Falling for the Fake Lumberjack

Axes & Endzones

By: Sara Ney

Narrated by: Ruby Corazon, Alex Knox, Lexi Maynard

A small-town yoga teacher finds something real with a linebacker posing as a lumberjack in this sharp and spicy romance from USA Today bestselling author Sara Ney.

With rugged good looks and muscles for days, Harris Bennett stops traffic no matter what he’s wearing—flannel shirt or football jersey. So when management sends him to Star Lake, Washington, for a team-building retreat, it’s no wonder a local mistakes him for a lumberjack. And Harris leans right into the misunderstanding. Because that “local” looks amazing in yoga pants.

Lucy LeBrandt is a yoga instructor with trust issues: She doesn’t have time for men. But she’s definitely drawn to the hot, goofy lumberjack who seems to know nothing about, well, lumberjacking. He’s only in town for a week. Maybe she can squeeze him in between classes…

Harris has no idea what to do with an axe, and Lucy has no idea what to do about Harris. But they both know exactly what to do when they’re alone together. Can they split the difference between them, or is their romance just one stroke away from “TIIIIIMBER!”?

©2026 Sara Ney (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Funny

Narration Style: Dual



The narrators were perfect for the characters. They helped keep me invested in the story. There were times, though, when Alex’s “female” voice didn’t sound very believable (it was too masculine-sounding).



Harris was a professional football player, and he went on a retreat with his teammates. Lucy was a yoga instructor, and she thought he was a lumberjack, which he didn’t deny.

This was super cute and a light-hearted read. The characters had a strong connection and their banter was funny!

Really good!

I loved the characters in this story!!! Harris is the best- so funny and charming and Lucy is his opposite and balances them as a couple.
Alex Knox was the perfect Harris. The female voice over was too robotic. I know females narrators get so much flack and I feel bad… but if her performance was better this would’ve been fantastic.

Cute and Hilarious

This was a fun and cute story. The chemistry between Harris and Lucy was instant, and they worked well together. There were a lot of moments that had me gasping and then immediately giggling from the stuff these two characters (especially Harris) got up to. I listened to this through Audible while borrowed from Kindle Unlimited. The narrators did a wonderful job portraying the characters.

It is the first book in an inter-connected series, and I look forward to the next books. The only thing I didn't like about this story was that the ending felt a bit abrupt. I wanted to know more after it ended, but I feel confident these two characters will make a cameo in the next book.

Lucy and Harris

The narration was good. Just one mistake where the female narrator left a word out of a sentence.

Fun story. Lucy lives in a small resort town in Washington where her best friend Annabelle is organizing an upcoming fundraising festival. Harris plays professional football and his team gets sent to the resort for team building activities. Lucy and Harris literally run into each other outside the coffee shop and she mistakenly assumes he is one of Annabelle's missing lumberjacks. Harris decides to go along with the gag.

Lucy (and Annabelle) are both burned out on love and relationships - they haven't found the right guy, the guy who wants to be all in. Now Lucy is attracted to Harris but fighting it - even if she's tempted to go for a temporary fling, the feelings are growing by the day.

Harris - while he doesn't seem to be much of a fan of team building, as he skips out on all of the activities if they aren't mandatory - is all in on the getting to know Lucy plan.

Great sub characters - they aren't always there putting their 2 cents worth in, so Lucy and Harris remain the stars of the show from beginning to end.

Sweet Scale: 4/5
Spicy Scale: 3/5

3.5⭐️

3.5⭐️
This was so cute and fluffy! This was just a fun feel good story. Harris is absolutely ridiculous and sweet. Lucy is just a sweetheart that deserves a good guy. I love their small town and the quirky lumberjack festival! Just a sweet and fun read!

Read: Audible 🎧
MMC: Harris Bennett
FMC: Lucy LeBrandt
Spice: 2🌶️
Tropes: Small Town, Football/Yoga Instructor, He Falls First, Mistaken Identity