It Seemed like a Good Idea

By: Lauren Blakely

Narrated by: Erin Mallon, J.F. Harding

Performed in duet by Erin Mallon and JF Harding! A spicy and hilarious forbidden small town rom com from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely!

He ghosted me once, now he’s supposed to protect me?

I don’t need a bodyguard—I run a small-town lavender farm, for bee’s sake. But when my identical twin sister lands the movie role of a lifetime that’s being shot in my hometown I get one anyway. And guess which broody, tattooed protector the studio sends to keep the paparazzi off my porch?

Last month’s almost one-night stand. The guy with the wicked mouth and heated eyes who slipped out before the fun even started. But turns out the sexy jerk is excellent at rescuing me from sneaky photographers at the market. Then the coffee shop. I’m trying hard to stay mad after the third time my new bodyguard saves me.

To top it all off, he’s staying in the cottage at my farm. With me. And there’s only one bed.

Maybe if we finally give in and finish what we started, it’ll relieve the tension? But one night quickly turns into another. Then into late-night secrets and soft confessions we shouldn’t say out loud. Especially since he’s leaving and I’m staying, and there’s no way we can be more than a summer romance that ends far too soon.

©2025 Lauren Blakely Books (P)2026 Lauren Blakely Books

JF HARDING is a god!!!!!

I will listen to anything with JF Harding and he’s great in this! His voice is so playful, flirty and HOT! I’m enjoying the story so far too. The female narrator doesn’t match Hardings intensity. She has an unnatural cadence to her reading that sounds forced; an “announcers voice” not a real person. It’s unfortunate and takes away from the connection between the characters.

Another great LB book!

I loved this book! Banks and Ripley are perfect together! We knew they had chemistry and were attracted to each other bc of the one night stand that wasn’t so when Banks is assigned to protect Ripley, and they end up sharing a bed, they can’t help but fall to temptation. Some spice but not too much, done perfectly! The chemistry was great, the banter, they were so cute together and I loved it! The male narrator is perfection, one of the best. I don’t love the female narrator, I know many do, but I don’t like how she ends every sentence going up, it doesn’t sound real, people don’t talk like that in real life. Still great on audio though!

Fantastic

I love a good small town romance and what is more wholesome than a woman who owns and runs a lavender farm:). When Ripley has an almost one night stand she assumes she’ll never see him again. The last thing she expects is when he turns up in her small town as her new bodyguard.

Nice to be back in Darling Springs and familiar people!

I loved the easter eggs. The narratation was impeccable and the characters were very believed and I love the meet cute.The love story was hot 🔥

3.75 Stars ⭐️

I don’t think you can go wrong if you are looking for a quick, fun, and easy read/listen that does not require too much brain power and leaves you with a feeling of contentment. Ms. Blakely is definitely consistent.

We are taken back to the small town of Darling Springs in this romance between FMC Ripley - the owner of a Lavender Farm (yep, did not know that was a thing) and MMC Banks - the man who is assigned as her bodyguard.

See, Ripley is a twin and her twin sister Haven is an up and coming actress who is going to be filming her next movie in - you guessed it - Darling Springs. Since Ripley and Haven look exactly alike and the film is garnering quite a bit of attention, it is deemed important that Ripley have a close body protector too.

Unfortunately, the two MC’s met right before all of this was known and had an unfortunate encounter. That is the premise going forward as we watch Ripley and Banks navigate their circumstances.

As usual, I alternated between listening and reading and really enjoyed the audio version. It was narrated by Erin Mallon and J.F. Harding so I knew that they would do a wonderful job and I was not disappointed.