Review of ‘No Strings Attached’ by Harper Bliss,

Audiobook narrated by Angela Dawe

This is book one of Harper Bliss’s series ‘The Pink Bean’, all stories centered in a gay-friendly coffee shop in Sidney, Australia. Micky Ferro has recently divorced from her husband and now that her children are teenagers she has more free time at her disposal. On the first anniversary of her divorce, Micky’s best friend convinces her to take a job as a barista at The Pink Bean cafe. There she meets the aloof but gorgeous Robin who will make her question her own sexuality…

I really enjoyed this story, though based on the title, I was expecting something different. ‘No Strings Attached’ suggests a relationship that evolves from friends with benefits to a committed relationship. Even though this is the case, the story isn’t centered much on this issue but more on Micky’s coming-out journey of self-discovery and acceptance. So if you are looking for a novel like Gerri Hill’s ‘No strings’ you’ll be disappointed but, personally, I’ve enjoyed this one as much.

The audiobook version is narrated by Angela Dawe, who read the whole series of nine books except for book three which is narrated by Melissa Moran. I’m an unapologetic fan of Ms. Dawe who, in my opinion, is easily top three in the list of the best lesfic narrators. Her performances of Lee Winter’s books are absolutely fantastic. So, even if this book’s theme doesn’t appeal to you, it’s worth just listening to Ms. Dawe bringing this story to life.

I really like when narrators can perform all the characters’ voices differently and Ms. Dawe is one of them. Not only she can voice different female characters, but also the male ones and she can even perform them according to their personalities and ages. This story isn’t particularly heavy in showcasing the characters’ emotions, it’s more the introspective kind, something that comes through perfectly in Ms. Dawe’s narration. As usual, Ms. Bliss works her magic in the chemistry department and the main characters’ interactions are sizzling hot. The sex scenes are well written and even performed better.

Duration: 6 hours. Not available on Scribd or Audible Escape but if you like introspective coming-out stories it’s worth a listen.

Overall, a very good lesbian coming out audiobook. 4.5 stars.