Review: Perfect Fling by Carly Phillips (audio)

Title: Perfect Fling   

Author: Carly Phillips   

Series: Serendipity’s Finest, #2   

Narrator: David Barker  

Published: 2014, Recorded Books   

Length: 8.5 hours

Source: Publisher 

In the picturesque
town of Serendipity, New York, three siblings have grown up in the
shadow of their proud and respected police chief father. But what do
love, fate, and fortune have in store for the next generation of
Serendipity’s finest?

Assistant D.A. Erin Marsden is
Serendipity’s quintessential good girl. The daughter of the former
police chief, she’s never made a misstep, content with her quiet,
predictable life…or so she thinks. Until Cole Sanders shows up with
heated interest in his eyes and shadows in his past.

After seven
years of deep undercover work in New York, Cole returns to town to help
his aging father and find his moral compass again. Not to get involved
with wholesome Erin Marsden. Even as a rebellious teen, he knew a girl
like Erin was off limits. But neither can resist their off-the-charts
chemistry, and a one-night stand brings complications neither expected.

Then
a case puts Erin in a killer’s crosshairs, and Erin succumbs to Cole’s
take-charge attitude. As a bodyguard, he’s the best. As a lover, he’s
even better. But there’s more than Erin’s safety at stake. And Cole must
forgive the sins of his past and prove to himself–and to Erin–that
he’s capable of the love and the forever she so desperately needs.

My thoughts: This is the second book in Carly Phillip’s Serendipity’s Finest series. I read/listened to this series completely out of order, which is very unlike me. I started with the first, but then had the opportunity to listen to the third and then got the second. Luckily for me, reading it out of order didn’t really spoil anything, especially since I didn’t read them back-to-back. With these books, we basically know right off the bat, who’s going to end up with who. It’s the journey that the book is all about.

This installment is Erin and Cole’s story. Always known as the good-girl, Erin throws caution to the wind one night and has a one-night stand with bad body Cole. Weeks later, after little contact with each other, she finds out that one night is going to come back to bite her in the butt! But, that’s not the only complication – suddenly, it seems she’s being stalked and gets shot at. Finding herself needing a full-time body guard, it’s only natural that Cole fill that role.

I love the way these two characters come together. A random hook-up starts the ball rolling, but that’s only the beginning of their journey. Erin and Cole are as different as night and day and it’s this contradiction that works so well for them. She’s got a heart of gold, but get on her bad side and watch out! He may be known for his bad boy reputation, but when it comes down to it, he’s completely unsure of himself and believes he doesn’t deserve anything good in his life. Can Erin break down his barriers and show him how good they are together?

There’s a lot going on in this book to keep you completely engaged besides the romance, including figuring out who exactly is stalking Erin and why. There’s even a good storyline that involves Cole and his father that ended up being quite touching at the end. Of course there are appearances by the rest of the Marsden clan and some of the other Serendipity folks that you might have met if you read Carly Phillips’ Serendipity series. 

Audio Thoughts: Once again, David Barker does a great job with the audio of this. I had listened to him narrate Perfect Together and ended up enjoying it, so I when I saw he was doing this one, I knew I was in a for another treat! He does a great job with the voices, even the female ones. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out to see what else he narrates.

Books in this series:

   1.  Perfect Fit
   2.  Perfect Fling
   2.5  Perfect Stranger
   3.  Perfect Together