Poke the Bear by Sam Hall

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve always been invisible. People just look at me and then away.
Or worse, their eyes glaze over.
Everyone but him.
Adam Farrelly is the top football player in the state.
Every girl in the club is dying to catch his eye.
But all he seems to see is me.
He offers me everything I’ve ever wanted and for just one night, I’m going to say yes.
After I can go back to my boring life.
But apparently that is more than Adam can bear…

Poke the Bear

Prequel Novella

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚💜💙❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋🙂☺️😍
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

🦸🏼‍♀️ Heroine: Freya

She thinks she looked different from her family and friends. She felt invisible, like nobody noticed her. So when she went to an Aussie football game with her best girlfriend Jack, she allowed Jack to pick a dress for her, though Freya put on her custom painted Chucks underneath. Freya was a waitress and an artist that sold her work on the weekends. She didn’t think she belonged at a professional awards dinner. She was 22 years old an never been kissed. She wanted to be swept of her feet, but instead she was painfully awkward when it came to men.

🦸🏻‍♂️ Hero: Adam Farrelly

He was a footballer who was the frontrunner to win the Magarey medal, which was a medal given to the most brilliant football player each year and was being awarded that night. Though Adam was different than all the other guys. He had a grizzly bear inside him. Adam didn’t want any of the jersey chasers, and had a specific idea of the girl he one day wanted and he knew that he would know her when he sees her. Like all bear shifters, he has multiple fathers and the press thought all but one were uncles. His family was important to him.

🔥 Plot

Adam’s sleuth mates were his big brother Kaine, who was a bit of a grumpy bear, but was proud of Adam, also River, who stayed away from the spotlight. River worked at Adam’s dad’s construction company with Kaine, and he was often silent, and was waiting for their fated mate. Adam saw Freya and his bear immediately knew that she was his mate. Freya was surprised that Adam was paying attention to her, and even more surprised when he was the one acting awkward. He wanted to leave with her immediately, but couldn’t leave because of the awards and his family being there for him.

Freya agreed to be Adam’s fake date at the event, after which they spent one night together and Freya snuck out while Adam slept.

💡 Highlights

• This audiobook is the novella Poke the Bear which is the prequel to the the book More than I Can Bear and both are included on the audiobook for More than I Can Bear.
• I love a romance that begins with a one-night stand, especially when the Hero wants more.

🤨 A Few Things That Didn’t Quite Click

• I don’t really like the idea of prequel novellas, I think they should just be part of the main book. Though this one was included in the audiobook, so technically was all in one, just the fact that they are separate books, bothers me.

🎧 Audiobook Vibes

Narrated in dual POV via dual narration by Sofia Lette and Dorje Swallow. They both speak with Australian accents which I love. I used to have an Australian boyfriend and could listen to that accent all day. Sofia Lette has a soft, feminine voice which I like and you can’t tell she is reading. Dorje Swallow has a nice voice and is good at using different voices for different characters.

💬 Favorite Quote

“He was like the sun. I felt warmer when I was around him, something that spiked into a bittersweet heat every time he looked at me.
And he did, over and over.”

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