This was such a cute and actually really sweet "forbidden"(?) romance. (The MCs are a college student and her TA). Lizzie Brandt gets picked up at a frat party by the cops only to find out her parents have been killed in a car accident and she's the new sole guardian of her two younger brothers. After graduating valedictorian of her high school, Lizzie has turned into a slacking party-girl in college and has to majorly turn her life around in order to keep her scholarship, stay in school, and figure out how to parent at 18 years old. Her grumpy history TA, Connor Lawson, steps up to save the day on multiple occasions and feelings start to appear between them though they can't be together.

I think the character development here was really great. We really see Lizzie grow into a responsible adult and Connor open up more. I definitely wanted to yell at both of them multiple times but a story demands conflict. Lizzie was a fun character and I think she read true to her age. Connor was sweet and I love a hot nerd lol.

The audiobook for this is out today and I enjoyed it a lot. It took me a minute to get used to the voice actor (at first I thought I wasn't going to like her) but her voice made sense for the MC and she ended up doing a great job portraying the emotion throughout the book.

I would recommend if you like the Elle Kennedy books or NA/college romance in general. This isn't on the super steamy side, but there is definitely some of that on page.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ALC!

Liked how the audiobook sounded, the reader did a great job of making the main chracter come alive. Loved Connor and his patience with Lizzie. Her character however sometimes annoyed me but I also had to remember she is 18 and I forget about that. Loved the drama that involved so many different characters that kept me listening to this book!

I think that had I read this when it was first released in 2014 I would have appreciated it more because that was when I was looking for New Adult books and the fact that it takes place at a university and it seems right up my alley.

The new cute cartoon cover for the re-release was what drew me to the book, and when I read the synopsis it sounded good. I don't think the cover really represents the story very well though cause the story is quite dark and steamy.

As a Canadian I don't find Quebecois swearing very attractive. I know you can't really help you fall in love with, but they seem to go out of their way to get caught. I also felt they were so hot and cold that it was annoying.

I don't think I'll continue with the series as I wasn't invested in the characters.

Great relationship building and even better payoff!

This re-release of a 2014 new-adult romance into an audio medium was a great call. Lizzie is an 18-year-old college student whose life has been turned upside down when she finds out her parents have died and she is now the legal guardian of her two younger brothers.

This book is an emotional rollercoaster and I loved the ride. The lows make it easy to empathize with her and seeing her have to make tough decisions really brings the character to life. She is not perfect but she also never claims to be. When you see her starting to get her life together you can do nothing but root for her to make smart decisions.

The romance is not normally a trope I like but I appreciated it being a TA who is a little closer in age than her actual professor but Connor is a gem. He is what makes it believable, he is honest, helpful, and not looking for anything except to just be there for her during a tough time. It makes you want to root for them to make it together.

The new cover design is aligned with the romance covers of the day and the audio narrations bring the story to life. The narrator was compelling giving each character a unique voice that was not distracting or took you out of the story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review! 

Final thoughts - Good amount of Steamy scenes and a relationship where the couple grows together and becomes better versions of themselves is a good new adult book to me!

This book should have stayed in 2014. I'm not sure why it resurfaced on @netgalley again.

The trope is teacher student romance because Connor is a TA and Lizzie is a student. Lizzie's story is that of basically any Disney main character. Her parents die. She is left with her young brothers. And for some unknown reason her parents (who are an attorney and something else) think it's a good idea to let an 18 year old raise a 7 and 13 year old.

Lizzie is as immature as a character can be. She drove me crazy. I did not like her at all and thought Connor was not smart for being around her. All of the drama was so far fetched that it had to involve psychopaths instead of just mean girls.

I know this was first published a few years back and I'm glad I finally got to read it.

After her parents passed, Lizzie is suddenly left to care for her two younger brothers. She needs to get her priorities straight - especially with her academics - in order to keep them with her instead of going into foster care. One person who is able to help her through tutoring is Connor, her TA.

It was an enjoyable read but I honestly thought I would love it more. I found the main character (Lizzie) to be immature with her ways at times. There are also quite a few instances of slut-shaming and talking badly about other female characters, done to the main character and also by the main character and her friends. It left an impression on my mind so it clearly does not sit well with me.

I thought the romance was fine. I thought their personalities complemented each other well, especially at that stage of Lizzie's life where she really needed someone she could depend on and ask for support when she needed it. Ofcourse, the obvious block in that road is that he is her TA so they try to deal with that in the story too and keep their relationship under the wraps for a while. The narration was also good!

Thank you to OrangeSky audio and NetGalley for this advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

Last Will and Testament follows a college sophomore as she struggles to live her life after her parents die in a car crash. Without additional family support she's suddenly the guardian of her two younger brothers and brings them to college with her so she can continue her studies to keep a scholarship. Before the accident, she's struggling with school, but after the accident with the help of a gorgeous TA she's able to get back on track. She, of course, falls for her TA and then a whole additional set of issues ensue.

So I liked this story, but I didn't love this story, and really I think the main obstacle to my enjoying this more was the main character. Don't get me wrong, I kept listening. Overall, I wanted to know what happened, but the MC was very immature. I understand that her parents had just died and she's young and trying to figure things out, but there were a lot of moments where you wanted to cringe at her poor decision making skills. One major one for me was in one scene she has a conversation with her younger brother, where he explains to her that she's always gone and he's always having to babysit their other brother, and she of course apologizes in the moment, but then a few scenes later she's going to her TA's after a meeting on campus for a quickie, and it's very clear the timing is evening, so then you're left to wonder, ok did she leave her brothers AGAIN after they just had a conversation about it? Ultimately, the decision made in the end of the book for her brothers to return to their hometown was the right one, but at the same time I feel it left everything unfulfilled, and kind of let the MC off the hook. Again, these are just my opinions, and it was probably for the best, but still feels unresolved for me and leaves open the question of what did the MC actually learn about the experience if she's allowed to go back to how she was before the accident?

However, I did feel for the MC at a certain part of the book. Her world is about to fall apart because a vengeful student found out about her and the TA and has a video and threatens to show it to the TA's boss, the social worker in charge of the MC's guardianship case, etc. And you're listening to this stunned, albeit not surprised, because there truly are people like this in the world, and you your heart hurts for the MC and the TA as they go through this.

On the audiobook side, the narration was very good, and definitely draws you into the story.

Overall, like I stated before the story draws you in and you have to keep reading, but ultimately I would have loved to see a more mature MC.

Last Will and Testament is the story of college student Lizzie, who unexpectedly becomes guardian to her two younger brothers when her parents die suddenly. Lizzie has to clean up her act fast in order to maintain her scholarship, be there for her siblings, and process her own feelings. Fortunately, her history TA Connor always seems to be there when she needs him. When Lizzie’s past choices catch up to her, she will have to choose what matters most.

This was my first time reading Dahlia Adler’s New Adult books, which I enjoyed. She uses snappy dialogue, sky-high stakes, and relatable characters effectively. Dahlia Adler does an incredible job of always answering the question: “why can’t they be together now?” Both Connor and Lizzie have many valid concerns and things holding them back from each other, which makes it all the more delightful to see them choose each other each time.

The audiobook narrator did a nice job, creating distinct voices for both Lizzie and Connor. I would recommend Last Will and Testament for any Dahlia Adler fan who is seeking a fast-paced New Adult romance. Last Will and Testament is available on February 8, 2022. Thank you to Dahlia Adler, OrangeSky Audio, and Netgalley for a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for the advance copy.

I liked this book. Lizzie is such a real, raw character and her growth from self-centered party animal to mature, responsible woman is a joy to read. Plus, the smut is really well written. Like really well .

Very Steamy New Adult Romance. Party girl to parental figure literally overnight. Gets help from a dorky history T.A who after some small fashion advise is actually looking pretty hot. But he's the TA! Funny, heart felt and family focused overall a great read! Can't wait for the rest of Dahlia Adler's books to be out as Audiobooks the Narrator was great!

I really enjoyed this book! The story line had so many typical tropes but they still felt so unique and well done. The romance developed so well and there was so many moments that made my heart happy. I loved the narrator for this book so much, she did such a good job sharing the emotions of the novel while still making the whole experience enjoyable.

Cute read. Loved seeing Lizzie develop as both a guardian and in her relationship with Connor. Looking forward to continuing the series.

DNF-- I got about halfway through this before I HAD to stop. I really liked the main character, though I felt like the descriptions of her emotional depth weren't deep enough. She's going through hell, and I think the author could've done a lot more to show just how bad her mental state was--instead we got a lot of showing and not telling. I also just didn't care for the romance at all. I didn't find the love interest to be compelling. I also felt like os many scenes could've been very edited down or taken out altogether in favor of some better written scenes of emotion.

I did enjoy the audiobook narrator--I wish Netgalley allowed listeners to speed up the audiobook past 2x speed without the audio getting insanely poor in quality because I probably could've stuck this out had it not been for how long the audiobook is and my inability to speed things up. I liked the narrators--nothing wrong on that front.

Lizzie is a party girl at college. She's having a good time and not necessarily caring about her reputation or maintaining her grades. Then the worst thing happens, she loses her parents and becomes the guardian for her two younger brothers. Suddenly she has to figure out how to be a parent, while doing better in class and dealing with an angry classmate.

I did appreciate that Lizzie wasn't immediately a good parent. It's a huge change and we see her struggle, have wins and losses, and how difficult her life has become. I will say I didn't really like Lizzie and though she matured and became more likeable, she still wasn't my favorite. Knowingly sleeping with a guy that has a girlfriend is pretty low, then she was rude to the girlfriend and couldn't believe when she retaliated. Should have seen that coming.

Connor is a complete sweetheart and I really liked him. He cared about Lizzie and her brothers, helped her out constantly, and was just a great guy. I thought he and Lizzie got together a bit too quickly, but he deserves to be happy. I felt bad that he suffered near the end and rooted for him to make it out of the drama intact.

The narrator does a pretty good job and the story is pretty evenly paced. Though this is a romance, I thought there were plenty of cute and funny parts with the side characters to balance it all out.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thank you to Orange Sky Audio and NetGalley for the copy.

Audiobook Galley Review. First off I loved the narrator, she was fantastic! I would listen to anything she narrates! I would definitely put this book in the New Adult category, not Young Adult. This is a lot of mature content, which fits with the college setting and age of the main character, but may be beyond some YA collections, especially if they skew younger.

4 out of 5 Stars

Thank You NetGalley for my ARC!

Last Will and Testament is book 1 in the Radleigh University Series. I enjoyed Last Will and Testament and can't wait to continue with the series. Last Will and Testament was the first book by Dahlia Adler that I have read and it won't be the last. I loved Lizzie and Conner.

**ARC provided by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

A 2014 new adult novel gets audiobook-ed with a narrator that brings Lizzie Brandt's story to life in Last Will and Testament by Dahlia Adler.

If you've read the story, you already know the tale of 18-year-old Lizzie as her hard-partying ways come to a screeching halt in the face of the heartbreaking loss of both of her parents. What follows is a rollercoaster of emotion that puts you right in Lizzie's place and in her head as she spirals and works to take care of her brothers, raise her grades and keep her scholarship, and try to navigate the consequences of reputational warfare with some high school feeling results to certain moments.

While it's a new adult romance and there's a "happy" ending, it feels incredibly bittersweet and left me with a few tears shed.

Last Will and Testament is an emotionally tumultuous ride that is guaranteed to leave you in your feelings.

I'm going to be honest; I probably wouldn't have picked this book up on its own. But what made me dive into the audio was the narrator's ability to make it sound natural. I hope Samantha Summers has a long career in voice acting because she was terrific!

I don't have much to say about the story. It rounded itself out beautifully. I don't know how many people would function as Brandt did after finding out she damn near lost everything. I appreciate her character development throughout the story because it shows that she tried her hardest while still slipping into the role of a teenager. She did a complete 180 on her life to ensure that her brothers were good, and I didn't expect her to stick with her resolve.

There were two arcs I wanted more depth in: Connor's backstory and the final touches of the showdown between Brandt and her nemesis.

Overall I rated this book 4-stars. I recommend checking out the audio when you can!

This was an adorable book that takes you for quite the emotional ride.

- Filipino FMC
- Teacher/ student romance
- Forbidden love
- and some spice

The audiobook was great. The narrator did an amazing job with each of the characters, especially the youngest brother.

I did not expect this book to have any sort of spice in it, but it was a pleasant surprise. I loved Lizzie's character and how confident she was of herself despite struggling with looking after her two brothers. Lizzie and Connor's relationship definitely had some hate to love and grumpy/sunshine vibes, which I loved. I felt that their relationship went from 0 - 60 pretty quickly and would have liked to see a tiny bit more build up.

Lizzie has just lost her parents and is now the sole guardian to her two younger brothers. While trying to deal with two rowdy young boys, getting her college life together so she doesn't lose her scholarship, and dealing with her own grief, Lizzie finds romance in the most unexpected guy, her history class's TA.

This is a story of forbidden love and grief and I'm here for it. I thought the story was enjoyable. It was funny, cute, and heartbreaking at times. An emotional roller coaster. This story was also HOT at times. There are some descriptive sex scenes throughout the book. I did think that the story focused more on the romance than on the grief and guardianship struggles, but I felt like that was the point because it was even mentioned by one of the characters that Lizzie was focusing more on her forbidden romance than she was on being a guardian, so I think it was well done.

audiobook specific: I thought the narrator did a wonderful job. I enjoyed listening to her voice as she read the story. There was some great emotion throughout the narration.

content warning: death of parents, grief, bullying, cheating, sexual content, teacher/student romance (college student of legal age with teacher's assistant)