Untouched

Fade into You, Book 1

By: Dakota Willink

Narrated by: Zachary Webber, Lacy Laurel

Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

He was a gorgeous troublemaker with a cocky attitude.
She was the girl he shouldn't want.
They only had one summer—and a promise to have no regrets.

Cadence
Helping my parents run Camp Riley was my number one priority.
I didn’t have time for Fitz Quinn—no matter how potent his smile was.
He was the spoiled son of a wealthy politician; a gorgeous troublemaker with a cocky attitude.
But the second he spoke to me, I knew I was in over my head.
My heart warned me, but of course I didn’t listen.
There was something protective and good beneath the bad boy exterior that made my insides flutter.
Before I knew it, I was falling hard and fast.

Fitz
I wasn’t prepared to meet a girl like Cadence.
She was shy and innocent—and nothing like the girls who usually flocked my doorstep.
How could I resist her mile-long blond hair and emerald eyes?
I knew I shouldn’t want her. My father already had other plans for me and a relationship with her could never go beyond the summer.
I thought our stolen kisses by the lake were only supposed to be a summer fling.
Falling for her shouldn’t have happened.
But it did.
Now the clock is counting down until I have to return to the hell that awaits me in Washington D.C.
As September draws near, I get closer and closer to losing everything I’ve come to love.

From Amazon best-selling author Dakota Willink comes the first book in the Fade Into You series, a bad boy romance that will leave you swooning for more!

©2019 Dakota Willink LLC (P)2019 Dakota Willink LLC

Untouched

Untouched (Book 1 of Fade Into You) by Dakota Willink. This is one of those stories that you get swept away in and before you know it the afternoon has passed you by and the book has ended. Nice paced contemporary young love drama with just enough steam and conflict to keep you interested until the end and routing for the main couple to win. Looking forward to book two in this duet- hoping for some closure and a much-deserved HEA for Fitz and Cadence. I enjoyed the narration in this audible. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Breathtaking Story!

Breathtaking Story!

When I first started reviewing books heavily four years ago, I read some of this author's other works and wasn't wild about them. I purposely avoided her books for a few years but decided to give this series a try in audiobook form. I am so glad I did. While I've only listened to this first story in the series, I was blown away by the writing, characters, and how the author handled the situation’s complexities. The book is undoubtedly tropey, but the author gives depth one doesn't often see in trope-driven fiction. This book is about first love and the profound effects it can have on people's lives. The heroine is sheltered and a bit naive at the start of the book, but she has strength, intelligence, and tenacity that the hero can't help but be attracted to, even if he is a bit jaded about women in his young life. He knows she is something different and unique. From the very first chapters, I enjoyed the author's deft descriptive style, and she really gave each character a unique voice so appropriate to their ages and situations in life.

I listened to the audiobook of this, and the male narrator did a fantastic job with the hero’s voicing. It was more acted than read. He made this young man's thoughts and words come alive in such a way that they sounded as if they came from a real young man. I wasn't wild about the female narrator. She just didn't evoke the youthful naivete the character had.

I also like the references to Jane Austen's romances in the later part of the story… a delight for us die-hard Janeites!

Both characters have growth arcs, which I like to see in a book like this. This book certainly delivered all the feels. I was in tears from the point of the hero's big reveal until the end of the book, and I stayed up far later than I should have to finish it. You will see familiar situations that you've seen in other romances, like difficult goodbyes and surprises that have far-reaching effects. But the author has given incredible depth to these young characters. They have a deep understanding of each other despite what the external conversations and situations look like on the surface. I'm very much looking forward to their second chance book, the second in this series, to see how they make their way to their ultimate HEA 17 years after the setting of this book. If you love emotional, well-written romance as I do, check out this book!

Cadence and Fitz's Beginning

Whilst I enjoyed listening to this story, I sort of came away with the impression that it's a wonderfully detailed prologue for what will follow in the following book in this trilogy.

That said it's a story about two young adults Cadence and Fitz meeting and getting to know one another when Fritz is sent to work at Cadence's parents' summer camp for three months to make him reflect on his unacceptable behaviour and to make a better man of him. They met almost on his arrival, and at first, she was totally unimpressed by this sexy bad boy. But over time they get to know each other and she begins to see him differently, in fact, she comes to believe that he's a great guy who finds himself in a bad place.

But just when you think their relationship will develop into something more, Fritz tells her that it can't really go any further because he's being forced to marry a woman of his father's choosing. It's an emotional story where we got to see how sweet Cadence is, that Fitz is a better man than you first think and just how good a couple they could be if they were allowed.....

The narration is excellently done by Lacey Laurel and Zachary Webber, they are both very talented and were able to make me feel the emotions felt by the characters. Lacy and Zachary really worked well together in this book bringing every character to life.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Summer Camp

This is a cute, sweet, young love story between Cadence and Fitz. Cadence is a student who is working at her parent’s summer camp. Cadence seems to be a smart, sweet, sassy young woman. Fitz is a college grad who ends up at the camp because of some incident that happened, and his punishment was to work it off at the camp. He comes off as cocky and arrogant, but once you get to know the real Fitz, it is a whole different person.

Fitz is taken in by Cadence, but Cadence is not falling for that bad boy charm. After a few days, Cadence and Fitz seem to be making strides towards a friendship, even though Fitz knows it is a bad idea. You have chemistry, secrets, truths, revelations, heart break, and regrets. This story does end on a cliffhanger and I cannot wait to see what happens with Cadence and Fitz. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

First Love

Cadence's parents run Camp Riley. Cadence is basically in charge for the summer. Along comes Fitz. Fitz was sent there by his dad because he got in trouble at college. This is part of Fitz's penance mandated by his father. Fitz wanted Cadence from the first moment he saw her. Fitz and his friend planned on hooking up with girls all summer. Cadence held off at first. When Cadence fell for Fitz she gave everything, she didn't hold anything back. Unfortunately for Cadence, Fitz had been keeping a secret. His father had already mapped out his future and it would never include Cadence. Fitz breaks Cadence's heart in a spectacular fashion. At the end of the book Cadence finds out Fitz's secret and then Cadence has one of her own. Cadence realizes she has to get over Fitz because they can never be together. Even though she gave Fitz everything and he broke her heart, Cadence didn't regret it. It is a good book. Obviously the ending is sad. It makes you wish Fitz could've stood up to his dad. Looking forward to the next book because I know they meet many years later. I have a feeling Fitz's dad will still be ruling his life even as a adult.

Summer camp

Summer camp romance. While people associate summer camp with teens/kids, the main characters are of consenting age. I liked the idea of a bad boy doing mandatory volunteer work at a summer camp. You can see the growth in his character as the book progresses. You can also see the girl slowly relax and be herself.
The story line was sweet, and a bit different. (good) The characters are well developed. I feel I knew them. I liked the narration, and that there was distinctly different voices for the characters.
This story left me eager for the next book in the series.


I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Just the beginning

Cadence's parents own and operate Camp Riley, a camp for the arts. Fitz is sent to the camp by his father as punishment. He has eyes for the daughter of the camp owner's, Cadence from the first he sees her.

Eventually the two become involved, but Fitz's life is planned out, including a bride has been picked out for him.

The story is emotional and ends on a cliffhanger.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

young love

I was a little thrown off from the beginning because the prologue started at the end; I thought I was missing a book for a little while there.

I like the plot and the characters development. She was sweet and innocent and he was the rich bad boy. I'm interested to see what book 2 brings for these characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Fitz and Cadence

While this is a summer camp it's about college students. I really appreciate this fact, reading about steamy scenes about teens kinda freaks me out.

Bad boy paying penance for past mistakes, by volunteering at a summer camp. He's sees a girl whose organizing the kids and is drawn to her. Commence a summer of love and escaping the real world. But what happens when their little fantasy worlds bubble pops into reality?

I really enjoy the narrators. The female voice sounds like she's stuffy which is a little annoying at first, but you get used to it. The male voice is really interesting to listen to. I like when voice actors a distinct sound to their voice that make them distinct.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Brilliantly Done

What an emotional rollercoaster that end was... The book was wonderful; well-written, sweet, evocative of simpler times. But then reality crashes right into the picture and ruins everything. Though do I find myself satisfied with Cadence's feelings about everything, as a person who wants the world to be sweeter and simpler, I am of course raging inside at the injustice done to both Fitz and Cadence, but particularly Fitz. What an awful father he has, and what a poor hand he's been dealt. I cannot wait to finish book 2, because right now, my heart is very hurt, and THAT is the truest sign of a remarkable storyteller. Dakota Willink has made me feel all the feelings on a personal, visceral level with this one. Well-done, indeed, because this story will stay with me for ages.

Also, the narration was excellent, though I do have to say the male narrator did a better job with the female voice than vice versa, in my opinion. It's a quality product all the way through.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.