was number two in a series. While you don’t necessarily have to read it in order, I definitely missed things but the main characters in this story were probably minor in the first one. The main female character (Hyacinth) is kind of unlikeable and the main male character (Robbie) was like able, for the most part. I loved that he was Scottish and wore his families plaid kilts. The details about his family castle and life over there were nice too. I’m not much of a hockey fan, so that part of the story didn’t really interest me. I liked that the wedding shop was originally her grandmothers. Rom-com fans will love this. I just didn’t like Hyacinth much.

I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover - since it's a wedding dress I was expecting a romance and when I saw that it was about a pro hockey player well that just sold it to me because hockey romances are my favourite romantic niche trope.

I was a little disappointed when I started reading and felt like I was missing something. Sure enough I went to Goodreads and it is the second book in a series. I hate reading books out of order because they were talking about a bunch of characters that I didn't know anything about. I want to read the first book in the series first so I'm going to set this one aside and pick it back up after I've finished the first.

I will say that from the beginning I enjoyed how the narrator did a Scottish accent. It is notoriously hard to do and I will say that a lot of narrators that I've listened to in the past have done it very poorly where they start to sound Jamaican. The story sounds sweet and I can't wait to finish it.

Smooth as Silk by Alicia Hunter Pace pulled me in from the very beginning. I love Southern stories of women achieving their dream. The imagery of Trousseau shop was so beguiling. The author really wrote some incredible characters and I loved them. Courtney Patterson was amazing bringing the characters to life with her voice. The emotions in her voice were spot on. Her voice of Robbie was so good! Thank you #NetGalley and #Dreamscape Media for letting me listen to this fantastic book! I loved it.

This audiobook was absolutely perfect to listen to. I loved Robbie and his accent was adorable. It was a cute tale of wedding season, romance that sneaks up on you, and just good humor. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced listen.