Part 1 of the Made in Jersey series is Crashed Out. The book was well titled!

The two lovers, Jasmine and Sarge, collide with such force! it certainly is a powerful attraction, initiated by Sarge.... Sarge returns to his home town determined to get his 7 years older babysitter as a kid out of his system. No chance of that, once he experiences the real Jasmine - she has been his songwriting muse and fantasy woman since he left home at 17.

The crux of the story is Sarge's absolute determination to convince Jaz that they were, ultimately, meant to be. His magnetism, his poetry/lyrics, his dirty talk, his prowess worshipping women, his alpha-ness - he's a freight train like I've rarely seen in Romance!

The older woman trope - it formed the other story element - the pain Jaz took upon herself at feeling like a cougar - a word she couldn't even say. After reading Rachel Reid's Common Goal, I think I've lost all socially inherited prejudice about age difference between adults.

Emma Wilder, the narrator, whew! She brings Sarge to life with the sexiest gravelly voice imaginable, and her voice for Jasmine is a bit light on but is probably just right to depict her uncertainty - she's vulnerable and overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, on Hoopla, you can't renew a book so I have no time to read more in the series, until the next month. ( )