Hudson's Luck

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

Gay for you isn't normally a favorite trope of mine but I really enjoyed this book. Hudson & Charlie are cute and sweet and pretty hot too. I am really enjoying this series and love that all the other characters from past books are still in the new books. Like visiting old friends.

Michael Pauley is good even if his sex scenes sound more angry than excited to me.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Love this family

I've been looking forward to listening to this book ever since i listened to Hudson's accidental proposal in the previous book. I mean a book about someone that clueless had to be adorkable and funny. Maybe it was expectations, but it just didn't live up to what I imagined this book to be. I mean where was that clueless guy I fell for?

After a botched non proposal, Hudson has been working hard at getting his life back on track. Only his boss sends him to Ireland for a pet project of his - and he hates flying. Knowing that his future career hangs in the balance Hudson will do everything he can to procure the small Irish pub. If only he didn't fall for the owner of the pub..

Charlie loves his family pub, it's been in his family for generations, it's in his genes. So when some American comes in and tries to franchise the pub, he is anything but happy, but it might also be the only way to keep the pub in the family after a few bad investments put it in danger.

Hudson and Charlie have chemistry from the very beginning. It borders a bit on insta-love (it's definitely insta-lust) but at the same time the book spans over a long time where they're apart so it still works in a way. And the Wilde family is always so warm and wonderful to spend time with.

Some things work much better in print than in audiobook. One of the things audiobooks really highlights is the pacing of the book or scenes that just don't end. Most often that happens to be sex scenes, and let me tell you listening to the same sex scene for more than half an hour is tedious and boring. It makes, me at, least wanting to scream get on with it already. Sure I get and understand that that first time needs attention and detail, but please not 30+ some minutes of it. Things need to move forward with the story too.

Another thing that bugged me was Hudson's constant back and forth with Charlie. I get that being attracted to guys was new and unfamiliar, and caused a lot of questions and ransacking, but the hot and cold was too much at times.

I love listening to Michael Pauley. He has this soothing voice that I just can't get enough of and great pacing. I also really liked his Irish accent for Charlie, though I wish he'd use the Irish accent for all of Charlie's chapters - including the starting phrase of each chapter, but that's minor.

This might just be me, but Lennox's books have lost some of the magic they had in the beginning. They don't draw me in or captivate me as much as they used to. I need something more, that little extra to keep from being just any run of the mill contemporary romance. Don't get me wrong, Lennox sure knows how to write a good book, they just don't bring anything new or feel all that exciting anymore. At the same time, I'm also a bit addicted to this family and need to know all of their stories and what happens next in the small town of Hobie.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Michael Pauley Redeemed in Hudson’s Luck

As a general impression Michael Pauley is not my favorite narrator as his pleasant voice, in my opinion, lacks enough distinction so one can easily differentiate which of the two main characters are speaking in the dialog situation. In this book one main character is Hudson Wilde with a Texas accent the other character Charlie Murray is Irish and has a distinct Irish accent. Mr. Pauley produced a satisfactory soft Texas accent and a not over the top Irish accent. The result was a pleasurable listening experience.

Ms. Lennox work remains reliable to the point of being predictable. In her books there seems to be a need for several (often to many) communication errors resulting in misunderstanding between the main characters driving them apart before they realize the error and reunite on the path to happiness. This tried and true plot device is all well and good, however, if it is used to often the story becomes a soap opera and personally I become annoyed and tune out. Happily, this book has some of this device but not too much of it to spoil the book.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

An enjoyable, fun listen

The fourth book in Lucy Lennox’s Forever Wilde series, Hudson's Luck, is different because the Wilde brother at the heart of the story, Hudson, isn't gay or bisexual. He's always considered himself straight...until he meets Charlie Murray.

Hudson is adorably clueless, and his stammering and tripping over his own tongue can be very charming. Charlie is strong, fierce, loving, funny, and just so wonderful I wanted to package him up and keep him forever. I'm a sucker for men who embrace their femme side, and Charlie was a treat to get to know and see him knocking over all of Hudson's expectations and plans one by one.

My pet peeve in stories, miscommunication, does come into play here, but Charlie and Hudson are so great together and Michael Pauley does such a wonderful job bringing the characters, locations, and drama to life that I found myself enjoying the listen rather than getting annoyed enough to throw a book. In that respect, I would say the audio definitely enhances the story. Michael does provide character voices, including doing an Irish brogue for Charlie and fam, and his pacing and performance of the emotional nuances continues to make him an entertaining performer.

If you listen, or read, you'll get to enjoy the large and rambunctious Wilde family, see the trials and tribulations Hudson and Charlie go through to get their happy ending, and even get to enjoy a cameo from a trio much adored in Lennox's other Marian series.

Sexy, fun, funny, and sweet with a bit of miscommunication, some light angst, and a very happy ending Hudson's Luck was an enjoyable, fun listen.

I'm looking forward to continuing on with the Wilde family, especially up next with Saint's story!

3.5 Stars

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very cute story

Great characters, Great story, romantic, funny, sexy. I loved the charming and subtle accents. can't wait to read more from the series.

A must listen

I’ve read all of Lucy’s Made Marion and Forever Wilde books and have bought my favorites on Audible. The narrator did an AMAZING job on this book. The transition from Hudson’s Texas twang to Charlie’s Irish brogue was wonderful! I will definitely listen to this book again. .

love the story

I love this book, but I could not take the Irish accent after a while. It was just annoying. I generally love Michael Pauley's recordings, but not this one.

Love them all...

But this one is my FAVORITE! I grinned and laughed and cried through the whole book. Loved these guys!

Great Series

I'm not usually a fan of series books because I feel like they lose steam along the way. Having said that, I love this series. Each book has just the right amount of connection with the other books without it being the same story told over and over again. So far I have read four of the books in this series and I can say with these ones at least, you do not need to read them in any particular order. The stories are intermingled, but they don't build on each other.
I haven't read any other books by Lucy Lennox outside of these series, but I have already purchased a few of them. Her books are that good.

Great performance.

Great addition to the series. One thing that I absolutely love about this series is that each book can be read as a standalone story.

The characters were great as usual and there even seemed to have been a cameo by a certain trio of elderly hellions from one of Sloane Kennedy's series. I loved it.

Again, the stories start to seem really formulaic after so many books in a series, but Lucy makes it work.

Can't wait to read/listen to next book