This was such a cute read. Its my first book by this author and I devoured the book in a couple of hours because of how much I was enjoying it. I love books that include representation and the fact that the h is a plus sized woman (like me) made me feel even more connected to the story. I also LOVED that the H was unabashedly turned on and in love with the h and he spoke about how he loved her body. There was nothing that made me think he disliked something about her and multiple times he mentioned that she was the sexiest woman he’s seen. Now the pet! I was laughing so hard at the fact that she had a rooster pet. I just couldn’t get enough of Luke. Hahaha.

Now the narration, I had listened to Stella Hunter a million times and as always she was flawless. One of my favorite narrators. What caught my attention even more was the male narrator. I had never listened to Christian Fox and I have to say I liked him. I did like it more when he did Declan’s voice which I’m hoping if he’s casted for that book, he will do that same voice because it goes SO well with the character.

Can’t wait to read the next one on this series and I’m hoping we get an audiobook for it soon.

“For all the woman who have done, or are doing the work to love yourself from the inside out. You’re allowed to take up space.”

I really like the Kingmans!

Childhood friends to fake lovers to real lovers.
Chris has been in love with Trixie since they were kids. One day Trixie asks Chris to be her fake bf at her high school reunion, and Chris definitely isn’t going to miss this opportunity and to finally be able to tell her how he’s always felt.

Their relationship is cute & a bit cringe but i ate it up lol. I really enjoyed the personalities of the character. I think Luke Skycocker is my fav.

This might be a fluff/comfort read for me because it’s so light and cute.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape media for this ARC!

4/5 ⭐
3/5 🌶️
4/5 🎧

I picked this audio up after someone recommended book two in the series and I'm so happy I did. It was absolutely adorable and I loved the body positivity Amy wrote. There were some major fatphobia moments, so be warned if those trigger you, but the way our FMC Trixie handled her bully was awesome, I loved her so much.

Chris was amazing. I loved that he fell first, so long ago, and just fell harder for Trixie every day. He was so sweet and I loved how much he loved her inside and out. They way he talked about her body had me all up in my feels as a plus size woman.This was such a fun and fluffy romance with a touch of angst.

The audio was fantastic. Christian Fox and Stella Hunter did a great job narrating our characters and I really enjoyed listening to them.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. 

🐓 Friends to lovers
​🏈 He Falls first 
🐓 Quarterback x Librarian 
🏈 Fake Dating

This was hilarious and sweet. I loved Trixie and all of her chickens 🐓
Chris has been hard-core pining for Trixie for yearssss. She turned him down once years ago and he has been chilling in the friendzone ever since. 
Trixie is preparing for her high school reunion when the mean girls tell her she couldn't possibly land someone like Chris, and she lets it slip they are dating 🙈
Now she asks Chris to be her fake date, and he sees his opportunity to make her fall for him. 

I laughed so much reading this one. The relationship Chris has with his brothers is so cute. I love that Trixie is pretty much already a part of their family. 
If you want something fluffy and light, 100% add this to your list.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

For a book with the work "c*ck" in it, I expected something a lot spicier. This book was a quick read and I did like the main character but it was not a touchdown for me (pun absolutely intended).

I originally wanted to read this because of the hilariously clever title and how much I loved the cover. I didn't read the description.

This was… interesting.

The C*ck Down the Block by Amy Award is a friends-to-lovers rom-com. The nerdy librarian, Beatrix "Trixie" Moore fake dates the famous/popular quarterback, Chris (Christopher Bridger [like after Bridgerton-cringe tbh] Kingsman) and they fall madly in love with a HEA. I feel like this is extremely overdone.

Main storyline: Trixie has a high school reunion to go to so basically, she asks her best friend, Chris, who's utterly in love with her to be her fake boyfriend.

I have mixed feelings, the story was just OK, it was predictable, and holy crap, this was recycled; I've read many, MANY similar stories.

I did enjoy the main characters-their personalities, banter, connection, romance, and the smut. It was funny at times, but it quickly became repetitive. The whole Star Wars names for all of FMC's chickens, are Princess Laya, Kylo Hen, Chew-bock-bock, Luke Skycocker, (funny yes but also cringe). Yes, FMC has a chicken coop- honestly the weirdest part of this book. AND I get that the title is literally, The C*ck Down the Block, but the chicken talk felt like it was almost too much.

The overall message of the book regarding 'curvy girls'/bigger women was great. Like, be who you want to be and don't let society bring you down, just because everyone else is unhappy with themselves and has to bully you. We mainly see this near the end of the book though, at the reunion. Our FMC, is strong, showing us how happy she is in her skin, not backing down from her old high school bullies, no matter how difficult they were being.

Unfortunately, I could not get past the writing. It was a cringe-fest. Too many slang words, such as "sus", "baller", "Shots fired" or weird memes; like the "bombastic side eye" meme that has been going around lately. My full review, on my blog shows this more!

Also, I want to rant about the whole locker room insident. Very predictable. But also, I feel like it didn’t have as much of an impact as it should have had. Like this type of scandal for a famous Quarterback should have been way more of a BIG DEAL.

In general, the whole ending felt rushed and it did need a lot of editing.

First of all, I loved how the author just sets her plan out there. The book is prefaced with “this is fluff” and the author’s sincere wish is for you enjoy it for what it is. That was the perfect way to delve into this book—expectations set, met, and then exceeded!

The best way I can describe this book is wholesome romantic smut. Yeah, I think that’s a category. Wholesome because it’s a guy who has been in love with his neighbor since middle school. That’s adorable. He grew, she grew, their friendship grew, and then it’s love. No instalove or second look, it just always was. They have always known each other’s families and have always had the love and support of both families. That’s so wholesome!! I adore this premise. No angst, no questionable behavior, and no 3rd act breakup. This is the perfect recipe for a fluff read and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Even with jealous Luke poking his head in to cock block.

The side story beyond the romance coming together was plus size body image/issue. That’s not really a story line I typically am drawn towards. I’ve read other popular pro-sports player + plus sized female books and I just felt it was somewhat unrelatable, unbelievable, and it discussed the female’s insecurities in a way that actually made me more uncomfortable in my own skin (though I know that wasn’t that author’s intention). Amy Award actually did a perfect job in The Cock Down the Block at using this storyline without interrupting the love story or making me feel uncomfortable about my own body while reading, so amazing job!!

I “read” this book as an audiobook and both narrators did an amazing job. The female narrator did a great job on all accounts, and the male voice was some kind of low sexy not-exactly-a-whisper speak and I was here for it! Perfect for the “praise” portions of the book. Great find on the narrators, I will absolutely choose and recommend books they narrate.

Thank you Netgalley and dreamscape for the alc. My opinions are my own. I loved this book and off to buy a physical copy this was fun, childhood friends to lovers it was always you, he falls first and chickens. This was so so well done!!

I absolutely loved this audiobook! The narrators did a fabulous job!

The title of this book had me rolling with laughter. I do love a good pun, and this title absolutely described what this book is about!

Trixie is the curvy, girl next door, librarian. A librarian who owns her own rooster and chickens. Which also have hilariously punny names. She needs help from her quarterback best friend, and this decision turns everything upside down. In the best of ways!

Chris is the starting quarterback for a professional football team. He is the oldest brother of the Kingman clan. (pretty much all professional athletes) He has been pining after his curvy, librarian best friend for over a century and finally has enough push from his brothers to do something about it.

Overall, the story promotes a lot of body positivity, whether that would be your sexuality, shape, or personality. I really loved this aspect of the story most.

If you like an easy rom com, best friends to lovers, football romance, tons of banter, body positivity, then you will absolutely love this book!

I absolutely loved this book! Initially drawn in by the cheeky title, I discovered a fun little romcom filled with my favorite tropes. While expecting a lighthearted and humorous story, "The Cock Down the Block" delivered more than just laughs. Despite the author labeling it as "fluff" in the authors note, I believe this description doesn't do justice to the book's ability to display body and sex positivity while addressing fatphobia.

I appreciated that the characters were well-rounded from the start, requiring minimal personal growth. This allowed for a refreshingly seamless transition throughout their relationship development from pining friends to fake dating to real lovers.

The Kingman family dynamic was a highlight, embodying the epitome of a supportive family. Full of playful teasing and encouragement, they stood as a united team, offering unwavering support and guidance.

The rooster, Luke Skycocker, and the hens, Kylo Hen and her flock, made for entertaining side characters. I always love when pets have big personalities in books.

Narrators Stella Hunter and Christian Fox did an excellent job, capturing the humor, spice, and protectiveness of the characters. Their narration truly brought them to life.

Who knew that I had such an affinity for poultry humour? Certainly not me! But this book caught me off guard and had me snorting at their nonsense and giggling to myself as I listened along.

Trix was a cool character that I’m sure a lot of fat girls can relate to, and Chris was understandably obsessed with her. I loved his big family and how much of a positive influence his Mum was on him growing into a decent human being.

If you want a light and fluffy little number that doesn’t take itself too seriously while also tackling some hot topics, then this is for you. It’s body positive, sex positive and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Kingman family get up to!

Genre: Romance m/f
Format: Audio
POV: Dual
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5 /5
Age suggestion: 18+

3 stars 🌟

This audiobook was SPICY. Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC - these are my honest thoughts!

I need to start by saying I really enjoyed so many parts of this book! Friends to lovers isn't always my favorite trope, which I will get to, but I loved how much our main character Chris LOVED his best friend, Trixie.

3 stars, to me, makes up a really fun read with some spicy scenes and characters I enjoyed. From reading some other reviews, I'm glad I was able to listen to the audiobook, because some of the writing issues others had didn't jump out at me via audiobook. The performance was fun, the dual narration was great, and I loved the family feel to this story (even if the FMC's mom is a famous porn$tar?? and her classmates made fun of her for it and it negatively colored her sex life until Chris). ANYWAYS. There were a few problems I had with this story (aside from the mom porn$tar thing).

The spice went from literally zero to I LOVE YOU AND LET'S TRY ALL THE THINGS, without even a conversation, and our bumbling MMC started dirty talking and focused on kinks A LOT for someone who was scared his best friend didn't love him back just a few pages prior. Sometimes I feel like the transition to more in friends to lovers is too quickly, but here I felt like that risk of losing your BFF was so prominent and then once the physical stuff started happening, it was like this whole other MMC showed up? IDK. It didn't feel congruent and that bothered me.

We're dealing with almost 30 year-olds and mean girls from high school are still a huge thing. They're doing a fundraiser and a dance, and the virgin FMC ends up losing her virginity in a public space where he known nemesis is just down the hall. Once again, IDK. It just didn't feel right?

I did like quite a few things! The FMC was relatable and her chickens were hilarious (if you love chickens as pets, please check out Pippa Grant's latest release, The Bride's Runaway Billionaire). Her job as a librarian (yay book girls!) and helping teens and other women feel comfortable and positive with their bodies and with language that has been used negatively and in women's faces for many, many years... I loved this empowered storyline. I loved the Kingman siblings and their shenanigans.

Overall, it was a very fun, funny, lighthearted read with some sensitive subjects that were handled incredibly well. And, again, please don't see 3 star and think bad! I actually really liked this story, outside of a few issues I had.

I absolutely ADORE this book! Chris Kingman is my new favorite book boyfriend. This had everything I like in a book and did it all so perfectly. Swoon-worthy a million times over!

I'm sure this is for someone, it just wasn't for me. There were a bit too many cultural references for me that in a year's time, I fear will feel expired, if that makes sense. If you want something unserious and spicy, you'll probably enjoy it. I just couldn't get over the endless puns and related things. Bonus point for a librarian FMC though!

The title and cover were perfect and grabbed my attention straight away.

The book itself was fine. I especially appreciated the important themes and topics, such as body positivity, very refreshing.

I did not particularly enjoy the rich/sports romance part, the romance was fine, but this was a personal preference, and it was my first sports romance.

Another personal preference was the language. The use of "babe/baby" just gave me the icks, but I know a lot of people don't mind this, and like it.

A drawback was that the plot seemed oddly paced and slightly rushed.

However, I was entertained the entire way, and the narration was superb!

Oh man this book was so freaking boring . Also I just couldn’t stand the characters .
I do not recommend this one.

I listened to The audiobook version of this title. I loved the characters, especially anytime a “big girl” is shown in a positive light. Star quarterback of a professional team has falling for an unsuspecting neighbor that he has known his whole life. The story has a great message for big or small woman. Love Doesn’t discriminate on size. The struggle that women go through to stay thin, dealing with high school bullies, mean girls, and the struggle to fit in.
The story was heartwarming and funny. I can’t wait to read more from this author.
Both narrators did an excellent job with delivery. The spicy parts of the story were spot on.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC!

- I was feeling eh about this book until the last 25%, and then I had so so so many problems.
- The MMC is concerningly horny in all of his POVs, and it really took away from so much of the story. Like yes, we know, you think she's mind-numbingly hot and are barely holding yourself back, but I needed some variation to avoid it feeling ridiculous.
- This is definitely got some millennial cringe to it, so if that bothers you I would not recommend you read this one.
- The way Trixie downplayed the way her boss acted after Chris called him out made me so frustrated!!
- This book had so many things that just didn't quite add up! Like how did Trixie afford living next to Chris on a librarian salary when Chris is a pro football quarterback who has won the superbowl??
- Chris bragging about buying up houses in his neighborhood and flipping them was a major ick.
**Spoilers below**
- One huge problem I have with this book is that it starts out with an author's note saying that this is just fluff and the author does not include any violence against women, specifically sexual violence, in her book......but then includes revenge porn and workplace, verbal sexual harrassment in her book!! While neither of these are physical violence against women, I'd argue both are still violence against women. It wouldn't have bothered me so much, but it was frustrating after having let my guard down due to the author's note.
- I also didn't feel like either of the characters behind the revenge porn and workplace, verbal sexual harrassment end up getting consequences for those actions! All of a sudden, both have committed other crimes that they're seen getting consequences for. It was so frustrating to read a book where the villains don't get punished for the awful things they did that we spent a bit of the book dealing with and instead got caught for something else!!
- For a book with a title like that one, I was let down by the spice. For them to spend a while doing everything up to sex, but then rush through Trixie losing her virginity in a rushed scene in a locker room just did not make sense!!
- Also, I'm sorry, but it's not being a hater to get upset that a professional football player who is supposed to be one of the biggest in the US hooked up with someone in the locker room of a *Catholic high school*! To be very clear, revenge porn is wrong, but also, it's wild to me that the book seems to take the stance that people should be okay with locker room sex even if you've been caught *multiple times*.

I was hesitant about this book just because of the title, but I loved it so much! I love stories with REAL women and this one does not disappoint. Trixie is a great FMC and I absolutely loved Chris and his love for Trixie. This story is relatable with the popular mean girls and the pressure of society on women and their bodies. I loved these narrators! They made me laugh at certain parts.

Loved this story! Thank you for the ALC for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Dreamscape Media for the gifted audiobook ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read if you like: Dual POV, plus sized fmc, jock, friends to lovers, fake dating

I listened to this as an audiobook. I liked the narrators. The book wasn't bad, but there was a lot I'm not a fan of. I don't love virgin tropes, honestly. A lot of the wording was cringy. He seems so obviously in love with her that it's weird she didn't know. This is a very fluffy light read.