Heart Strings & Hotlines

Single Dad Hotline, Book 3

By: Avery Maxwell

Narrated by: Rose Dioro, Darren Eliker

From Amazon best-selling author Avery Maxwell comes a small-town billionaire romance with a single dad hero who doesn’t quite fit in, tender neurodivergent representation, and a heartfelt friends-to-lovers journey that turns an unexpected connection into a love worth fighting for.

The job was everything. It’s been my heart, my soul, and my proprietary programming that’s made the Single Dad Hotline a multi-million-dollar enterprise.

And that makes me a target.

I know better than to trust anyone. I keep my staff and clients at a distance. The one time I slip up, it had to be with him. Boundary-ignoring, single-minded billionaire Thane Wilder. The man has never met a rule he didn’t question and now he’s questioning every single one of mine.

I’m fighting corporate espionage. He’s trying to win over a rebellious teenage sister and just brought the battle to me by buying the house next door. Neither of us has time for a relationship, so I’m going to have to be the logical one and deny our chemistry.

I refuse to be charmed by the intensity of his attention, and there’s no way I’m even considering his proposition…even if it is intriguing. He might say that he wants me for me, but I know he’s keeping something from me.

And if there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that secrets ruin everything.

©2025 Avery Maxwell (P)2025 That's What She Said Publishing, Inc

Outstanding narration

Lovely heartwarming story! And I loved everything about Rose D’Orio and Darren Eliker’s Performance. Just wonderful

Packs an emotional punch!!

Thane and Lottie’s romance introduces a neurodivergent genius who suffers from with sensory processing disorder and the ostracism he has lived with his entire life. Thane is woefully unequipped to understand the complexities of raising his combative, hormone laden 13 year old half sister Kara who is in his temporary custody. Thane has a two fold purpose in attending a nanny camp to meet Lottie who is the brilliant creator of the Single Dad Hotline algorithm. When Lottie refuses to help him Thane takes drastic measures to assure her compliance by moving to her small home town. If he is to successfully gain custody of Kara the court orders intervention by Rafe who is an occupational therapist and hos former college roommate. All four characters embark on a chaotic journey of self discovery that is both challenging and equally entertaining as Thane slowly learns how to retrain his brain to understand the hidden emotions and social cues that will allow him and Kara to meet on an even plane. Lottie struggles to overcome the emotional withdrawal that keeps her insulated from having her heart broken again. And Kara finds the security and understanding she needs to overcome the trauma perpetrated by her and Thane’s manipulative father When Thane, Kara, and Rafe follow Lottie to her small southern town they encounter a whole host of quirky, utterly outrageous senior citizens whose protective antics provide lightheartedness to Thane’s ongoing struggle to live in a world that sees him as an outcast. I love a story filled with emotional complexity and this one packs a real punch as it engaged all of my emotions as I rooted for all three characters to achieve their much deserved happily ever after.
I listened to the audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed the excellent narration performances of Rose Dioro and Darren Eliker who brought these fascinating characters to life.

Lottie & Thane - Such a GOOD story!

Excellent narration, I thought this was SO GOOD!

I don't have personal experience with SPD but it seems to me that Avery Maxwell did a stellar job in her approach.

Thane Wilder is a billionaire with SPD. He's also recently become guardian to his sister, since his father is a POS. That led him to Charlotte and her Single Dad Hotline & nanny matching business.

I did think I would be a little put off by the "scuttlebutts" but they were surprisingly not as intrusive as I was afraid they'd be.

Charlotte's strong and independent and just wants to know that she can handle all the twists and turns of her life, even if her father was also a POS. Thane is trying to learn how to better manage being around people but you know, they all accept him for who he is and are generally kind if they feel he needs a little correction or nudge.

There's a LOT more than that, but you'll just have to read the book to find it all out.

I really enjoyed reading this one.

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

Incredible narration of a wonderful story

What I love about this book:

The honest & authentic portrayal of Thane.
How Avery builds connections between the characters.
Hercules. Oh, poor, sweet Hercules.
Kara. What a beautiful soul.
How Thane and Lottie find their way through their trauma while helping each other.
The Scuttlebutts! They are adorable pains in the butt!
Rafe. Everyone needs a Rafe in their lives.
Thane & Lottie’s vivid & honest strengths & vulnerabilities
Beers at the bar with Boone!
The Care Bears
The Ultimate comeuppance!
The very special series crossover

What I love about the narration:
Darren Eliker's portrayal of Thane is remarkable accurate, well-developed, and sucks you into his life and personality from the very start. The nuances he adds to his tone, inflection, and flow bring Thane to life beautifully. He also does a wonderful job of differentiating between the different characters in Thane's chapters. I could literally listen to this man read a phone book. He is extraordinarily talented.

Rose Dioro is perfect at Lottie. She brings depth and life to Lottie and the characters in Lottie's chapters with beautiful inflection and cadence. She is one of my favorites for a reason, and this book is another fantastic example of how she brings a story to life.

Powerful!

There’s no other narrator who could do justice to Thane Wilder’s neurodivergent brilliance than Darren Elliker. And Rose Dioro as Charlotte Sinclair? Perfection.
I loved this book the first time I read it, and I love it even more as an audiobook. Thane and Lottie’s combined tech genius is so much fun to learn about. And Thane’s absolute inability to navigate small-town regular folk is hysterical. Ms. Maxwell conveys Thane’s personality without hitting us over the head with it, and Lottie’s sweet understanding of not only Thane, but Thane’s little sister makes for some powerful moments! I love this book!