Aveke by Tijan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I watched him in high school; I knew his reputation. I knew he was wealthy, privileged, and mean.

He ran the show back then, a partier and a player. Then he came back from college, back to the town I never left. He’s different now.

He comes into the bar, and I know his routine. I know which stool he’ll pick. I know his favorite drink. I know which sports team he’ll want on the television screen. And I watch as he gets hit on.

Sometimes he leaves the bar with a woman. Sometimes he doesn’t. But I’m always there, tending to his drinks. He gives me a smile and a polite nod back.

Then one night, after a long appraising stare, he asked, “Ava, why are you single?”

I leaned in, told him a lie, knowing the truth.

What I didn’t know was that my world was about to shatter after that night.

Something else I didn’t know: would the man I watched all those years help put my heart back together…or smash it into pieces?

Aveke is a standalone novella written in the Fallen Crest/Roussou universe.

Aveke

Ava and Zeke’s Unexpected Love Story

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💛💚🖤
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌍
Character development: 😋🙂😁😘
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

Character Backgrounds and Plot Summary

Ava has spent years watching Zeke from behind the bar where she works. Back in high school, Zeke was wealthy, privileged, popular, and known for being a partier and a player. Ava, meanwhile, has always been more of a quiet observer, someone who puts other people ahead of herself. Even after Zeke returns from college, she knows his usual stool, his favorite drink, and even which sports team he wants playing on the television. Their relationship begins to change when Zeke finally takes notice of her and asks why she’s single. Ava gives him a lie instead of admitting the truth, and that conversation sets everything in motion.

What I really enjoyed was discovering that the Zeke Ava remembers from high school isn’t quite the man standing in front of her now. He still has that blunt, occasionally reckless personality, but there is a surprisingly tender and protective side to him. Ava has spent so much of her life working and taking care of her family that she has essentially put her own happiness on hold. Her relationship with Zeke forces her to acknowledge just how much of her own life she has been avoiding.

Highlights and Limitations

The biggest highlight for me was Zeke and Ava together. Their chemistry comes from the fact that they already have years of history and observation between them, even though they weren’t actually close before the romance begins. I especially loved the contrast between Zeke’s tough exterior and the way he treats Ava. His willingness to stand beside her when things get complicated showed me that his feelings weren’t just a temporary attraction.

The dandelion symbolism also worked much better for me than I expected. Zeke eventually calls Ava his “fuzzy dandelion,” connecting her with wishes, hope, and the future he wants with her. His gift of a preserved dandelion pendant near the end was a particularly sweet payoff because it wasn’t just a random romantic gesture. It tied back to their relationship and Ava’s need to start believing that her own dreams matter too.

I did wish the story had been longer. That was probably my biggest limitation. At only about 42,000 words, the novella moves quickly, and some emotional developments happen faster than I would have preferred. One review specifically noted that the relationship can feel somewhat rushed, and I can understand that reaction. I wanted more time watching Ava and Zeke actually get to know each other rather than having to accept some of their emotional progression because the story simply didn’t have room to slow down.

Narration

Callie Dalton and Charles Carr were a really good pairing for this audiobook. The production is a dual-narrator performance, with the audiobook running approximately 4 hours and 25 minutes. Dalton brought the right amount of warmth and vulnerability to Ava, which helped me connect with her quieter personality and the emotional weight she carries.

Charles Carr was especially enjoyable as Zeke. He captured the character’s confident, somewhat cocky attitude without making him completely unlikeable. That was important because Zeke’s appeal depends on being able to hear the difference between the guy everyone remembers from high school and the man he has become. I wasn’t familiar with Carr before this audiobook, and though I must admit he sounded too old for Zeke and that is one of my pet peeves. Though he does great with different voices for different characters.

Final Opinion

Aveke ended up being a really enjoyable, feel-good romance for me. I went in expecting a quick novella about two characters finally getting together, but I became much more invested in Ava’s journey toward realizing that she deserves happiness too.

Zeke surprised me the most. His old reputation made me expect more of a difficult alpha hero, but the thoughtful and protective man underneath was what ultimately won me over. I also loved the way the story brought familiar characters from the Fallen Crest/Roussou world back into the picture without completely taking over Ava and Zeke’s story.

My one complaint is that I wanted more. I would have happily listened to another couple of hours devoted to their relationship, especially more of those quieter moments where Ava and Zeke were simply learning each other with some added conflict or drama. Still, the romance delivered plenty of sweetness, humor, emotional moments, and enough drama to keep me listening. For fans of Tijan’s interconnected world, this felt like a lovely return visit, while newcomers can still enjoy it as a standalone.

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