Recent Release Audiobook Review: The Rivals of Casper Road by Roan Parrish, performed by Greg Boudreaux

07 October of 2022 by ButtonsMom2003

The Rivals of Casper Road By Roan Parrish, Performed By Greg Boudreaux

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Tropes: Rivals-to-lovers

Released: September 27, 2022

Publisher: Harlequin Special Special Edition

Series: Garnet Run, Book 4

Length: 285 Pages

Synopsis

He’s in it to win it

Until he falls under his neighbor’s spell.

Bram Larkspur’s rugged, sexy looks belie his fear of all things horrifying. But as Casper Road’s newest resident, he’s excited to join the annual Halloween decorating contest. The competition is keen, especially from six-time champion, architect Zachary Glass. But when enigmatic Zachary sparks a prank war, it’s game on—until one sizzling kiss turns these rivals into allies. Now only one thing scares Bram: how quickly he’s losing his heart to Zachary.

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

A sweet Halloween romance.

It’s been a year since I read the previous book in this series and I was so happy to see it continue. The book can easily be read as a standalone but characters from previous books in the series do make brief appearances. I don’t usually read Harlequin Presents category romances but Garnet Run is a series I’ve read from the beginning and I love that queer romance is getting representation in a series has long been only het romance.

While this story is on the sweeter side don’t mistake it for the Harlequin romances that had only off page sexy time and no cursing; there is just a bit of mild cursing and a couple of mild on page steamy scenes. Zachary Glass is the king of Halloween decorating in Garnet Run and he doesn’t really like it when his new neighbor decides to decorate and challenge Zachary’s title with his chainsaw carvings. Bram Larkspur is getting over a bad breakup and he just wants to settle in to his new life in Garnet Run.

Zachary’s character isn’t described as neurodiverse but his behavior exhibits characteristics of someone with OCD. What I loved about the story is that Bram never gave any indication that he thought Zachery’s behavior was other than perfectly “normal.” Bram was always encouraging Zachary to be true to himself and not let his job at a prestigious architectural firm keep him from creating the types of buildings that he wants to.

The Rivals of Casper Road is very sweet story with very little angst and I loved I; I hope there will be more books in this series. I almost forgot to mention how fantastic the audiobook is. Greg Boudreaux did a wonderful job performing this story and I’m very glad that I listened to it.

Story: ♥♥♥♥♥

Narration: ♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Spicy

Garnet Run Series

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥

About Author

Roan Parrish

Roan Parrish lives in Philadelphia, where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre.

When not writing, she can usually be found cutting her friends’ hair, meandering through whatever city she’s in while listening to torch songs and melodic death metal, or cooking overly elaborate meals. She loves bonfires, winter beaches, minor chord harmonies, and self-tattooing. One time she may or may not have baked a six-layer chocolate cake and then thrown it out the window in a fit of pique.

Author Links

An advanced copy of the ebook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley and a copy of the audiobook was also provided by the publisher.