The Way We Touch

A Small-Town, Brother’s Best Friend Sports Romance (The Bradford Boys, Book 1)

By: Tia Louise

Narrated by: Connor Crais, Samantha Brentmoor

Logan Murphy should come with a warning.

He’s as hot as a Carolina Reaper on black asphalt in the middle of July.

With perfectly messy dark hair and smoldering blue eyes—and don’t even get me started on the way that black tee stretches across his toned chest…

He’s my brother’s best friend.

He’s also a football star on track to win the first wide-receiver MVP in league history.

Good thing I only date golfers… or I did.

Good thing he’s only visiting for a month, because the more I see he’s not a player, the harder it is to block him from running away with my heart.

I’ve always loved football, but after eight years pro, everything about it leaves me cold.

So when I agree to head south with my best friend, the last thing I expect is to have my face melted off by his pepper-loving little sister.

Dylan Bradford was supposed to be a kid, not a feisty pinup who looks at me like she’s never seen a man before.

She’s all curves and cutoffs, bare feet dancing in the warm summer night.

But I’m only in town a month, and she doesn’t date football players.

Then late-night talks turn to sharing past hurts and future dreams, and shy looks turn to confident kisses.

The heat between us can’t be denied. It’s spicy and sweet, and it melts us together.

Until the way we touch becomes more than friendly—it’s forever.

(THE WAY WE TOUCH is a small-town, brother’s best friend, sports romance with hilarious “accidents,” and a dirty-talking hero. No cheating. No cliffhanger. No third-act breakup.)

©2024 TLM Productions LLC (P)2024 TLM Productions LLC

Logan "Lightning" Murphy was Hot!

"as hot as a Carolina Reaper [hot pepper] on black asphalt in the middle of July." -- Dylan Bradford

I really enjoyed this story by Tia Louise. Great way to start a new series, and perfect for summer! It had humor; heart; hunky brothers; a swoony, sexy, football hero trying to prove himself; a loving, feisty heroine who gets a redo of sorts of her ballet dream; and hot pepper enthsusiasm (if you're into that)! I loved the characters & the way they stood up & showed up for each other right through the epilogue. The family restaurant/ poolbar in small town Newhope, AL (a very apropos name!) was the setting. Here, warm, bayside breezy days gave way to HOT sultry nights, including fiery first kisses, pepper "pants-demonium", and a romantic dinner & sexy, starlit night on the beach. Can't wait for the upcoming Bradford brothers' stories!

The narrators were Connor Crais & Samantha Brentmoor. (Craismoor! Yay! One of my very favorite duos!) They were perfect here. Every bit of the dual narration was enjoyable. Connor and Samantha's impeccable voice acting made Tia's story & characters come to life! ... And no one performs a sports hero better than Connor Crais, IMO! (And he even gets a little growly a time or two! Love that!)

Personal notes.
This book was extra enjoyable/interesting for me. Although I don't eat hot peppers, I did once work in the chem lab for a food company where I tested them -- for heat (measured in Scoville Heat Units or SHU) and capsaicinoid composition.

Fantastic story with amazing narration

A fun listen from Tia Louise. Some of my favorite tropes - small town, sports, opposites and brothers best friend. Dylan and Logan are a fun couple..their initial interaction was fantastic! They have great banter and dialogue. The Carolina reaper pepper/coconut oil scene had me laughing out loud! Looking forward to the other books in this series. Connor Crais and Samantha Brentmoor are two of my favorite narrators. Their voices are so smooth, smexy and delightful. They bring perfect voice, emotion and personality to each of the characters. Love how narrators bring authors words to life and give us readers/listeners and whole new experience. Thank you Home Cooked Books for the ALC.

It started with a hot pepper

The famous football player needs a reset from life and when his best friend and fellow player makes an offer for him to come back to his small town for a month, Logan "Lightning" Murphy agrees. What he finds is something he has been searching for his whole life.

Dylan Bradford grew up in a household full of football players, all famous in their own right. She loves them but hates the sport so when Logan shows up with her brother Garrett she is not interested in what he has to offer. Except her traitorous body doesn't agree with her mind and there is more hot in the kitchen besides the peppers.

This book is fantastic and so well written. I was captivated by all of the characters and there are several in this book with lots more great books coming by the looks of it. There are past hurts to work through, and friends and family to get you over the hump. I can't say enough great things about the book without giving away little details so I will say that I highly recommend you read it.

Connor Crais, and Samantha Brentmoor were both phenomenal. I loved listening to them bring this book to life. Great timing and wonder voices.

Loved this so much!

I loved this book! Logan and Dylan’s story was a lot of fun. I spent a lot of time just grinning while listening to the audiobook. Connor Crais and Samantha Brentmoor performed this one perfectly. I loved the build up and totally understood Dylan’s hesitations. I loved her family so much and I cannot wait for more in this series!

She's the flower and I'm the bee

Oh My, I absolutely love this book. The narrators performance is perfection! I love everything these two have narrated and this is one I will definitely be listening to again. They truly brought Dylan and Logan to life for me. Tia Louise is one of my favorite go to authors and this book is another example of why. This book has it all, small town, forbidden romance, wonderful characters and storyline, lots of spice and some angst. What an emotional ride. These two have so many ups and downs they navigate together. Definitely kept me glued to every word. 5+ star must read/listen.

I was sent a free audiobook from HCB and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Loved these two!

I read this book but was excited to listen to the audiobook! Connor and Samantha are two of my favorite narrators! I absolutely loved the dual narration. Connor portrayed Logan perfectly! His deep voice and attitude was a perfect representation of a pro athlete. Samantha portrayed Dylan so well, her southern accent was spot on! both did an amazing job voicing the other characters. It always amazes me how good narrators are at the voice switch. I got really immersed into the story and it felt like a movie in my ears!

Tia Louise never disappoints! I was excited when she announced she was starting a new series! I loved Logan and Dylan so much! They were so cute! They had some amazing chemistry from the beginning. I love the brother’s best friend trope! It was great to see how open and honest Logan was with Dylan’s brother regarding his feelings for her! We love to see it! Logan is the perfect book boyfriend! So swoon worthy! This book had me laughing at some parts, hot peppers and coconut oil.. iykyk haha! I can’t wait to see what is next for this series!

Sweet and romantic!

The way I’m still swooning over this book even though I’m finished. “The Way We Touch” is a sweet, romantic and instant connection small town romance that I loved so much.

Dylan lives in a small town where she has been running her family’s restaurant. Her brother, Garrett, is a professional football player and comes home every off season. This time he is bringing his best friend and teammate, Logan Murphy. Logan is one of their star players and is tired of the daily celebrity grind that comes with it. From the moment he lays eyes on Dylan, he’s enchanted with her. But Dylan is happy with her small town life and doesn’t want to be Logan’s secret. As the two spend time together, it’s clear that there is forever with them.

Oh my gosh, I just loved Dylan and Logan so much. Dylan is fun, caring and as feisty as the hot pepper food challenges she serves weekly in the restaurant. She’s not afraid to stand up for herself or her family. She knew exactly what she wanted and wouldn’t settle for less. Logan was at instant swoon status from the moment he met Dylan. He’s open and honest, someone that Dylan could connect with instantly. I love how they first met, it had me cracking up as I read it. The chemistry and tension between them was coming off the pages. These two connected on an emotional level that was so special and I loved how they grew as a couple. Logan allowed Dylan to be vulnerable with her past and help her find her way back to her first love, ballet. They wanted to be there for each other and that shined throughout the book. Their HEA was perfect and I can’t wait for Dylan’s brothers, Zane and Garrett, books.

This story becomes even more swoony with the narration done by Samantha Brentmoor and Connor Crais. Samantha’s Southern accent was perfect and exactly how I imagined Dylan when I first read the book. Her performance was sweet and spunky just like Dylan. Connor’s narration was romantic and vulnerable just like Logan. I loved listening to him bring this swoony football player to life.

One of a kind female narrator

This was a good story with some unique characters and a fun small-town setting. There were a few things missing for me in the story, I didn't really feel like the characters achieved their personal goals, nor did I feel that "can't eat can't sleep" type of love.

But it was still pretty darn good with a HEA.

The female narrator really made the accents and story come to life. She has such a sweet voice, I could listen to it for hours, and her acting always fits the sentence perfectly.

So much fun

When Logan Murphy, football star, decides to spend the off-season at his best friend and teammate's place in a tiny town in the south, he wasn't expecting to almost get killed by his sister's crazy spicy concoction. She has a "dare night" on the family restaurant involving super hot peppers, and let's just say, he got burned. Badly. What he wasn't expecting was that Dylan Bradford would be hotter than any of the hot dishes she serves on those dare nights.
Dylan can't take her eyes off the hot, smoking (and at the moment almost literally) man who came home with her brother. Too bad she almost killed him.
Well, pretty soon both of them can't resist each other. They're kind of opposites: he's refined, son of a billionaire media mogul, who lives in a penthouse in NYC and she is a Daisy Dukes-wearing, barefoot walking southern girl who from a small town. Amongst peppers, brothers, little nieces, snobbish exes, they find their way to each other.
I absolutely loved this low angst, LOL, spicy, fun story! It might be my favorite Tia Louise so far! It hit all the sweet spots! 
Dylan is the sweetest, Logan is the swooniest and the whole Bradford band of football player brothers is a hoot and a half. The whole bunch of secondary characters is lovely and there's no third act nonsense. 
Narrated dual style by a favorite pairing: Samantha Brentmoor and Connor Crais. Samantha gives us the cutest southern drawl and Connor is his swoony self and I love they give us the laughs! And the spicy spice!
If you want a book with actual spice (as in Carolina Reaper kind of spice), found family, a cute little kid, a former dance partner/best friend, a wise old lady and a lot of fun moments involving coconut oil, this is for you. 

Great Start to A Series!!

I can't want for the next book to be released! The narration was perfect between the characters. I liked the small town feel. I always enjoy the professional footballer that needs a break from their reality only to find a better reality with the knockout little sister of your best friend and teammate. Also, I like that the heroine was strong, smart, and resilient. She worked hard with the situation she was delt in life. I can't wait for Zane's book! I'll put that on preorder as soon as so can!