It Started with a Bang cover art

It Started with a Bang

Red River Romps, Book 1

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It Started with a Bang

By: Piper James
Narrated by: Melissa Green, Jarman Day
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About this listen

First, I hit him with my car. Then I hit him with an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Annabelle

My father really outdid himself this time. If he wasn’t already the worst, his newest demand surely gave him that title—if I wanted to take over the family company, I needed to get married.

Within the next six months.

He thought he had me right where he wanted me…that I’d marry one of his lackeys. A man who’d keep me in line with Dad’s vision for both me and Parker Industries.

Well, dear old Dad had another thing coming. I was no pushover, bowing to the whims of him or any man. I had a plan. And that plan’s name was Ryder Perry.

Ryder

Red River, Texas was worse than I thought it was going to be when I moved here with my brothers to renovate the old ranch home we inherited from a distant relative. Mosquitos, flies, and the lung-clogging humidity were making me miserable, and that misery was only compounded when a spoiled rotten princess slammed into my truck and had the audacity to blame me.

The next time I saw her, she offered me two things—an apology for her behavior and a million dollars…to marry her.

I thought she was drunk. Or crazy. Or maybe a little bit of both. I wasn’t sure.

But one thing was for sure—my time in Red River just got a lot more interesting.

This is a standalone romance with lots of spice and snarky humor. It is book one in a series of standalones featuring four hot brothers finding love in a small town. HEA guaranteed!

©2021 Piper James (P)2025 Pink Flamingo Productions Contemporary Romantic Comedy Witty
All stars
Most relevant

Listener received this title free

This is a fun romance with a bit of 🔥. We get emotions of all kinds, and we get a reminder of what assumptions can do for a life. A nice quick listen that makes you want to explore more in this world.

Assumptions and emotions

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Listener received this title free

This is a fantastic small town romance and a banging start to Piper James’ “Red River Romps” series, a series of standalone novels with each book featuring a different Perry brother. The first book is Ryder Perry’s and Annabelle Parker’s story, a story that grabs your attention right from the start and holds it captive the entire time. Ryder and his brothers moved to Red River, Texas, to renovate the old house they inherited, and while Ryder was picking up lunch for them, his truck gets rear-ended by a snarky, rude, uppity driver who tries putting the blame on him, even though his truck was not moving. Annabelle was not having a good day and was not at her best when she went off on Ryder and texted him an apology later. She works for her father and hopes to take over running his company when he retires. Despite all the hard work she has done, he added a stipulation, a marriage clause, in order to take over the company she needs to be married in six months and started arranging dates for her. Not liking his choices, she said she’d find her own husband and after running into Ryder again, she comes up with a plan and it includes him and a proposition. These two jumped to their own conclusion on what the other was really like and the reason Ryder said yes to her offer, but stuck it out with her for another. I enjoyed this multilayered story and how it all plays out with a balance of drama, angst, witty snark and dialogue, heartfelt emotions and steamy romance. Piper James, thank you for another wonderful story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 Melissa Green and Jarman Day did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life and delivering a perfect portrayal of each. Green nailed it as Annabelle, grasping all aspects of her personality and demeanor, from her fierceness to her vulnerabilities and all in between, also handled her angst and snarky dialogue effortlessly. Day was just as fabulous as Ryder and showcasing his personality and demeanor perfectly, as the swoon worthy character he was. Both were great performing the roles of the secondary characters, giving each their own voice and personality, making it easy to follow along and tell who was who. They set the right tone for the story, captured all the characters’ emotions and had you feeling them all. These entertaining storytellers are a pleasure to listen to and their performance takes the story to another level.

Fabulous Story & Narration🎧Steamy & Entertaining!

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Listener received this title free

This was an excellent series starter from an author I’ve come to enjoy in previous books. The storyline and plot flowed well. And I also found myself liking several of the supporting characters along with the main ones. I’m actually hoping that additional books in the series come to audio sooner rather than later, so I can check them out.
I really liked both Ryder and Annabelle aka Belle, although if I’m being honest, I did like Ryder a bit more. In my opinion, he came across as a family oriented, hard-working, kind of carefree guy. He was willing to help a woman he barely knew even after their terrible introduction. He was open to learning who she really was, despite her making a less than stellar first impression. When all was said and done, I found him to be quite honorable, even if he maybe should’ve been more forthcoming about certain things a little bit sooner. Belle on the other hand didn’t exactly make the best first impression on Ryder or me as a listener. I also, however, knew what she was going through, so was willing to give some grace. It also helped that she almost immediately realized that she hadn’t put her best face forward in that whole situation. She did quickly grow on me, however. She was this strong independent go-getter who had serious girl boss energy. It’s just a shame there was a huge obstacle in her way in the form of her father, preventing her from achieving her full potential. I certainly didn’t blame her for concocting the scheme she did even if I personally could never have done it. Then, again, that’s one of the reasons I enjoy books like this. Getting to see what people will do in different situations.
The narration on this one was enjoyable. They were both voices I’d either never heard before or ones I hadn’t heard often, and I thought they did a really good job. I thought they fit well with the characters they were giving voice to, and I certainly wouldn’t mind hearing more of them in future just like I look forward to more of these books.
TheFlockVIPReviewTeam

My Thoughts on It Started with a Bang

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Listener received this title free

Well hello Perry brothers. I am so happy to meet them, but especially Ryder. When he accidentally is hit by Annabelle, he is propositioned with an offer he can't refuse. Annabelle needs to be married to take over the family business and when Belle gives him the price she is willing to pay, he takes her up on it. But is that the reason he does it? This is a fun, instant chemistry, fake marriage listen that had rooting for the couple from the start. Belle is a fantastic character, full of ideas and compassion for those around her. Her feelings are genuine and she is easy to read. Ryder is quite a man. He is loyal and right there with Belle as things get messy. But will they be able to pull the wool over Belle's father's eyes? Fun! Fun! Fun! This is a great beginning to the series and has left me wanting more! I can't wait for the next one.

Melissa Green, what a great voice! She comes in full barrel as Belle. She is a strong personality with a hint of vulnerability that grows as Ryder gets to know her. I love the way Green portrays her with all the emotions. Jarman Day is so smooth and sweet, it's impossible not to fall for Ryder. He finds this man's Achilles heel and let's all the feels come through. Loved this combination and their narration.

Great start to the series!

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Listener received this title free

Loved the narration from Melissa Green and Jarman Day, who bring the humour , action and romance to your ears.

Ryder is accidentally is hit by Annabelle, but she puts a propositioned to him and he can't refuse. Annabelle needs to be married to take over the family business. When Ryder agrees that is when the fun starts. The two of them have instant chemistry, and a fake marriage only brings them closer and increases the heat.
Annabelle is full of compassion, great ideas and fire. Ryder is quiet and a loyal man. These two are brilliant.
The humour the chemistry and Belle’s father is no push over.

Bang

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