Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Crazy Little Fling
SERIES: Love & Luck Book #3
AUTHOR: Isla Olsen
NARRATOR: Joel Leslie and Michael Dean
PUBLISHER: Hydra Productions
LENGTH: 4 hours and 59 minutes
RELEASE DATE: May 11, 2021
BLURB:
Jamie
It’s not exactly what I’d call the ideal situation – being introduced to your bio-dad’s best mate only to realize he’s the sexy older guy you hooked up with a couple of weeks ago – but it’s also not the worst thing to ever happen in history. The way I see it, this is fate. The universe is throwing Shay Kelly in my path again because it knows how much I’ve been dying for another shag with him.
I have four weeks before I need to go back to London, and I know exactly how I’d like to spend that time. And fortunately for me, Shay’s just as keen for a repeat or ten as I am.
All we need is a few ground rules to keep this little fling in check…
Rule One: It’s temporary
Makes sense – neither of us do the long-term bit. And it’s not like we can continue with this once I move back to London.
Rule Two: No dates, just sex
Easy peasy – sex is the best part of dating anyway.
Rule Three: We keep it between us
Perfect – sneaking around and concocting elaborate lies is a right turn on.
Rule Four: No falling in love
Love? Me? In four weeks? There’s a better chance of me inventing the solution to climate change.
Warning: This book is not appropriate for anyone who doesn’t like laughing, anyone who doesn’t like British slang, and anyone who doesn’t like smokin’ hot older guys and sexy red-haired twinks having lots of sex and trying not to fall in love.
*Happily ever after included
REVIEW:
Crazy Little Fling, the third book in Isla Olsen’s Love & Luck series, is irreverent, sexy fun. Like the rest of this series, we get a sweet, light-hearted, low angst romance, here between Shay Kelly, the eldest of the eleven Kelly siblings, and Jamie Parrish, the recently discovered son of Shay’s billionaire best friend, Blake. Crazy Little Fling’s events overlay those of Book One, Fake it ‘til you Make Out, and Book Two, Virtually Screwed, which features the romance of Blake and Shay’s youngest brother Owen. I highly recommend you at least read that before Crazy Little Fling because the events are intertwined. The Love & Luck series contains sprawling family and friends relationships with extensive interconnections. Still, the Blake/Owen/Shay/Jamie quadrangle featured in Virtually Screwed and Crazy Little Fling is the most convoluted.
Crazy Little Fling contains a higher hilarity factor than the other series books, and Shay and Jamie are the most intriguing couple, tied only with Blake and Owen. Maybe it’s Shay’s ridiculous denial of his feelings or Jamie’s sharp mind, wit, and attitude. It could also be their mutual love of comics and cosplay. Perhaps it’s their inspired banter, crazy hot chemistry, and easy connection, all of which belies the substantial age gap between them. Or it could be Jamie’s unexpectedly confident, sexual assertiveness and Shay’s dirty talking. Maybe it’s all of the above. Or it could just be Jamie’s British accent. 😉 Whatever the reason, the contrast of big, burly, tatted, rugby player/line artist Shay and red-haired saucy twink Jamie just works on so many levels. They have a fascinating dynamic that I couldn’t get enough of.
Crazy Little Fling prominently features Ms. Olsen’s hallmark family interactions and group texts, which are hilarious and some of the best parts of the Love & Luck stories. The story here contains a feel-good, happy vibe, wrapped up in some seriously endearing idiosyncratic behavior and all-around craziness.
Joel Leslie narrated Books One and Two of this series. Michael Dean is narrating the remainder of the series. To make the transition smoother, Mr. Leslie and Mr. Dean use dual narration in Crazy Little Fling to help bridge the gap. Mr. Leslie takes Jamie’s chapters, engaging his lovely British accent. Mr. Dean takes Shay’s chapters. This is dual narration, not duet, so each narrator still has to voice the other characters in their sections. It’s that arrangement that creates the only flaw I can find in this audiobook.
If you have listened to Mr. Leslie or Mr. Dean’s vocal performances before, you’ll recognize what a treat it is to have both of them narrating on the same title. They bring their considerable experience and skill to bear here and deliver excellent, invested vocal performances. In particular, they both excel at intonations and emphasis, which works perfectly for the pacing and cadence of the quirky dynamics and interactions throughout this story.
The problem is that pesky dual narration. Mr. Leslie and Mr. Dean have very distinct voices and styles, and they are nothing like each other. As a result, Mr. Leslie’s British accent doesn’t sound even remotely like Mr. Dean’s, nor do any of the other voices. They both interpret and deliver the text appropriately, full of emotion with accurate characterization. But they are audibly like night and day, which makes it nearly impossible to achieve a seamless transition from chapter to chapter. We end up hearing two Jamies and two Shays and never the twain shall meet. But that is my singular criticism of this fantastic audiobook, and honestly, it’s easy to forgive in light of the vocal performances given.
The Love & Luck series is fun, flirty, and fabulous. Crazy Little Fling is the high point in the series for both narrative and audio. It’s a sweet, sexy romance with a solid HEA and a lot of warm fuzzy family feelings on the side. And it’s all channeled through two unforgettable voices. You do not want to miss out on this audiobook.
Joel Leslie.
Michael Dean.
Sold. 🎧📚
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Read More » […]