Dearest Ronan :

by Audrey Halliwell

Dearest Ronan,

My glittering purple heart beats for you. It has since I showed up on your doorstep at the brave age of fifteen.

I don’t care that you’re my former guardian.

I don’t care that you’re fifteen years my senior.

I don’t care that you’re freshly single and broken.

Make me yours. Love me how I love you.

Your butterfly,

Anika.

Dearest Ronan is an angsty standalone novella, featuring a thirty-five-year-old former guardian and his twenty-year-old virgin ward told in both POVs. There is no cheating and their intimate relationship begins when she’s of legal age. It ends in a HEA.

It is intended for a mature, 18+ audience.

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 7, 2024

About the author

Audrey Halliwell writes messy, twisty, can’t-look-away romance.

The kind where the other woman has secrets, the ex-fiancé still lingers, and the plot twists slap you like a betrayal at brunch. If you’ve ever screamed at your Kindle, rewritten endings in your head, or fallen in love with a character who absolutely should’ve known better, you’re in the right place.

Audrey blames her obsession with dramatic romance on her mother—she was watching soap operas in elementary school and devouring V.C. Andrews and Gossip Girl by middle school. Armed with a college degree and an unapologetic love for emotional chaos, Audrey writes stories where women stumble through heartbreak, betrayal, and obsession before reclaiming their power.

Her heroines might be messy, but they always find their glow-up.

When she’s not plotting angsty love triangles or crafting emotionally ruined men with great hair, you’ll find her designing something on Canva or rereading her favorite tropes like it’s self-care.

Reviews

[Heather Arbuckle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that this is a unique story I haven't read multiple times! I liked the overall storyline and characters but felt it dragged on in a few areas and repeated the same thing.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has the potential to be a truly good read. However, the last half of this story is clearer than the first half. The pink and purple glitter references were a bit mundane for me even though I believe the author’s intensions are valid. The characters in this book could use more development at the start to bring more clarity to them. Ronan and Anika are an interesting pair who both desperately need more maturity o make their story more interesting and believable. Their interactions are kind of all over the place and the flashbacks contribute to the chaos. The story got lost in the flashbacks and some things didn’t make much sense at all without further details. Grammatical errors were a distraction from the storyline. It needs editing. Overall, it’s not a terrible read but could really use more work to be the best it can.

[Emily Knaus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a super quick read! It had many of my favorite elements in it. It was a great age-gap, unrequited love story, with a HEA. For as short as it was, there were so many emotions packed into it! Anika and Ronan’s romance was definitely taboo and forbidden, however it was written in a way that felt so natural and right. They were both struggling with their own baggage and needed time to heal. I loved how in the end both characters and grown and found their way back to one another. This was a short, steamy, and emotional journey I finished in one sitting!

I received an ARC for for free, all thoughts are my own and are left voluntarily! Thank you for allowing me a first look at Ronan and Anika’s story!

[…Welcome to My World &#x1f30e.. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fast paced story. Ronan is an older man who is the legal guardian of Anika. Anika is in love Ronan and has been ever since she moved in with him and his ex wife. The storyline was a bit rushed and we didn’t get much background with the characters. Also it would’ve been nice if Ronan wouldn’t have complained and made it a big deal about not having money and being older than Anika. I didn’t really like how desperate Anika was to get Ronan’s attention and his love and all the the times he embarrassed her, and didn’t take up for her. She just kept taking him back with no real contrition from him. Other than that this was a nice steamy short story.

I received an Arc copy and I’m voluntarily leaving my honest review.

[Tishana Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dearest Ronan was a forbidden taboo romance novella.

It had a very unique storyline (guardian and ward), age gap (15 years) and really had solid character development from beginning to end. Anika was Ronan’s guardian and had feelings for him since she was 15, but he was married to her foster mom Carolyn. They both didn’t act on those feelings until she was 20. The spice was exceptional! I loved that Audrey wrote their story realistically and showed how the storyline affected both Ronan and Anika separately (dual POV moments). For a novella, the story was a full circle read, not leaving the reader to feel that the character’s stories weren’t fully complete.

[Norah🍓 Denenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spice - 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Storyline - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I really enjoyed both the characters. I liked how both Anika and Ronan knew what they needed/wanted out of their lives and relationship together. I felt the emotions of both characters throughout the book. I do wish we would have gotten a little bit more of Ronan’s background.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kimberly Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author. I truly liked it!! I thought the love between Anika and Ronan truly evolved naturally through the storyline. I liked the way both characters had to grow into their love. There is definitely steamy hotness but there is true intimacy in their love by the end. I will definitely be reading more by this author. I would recommend!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Erin Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast read with lots of spice & a HEA! I liked the book. The way both characters overcame their own issues and found their way back to one other! The only thing I didn't like was the pink & purple glitter reference, it felt very juvenile.

[Courtney Boykin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. Please make sure to check the trigger warnings as this is an age gap forbidden romance. I loved Anika and Ronan so much! I was happy and sad at some parts. I loved everything about it!

[thebeespot72 · Rating 5 out of 5]

RATING: 4.5/5

"Dearest Ronan" was a good, spicy 130-page guardian/ward novella. As in most novellas, relationship developments are expected to be sped up. Though "Dearest Ronan" is an age-gap romance, I sometimes felt Anika was the mature one in the relationship. The story was a good read, with several hot scenes and a satisfying HEA.

[Dustyn Brzezinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was probably one of the cutest instaloves I've read in a while. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to read more from her. 😊 the ending really hit me in my feels hard😭🤌🏻

Either way, I really enjoyed this ARC🥰

[Audrey Halliwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author here! Thanks for reading and reviewing! 💜

Happy birthday, Dearest Ronan. May you and Anika roll in all the glittery angst until it washes away under the pier. 😂

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great spice, angsty. Kinda weird with the guardian aspect, but I get it. It's pushing the boundaries of forbidden.

[Monkeys Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! It was amazing. It was so beautiful. I was hooked from the beginning. I was hanging onto every word.