Charleston Heat!

Southern Charmer is the story of Olivia and Eli and it is a standalone with an epic HEA.
Olivia is trying to recharge and escape her seemingly “perfect” life in small town New York, to pursue her passion for writing and relocates to Charleston to stay at her friend’s house. It’s the perfect little hide-away to regroup and determine what she wants out of her life.
Little did she know that her friend’s house comes with a distractingly handsome, foul mouthed neighbor -Eli. He is an Executive Chef and owner of one of the most successful restaurants in Charleston - The Perla.
Through series of neighborly run-ins and talks they get to know each other and slowly discover each other’s secrets while exploring the off the charts chemistry between them.
Charleston heat has everything a romance lover could wish for - captivating story line, amazing cast of characters, swoon, steam and love.
Is Olivia going to be able to step away from her seemingly perfect life un north to pursue happiness in the South with the man she’s falling for?
Joe Arden and Emma Wilder were absolutely phenomenal narrators, their performance brought the story alive in the best possible way!

4 people found this helpful

Good angsty romance story

Let me be clear, I liked this book. I wasn't blown away, but I was engaged with the characters and the story line from beginning to end. There were times I teared up, and times I chuckled, as well as the heart warming feels you get when things go right. I recommend the book.

When this audiobook first started playing, I was struck by 2 things. The recording sounded like it was done inside a tin can, and Emma Wilder had a voice that reminded me of an over enunciating therapist. Very calm, clipped constanants, and slightly nasally vowels. When you put the voice and the tinny recording together, I kept hearing Mae West quipping, "Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy to see me?" (Yes I'm old but she was still before my time, LOL!) Unfortunately, It's all I could hear for the rest of the book.

When Joe Arden's first chapter started, the tin can quality of the recording completely disappeared. As the book went on, I noticed that it was present during all of the female narrated chapters, and was more pronounced when she spoke more quietly, but I never heard it during the male narrated chapters.

This is a book that I think I would have liked better if I had read it vs. listening to it. Joe Arden sounded like he was having trouble catching his breath through the whole book. It was an angsty performance, so his dialogue was often read in a rush, which made it worse ( must be the cigars the character kept smoking). I didn't like his female voicings and honestly felt the same about the male voicings from the female narrator. I don't know anything about Emma Wilder, but I know Joe Arden is considered the gold standard of romance audio book narrators. In this book at least, neither of the narrators was my cup of tea.

2 people found this helpful

Charming romance!💜

This was a wonderful heartwarming story with a little heartbreak, hot chemistry and loads of southern charm.
These characters are magical together. The narration was very good.
This is book 1 with an HEA and can be read as a standalone.
I recommend this book.

Sisters Spotlight 💜

1 person found this helpful

Eli is hawt!

This is a must listen version of a wonderfully romantic story. set in Charleston, South Carolina, the Hero is a good southern boy with talents in the kitchen, yoga studio and bedroom. Eli and Olivia are lovely together and the way the two fight the attraction is simply adorable. The narrators are fan fans but it is the southern drawl that will get you on this one. Take a chance if this is a new to you author, you will be very pleased with yourself.

1 person found this helpful

Yankee Girl

When her boyfriend Ted proposes, Olivia realizes she’s not so sure her “perfect life” is the life for her. She decides to take some time to figure out what she wants before giving Ted an answer. She decides to go Charleston for a few months and write the romance novel she has always dreamed of writing. Olivia meets Eli the day she gets to town and he turns out to be
her neighbor. He’s a chef/owner of a few local restaurants and begins making her breakfast where she shares her dream of writing and agrees to let him read chapters after she finishes them. Olivia and Eli become friends and the closer they get, the more obvious it becomes to her that she has feelings for him and doesn’t want to go back to her “perfect life.” She has to make the decision between hurting Ted and giving up her comfortable lifestyle or staying in Charleston and giving writing a shot.
The chemistry between Olivia and Eli was obvious from the beginning and was off the charts hot. He was a friend who listened to her dreams and gave Olivia the confidence to pursue her dream.
Joe Arden and Emma Wilder really brought these characters to life. They never disappoint and always give 5 star performances.

1 person found this helpful

Deliciously Charming!!

This is my first book of any kind by author Jessica Peterson. I was excited to listen because this is narrated by two of my faves Joe Arden and Emma Wilder. They both gave amazing performances filled with emotion, vulnerability and lots and lots of heat. Olivia is at a crossroads between doing what is expected of her, or embarking on a journey to find her happiness. Her conundrum is one that is highly relatable and was addressed so well in the writing of this book. There was definitely some life imitating art meta moments when Olivia was trying her hand at writing a romance novel. Eli was like an onion with his many many layers and it was so enjoyable to watch him peel them all back for Olivia. I loved how supportive he was of Olivia's dream. What is sexier than a man who reads romance novels? There was drama and some low angst, but I didn't feel that the characters ever made decisions that were intentionally dumb, which can be a pet peeve of mine.

This book was a five star read for me, now more than ever, it is important that we take time to be strong independent people, who can find their passions within themselves. This book was wonderful on so many levels, I highly, highly recommend!

1 person found this helpful

Super sexy southern accent!

I really liked this story. But, the big surprise for me was Joe Arden. Sure, he is a talented voice actor, but the sound of his voice has never been my favorite. However, Joe Arden with a southern accent? Absolutely scrumptious. I could listen to him all day long!

An utter delight from start to finish

This was my first book by Jessica Peterson, but it definitely won't be my last. I absolutely adored this first installment to the Charleston Heat series. It is food porn at its finest (you WILL be hungry the whole time you're reading) with all the concoctions of Chef Eli Jackson being described in exquisite, mouthwatering detail. Eli's not bad either. ;) Everything about this book was delightful, and as a former academic myself, who also left to write romance novels, Olivia's story definitely resonated on a deep level. Add in Joe Arden and Emma Wilder's stupendous performances in the audio version and this one's going on my re-listen shelf. Don't miss it!

Great details about the south and culture!

The narrators were perfect for this story! I was drawn into the story right away even with the self-absorbed Olivia, who was that way throughout the book and did not even give thought or concern when Eli was going through a hard time. My reason for only 4 stars in story. The hero is what really made the story and kept me wanted to know more. This was a new author to me and I did like the way she describes food and the south it was very visual. I would recommend this book for this reason, and I will listen to more from this author.

Good book

I enjoyed this book. I hope their story continues in the next series. I like to see the progression of the first love story throughout the series. Joe Arden did really good with his southern accent.