foreign [Music] ladies and gentlemen Guys and Dolls and everyone in between gather round something real nice to sip on and comfy to slip on cause it's time for smut Club here's your hosts Chelsea and Anna [Music] hey everyone welcome to Smart club I'm Hannah and I'm Chelsea and this is the show where we drink alcohol and review trashy not always trashy we review romance novels of varying degrees of trash varying degrees of trash indeed yes absolutely right the way to put it yes I
am and today Hannah is gonna choose the book I don't I feel you've told me what book you're reviewing like five times yeah the only thing I know about it is that it's an audiobook it is audio only called pause okay by Kylie Scott it is technically the second in the Larson Brothers series but they're all independent like about different um couples so you don't have to read them in order or anything like I read a Kylie Scott book but I like the name sounds familiar yeah but I can't
remember why okay start telling me about your book and then I'm going to interrupt you in a moment when I realize what book I read note it and I'm just proactively telling you you're going to be interrupted I appreciate you setting expectations early I I tried to cut you off dude perfect and I didn't have anything to say well damn that was not my best moment so Vance and I have been watching um we've been watching the challenge when I was pregnant I watched a lot and
now it's like a show that soothes my baby when he hears the sounds but I was cracking up because one of the girls I think she was from Sweden she had one of the most like defined laughs I've like not defined distinct laughs I've ever heard it was like like it's very and so all week we'll just be sitting on the couch in silence and I'll suddenly just go like like an old giant too and last night eventually to me he's like so it seems like we're really committing
to this and I was like he's a lucky man you know I'm like well we were committing to this bit okay no wait I read the first book in the Larson that's why it sounds familiar I read repeat yeah only from audible it wasn't I didn't listen to it though I read it you had to have listened I don't think it it doesn't matter no there it was no I read it okay you're saying that in a very placating way but I'll know now I'm like am I an idiot well so when I just opened it the
version that pulled up said only from Audio Only from audible but like you know on Goodreads where you can see all of the editions because I definitely I don't Thrive with audiobooks so I like that is why I feel very confident that I read it right um well now I'm like wait a minute maybe you just listen to the only I mean frankly from audible version I read the first book in the series it was like the memory one yeah right she lost all her memory in the first one yeah so the
second one follows Ed from the first book his younger brother oh yeah I know that because I just finished it on my way here so I know it was dead um but um no I don't remember who Ed is that's what I mean it's like the tattoo artist okay Ed was the name of the guy in the first one yeah he's our main character from the first one got it yes um so in this one it follows his younger brother Leif um what names and life oh it was audible only you wouldn't know uh it's l-e-i-f-l-o yeah that's life
according to Andy arnt who was the narrator for what I just listened to holy [ __ ] I don't what I oh why is this hitting me so weird like not like my whole life has been a lie but like when you've been reading like something for like I don't know you read about Vikings and right and that's their name right yeah and I was like leaf leaf Erickson that's life Erickson what like have we all been mispronouncing did the world just tilt on its axis a little bit like it didn't like fall over yes
but it just like I'm not going to be so dramatic as to say my whole world has changed but I am a little like whoa I didn't I didn't know I am just pronouncing it the way that the narrator did I also probably would have pronounced it leaf if I had read it poof that one really got me like I don't good why is this impacting me so much I don't know but I feel like I need to give you a moment to collect yourself yeah I wasn't prepared I'm sorry well that was like
I looked at Vance a couple weeks ago he walked in the room he's like are you okay and I was like I've been mixing up the words levity and brevity for how long way too long like this is not a short-term situation here there was no levity to the situation or breath yeah and pants was like oh you have and I'm like I love that you're you just I said it with enough confidence for years that you didn't question this oh no yeah I apologize to our listeners because I've probably done it on the book
when I like think back and I'm like damn okay so this none of this is relevant tell me about our boy life there it is not you nailed it it did well so we start with our female main character her name is Anna okay and she is like coming back to Consciousness like she's waking up and she's really really confused and her parents are there like standing over her and she's clearly in a hospital her parents keep telling her she's a medical miracle she's like what are you talking
about where's my husband like I don't this this isn't right um and her parents tell her she's been in a coma for seven months she was in a car accident and um they didn't think she was gonna live like um whole thing right so her parents she keeps asking for her husband Ryan she's like where's Ryan where is he what's going on nope and her parents won't answer her they they keep getting really cagey and so she's like there was nobody else in the car with me like I don't remember the accident but I
remember he stayed at home we were getting ready for a party I went to run to the store he wasn't in the car with me so like he's not he's not dead right like he wasn't in the accident so what the hell happened um and the only thing they'll say is just he's on his way he's on his way so she's obviously freaking out so then that's the prologue then we got the prologue that's the prologue what is Juicy prologue I know we're coming in hot yeah so then it jumps to three
months later in the first chapter so we get no answers about what the hell happened um and she is just showing up at some guy leif's house and um what she's just showing up at his house no I why is this book impacting me like is it every time I say life it's not it's not every time you say late it's not like that's where we started and then you're like yeah so we don't really know what happens anyway she's on her way to Life's house and I'm like no I I which I
recognize where we'll get more details yeah but I'm my heart was just prepared for the answer to arrive more immediately no okay I'm gonna take you on the journey as I walked it and it's present day yes at this point yeah so she's just at his house standing there um and she's like maybe this was a bad idea like oh my god um and her internal dialogue we find out that life was also a part of the accident he was riding his motorcycle saw the whole thing and wound up going off the road as well
um and he would visit her in the hospital and read to her like every chance that he got as soon as he was well enough he would go read to her um but for some reason he stopped showing up and nobody seemed to know why um But like after a couple of months he stopped coming around so she's about to clarify in question sure he watched the accident happen and then got so distracted he had his own accident that's what happened it seems like and like slowly this detail is revealed but
it doesn't really matter it's not like a big twist or anything but what it seems like from all the information from the story is that she was driving another car like drove like hit her she swerved Leif saw the whole thing and with all the breaks and everything it seemed like it was raining and he was on his motorcycle and he like skidded off the road it doesn't sound like he was hit or anything seemed like he was trying to avoid and got like caught up and everything okay yeah
um so uh he shows up on his motorcycle as she's like getting ready to leave because she's like this was a mistake this was a terrible idea what the hell am I doing here so he is shocked to see her he's like you know my God like you're awake um what my face it's just it's telling me stories so Anna doesn't know life no she just heard that there was a guy who was coming and reading to her and then stopped showing up and she's like imma show up at his house with no
introduction or like correct like no relationship to introduce myself yeah yeah okay just making sure she's just going for it um and he like kind of gets flustered understandably because this woman that was in a coma that he saw in this terrible accident is like just standing on his front porch um and he like kind of gets his far off look and he says he still has nightmares about not being able to get her out of the car and like not being able to get to her um and she's like
I'm so sorry I'm just gonna go I didn't mean to like bring anything up I just wanted to say thank you like that's it I'm so sorry um but he insists that she stay invites her in his condo is completely empty except for a king-sized mattress on the floor in the living room he has no furniture whatsoever please tell me he just moved um not recently enough it was like a few months from what he said do you remember old meme where it would be like you can tell it's like a single
guy's house because he'll just take the one light bulb from room to room which I always felt like a joke but also is not a joke yeah at all no it wasn't for life um so um she notices that he is like super attractive and everything and then she's like come on in I get your [ __ ] together you're still technically a married woman and we don't know what that means but they order food they chat it's really sweet um she's like thanking him for reading to her and everything and
um he says that you know he just wanted to make sure that she was okay and you know he didn't really have anything to do because he couldn't work because he's a tattoo artist and he had a lot of damage to his left arm and so he couldn't work anyway he was like what was that what else was I gonna do besides come read to a pretty girl it's no problem um so it's all very sweet but then there's knock at the door and they think it's the food they ordered but it's her husband what
um demanding that she get in his car and leave with him and she is big mad she is big mad because apparently he tracked her phone but she's like well it used to be super convenient when we were married to know like yeah how far away are you like are you still at the store those kinds of their location right but she's like we're not together anymore so this is a massive invasion of privacy and she tells him off and she's like screaming at him in front of Leif and Ed
leif's brother who lives next door comes out and is watching the whole thing and her Ryan is like get in the car like I told him to stay away from you blah blah blah blah blah and she's like you don't get to do this like you don't get to have an opinion about who I spend time with you literally cheated on me with my best friend while I was in a coma oh and everybody's like oh oh no yeah well that's not not good ideal it's not a good look for Ryan did I tell you
I think I've I've told the story before about the time that Vance and I were on a cruise and they were doing like the late night like Newlywed Game and God um so they did like the couple who'd been married the longest the couple who'd been married most recently and then like the third spot you had to like earn your way into and it was a whole funny competition and whatever um but one of the questions was like like I forget exactly how it was worded but it was something to the effect of
which one of your spouse's friends like something like that that's a terrible question right and can only lead to problems well and so like the couple had been married the longest they've been married for like 45 50 years right they were so sweet and his he's like it would be her friend Edith right I'm making up and in here Janice yes and he's like we've really talked about it like um they've been best friends forever she would want me to be happy and we've always like had this like it was just
this very sweet like should something ever happen to my wife she knows her friend would take very good care of me and just this like one of those conversations that comes with age and maturity of marriage right the couple had been married the shortest amount of time had been married like 48 hours because they got married and then the cruise was their honeymoon and whatever friend name she said or like she thought he was going to choose was not the name he chose where
she was like oh yeah it'd be like Katie and his on his board he'd written like Susie or whatever and she just turns around it's like are you kidding me like on stage in front of like hundreds of people oh lips flicks or flips books with her middle finger oh flips flips I was like I think you can do I think that's Entertainment flick or flip yeah for a middle finger for people who are not watching and only listening that would be really confusing she did something with her middle finger noted
um like on stage this single finger salute the single finger salute in front of hundreds of people she's like I can't believe you choose her and like Vance and I were sitting there and we were like ooh so this is not the first time this girl has been like yeah been brought up and caught some tension yep in their relationship and that is the sort of relationship that I'm imagining um she had with Ryan whatever her name is Emma Anna Anna well see but it it doesn't seem that way though because this
best friend of hers was truly her best friend since College they had lived together they'd known each other for years she worked for her as an event planner at her business and Anna worked for her okay yeah and so like so is it giving more of Ryan and the bestie were like bonding in their grief and then it just kind of happened so that's his whole excuse right is like you have no idea how hard it was for me and she's like yeah I'm sure that me being in a coma and
almost dying was a real challenge for you like he has no empathy or he's just all about like making excuses for himself he's he's very focused on his experience of it very much so so here's um seven months is not long enough no it's not like if if it's a Terry shivo situation that is a whole other conversation right but I'm like seven months but I also think too like for for me and this might be weird but for me if that something like that happened I'd be like that's like I get
it like go to a sex worker or whatever get on Bumble and hook up yeah you're like my best friend yeah like do what you need to do to get your needs met right but like don't destroy my relationships because I might be coming back right wait to do the real connections and until I don't wake up for my coma right way to actually pull the plug yeah like if you just needed to get your dick wet right while I'm in a coma do what you need to do get that I'm not here no judgment All God's Children
[Laughter]
emotional connections right Vance and I've had so many conversations where he's like if something ever happened to you he's like Ford and I would go off the grid and no one would ever hear from us again oh I don't like that oh no Vance would not do well if something ever happened to me well I also right real weird about conversations about death oh really bless him it's like a very endearing thing but I didn't know that he like didn't do well with conversations about
death and so it was like when we were dating we were driving from um like between Nashville and Atlanta and I don't even know how the topic came up but I was like yeah I mean like I don't know I never really like conceptualize myself making it past my 40s I just kind of figured I'd go out on a free jellyfish accident or something right yeah I think that's normal though to like not be able to picture yourself older well but apparently then I fell asleep and him with that I did I was talking about
a freak jellyfish accident we are not talking about cold hard facts here right and like I wake up an hour later and he is in a [ __ ] mood and I'm like you okay over there and he's like you talked about dying and then just went to sleep and he's like I've literally just been sitting here ruminating on you I was like oh my God I was like I'm so sorry I did not know I can be so more mindful but like bless him he does not do well with conversations about death it's fair yes yeah
um no as horrible as it sounds I think I I would not be okay if I lost fans right I think ultimately I would fare better in the long run then that makes sense yeah than if something happened to me I don't know if you and Matt feel the same way I I thought about it and I feel like I would like I would probably be I would go gray Gardens like feral for maybe a year and then I would come back around but like I don't have a kid to take care of so like I could go gray Gardens and it
would be fine but like I would probably go feral for like a year and then I would be okay but I would like not be okay well I mean you know what I mean you know I do know what you mean and like throwing a kid in the works definitely like yeah changes that trajectory um no when I was pregnant I had a horrible like I already like have anxiety right and I wouldn't even like postpartum anxiety it's just my normal level of anxiety but like when I was pregnant I was having like the most
wildly like intrusive thought oh no oh I think like we were driving back from a wedding and there was like a car next to us that had like a little U-Haul trailer and like in my head when I was pregnant everything was like Final Destination right where this is it yeah I was like okay I was like so what's gonna happen is that that trailer is gonna like become unattached from the card statue it's gonna swing over into our lane we're gonna end up in that ditch over there Vance isn't gonna
survive I have a baby what are we gonna do I don't want to pay our mortgage what if it's just us this house is way too big for just me and a baby I don't know we'll move back to Nashville but if we move back to Nashville how am I going to get weed I don't have a dealer would cope and like like I was am I gonna see I can't sleep over at me he's like what you thinking about and I was like you really want to know he's like yeah I I think I do hyper ventilating in the
passengers here and then I like told him I was like this is where my head's at and he's like listens to my whole story best part to me and God I love my husband he's just like you would call this person they'd be able to get you weed and Nashville and I was like oh okay we're good thank you problem solved I like that he's like didn't try to like there there was no like cognitive challenging there was no right let's de-catastrophize this he's like let's just solve the problem you know people
with weed in Nashville let me remind you of their names because in my head I was like that's the only way I'd be able to cope I'll never be okay again yeah yeah um pregnancy was weird man yeah Vance also looked at me on that trip and he's like I really am sorry that he's not he's like I'm not sorry you're pregnant he's like but you are just such an anxious person and he's and not that like substances are the ideal coping skill right right but there is something nice when you like had a long
day when you're feeling a little like edgy wound and edgy and you're like I just want to have like a glass of wine and relax and you're like I can't do that Advance is like I'm really sorry that you have lost coping skills in pregnancy are coping resources have changed and adjusted yeah I'm like you know it's probably a really good therapeutic exercise to use coping skills hormones are raging that's the perfect time to do it yeah well you know we can do some
decatastrophizing versus drinking we can and that's probably a helpful skill to practice growth okay so there Anna got an audience where she's telling Ryan he's not allowed to get pissed about life because he [ __ ] her best friend well she was in a coma yeah well I mean she wasn't even referring to really life at all she was just saying like you have no right to be here you have no right to be concerned about where I'm at or who I'm with you can [ __ ] off so they're
separated at this point but neither has filed for divorce okay so she is super embarrassed and she leaves but not with her husband he gets in the car and drives away and then she leaves um so then a couple of weeks later so this is this book is over like a pretty long period of time it's like a year and a half that it's going so it jumps time pretty regularly so a couple weeks later she's coming home from Physical Therapy which is really basically like all she does she goes to
physical therapy all the time because obviously she was really really injured um and there's a surprise party for her birthday at her house and she is not pleased but her mom like that's the kind of person her mom is and very into appearances and stuff like that yeah and so she was like mom's happy it's fine that I show out for my first birthday post coma right okay it's fine that I look disgusting I don't give a [ __ ] it's fine so all like a bunch of old friends
are there that know about the whole thing with her and Ryan because they all work together and so she was like great I love this so much so she just like hides with her other best friend kind of in the corner but then her husband shows up uninvited with flowers Ryan just doesn't seem to be getting any sort of hint here that she's not into it so he brings her flowers and he's like we really need to talk and tells her that her best friend that he slept with is pregnant and she's like
we were supposed to try for a baby this year and he's like we still can the [ __ ] right that's literally what I was like what the [ __ ] like no Ryan no feel the room right like not the vibe babe like we're not there we're not even in that zip code so is he still with the best friend so that's her question right yeah Anna's like so how far along is she and he's like what and she's like four months right because you said it was one time in a moment of weakness right so
she would be four months along correct no incorrect they'd been sleeping together for quite some time and the check is only like eight weeks pregnant or something like that well but even though Anna's back from the coma she's not sleeping with him and he needs to get his needs met obviously Anna we we're being unrealistic obviously this is really a hero tale of Ryan right and everything that he went through so much pain so she is livid and just puts all the
flowers down the garbage disposal in her mother's kitchen one at a time in front of the whole party she's like I don't even care anymore [ __ ] everybody also obviously they need to have a conversation about that right right but like at her birthday party her birthday party at her mother's house I got you the gift of not your child right like right so he clearly again cannot read the room how old are they by the way do we know she's 26 and he's like 28 or 29 I think okay um so
um she again just shows up at leif's tattoo shop she just walks in um and meets his brother at more yep good good job thank you um more officially yeah um and some other people she's super nervous um but she's like you know he said we could be friends and I I think I could use a friend like you know everything is a [ __ ] show right now um and there's one really cute moment where life is clearly kind of like flirting with her to make her uncomfortable and she's like blushing and
um she's like so are you do you just enjoy embarrassing me on purpose and then he started blushing he's like that's not what I was doing and the guy he was tattooing was like just apologize man back up bro like he's like get it together man just say you're sorry so cute little cute little moments like that happen like throughout the book but so they go out to eat and then get day Drunk Together and then go you watch day drinking with Seth Meyers no it's a great series okay
10 out of 10 would recommend what is it on probably YouTube is where I've just I don't know if it's part of his late night show or if it's just like a separate segment I think it's normally part of his show but I've just watched them individually on YouTube um like he has one with lizzo he has one with Rihanna oh I did see the one with lizzo I don't know if I'm impressed or terrified by how much Seth Meyers can drink yeah I had that thought when he was drinking with lizzo yes and that's
like all of them yeah oh I'm like holy [ __ ] right how often are we doing this buddy it's not good for you no I'm like I I don't drink nearly as much as I used to but in a like in a former season I was like I have a pretty good tolerance right watching him I was like my tolerance was nothing it will always be nothing I was like I am both impressed and terrified for this level of alcohol that you are consuming yeah yeah yeah well that's this they drink like a a friggin half gallon of of
Bloody Mary a piece and then just go bar hopping all day and she had brought a bottle of Scotch for him to the tattoo shop so then they're finishing off this bottle of Scotch together so they are three hammered yeah so they go back to his condo later and he bought a couch um because when he she went there the first time she she's still recovering and so she can't stand for long periods of time so he had to like set her up on the on the counter oh on the counter
because she couldn't she can't really get down like that like here's the whole thing so um he was like I bought a couch for you kind of hoping that you'd come back like you know it was very sweet and also like bro maybe you should buy a couch for yourself yeah um so they talk about like relationships and what they miss about them and he reveals that he doesn't do relationships because his last girlfriend um serious girlfriend tried to kill his sister-in-law twice and he that's from
the first book it was from repeat um and so she he feels really guilty that he didn't like see it coming that he didn't know and so now he just doesn't trust anybody ever I mean understandable if you found out the person you're dating attempted murder multiple times on somebody that you care about like to try to get to your brother because that was the whole thing yeah like I'd probably be a little cautious yes good word cautious yeah apprehensive even um so
um they go back and forth about like I miss holding hands I miss um you know having someone to go over my day with like they go back and forth and then she's like in her drunk state of mind it's like um we can solve each other's problem this is brilliant this is the best idea I've ever had we could just be like sex friends this would be cool so she moves in to kiss him and he does not reciprocate and she starts to cry and this is the only quote I have for the whole book because it was
like my favorite she just is sobbing and goes my mouth made bad choices which is such a drunk girl thing to say my mouth made bad choices you're not wrong right that feels like something that in the moment you're like this is the only way I can describe this situation exactly so no go ahead because in my head was like oh so this book is about to just turn into like a Friends with Benefits book that started with a girl in a coma but then he was like no your mouth did make bad choices yeah awkward
but he Comforts her and he's very sweet and she's like this is the most embarrassing thing ever and he's like no we're just getting all of our formative friend moments out of the play early we went through the accident together I've already gotten in a fight with your ex and now this you've already come on to me we can just go ahead and move past it and if you want to try it again in a couple months we'll see where we're at and she's like he didn't mean that he's
really just trying to make me feel better this is terrible so I do agree with her sentiment there right because if like I move in to kiss a guy that I'm friends with there well one there'd be a lot of problems because I've been married for a long time but like in another season separate problem right but like if you make a move and you move in to kiss someone and they thwart that kiss and like but you know like maybe try to get in a few months you're like no I will
not be trying again ever no ever ever so again a couple of weeks go by um Anna's decided to go apartment hunting she's been living with her parents but she has now filed for divorce after she found out about the pregnancy so she's got some money coming in from that settlement so she knows she can afford it so her mom it turns out is like besties with life ever since he's been coming to the hospital to read to her so they talk all the time apparently and so her mom called life to come over
and go apartment hunting with her oh damn because she knew that Anna wouldn't want her mom to go with her so her mom was like somebody needs to go so life can go um my mom really likes to overstep and in a big way yeah damn um Mom just gets in there so um he takes her they start driving around a little bit and then he's like you know what you should move in with me and she's like I'm sorry what what and he's like yeah you know that way like like you'll have somebody there if
something happens because physically her Mobility still isn't great and she's got all these doctor's appointments and stuff and he's like if something happens somebody that you know will be there like I I can help you blah blah blah and she's like I really don't want your charity and he's like listen it's not actually charity I lost a lot of income from the accident because I couldn't work and you'd actually be helping me a lot if you moved in and helped with the
rent and she was like okay I guess and agrees to move in with him okay yep yeah we're just suspending belief here it's fine right so it obviously you would do that you would move in with a person that the last time you saw them was like no thank you to your attempts to become sex friends and then what what are we expecting to happen from that really I went apartment hunting with two friends these like separate states one was in Florida one was in Texas um who were single dudes who like just
like needed someone to go with them there it gets weird going apartment hunting with someone that like because like people assumed we were together people were assuming like one guy um they're like oh so you're looking for the two of you and he's like no just for me but maybe if I'm lucky she'll I'm like oh no this is it that's not what I thought was happening here was he serious or just trying to mess with the person or you no I think he liked me awkward no I knew he liked me and I was
not in in the emotional place for that which I kept telling him but then kept hanging out with him because companionship feels nice you know yeah and then he kept being like so is this moving that way and I was like uh I thought I was clear no that's not I'm what I'm looking for still hasn't changed right well I get drunk and make out with you sure obviously but past that no no we're we're good also we're noting that specific instance when we met I had just turned 20.
he thought I was 25 I thought he was 25
but I was 20 and he was like 30. and I was in grad school yeah it was just a clumsy season of life you know yeah I do yeah I do you're like I'm not gonna air those details but I do I mean who hasn't had one of those clumsy seasons of life right you know it's like a rite of passage it really is and Anna's definitely in hers right now which like God bless her because like she was not expecting to be in that season of life no and that's kind of like her whole thing is she's having to
rewrite her whole identity because she's realizing she got with Ryan when she was a freshman in college and is the only guy she'd ever slept with like this was her person and her whole life was built around him and the best friend that she worked for she lost everything and so she's like well [ __ ] so um she moves in a couple weeks later and then that night she hears him he has a nightmare about the accident and so she goes out to see what's going on like why is he awake
because he's like doing push-ups in the living room she's like what the hell are you doing and he's like well I had a I had a nightmare about the accident like it's just a one bedroom no it's two bedroom okay yeah it's two bedrooms this is mattress in the living room I was like is she sleeping in the bedroom and he's sleeping on his king size mattress in the living room no no okay yeah that's an important distinction um so then she's like you know what we should do we should make brownies so
they cook together it's very cute um and then the next day um she goes to take the brownies to the tattoo shop and the the person that Leif was dating before was the receptionist at the tattoo shop and they have yet to find one that's gonna work out like they keep going through people and they're terrible I guess she agrees to work there got it a few hours a week so now she's the receptionist um and then now they are doing this thing because neither of them sleep well
where they watch Twilight in the middle of the night because those are the books he read to her when she was in a coma he's like I didn't pick them on purpose like my sister-in-law told me you might like them and so that's what I did and he's like all embarrassed about it it's very cute um this sounds very endearing it's very sweet so they bake together and then they watch Twilight together in the middle of the night when he can't sleep um so she continues to objectify him and
have lots of thoughts about how hot he is and she's like stop it he is your friend he doesn't want more than that he is your friend this entire book from her perspective yes okay so then um her divorce gets finalized a while later and she decides to get dressed up and do her makeup and get drunk and celebrate at home because why not so she does her makeup does her makeup she does her hair she's looking hot she's in this gorgeous dress just drinking champagne in the living room I respect it
um so Leif gets home they drink together there's some cute moments of bonding together again getting drunk and silly together and then they pass out together in her bed um fully clothed both of them and um he sleeps through the night which is a big deal because he has been unable to sleep through the night at all since the accident but definitely not with anybody else in the bed since the whole thing with his ex okay so it's a big deal and then she comes out of the
bedroom later to see him holding a woman in the living room like giving a woman a hug and she's like um man because she was like kind of like wow like he really is a great friend and even though he doesn't feel that way about me like this is still really awesome I really care about him and then she comes out to see that and is kind of like oh yikes so the chick is really beautiful and Leif introduces her as an old friend and then introduces Anna as his roommate and
she's like right lest we forget I am his roommate I'm gonna go she's like I'm just gonna let you guys you know catch up or whatever bye so she spends the whole day out um and some other stuff happens while she's out that doesn't really matter um but uh she is nervous that Leif has this girl in the apartment and so she doesn't really want to go back so she waits until like midnight and goes back um and he's waiting up for her he's like I couldn't sleep because I didn't know
where you were and I didn't know what you were doing um did he text her apparently not her apparently not sure um or it's not mentioned maybe he did so um he's like I thought we were past this like I thought we were past you running away when something got uncomfortable because that's what she was doing right so like Ryan showed up at his apartment she didn't text him or respond to him for two weeks and like things like that and so he explains that he told his friend
that they couldn't start anything up again because they did used to hook up she's moving back to town but he said I told her nothing can happen because something's happening between you and me um and so this is like him like really like acknowledging that there is something happening there yeah and she's like what she's like wait a minute but are you sure um and he's like it's time for you to make that move again right like it's been a few months like it's time for you
to make that move again and so then they bang and it's amazing um they had their solidifying [ __ ] they well yeah I guess you could say they did have a solidifying [ __ ] because she's like oh my God is this what sex is supposed to be like oh baby girl yeah um and he is obviously very sweet and very attentive with her and they bang through the whole night um and then the next day she's like so what is happening right now and he's like why are we trying to put a label on
it like why can't we just be having fun and she's like no no I need a label like what's happening right now and he's like I guess we're roommates with benefits like you know like we're friends um and she's like that's cool she just she literally just wanted to answer like she wasn't fishing for like let's be together because she's not there either like she doesn't want that yet so she's like okay so I don't know I can set my expectations accordingly yeah I know the
labels were cool so then at work he's doing a sternum tattoo on a woman and Anna gets kind of freaked out that he's like touching another woman's boobs um even though I have a sternum tattoo and I'm here to tell you that's like the least sexy experience one can have genuinely I don't have my sternum I have my ribs and I I mean obviously not identical spots but same kind of you're like you know like yeah yeah it's around your chest and like nothing sexy about it
although I will say so my tattoo shop that I always go to um is owned by a close friend and he's my best friend's brother-in-law so like family events and stuff we've known each other for years and years and years and um one of his apprentices did my sternum tattoo and she was showing it to him and for some reason they decided to share this story with me and I've never been able to forget it she was showing him the work right and my nipples were taped because that's what you do yeah um but I
I mean I was tits out you know that's how you have to be and so it was just a picture of my chest right showing the the tattoo and he was like he was telling me I had a bonfire like two weeks later like we're all standing around and he's like yeah so Anna was showing me like all the work and everything and I was like damn those lines are really clean like that's looking really good and damn whose tits are those and she he goes and then Anna told me it was you and I was like no oh God no
that's like my little sister what have I done hahaha I was like why would you tell me that why would you tell me that come on Ed [ __ ] listen it's always nice to be told you have nice tits I guess well not always nice actually but like yeah there is a context in which it's not cool so I had a co-worker that she had this pair of jeans they were like a gray wash Jean they hugged her ass so beautifully and every single time she wore them I was like I just need you to know your ass
looks incredible In Those Jeans and she's like thank you so much and then we but we we had a really big conversation about the fact that like there are some people that when they compliment like when a woman tells you that like your butt looks nice in jeans we love that yeah it like feels you're like oh this is a real compliment this isn't like a sleazy compliment right and so well obviously not not quite the same situation without it but I do feel like there's a difference between him being
like hey Hannah you got nice tits versus like yeah I saw this tattoo and I was like great boobs and then I found out who they were and I was like oh God no like you're like right right the compliment feels more genuine that's such a good point I didn't think of it that way you're like oh he had no context to like know there was no like he was hitting there was nothing he just like objectively he's like great boobs and then he like gave Matt a handshake [Laughter]
and all of this obviously it happened in front of my husband and his new girlfriend all at the same time I was like okay just to be clear the tattoo artist new girlfriend yeah cause he's not my husband about my husband and his new girlfriend and I was like oh we're just being really I didn't I didn't know if you guys were ethically non-monogamous which is totally fine but in my head before I build out this whole narrative about Anna being in an ethically non-monogamous marriage not monogamous
no we are ethically monogamous for sure you're like yeah and just in front of my husband and his new girlfriend and I was like I'm pretty sure she means the tattoo artist girlfriend yeah yeah no no we're in clay important distinction yes thank you for clarifying for our listeners yeah yeah that is um shook his hand he did not quite the same but and I think I've told you the story before we were at um a pool party last summer when I was like five months pregnant like I wasn't like
huge but I definitely looked pregnant yeah and especially I'm like I'm wearing a swimsuit like it there's nothing I'm like rubbing my stomach drinking my non-alcoholic beer you know what I mean and this guy was hitting on me and like Vance was also at this party and it was a dude who just kind of seemed like he's like oh here's a new girl that I haven't met in this group before I'ma shoot my shot and I'm like you don't know me I don't know you but I I keep talking about the fact that I'm
pregnant you just seem lonely at this point right when we got in the car to leave I looked at pants and I was like I got hit on and he's like hell yeah you did you gave me a high five that's the energy I love that yes so we were having a big conversation about this recently um with Vance's best friend and his wife and man Kiana is the girl you want in your corner she will cut a [ __ ] for you it is like the absolute best right um but we were cracking up because her both Kiana and Jordan very
attractive people they go to the gym they both get hit on like but they're always at the gym together right and so yeah Kiana's like yeah I saw that girl I I will [ __ ] her up if she talks to my husband again and Vance and I are just out here like I got hit on and we're like hell yeah I'm like high-fiving each other I'm so proud of you oh and Kiana's like I will cut another hoe If she talks to my husband and I'm like yeah I was like you should want to talk to my husband my husband's great I'm
right I'm like you can't have him but it's always you know that you're wanted yes yeah but Vance also never realized realizes that women are hitting on him I never realize when men are hitting on me really never yeah you know that's fair like I can't remember if I have shared this before but like I distinctly remember we were at work and this was before Matt and I had started dating or really even talking yet and for people who are newer to the podcast Hannah and her husband Matt do
work together we met at work so that is important when it comes to if they were together or not at work yes for the context and so um I was sitting there where a bunch of us together and he touched my back and I distinctly remember getting into the car with one of my other co-workers and I was like that Mac guy just touched my back that was weird right and she's like Hannah he's into you and I was like what like that can't be true like that doesn't make any sense and she's like Hannah
babe come on just just sit with this for a second really process it through yeah and then like two weeks later he asked me out and I was like oh cool you're like oh I see yeah apparently everybody knew I had no idea oh no that's like when Vance got his contact order recently the he goes for his eye appointment he comes home and like in the little envelope or they put like his receipt his prescription all like all of that stuff like the samples there's like a a handwritten phone number
I don't I forget the name but I was like who's Maria and he's like oh yeah it's the girl who works at like Target Optical and she was so helpful and I was like oh why did she give you her phone number he was like yeah well just in case there was anything that went wrong with the order what have you I was like baby the Target Optical numbers on the front of the package and on the receipt she's not I was like I was like this is not the Target phone number and he's like it's
not he was dumbfounded had no idea he was being hit on Vance and I may be very similar people because I'm like no that can't be right like I think for me there's been a shift within marriage and you recognize that like I take my marriage very seriously yeah um and not everyone you know engages with marriage in the same capacity that my husband and I do right um but I'm just like I think I not expected to get hit on more but I was better at picking up the cues and
signs when I was single because now I'm like well I'm a married woman why would anyone be hitting on me um even though like it is still people are trash or they're looking for ethically non-monogram non-monogamous everywhere right or they're like you know maybe their marriage is in a fragile spot I'm just like allow me to help yeah maybe her partner is in a coma and has been for seven months you get it exactly so I think now if someone were hitting on me I probably much like my husband would
not be as quick to like no that actually happened I accidentally gave my phone number to the UPS guy how do you accidentally give your phone number to someone this was pre-pandemic I was in the office um for work and I was the only therapist who was in the office at that hour and whatever the UPS guy's route was he kept coming and dropping packages off when I was like the only clinician there I was in session and he needed signatures so he knocked on my door in interrupted session
and he's like I'm so sorry but like I need to say I was like yeah I don't know it's fine and so I just like sign it and move on um and he was like thank you so much then the next day it happened again and when I was like yeah yeah no it's time but I'm like trying to like whip through it because I'm like I need to like I'm in session I need to get back and he's like thanks so much um I really appreciate he's like I know I'm like interrupting your work and he
like gives me a side hug once again I'm like so focused on getting back in session right I'm not and he's like hey he's like would it be easier if you just gave me your numbers and that way I can text you and so that way you have a heads up when I'm gonna be coming that way if you're yeah sounds great here's my number man and I just like move on and then I like sit back down in session and I like take a beat and then I look at my client and I'm like did I just get the UPS guy my phone
number and they're like you did Chelsea so I get home and I was like I look at Vance I'm like so I gave the UPS guy my phone number I didn't realize what I was doing and he's like what are you talking about like I'm so sorry and I told her I told him the whole situation he's like honestly I respect that man's game real recognize real you know good for him yes yeah we have a hot UPS guy in the area where I live um and work and so the girls at work will send out a text a group text and be
like hot UPS guy he's here he's here get to get to a window get to a what are any of them trying to actually engage with him or no they're all married except for one and he his root is also her house so the day she found out about that it was like an absolute meltdown in the group chat it was a meltdown in the group chat like oh my God can you get a picture and she's like no that is just a different level I just got divorced I can't be the sad divorced lady with three cats taking
pictures of the hot UPS guy that is great Insight because she's not wrong no you don't want to be that's not the energy you want to give that's not the label that we're looking for well that's like before I got Craig um neutered laughs Craig I didn't crack the cat Craig the cat yes Craig is my cat I had never had a male pet before right so I did not realize that he was just trying to [ __ ] so hard like crying at like 3 A.M at full volume looking for some strange yep did not jawn on me
I was going through a breakup that week and this is relevant because I opened the front door the day after I've had my breakup and there's three cats I've never seen just sitting on my front step and I was like am I really projecting this energy this much that even the neighborhood cats know I'm single and I'm just gonna be the crazy cat lady I'm just collecting them now yeah and then I realized that my cat was just trying to get his dick wet and yeah not everything was about you in that
moment no but it felt that way which is understandable it was it was that entire moment was about Craig Craig does have main character energy for sure he really does it's also super sweet because Ford has started to like recognize Craig and it was the first time I've ever seen Aben but I was sitting on the couch with Ford in my lap and Craig hops up on the armrest of the couch and Ford looks over and sees him and just starts giggling it was the absolute sweetest thing oh my
God that sounds adorable yeah like last week our dog Brandon licked Ford's face and I was like it's happening all of my sons my dreams are coming true so I was like this is the moment I've been waiting for okay so all this to say Anna was feeling a little jealous because Leif was doing a sternum tattoo on a hot chick on a hot chick yeah so he comes out when they're taking a break and like starts basically making out with her in the reception area and she's like
um do roommates with benefits do this like I'm a little confused that is a valid question and she's like so I guess we're not keeping it low-key at work and he's like did you want to and she's like I guess not we really should talk later because I don't know what's happening so I understand her confusion though yeah when he's like yeah we're roommates with benefits but that's not a roommates with Benefits Behavior right but she also sees the girl come out clearly in a lot of pain and she's like
oh that's not sexy got it so she feels better about that whole situation um so but then they because they hadn't talked about being exclusive or anything right we're just roommates with benefits so they talk about that later they agree they're exclusive blah blah blah so then um he wakes up with a nightmare that night um and he is like in a full panic because he's like I was pinned by my bike in my dream and I couldn't get to you and like the the car was on fire and I couldn't get to
you and he's like really freaking out so she's like maybe you should go to therapy and he's like I don't need therapy and she's like but it seems like maybe you do I go to therapy and it's great and he's like I'm not into it she's like okay maybe we should go to couples counseling because we have issues and he's like is this some [ __ ] thing where you try to get me to go to couples counseling and then it turns out to be all about my nightmares and she's like yes but also wouldn't it
be so helpful if we did the couples counseling thing early and could have like the healthiest relationship ever and he's like I'll think about it and she's like you're right this isn't a real relationship just kidding sorry sorry um yeah so because I was literally addressing about that that difference of like exclusive roommates with Benefits versus like a committed relationship that line between exclusive and committed is weird it is weird because for all intents and purposes
it's kind of the same thing you're just like the behavior is the same the behavior is the same you're just pretending that you're allowing yourself more emotional distance right that but I'm like no here's the thing it's still going to hurt if it ends right like there's if if it is from a self-preservation standpoint that you are saying you are exclusive but not committed it doesn't change that it's gonna hurt and that's definitely what it is for her and she's like pretty clear about that
that like she never wants to get married again like she's not into that stuff she just you know she didn't have sex for like a year she was in a coma and then coming like doing a bunch of rehab for it and you know she likes him she trusts him and he's hot so you know that's like her attitude towards the whole thing um so um then they bang again this is much more of like a true solidifying [ __ ] situation like it's it was a little bit before but now it's like for real for
real because he's so vulnerable in that moment so then a little while later her ex shows up again so oh I forgot at one point the um the former best friend also shows up at the tattoo shop and it looks awful and is clearly struggling and she's like you can't work at another place you never resigned from the hotel and she's like um I I quit I I was in a coma for seven months and you replaced me wasn't aware that I needed to put in a notice for you and she's like but you
could come back like you could come back to work and she's like no no I couldn't you're a dumb skank I never want to see you again she doesn't actually say that but like that's the energy yeah um and so like these people just keep showing up so then after all this stuff the X shows up again and he's like I made a mistake like Celia was a mistake I'm so sorry like I never should have divorced you like or agreed to the divorce I never should have done it um I'm so miserable without you and
she's like once again everything is about you like I'm fine go away and life shows up and she's like I've got it like leave it I've got it and she's like telling her ex off and life of course does not leave it and they get into a fist fight and she is mad she is mad because as they're fist fighting her ex like pushes her down and like it's like a whole thing so he's like I'm sorry I should have listened to you you told me you had it and he's like banged up but he's like
let me check you like because you you fell and so then of course he uses that to check her ass and then they bang again um he's like I am in fact a renowned derriere doctor please allow me like he's such a cornball it feels like we're losing a little bit of the plot like you're like oh we're just we're just looking for the sex here well that's what that's what it is at this point there's like a splash of plot and then they bang a splash of plot and then they die so like that is the energy it's
giving yeah um but there's also he's such a cornball like it's really adorable like he refuses to refer to her ex by his name he just calls him a [ __ ] Splash over and over again which I found cunning split [ __ ] splash which I found very amusing um so then he very clearly after they have sex after the fight he's like about to say he's like looking deeply into her eyes and he's like Anna I I want to tell you and she's like dinner what should we have for dinner and he's like
hmm dinner and she's like you're right your face is really banged up let me get you some ice and it's just really really awkward because he very clearly was about to declare some feelings and she was not into it so he's like okay I'm just gonna I just need some I just need some time by myself today's been a big day I was gonna go to bed and so they don't talk again all night and all the next day really and she's kind of starting to freak out and she's like I need to go
talk to him like I really need to go talk to him so as she's getting ready to leave the house a guy shows up at the door this like old guy who's very clearly high and he's like do you know me and she's like no and he's like pay attention look at me do you know me and she's like no I don't and then after a couple minutes she's like oh I do recognize him he's been he was like at the cafe where my mom and I had lunch he was I think he might have been the same guy that was parked across
the street from the house yesterday like I do recognize him but I don't know from where and then he like pulls his shirt up and shows her a gun and he's like just remember that you don't know me and she's like what what right like hard left how did we get here and she's like I remember feeling that way about repeat right we're just like it just like suddenly happened at the end yes and you're like oh we went from six to midnight so fast right like everybody's [ __ ] getting
stabbed and shot and [ __ ] how did we get here yes so she's like convinced she's about to die she's like obviously he's gonna kill me and I never got to tell Leif that I love him and like what's gonna happen to my mom like she's doing all those like final moments thoughts but then the guy like gets in the car and turns around so she like runs to the window to get a look at the car and sees that the front end is a little smashed up it's the guy who hit her she like puts it all together
and she's about to run out to look at the license plate and then she's like no dummy there are cameras out there remember don't go outside the guy has a gun she's like smart I'm having a good moment where I'm listening to myself and not getting shot um there was a tick tock a long time ago that made me die laughing where this girl was talking about she's like yeah she's like you know what I really learned from black tick tock she's like is that Caucasian curiosity will get you killed
and she's like what is it with the false bravado of us white people out here who like you hear a sound in the woods and you're like I should go investigate and I mean [ __ ] you should absolutely not investigate mind your own business like your Caucasian curiosity will get you killed it will and that's what I'm where she's like oh maybe my Caucasian curiosity should not be my True North in this moment correct yeah what it does do for her she doesn't she doesn't run out she calls the cops the
cops show up they're investigating and life shows up like busts in the door and he's like baby why didn't you call me why didn't you like what and she's like I texted you and he said you mean the text where you said we should talk soonish that text she's like yeah yeah and he's like the only reason I know is because your mother called me and told me to get home ASAP so here I [ __ ] am what the hell is going on and so she's like I just wanted to tell you like I'm so sorry
about last night I shouldn't have I shouldn't have done that that was really weird and I love you and he's like what and he she's like what I can admit when I'm wrong and he's like no no the second thing what the [ __ ] and she's like oh yeah I love you and he's like okay I love you too so is that the end of the book just about so then she's like I'll feel better when they arrest the guy because they knew who he is so they go out and grab him they arrest him um and then
um they both declare their love very sweet and then in the epilogue this is so she woke up on balance Valentine's Day so this is Valentine's Day a year later and um she has like decorated the whole apartment with like rose petals it's very romantic she's again done her hair and makeup and put on a fancy dress waiting for life to get home and when he does he's like what did I forget it did I forget something like what an anniversary or something or like what is happening right now and she's
like I just wanted to I just want it to look nice and he's like okay like what is happening right now this feels like a trick and it is because she like gets him champagne and stuff like that and then she's like pregnant no no she's like hey so um I called your mom today um because I love you so much and um asked for your for your hand and for her permission and blessing um to propose so do you want to get married and he's like what what right he's like baby you you told
me you don't ever want to get married again and she's like I know but I changed my mind and he's like are you sure you're not doing this like just to make me happy and then she starts freaking out like oh no he didn't really want to get married um and she's like he's like why do you why is your face doing that like why are you so anxious right now and she's like cool because you haven't said yes and he's like well obviously the answer is yes I just want to make sure that like
this is really what you want because I'm just happy being with you however I can and she's like this is what I want and then they agreed to get married and that's it that's the end so question about the dude who hit her yeah who was stalking her apparently but like there was no other mention of him throughout the book where it's like not like she's like not that threat of like oh that guy looks Vaguely Familiar I thought I saw him when I was out with my mom at lunch like there's no so she's at
lunch with her mom and she's like oh that guy looks like he's checking out my mom good for her like there was that moment and then there was like um that car parked across the street from the apartment's weird huh but like it was not a full thing of like okay like I see that guy that guy's giving me weird energy or like none of that it's like really not a trail to follow no not especially it sounds cute it was cute it was cute life's really cute like his energy is
adorable their interactions are very sweet um yeah it's cute read and the story is something else because like what that story went on some Journeys yeah yeah it both Feels Like A lot happened and not a lot happened that's how I felt when I was outlining it so like we talked about before we started recording today I was like I don't know how this review is gonna be because like I remember enjoying the book but then when I went to outline it I was like there's not like a lot here
but what are we using as our rating hmm I don't know Comas doesn't feel like it would be appropriate Twilight books those are some long books they are some long books yeah those are not sure so are we is Edward Cullen Edward Cullen how many Edward Collins how many Bella swans let's do Edwards why not because Ed Oh Yeah from the first book yeah brother Ed from repeat that's two Edwards okay so Edward Collins um I would give it like I'm gonna say seven out of ten because
it was an enjoyable read but there are definitely some plot holes in it that are like um what but with the number of plot holes seven is generous higher than I expected I assumed you're gonna go like 5.5 or 6
out of 10 if we were going with a 10. I was thinking six and a half and round it up because I it yeah it was enjoyable but there were some moments where you're like uh uh like I think we can say six and a half we'll say six and a half of a glittery vampire it's fine top half bottom half top half left half left half fair enough I'm gonna do straight straight vertical Center yeah you get it I do yeah so six and a half sparkly Edward Collins Edward Cullen's in the summertime
standing in the Sun and standing on some um let us know how many summertime Edward Collins you would rate this book if you've read it or how many you would rate it from just listening to Hannah's review of it yeah um but thanks for going on this journey with us and don't forget to like And subscribe and leave those five star reviews because those increase our viewability in search algorithms you know and we've had questions about uh if you can make recommendations absolutely
hit us up on any social media with any recommendations for what you want us to review yes and I will pass all of those to Hannah if it's a train wreck I'll pass it to Hannah if you're like it's actually my favorite book I'll read it okay listen I got one of our last recommendations yeah you did it was bad I read it and I was like I need to not take one for the team next time it's time to share the wealth with Hannah you're right it's my turn so I wasn't just trying to be
shitty and be like give the bad books to Hannah but I just like needed a break that's totally understandable I got it yeah so if there's anything in particular you want me to review please feel free recommend share with us oh I know you're not everyone else no I'm not like I will still I'll read other things that's fine I just really felt like that needed to be clarified okay thanks for joining us we'll see you next time let's bye y'all we hope it was good for you cause it sure was great for us
if you're digging what we're doing it would mean a lot if you'd take a minute to rate and review the show wherever you're listening right now maybe tell that sexy someone to Linda senior we love you we appreciate you we'll see you next week stay spotty [Music]