*I received a free copy of The Offer from via Tantor Media. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *
Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.
The Offer by Karina Halle Narrator: Anthony Ferguson, Nicole Poole
Series: McGregor #2
on 16 September 2015
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Length: 9h 48m
Format: AudioARC
Source: Tantor Media
Nicola Price used to have it all-a great career, the perfect boyfriend, an excessive shoe collection, and an apartment in one of San Francisco's best neighborhoods. But when she gets knocked up and her asshat boyfriend leaves her high and dry, Nicola's perfectly crafted world comes tumbling down. Now, Nicola is the proud single mother of a five-year-old daughter and living a giant lie. She can barely afford their ghetto apartment, and all the men she dates run when they hear that she comes with a child. She's struggling and scared-and nowhere near where she thought she'd be at age thirty-one. Nicola's saving grace comes in the form of tall, handsome, and wealthy Scotsman Bram McGregor, the older brother of her friend Linden. Bram understands a thing or two about pride, so when tragic circumstances place Nicola at rock bottom, he offers them a place to live in the apartment complex he owns. But nothing in life is free, and as Nicola gets her feet back on the ground, she discovers that the enigmatic playboy may end up costing her more than she thought. She might just lose her heart. Contains mature themes.
The Offer is a well-written romance with mature characters, and I loved listening to them! Of course, I especially loved Bram’s Scottish brogue, so hot!
The Offer shows that while on the surface, a single mom and a Scottish rogue – confirmed womanizer to boot – don’t have much in common, once you look a little deeper there is much more than meets the eyes to both of them. For the longest time, I’ve wanted to read (or listen to) a Halle book, and I just haven’t gotten around to it until now. I will definitely keep on picking up her books, though, because she knows how to write! The characters were multi-faceted, and I loved how they shared a their inner thoughts little by little. Nicola really got to me, because so many little things went wrong for her – and then something big happened to make things even more complicated for her and her daughter. Bram wanted to be the knight in shining armour, but nobody would believe he could do something good. They had firmly put him into the little box that said ‘womanizer’ and there was really not much he could do to make them change their minds.
The interactions in The Offer made me want to read the first book in the McGregor series, as well, so while I was listening to this one, I bought The Pact so I knew it was waiting for me. Nicola, Bram and Ava are front and center in the story, but Linden, Stephanie and Kayla are present as well. The strong sense of friendship and loyalty is important in this book, and while most of the characters looked down at Bram a little, they still loved him and had his back when he needed it.
Of course, there is also a lot of hotness… I can’t go to IKEA without peeking into the bathroom expositions, wondering if I’ll catch someone being naughty. And there is also a lot of humor, even if there is heartache and pain as well. The story unfolds seamlessly, and if you enjoy a fast paced romance that has solid characters and a real storyline to surround the sexy times, this is definitely a book you should pick up! The narrators did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life, and Ferguson especially made my toes curl because of how he had Bram share his feelings…
Once you go Bram, you don’t give a damned.
He’s only wearing a t-shirt and boxer shorts. They are grey. They are David Beckham. They are so close I can read the label. And they are at least a size too small, based on all the junk…
Because, when you invite someone in and they leave, they take a part of you with them. It ruins the foundation. Don’t you see? It’s damaging when you pull the bricks out and the whole building collapses.
I know you’ve been burned. But I’ve been burned too. Maybe our ashes can make something beautiful together.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
A Scottish Brogue..hello! Sounds like I need to start with the Pact. LOL bout IKEA. now I am seriously curious 🙂
I know, right? And listening to it is just great, Kim! IKEA… I tell you, I went the other day with my husband, because we needed a new sink and the storing place underneath for our bathroom. And I couldn’t stop thinking about Bram and Nicola. When you read this you’ll know what I mean 😉
Twitter: Kissinbluekaren
I don’t read many adult romance anymore. This one sounds really good. I love well written characters. A Scottish rogue sounds delicious, lol! Great review!
Sometimes, reading about more ‘adult’ problems and characters that have jobs and maybe children of their own just makes me happy. It shows me that fun, exciting and good things can still happen to us all, you know?
Twitter: kbaby81
I’ve been trying to start her other series but another book always catches my eye. I can’t wait to see if she’s an author that I’ll like, since everyone raves about her books. Great review!
I’ve had one of her series on my kindle since it was first released, Lekeisha, and I had the same problem. I’m so happy I started with this one now, though 🙂 It’s really good!
I really need to read something by Halle! I own a couple of her books, I believe. That’s great you loved this one though, and I like to hear that there is some humor!
Ha! I have loads of her books 🙂 This one was exactly what I wanted and needed when I listened to it, so I’m very happy I finally got started 🙂
What? There’s a challenge called ”Blogger Shame Challenge”??? I must know what that is about. I never tried a Karina Halle book before, but her stories look sexy, so I might sometime.
LOL of course there is, Lola! It’s hosted by Anna @ Herding Cats & Burning Soup, and it’s for ARCs we received over six months ago, but haven’t read or reviewed yet…
The Offer was very sexy, but there was a lot more to the story than the sexiness, which really made it great, in my opinion.
I read the story and short story about the rugby player (can’t think of the title now) and I absolutely loved it, but the first two books in this series I just couldn’t connect with. Maybe I should try them on audio
I haven’t read any other books by her so far, but this one was rally good, Leona. Audiobooks are often the way to go these days 😀
Hahaha … oh yeah, the IKEA scene. Glad you grabbed The Pact, because I loved that one even more.
Yeah, I’m still laughing about that one. And I’m sure I’ll think of it every single time I go to IKEA in the future 😀
Wow! You sure gave this one a high rating and it sounds fab! hugs…
Twitter: Mollykatie112
I have been reading Halle since her first paranormal series-Experiment in Terror. Still one of my all time favorite series. And I also read her romances. I liked this book and the others that go with it as well. She’s got another coming out soon(next week?)that goes with this group as well(I think?) and I have already pre-ordered it-the name escapes me now. Great review!