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Painted Return

Advantage, Book 2

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Painted Return

By: Phoenix Vale
Narrated by: Bill Sharpe
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BLAKE

Three years after I kissed Andre Moreau on Centre Court, we have a life. A flat in South Kensington. A love I thought nothing could break.

Then he breaks it.

One confession. One night he can't take back. And suddenly the man I built my entire world around is someone I don't recognize. I leave. I fly to the other side of the world and play tennis like a man trying to outrun his own heart. I tell myself the silence is easier. I tell myself not to look at my phone every night, waiting for him to say something that I'm not sure could fix this anyway. Then a painting arrives at my hotel room — and it's me. Every brushstroke says what he couldn't. The question isn't whether I still love him. It's whether I'm strong enough to go back.

ANDRE

I destroyed the best thing in my life on a night I can barely remember. Blake is gone. The flat is quiet. My brushes are the only thing keeping me sane — and every canvas I touch turns into him. Golden hair. Blue eyes. The expression on his face when I told him the truth. I'm trying to find my way back. Slowly. Carefully. The way you rebuild something you shattered with your own hands. But the universe isn't finished with us yet — and what comes next will cost us both more than either of us imagined.

Now the man I don't deserve is standing in front of me, choosing me over everything he's worked for. And I have to decide whether loving him means letting him stay — or letting him go.

©2026 Phoenix Vale (P)2026 Phoenix Vale
Romance Heartfelt Sports
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Coached Hearts By: Phoenix Vale
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This is an emotional second chance Romance that shows that relationships that are not perfect can still work.

Heartfelt Second Chance story

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Listener received this title free

Andre and Blake fell in love and Andre’s father couldn’t accept it. They had gone years without speaking. He finally showed up to their home and apologized. The family all moved in together and Andres mother and father started a bakery.
Andre and Blake were both tennis players. Andre was in the top 10 ranking. But Andre wanted to give it all up to paint. While Blake is gone on tour Andre meets Talia and they become friends. This is where the story’s conflict begins. Caught in an internal battle the two men have to decide how much love means and if their relationship can survive the directions each of their lives are growing towards while they seem to be growing apart.
The story line is well laid out. The narrator does an excellent job going between the French accents and English speaking. The story itself is captivating and holds your attention from beginning to end.

Captivating story line

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Listener received this title free

Painted Return is an emotional romance about love, heartbreak, forgiveness, and the difficult work of rebuilding trust after everything falls apart. I really enjoyed the way Blake and Andre’s story explores the pain of separation and the vulnerability of finding your way back to someone you still love, with the tennis world and Andre’s art adding a beautiful dimension to their relationship. It’s a heartfelt and beautifully complicated story that reminds us that sometimes love requires both the courage to fight for someone and the strength to let them choose you.

When Love Finds Its Way Back

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Listener received this title free

I really enjoyed Painted Return. It was emotional, romantic, and had a lot more depth than I expected. Blake and Andre’s relationship goes through some difficult moments, and I liked seeing them deal with hurt, mistakes, trust, and forgiveness.
I also enjoyed the mix of tennis and art because it gave the story something different. The characters felt real, especially as they struggled with their choices and tried to find their way back to each other.

mix tendency

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Listener received this title free

Painted Return by Phoenix Vale is an engaging story that blends emotional depth with themes of returning home, confronting the past, and finding a way forward. The characters feel layered and believable, especially as old memories and unresolved feelings begin to surface. I enjoyed how the story takes its time revealing the connections between the characters while still maintaining a sense of mystery about what happened before. The writing creates a vivid atmosphere that adds to the emotional weight of the journey. This is a great read for anyone who enjoys character-driven stories about second chances, healing, and discovering where you truly belong.

Emotional, Atmospheric, and Full of Heart

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