I've seen people complain about this audiobook narrator, and it's true, he isn't anywhere near as good as Renee Raudman. But, BUT, he fits Derek's character as the authors and the audience is supposed to see him. Or more accurately, how he sees himself. 

As for the story, it's a nice sidestep for the main series, and I kind of want to see more of these. 

Because I couldn't even skim far enough to get to the sex (between the main characters).

This is an example of what not to do with third person voice narrative. Don't keep your characters so distant that a reader doesn't have a reason to care about them. Don't just tell, when you could show.

...but consider it scratched. 

I love these two (on the cover) and the shipping is strong. Didn't know Martha and Moriarty would be this good together but world domination is their next easy step.

Thirty-something me has no patience for gutless heroines pining after oblivious idiots.

I still love tropes pining and angst, but first give me a character I can stand to watch pine. Give me someone who isn't afraid of living and going after something she wants and give me a real reason why she should pine in silence instead. Don't give me "for four years she was his doormat and loved every second of it because of his kids." 

The rating wavered between one and two stars, but I've read worse. Much worse. 

I really liked the story, writing and characters, but in a few weeks or months someone's going to ask me recommendations and I won't remember the title or the author. And that'll be a shame, because most people aren't as jaded about romance genre as I am. 

So, if you like the "faking it until it's real"-relationship romances, you should read this.

P.S. A heads up. Come New Year, I'll be walking away from Booklikes. It's become unusable with the browser of my choice (Tor) and I don't feel like just handing my data to faceless entities who don't even pretend to care about people who are generating their income. 

You can find me on Twitter if you really want, but there aren't any blogs or other bookish social media sites I update with any regularity. Good luck to you all.