The Boy Toy
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The Boy Toy Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Nicola Marsh (Author), Shiloh Gray (Narrator), Nathaniel Black (Narrator),
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 131 ratings
Editors' pick Best Romance
See all formats and editions

A woman ready to give up on love meets her match in a man she never expected to fall for in this heartwarming and steamy new romantic comedy by USA Today best-selling author Nicola Marsh.

For almost a decade, successful 37-year-old Samira Broderick has used her bustling LA practice as an excuse to avoid a trip home to Australia. She still resents her meddling Indian mother for arranging her marriage to a man who didn't stick around when the going got tough, but now with a new job Down Under, she's finally ready to reconnect with her. And while she's there, a hot international fling might be just what she needs to get out of her recent funk.

Aussie stuntman Rory Radcliffe has been hiding his stutter for years by avoiding speaking roles. When a job he can't refuse comes up as a reality show host, he knows he'll need some help for the audition: a dialect coach. But he finds himself at a loss for words when he discovers it's the same sexy woman with whom he just had a mind-blowing one-night stand....

Samira can think of many reasons why Rory is completely wrong for her: He's 10 years her junior, for one, and he's not Indian - something Samira's mother would never approve of. Even if things were to get serious, there's no reason to tell her mother...is there?

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  1. Listening Length
    9 hours and 25 minutes
  2. Author
    Nicola Marsh
  3. Narrator
    Shiloh Gray, see all
  4. Audible release date
    November 17, 2020
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Penguin Audio
  7. ASIN
    B088P5S36Z
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 9 hours and 25 minutes
Author Nicola Marsh
Narrator Shiloh Gray, Nathaniel Black
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date November 17, 2020
Publisher Penguin Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B088P5S36Z
Best Sellers Rank #364,917 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#1,402 in Multicultural Romance
#6,166 in Romantic Comedy (Audible Books & Originals)
#14,610 in Multicultural & Interracial Romance (Books)

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
131 global ratings
Wonderful contemporary romance
4 Stars
Wonderful contemporary romance
The moment I saw this book, it caught my attention. Not only is the cover cute and playful, but the description had me hitting request super fast. After reading just a few pages, I knew I had made a good decision. I was expecting a story full of rich culture, steamy romance and forbidden love ... which there was plenty of. However, it turned out to be so much more. Marsh is a great storyteller, creating numerous well developed characters. I really enjoyed the mix of humor and seriousness that she carried throughout the book. She also tackled quite a few heavy topics: interracial relationships, infertility, cultural judgement, marital problems, pregnancy complications, challenging impairments and parental rifts. Reading her note at the end, she stated that she could relate to several of this issues which explained her connection and awareness of each. I especially admired the part where she shared how about her own stutter. I have a couple loved ones who have lived with this speech impediment. I could easily relate to many of the points that she brought up. It was refreshing to see a main character used to share about this topic. Typically you see this written off to a member of the cast who is shy, overly anxious or to make fun of their intelligence.Samira was the perfect lead for this story. She was incredibly independent, sassy, successful and just so darn real. She had quite a few issues to work through surrounding some hard past experiences. I loved watching her knock down barriers and find her joy along the way. I love that she fell for a guy a decade younger. Her and Rory were perfect together and their new infatuation was very believable. Mannish was a wonderful side character. He constantly made me laugh. I would easily read a spin off featuring either him for Pia.You can’t read this book without mentioning the cultural influences. Bollywood fantasies, meddlesome aunties, colorful saris were around every chapter. Best of all the aromatic descriptions of each and every dish or cup of chai was incredibly enticing. My husband and I love Indian food and I can’t tell you how many times I was sighing through a craving as the characters indulged in many of my favorites.Nicola Marsh is a new-to-me author, but I would definitely read more from this well published, Australian in a heart beat.
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Top reviews from the United States

Sheremy27
4.0 out of 5 stars Cozy up with this fun romance!
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
Everything I hope for in a romance, with a smart sassy heroine, a hunky love interest some steam love scenes and a meddling mother. What makes this story special is the emotional depth of the internal struggles of both characters. Fun, sweet and well written! I was so captivated I finished it in one sitting!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Boy Toy
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2022
Verified Purchase
Sam had been looking for love a long time and when it found her her mother wasn't happy and Rory had just started a new job but he refused to give up on his love and their baby.
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Reese
3.0 out of 5 stars Wanted a little more.
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2021
Verified Purchase
Contains spoilers!

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, and I was so excited to get to it. Ultimately I enjoyed the book, but there were a few things that made this a 3 star for me. I liked that the Samira the heroine was older. However I feel like the Samira was very selfish. One of the things I didn't like was the surprise pregnancy thrown in the middle of the book. Surprise pregnancy is one of my least favorite troupes, however it didn't bother me as much in this book because I saw it coming. What did bother me was all of the push and pull of Rory. I felt like Rory was all in even when he was scared and Samira was always leaving him, and trying to justify it. It felt very immature to me. I really liked Rory, I liked his stutter storyline and how it shaped his life. I feel like it was done well. The chemistry and steam between the two was through the roof, I never once doubted that they were into each other. I liked the secondary characters enough. I did however feel like end was very rushed, but I really enjoyed the epilogue. Although it may seem like I didn't enjoy this book I really did enjoy my time in this world and I will definitely read the next book.
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George Cramer
4.0 out of 5 stars Believable story
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2021
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Smooth development of plot and characters
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Kurt W
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It!
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2021
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This book deals with a number of serious issues: mixed race, single parents, divorce, speech impediment, infertility, just to name a few. Yet brings it all together in an emotionally satisfying way.
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lpmoreland
3.0 out of 5 stars Fun sexy age-gap romance
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2020
The Boy Toy was a quick, fun, incredibly sexy read! But this is a case where I wish the author’s note was at the beginning. Knowing the author shared so much not only with the heroine, Samira, but also with hero Rory added a lot of my understanding and appreciation of the book.

Half Indian, half American, Samira is 37, divorced, and childless, but a successful physical therapist, and she has returned to Australia for the first time since her father’s death five years ago to help out her cousin’s expanding medical practice.

Her mother is intent on finding her a nice Indian man to settle down with, but Samira has other plans—and his name is Rory, a smoking hot 27 year old Aussie. What starts at as a one night stand turns into two, and then three…

I didn’t love every aspect of the book—honestly Samira sometimes acted younger and more immature than Rory—but I will say that while age gap romances can sometimes veer into awkward, uncomfortable territory, this one was handled really, really well. I loved Rory’s maturity throughout the story.
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Amy
4.0 out of 5 stars The Boy Toy
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2020
Samira is returning to her childhood home in Australia after being away for five years. She's already preparing for the barrage of questions from her mother about her relationship status. She'll be surprised if her mother hasn't already been matchmaking in anticipation of Samira's return.

It's one of the reasons, after her failed marriage twelve years prior, that Samira left Australia for LA to start her own physical therapy practice. Samira has grown used to living her life on her own terms, her own timeline. But she has agreed to help her cousin, Pia, with her startup clinic. So Samira is back for six months and already dreading the confrontation with her mother that she knows is coming.

Pia suggests a casual fling will ease her stress. Samira is fully against it, until she meets Rory.

Rory has been working as a stuntman as a way to make money, but also as a way to keep from having to reveal his stutter. It's something he's had to work around his entire life, and also something that holds an immense amount of shame for him. But when the opportunity to audition as the host of a new reality show is given to him, he's nervous that someone will finally catch on about his stutter, but he could also use the money to help others that are dealing with the same thing. The night he meets Samira he's just trying to work off the nerves he's built up over his audition.

Neither Samira or Rory are thinking of starting anything serious. But they'll both learn that sometimes the best things aren't the things you plan.

I'll admit I was initially drawn into this story about an older woman and a younger love interest. I thought that would be the main focus of the book. I wasn't prepared for everything else that Nicola Marsh throws into the story, but it was a lovely surprise. There's a lot packed in here, but I think that Nicola Marsh handles everything really well. It doesn't feel too packed. I think of it along the lines of, people do not just deal with one thing at a time, we're multi-taskers if nothing else, contending with different things from all aspects of our lives. Sometimes those aspects intersect as is the case with Samira's relationship status being connected with her failed marriage which crosses with her overall relationship with her mother and the connections to what is traditional in the Indian community.

And sometimes are issues run parallel with each other such as with Rory's lifelong struggle with his stutter, but also the fact that he doesn't have a great relationship with his father since his mother left them when Rory was really young. The point being, we're always dealing with something, even the small things. It's part of what makes us who we are, part of what informs our lives.

I really liked the comparison between Rory and Samira's different (yet very similar) relationships with their parents. Both have single parents, both have trouble communicating with that parent. This was a very singular journey for each of the characters. I loved when they separately cleared the air with their respective parent, when they saw things from the other perspective.

If anything I thought there could have been just a bit more focus placed on Rory and Samira together. I felt like it was more of an individual journey they each had to complete in order to come together, which was great, but didn't leave as much time to focus on what makes their relationship click.

Although maybe that, in itself, is the answer, non-answer. When someone's right for you they're just right. There's very little explanation needed.

Overall, an impressive read that shines the light on many topics. I know there will be another book featuring a secondary character (as told to us in the sneak peek at the end), there are definitely a couple of characters that a I feel deserve their own HEA so I hope Nicola Marsh gets around to everyone in due time.
One person found this helpful
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Lisa McGuire
5.0 out of 5 stars Yummy snack
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2020
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What a fun read!
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Top reviews from other countries

M Baird
4.0 out of 5 stars Good as always
Reviewed in Canada on January 14, 2021
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Another classic
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