This audiobook was a great listen if you're looking for something light and cute. Nothing was too complex in this story so it was incredibly predictable. I mainly enjoyed it as something to listen to on my commute. I wish there had been more of a flow to the emotions the characters brought to the table. At times it felt like they completely turned on a dime and started acting differently for no reason.

I liked the set up, and it was clear to me the ending would be and the reveal, but enjoyable none the less.

I received a digital copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Being from Missouri had I known this book takes place in so many locations or types of places I’m either very familiar with or have been to I probably would not have requested this book. However that’s a me problem not a book problem. I do enjoy books set in places I’ve never been like NYC while I imagine there are probably many people who prefer not to read about where they live. So if you’re not from here it’s probably irrelevant.

This is a second chance romance. Personally I only occasionally like second chance romances. So these two factors likely colored my view of the rest.

I’m also much more of an Austen fan than a Brontë fan. I enjoyed Jane Eyre but wasn’t much into the other Brontë books.

I found the heroine not terribly likable or relatable. I wasn’t super on board with her mission and found the plot path somewhat predictable.

If you’re not from the Midwest and you love second chance romances and Brontë you’ll probably like this book. For me it was 3/5

Two of my favorites: second chance romance and small town romance all combined into one story!

This was a fun second chance romance, between Athena and Thorne, and I thought the audiobook, narrated by Katie Schorr, really showed the emotion in their relationship.

*many thanks to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I really enjoyed this second chance romance between Athena and Thorne! I loved all of the secondary characters in this book too! Between the bachelor farmers, Finn and Mario, Charles and Vivienne, Lydia and Ricki and all the others, I was laughing my ass off! I also enjoyed the Brontë sister quotes. I’d definitely recommend this one!

I wanted to like this book, but I predicted the "secret" about three chapters in and the heroine was unlikeable and pretentious to the extreme. I didn't have any desire to finish. Thank you for the opportunity!

Blame it on the Brontës by Annie Sereno
Title: Blame it on the Brontës
Author: Annie Sereno
Narrated by: Katie Schorr
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Length: 11 hours
Source: Netgalley. Thank-you!

What romantic hero did you pine for in your youth? Did you like the brooding Bronte heroes?

Athena Murphy is an inspiring English professor who loves teaching but is behind on writing papers. Athena needs to publish or perish so she takes time off to return to her hometown and determine the identify of C.L. Garland. Garland is rumored to live in her hometown and is the bestselling author of the lit wit series of books, which are very spicy retelling of classic novels. She takes a waitressing job at the café she used to work at and soon discovers it has recently been purchased by her ex-boyfriend, Thorne. Thorne was Athena’s Bronte hero and great love. She is still stung by their break-up and is not happy to be working with him. Will she be able to find Garland and get her career back on track? Will she be able to repair her relationship with Thorne?

I enjoyed this light and fun audiobook. The narration was great. I loved all of the literary references. I like books about books or in this case classic literature. I am also a big fan of second chance romance and slow burn romance, and this had both. I really loved the town of Laurel and all of the secondary characters. They were pretty funny and unique. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the tasty food at As You Like It Café. Overall, it was a fun audiobook.

Small town second chance romance with dual prespective an Entertaining romance with a bit of spice. Loved all the literary references and the narrator was great

I really liked this book! It was a bit slow at times and the characters didn’t have the best chemistry. However, I really enjoyed the set up and I recommend it to anyone who thinks the plot sounds intriguing!

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

Narrator 2.5 stars
My God this narrator was over the top.
(I think I would have enjoyed this more in the E-book format)

Story 2.5 stars
If this book was a person at a dinner party, it would be that super obnoxious human that has patches on their jacket at the elbows you spend all night rolling your eye at wishing they would shup up and stop being so pretentious

This book was highly entertaining. It starts off with the reading meeting Athena Murphy, an English professor at a small college in San Francisco arriving in her home town of Laurel where she plans to write a book and uncover the identity of famous writer CL Garland. There was something published that Garland, who writes who writes spicy (read erotic) retellings of classic literature, is from Laurel, and in order to save her job, Athena is bound and determined to figure out who she is. What Athena doesn't expect, however, is to run into her former flame Thorne. Thorne is a former lawyer, turned cafe owner. The same cafe that Athena is planning to work as a waitress as while she is busy searching for Garland. Things don't go the way Athena planned, chaos ensues and working with Thorne presents its own set of challenges, Can Athena and Thorne get back to where they used to be, or are they doomed forever?

What I really enjoyed about this book was the writing style. The book itself wasn't fast paced, but the style in which it was written made it feel more fast paced than it actually was. I also (for the most part) enjoyed the banter between Athena and Thorne. It reminded me of how some of us react to situations with an ex: sometimes we forget our tongue and get sassy while other times we go completely blank. There also wasn't a ton of deep stuff within the book, it was kept relatively light hearted and I enjoy that in a simple rom com.
What I wasn't a huge fan of, that knocked my rating down, were two things. One, I thought the chapters were way too long. I would have preferred shorter chapters. Given that the actual plot moved at a relatively slow pace, I think this would have helped make things feel like they moved a bit quicker. I also felt that the tone was off a bit. Some of the things that were brought up in the first half of the book didn't necessarily make sense with the second half and the latter half of the book felt a bit all over the place.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for an entertaining rom com that is a light read,

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my own

This is unfortunately one of those books that have a great premise but are executed poorly. Or maybe my expectations were too high. But this book was just okay.

English professor Athena Murphy is back in her hometown after an incident at work puts her career on the line. She needs to write a book- and a good one, if she wants to salvage her job!

So why not unmask the mysterious writing creating erotic retellings of classic lit, whom also is supposedly living in her hometown!

In order to infiltrate the locals, Athena decides to take a job at the cafe… even though it’s now owned and run by her her ex-boyfriend Thorne!

Athena is here for business… nothing is going to make her try again with Thorne… even if he’s finally channeling the Heathcliff/ Rochester vibes she’s always dreamed of!

I enjoyed the mystery elements and hints of Brontë-isms included in the story.

Thorne was a good hero with a good mix of brooding but also a good, solid guy. As for Athena, she didn’t capture me as much. She was too insulated in her perspective. She played the poor me card a lot for someone not willing to be truthful to friends and family (or even herself!) about her real circumstances and what she truly wants in life.

In addition, I listened to the audiobook of this and found the voice artist selected for this book took away from the credibility of Athena’s character. Katie Schorr, while a fine narrator did not lend well to the character of Athena. She she had a scratchy, almost childish and somewhat whiney sound to his voice that made Athena come across as immature and flakey.

The quality of the audio in general was well done and had good pacing. The voice modulation for Thorne was also done well and appropriately for the character.

Overall this was a cute second chance mystery caper, but I could have used a little more Brontë for my buck!

Blame it on the Brontës by Annie Soreno was release 3rd, 2022.

#BlameitontheBrontesAUDIO #AnnieSoreno #NetGalley #pinkcowlandreads

(3.5 rounded up to a 4)

Blame It on the Brontës is a second-chance romance by Annie Sereno. The ebook version is 371 pages. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at eleven hours and is narrated by Katie Schorr. We follow our two main characters characters with dual points-of-view.

Athena Murphy is an English professor who needs to write a book within eight months in order to save her job and receive tenure. She opts to write the biography for an anonymous writer named C.L. Garland, who writes erotic renditions of classic literature. Said mysterious author happens to live in her small midwestern hometown, so Athena decides to go home during her sabbatical to sniff out the elusive scribe. As a bonus, her mother's friend promises her a part-time job at a local café, where Athena can get all of the hot gossip around town. However, Athena was not aware that the café was recently sold to Thorne Kent, her college ex-boyfriend and the Mr. Rochester to her Jane. They'd already tried to be together twice in the past, but is the third time the charm?

This was mostly a fun read! I really enjoyed getting to know all of the locals in town. For a story about trying to find out the author of a steamy literary fanfiction series, this book was very low on the steam. Their relationship felt a little hot and cold to me at times, and also felt like a cozy home to return to at others. I found the cover of this book to be really cute, though our heroine is described as having olive skin and dark curls (as she has Greek ancestry), but the image on the cover does not really match.

Tropes in this book include: second-chance, return to hometown, queer side characters (gay, lesbian)

Special thanks to Hachette Audio, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for providing an audio galley of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

This was a really cute rom com based in a small town with older characters who are getting another chance at love. It was a little slow going, but was cute enough to keep me around.

Athena is an English professor who has reached a point in her career where she needs to publish or lose her job. She decides to write a biography on the elusive author CL Garland and uncovering her secret identity. This means she needs to return to her hometown, which means seeing her ex almost every single day.

This was a sweet slow burn, closed door, second chance romance with a lot of literary references. This had a lot of potential to be a really cute book, but it was almost too much of a slow burn for me, and didn’t always hold my attention when reading.

I switched between ebook and audiobook for this one and enjoyed Katie Schorr as a narrator. For me, the audiobook actually held my attention better in this case and I believe that was thanks to Katie’s narration.

Thank you to Forever Publishing, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Blame It On the Brontes is an entertaining second-chance romance. Athena is back in her hometown on sabbatical while she researches and writes a book. She ends up working for her ex-boyfriend from college in his cafe. I liked the premise, but didn't love Athena. She seemed a bit immature and self-centered. I liked the rumination on how we grow and mature and heal past wrongs. I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by Katie Schorr.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook/audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

A fun, romantic, bookish story with a mystery about an English professor writing a book about finding the secret identity of a bestselling nom de plume. This should be front and center in the romance section!

The narrator for this story was a good choice. Her voice matched how I would imagine Athena's would be, and she transitioned well within characters. I am new to audiobooks, but this was one of the better ones I have listened to.

The story was what I expected it to be and predictable. Classic literature lovers will enjoy the references to Bronte's work.

This book has a lot of character, quirks, and a fun plot. I also enjoyed the third chance romance element. However, I had issues with the pacing and some of the details ie the secret mentally ill brother.