You Beautiful Thing, You

This is book 1 in the Boys of Bardstown series. Each story is an interconnected standalone that will follow a different couple. This is Ledger Thorn and Tempest Jackson's story. This book is on the adult side and has some content that could be disturbing to some. Please do your homework before diving in. *** I listened to this on audiobook. The narrators are Amelie Griffin and Alex Kidd. This book is filled with angst and longing, revenge and secrets and most of all an unhinged kind of love. The voice actors delivered a spectacular performance that had me shedding more than a few tears. Their Portrayals of Ledger and Tempest was so good. The emotion came through the performance and had me needing to know what happened. This is not a short book. The Audio was over 18 hours and I never wanted it to stop. Bravo to both narrators who delivered such an amazing performance. This book was so different than what I thought it was going to be. I was not expecting the revenge aspect and I definitely wasn't expecting Ledger to be so unhinged. between his dirty mouth and his crazy...and I mean crazy behavior, I wasn't sure how I was going to like him. I mean he was so over the top alpha and to call him protective, well that is too tame of a word to use for him. But as the story played out, his behavior made sense and utterly broke my heart. I loved how Saffron made the perfect match for Ledger in Tempest. She is one tough cookie and so free with her feelings. The angsty relationship between them had me on the edge of my seat and I was afraid we just might not get an HEA. Rest assured, Saffron had our backs and gave us that beautiful ending that this book needed. I cannot recommend this book enough!

Tempest Jackson wants a baby, badly. So badly that she decides she wants it with her brother’s long time rival - Ledger Thorne. After having her heart broken by Ledger she decides that she’ll get her revenge by using him to get pregnant and then leave him behind. The only problem is that once you have those intimate moments, it becomes harder to not cross the line between revenge and something much closer to lust and love. Ledger Thorne is obsessive and a hothead. Known for his anger out on the field, Ledger finally succumbs to his anger issues and uses his rival’s sister for petty revenge. Only, revenge doesn’t seem to be what he actually wants… This is the first book I’ve ever read by SAK and I’m OBSESSED! Of course it helped that it had one of my favorite tropes to read about, but the angst of both of the main characters, the story of their love and how they overcome it all is just so beautiful. Every single page is used in the best way possible - by laying out the foundation for their love story. I especially love the sisterhood between Tempest and her friends. I also appreciate Ledger actually accepting (eventually) the help he needs as well. Some tropes include: revenge, forced proximity, br33ding, pregnancy, daddy issues. Some TWs: death of a parent due to cancer (MMC), blackmail done by parent (FMC), mentions of cheating (not explicit on page) (not between FMC or MMC), alcohol abuse (parent of MMC), mentions of gambling (parent of FMC). There’s likely more I’m missing but check out SAK’s website for more info.

This is such a rollercoaster of a book. The push and pull toward one another from Ledger Thorne and Tempest. She fell in love with him at first sight but he also fell in love with her too! He was cold on the outside but inside we could see how much she really meant to him. His character was so interesting to me- he was so complex. Not fully sure how I feel about him. The whole story was such a different from my typical reads- loved the ups and down, push and pull of these relationships. Lots of emotions, tormented characters, complex personalities. The chemistry between Ledger and Tempest can be seen and felt. Audiobook is narrated by Amelie Griffin and Alex Kydd. Both did such a good job telling this story.

I don’t know how Saffron does it, I love her books and characters so much! I’ve been looking forward to Tempest and Ledger’s story for a while and it did not disappoint. I love her characters and book world so much. Like all her other books, this book is told in a few parts. These two had so much chemistry and heat between them at the start. Tempest's dream is to have a baby and who other than Ledger the Angry Thorn brother to give her her lifetime dream? The character growth between these two over this book was amazing to see. They are absolutely perfect for one another. I enjoyed reading little crumbs from previous characters. Saffron made Tempest's pregnancy so relatable. I definitely experienced certain pregnancy symptoms that Tempest had. I love this book so much and can’t recommend it enough. I can’t wait to listen to the following books in this series. I thought Amelie and Alex did an excellent job bringing the characters to life.