Loved this book! I enjoyed the two narrators. It was my first audio book with two narrators and they were amazing! I felt like I was right there in the book. Loved it!

I. Love. This. Book. As someone who almost exclusively reads romance, the stories blend together partly because some plots are so similar. But this one was very unique. Seeing Oliver and Sydney coming together after all those years was amazing. Their grief and healing journies were so different from anything I have ever read, and I thought it was handled well and realistically. I think my biggest issue with the audiobook is that the voices just did not match what I was expecting based on the summary, which is likely just a 'me' problem. I would still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Jennifer Hartmann's books or romances with darker themes. Definitely check trigger and content warnings before starting.

Told in dual perspectives. Sydney's best friend Oliver was kidnapped on the 4th of July when they were kids and was eventually presumed dead. Understandably, Sydney never got over it. Fast forward 22 years and Oliver turns up, running in a plastic suit, down the highway and covered in blood. Oliver is incredibly traumatized and instead of being sent to therapy, he is left to his own devices and sent to live with his step-brother (who he barely remembers). Luckily this brother still lives in their childhood home, right next door to Sydney.
Tons of 90s references. Assuming that is because she was also traumatized AF and if she didn't grow up, she could still live with the hope of him returning home. Lucky for her, he did.
Romance buds between these two old buds and the mystery of his disappearance unfolds through the passage of time.
Honestly, I recommend this book. Super interesting and heart pounding in a couple different ways. The narrators did a fantastic job and that's all thanks to the author. Glad I was able to get my hands on this audio.

Full review on Pages n' Pages podcast (episode post date 9/11/23- Chapter 115).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

5⭐️ 3🌶 5🎧

Jennifer Hartmann is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I love how she writes these complex characters who have suffered and survived so much and yet are still really amazing people, even if they are flawed and trying to best to cope with their trauma.

There were some really good twists in this book and I was so anxious to keep reading it and find out what happened.

I really loved Oliver. He was just so endearing and straightforward. I died when he suggested that Sydney wear a parka to her job as a bartender and died again when he gave Gabe his Christmas present.

Through Sydney we see that there are more victims to traumatic events than just those who directly experienced them. It was something that I think can be easily overlooked.

I would check content and trigger warnings for this book because it deals with a lot of heavy subjects. But this was definitely a 5⭐️ read for me.

Updated 8/24/23
This book was just as good the second time. I just finished the audiobook and I loved it! Marie Hawkins and TJ Clark did a wonderful job of bringing Sydney and Oliver’s to life.

I am even more excited to read Tabitha and Gabe’s book. I cannot wait for October.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the ARC of this audiobook.

Honestly, I read Still Beating and fell in love with Jennifer Hartman.. and this book was not even a small disappointment. No one knows how to spin a dark romance tale quite like this author. The characters were fantastic, the writing was superb and the audiobook narrator’s were PHENOMENAL. Audiobooks can really make or break a lot of romance books but this one was just wonderful. It brought the characters and story alive.

This book was beautiful, and as much as I dont really love friends to lovers romances, this was one of my fave books Ive read in so long… despite it not being one of my fave tropes.

The way these two characters’ lives intertwined and the way they relearned about each other after Oliver came back from captivity was so moving. The romance itself was top notch and not only was it a great romance- it was a freaking gorgeous story. I absolutely LOVED it.

5⭐️ This audiobook was so good! I fell in love with the story and the narrators do a great job at making me feel immersed into the story. This is so much more than a romance because it also deals with some serious topics and shows the healing process after trama. The characters in this book are the definition of soulmates and perfect for each other. Oliver and Sydney are childhood best friends but Oliver gets taken and then many years later returns and the story follows the events after this. I would definitely recommend this!

Yeah…it’s slightly better than still beating but not by much. At least, Sidney wasn’t as much « not like other girls » as Cora was and I actually found her a bit funny at times (the cat and the raccoon were Bothe hilarious). Compared to Still beating (fair comparison since they both are set in the same universe), this one was slightly less dark (you don’t have explicit SA scenes on page for example) and that gave room to the author to add some humor and just wholesomeness to this book. Oliver’s innocence if I can call it that when it came to our world was endearing and his struggle were pretty well written. Now, I still wasn’t super into the story and the writing was straight up horrible at times with some gems of horrifying writing such as « i felt my ovaries spontaneously fertilizing » or using the words « sheathing » and « hilt » during spicy scenes… can authors stop with that? In a fantasy novel, I could accept it and even then, it’s terrible but in a contemporary book? It’s a d!ck not a sword!!! The pacing was a little slower towards the middle and I had to push through around the 50% mark because I was BORED which is why I gave it 2.75 stars. I had fun, but not enough to care and I saw one of the final reveals coming from miles away. I’d like to note that you should read this after still beating since we see characters from that book and I just found out Tabitha is getting her own book and honestly, slay.

Ohhh Oliver and Sydney! I enjoyed this one. While I got a lot of vibes from Archer's Voice, I felt like this one delivered more of the emotion, redemption and heart that I needed. I love that Hartmann's books can make you feel so many emotions throughout the pages - and the narrators were spot on for this as well. 4.5/5

Lotus - A Love Story
Jennifer Hartmann
Read by Marie Hawkins & TJ Clark

Thanks to Netgalley for the audiobook. I was super excited about the story because "The Wrong Heart" was an absolute highlight for me and "Junes First" was more of a 3 ⭐️ book.
So where does “Lotus” fit in?

I had problems with the book! Oh yes I had. I wanted to love the book like „The Wrong Heart“, I really wanted to but unfortunately I had problems with Oliver and Sydney. The only one that interested me that much was Gabe, and he's about to have his own book.
Unfortunately, the story has focused more on the present rather than all the years that Oliver was gone. I thought we were going to be more "How is Oliver going with everyday life", like "What happened all those years while Oliver was gone". Unfortunately we got a boy who wanted dates and wanted sex after being locked up for years. That wasn't conclusive for me and somehow the characters didn't get any depth for me.
It was also incredibly difficult for me to find a common thread. The side characters were sometimes too present for me and somehow everything didn't feel right.

But why is it now 3 stars and not 2?
I am 100% sure many will feel the book, the story. Since I had the audio book, I have to admit that the male voice unfortunately didn't appeal to me. I had problems there too. But the book also had wonderful moments that I enjoyed! Not many but there were moments.

3 ⭐️

And just like that Jennifer Hartmann made my brain explode.
I thought this was just another romance novel with a pretty cover, I'm in.
Hartmann's writing is so much more than that. She weaves so many small details into this book of mystery, deception, friendships and of course, some lovey dovey shit.
Oliver is the most adorable character and I love him so much!!!
I get why Hartmann's writing is so beloved and I am stoked that I already have Still Beating to dive into!
The narration on this was a perfect! Not only did Marie Hawkins & TJ Clark do a wonderful job with pronunciation and emotion, but their voices complimented each other beautifully too.
Much love to NetGalley & Tantor Audio for my ALC!

I loved the story and the inclusion of the characters from Still Beating. I did like the flashbacks that they both had to back when they were younger. I really enjoyed the deep understanding of trauma especially after something like this happens that we only ever hear the beginning of the story when they are found but never anything else.

This book had me in a chokehold! It was tragic, heartbreaking , and beautifully written. It is dark but it’s so much more. Oliver and Sydney were childhood friends when Oliver disappears and then returns 22 years later. Oliver is such a unique character and I loved every bit of him! Everything that he went through was tragic. It took me a bit to warm up to Sydney, but I ended up loving her by about 50% through the story. The growth that these two achieved throughout their story was beautiful and amazing to read.

Overall I really loved this book. It was hard and emotional at times but also beautiful. Please check trigger warnings as this will be triggering for some.

I loved having the audio to go along with the ebook and felt that Marie Hawkins and TJ Clark did an amazing job narrating and really brought the characters and story together for me.

Beautiful book. Just beautiful. I loved the plot of this. It’s so different than most. Definitely something I haven’t read before. Oliver is just the sweetest. I love reading his growth after his trauma.
The story itself is 5 stars. Highly recommend when you need a good cry.

The audio was maybe 2-3 stars. I wasn’t feeling the narrators as much. I couldn’t picture the voice for Oliver for some reason. It wasn’t all bad. Narrator did Syd did wonderful. Loved her.

Audiobook
Advanced Listener Copy gifted by NetGalley and Tantor Audio/rb media

Story Loves: ♥️♥️♥️♥️
Narration Loves: ♥️♥️♥️♥️

I can’t believe I waited so long to read Lotus. Honestly, I was a little nervous after reading Still Beating. I didn’t know if it would be just as heavy or not live up to the hype and expectations.

Lotus isn’t as devastating as Still Beating and the story does live up expectations.

As the story goes on, you start to piece together that there was more going on that summer Oliver was abducted but the twists at the end. The real reasons and then the meaning of Lotus was surprising.

I adored Oliver. Cora made a cameo with Tabitha. I liked Sydney initially but I felt she was off putting during certain scenes that made it hard to root for her to get a HEA with Oliver. I understand that it was just to get her character to grow especially in their relationship but I felt it took away from Oliver’s story.

The spice was mild/medium.

The narration was pretty good. I think it could have been paced better- may be a little bit faster.

All in all, Lotus was an enjoyable listening experience. I definitely recommend this book. Just make sure you read the trigger warnings first. I would normally list them but it will spoil the ending.

ARC Audiobook Review

"All these years, I've never given my heart to anyone . . . The truth is, I didn't have a heart to give. My heart was with a ghost."

Such a beautiful love story of childhood friends to lovers.

Oliver was taken when he was a little boy. Sydney was his best friend and his everything. She felt exactly the same about him. Her heart was never the same once he was taken.

Oliver was able to escape his capture over twenty years later. Many assumed he had passed. Sydney was bewildered when she got the call of him turning up. However, their feelings were still there no matter how much time passed.

The story flows and the plot was well executed. Though a lot was predictable, it still worked. The audio was done well. I enjoyed the narrators. I enjoyed that they did have different voices for the characters and it made it where there wouldn’t be any confusion.

Thank you Netgalley, Tantor Audio and Jennifer Hartmann for the opportunity to listen to the audio book.

I was really nervous to read this because people said it was a dark romance but I knew it had a friends to lovers trope and that is my favorite. I loved this story and i honestly didnt hink it was dark at all. The friends to lovers was a very slow burn romance. I thought they had good chemistry and were solid foundations for each other. Oliver was such a pure soul who pined for Syd and it was so gratifying to see them finally fall in love. I liked the mystery and the plot twist was disturbing. I enjoyed the utilization of therapy in the story. I do think it was longer than needed but that was really my only complaint. I also very much appreciate that the flower on the cover actually represents the story. A five star read for sure.

I read this book last year and it became one of my favorites. I was excited to listen to the audiobook this time. I thought Marie Hawkins and TJ Clark did a really good job telling the story. Listening to this made me fall in love with the book all over again. Jennifer Hartmann knows how to write books. I have not been disappointed yet. Beautifully written story with a great friends to lovers transition, you won't be able to stop listening. Oliver was an absolute sweetheart, and Sydney was a pretty amazing heroine as well. ❤ HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this audiobook and the book!!



Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for allowing me to listen to this ARC for my honest opinion.

I received the Audiobook for this book that comes out September 5th! This audiobook was so good I listened to it while I was shopping and doing every day things. I swear ppl were eyeing me like I was crazy bc it had me laughing out loud at times! The MMC is so unintentionally funny at times.
This book is also gut wrenching and by the end I was full on crying. This book was an easy 5 stars for me but the audiobook really sent it over the edge! The narrators really nailed this book and the emotions this book brings. I felt all the feelings throughout this book.

The narrators did a great job! They really pulled out the emotions both characters were feeling from the traumatic moments to the sad and then the cute and funny ones! You could hear the emotions in them so well!
For the first half of the book Syd was not my favorite, she had so many walls which hurt Oliver in the long run. The second half tho was perfect. The growth with friendships, relationships, family, and pets! All of it was so heartwarming. The 6 months later and The epilogue made LOSE IT😂😂 they were so funny and made the ending so bitter sweet! I’m gonna miss lotus very much.
I also hope I’m not the only one who CRIED when we figured out “lotus”😭

I love a reunited childhood friends to lovers and Lotus was definitely that but in a more traumatic way….Sydney and Olivier grew up as childhood best friends and neighbors and are reunited 22 years after Oliver was abducted. Oliver is an incredibly sweet hero and I adored him! He was raised in an underground bunker-like situation believing the world above (and most of the population) had been destroyed in a nuclear war and the air was toxic. So he definitely had a lot to catch up on after being abducted at 8-years old. He does have a connection with Sydney still after all the years that separated them and they are able to heal together.

This book is a sort-of spin-off from Still Beating, they can both be read on their own but you will have a couple characters make appearances in this book. While a lot of this book really worked for me and was a really sweet romance, other parts kind of irked me. Which I know it’s a book and all, but the fact that his brother was trying to push him to date and get laid or find a job…like the dude had been underground for 22 years, he has a lot to get used to before trying to get on tinder. There is a bit of mystery-suspense around Oliver’s disappearance and Sydney having an intruder situation at her house early on, since I did figure out the culprit/what was going on there pretty quickly it kind of lost my interest, but I was more curious about other parts of the read and liked how those were explained (the title of the book being lotus for one).

This audiobook really worked though and I liked how the narrators brought the characters to life! Jennifer Hartmann will just always be an auto-anything author for me! Thank you so much to the publisher, Bloom for the rerelease copy, and Tantor Audio for the audio ARC. All thoughts in this review are my own.