WOW, I was NOT expecting Lonnie and Wynn's book to me right in all my feelings!!

Prior to this book, I really hadn't connected with either character, but from the very beginning of this Audible, I was hooked.

Wynn is from a small Tennessee town and has pretty much played second fiddle her whole life. Best friends with Can and Mia from birth she's used to being overlooked, first because of Cam's big, bold personality and second because of her inherent shyness.

She also has not had good luck with men, such bad luck in the last year, in fact, that Wynn has pretty much sworn off all future endeavors with men. Recovering from a divorce most recently, and other sadness that would knock the wind out of any woman's sails, Wynn packed up her apartment in Nashville and moved home to live with her parents. All of this is contributing to the misguided notion she has that she's a failure. Being stuck in a short term job as a temporary (floating) nurse, and having agreed to house sit for Mia and Derek while they're off on their honeymoon, is only making her even more exhausted and sad than she was before.

Lonnie is the bass player in Derek's band, and while he is originally from L.A., he quickly fell in love with Tennessee, finding it to be the home he's never really had. So when Derek moved from L.A. to be with Mia, Lonnie followed him. Lonnie's parents are the exact opposite of Wynn's parents, having never really taken the time to parent him so that Lonnie was forced to grow up quickly to keep himself and the rest of his family safe. Because of this Lonnie never really has any intentions of settling down, he's been responsible for so long that he's decided this is his time to let it all hang out. He just never figured on falling for a little strawberry shortcake of a girl almost immediately.

After Derek and Mia's wedding reception, Lonnie watches Wynn get totally wasted at a bar, and rather than take the chance that someone will try to take advantage while she's not herself, Lonnie sees Wynn home. He can tell she's drowning in a sea of grief, but he's already dealt with one woman who is not safe 90% of the time earlier in life and he just can't be responsible like that again, plus Wynn has family and a whole boatload of friends in this tiny town, surely one of them will step up and help her get back on track.

Lonnie doesn't count on the fact that Wynn would have to be truthful with all those family and friends for someone to be able to help her the way she needs, so imagine his surprise when the whirlpool Wynn is getting sucked into just keeps moving faster and faster!

Wynn and Lonnie's story is sweet, sad and loving, all while building that Slow Burn tension LJ Evans writes so well. There is so much miscommunication, and sometimes outright avoidance of telling each other the truth, that I fought hard against wanting to throw my phone against the wall. I think aside from My Life As a Country Album, this is the most angst riddled book in the series, and I absolutely loved ALL OF IT!!

I loved both Narrators voices, and that the opening lines of the songs for each chapter were read in as they started. That helped me to keep connected to a playlist I'm very, very fond of, and just overall enhances the enjoyment of My Life As a Mixtape. Obviously there's a lot of the storyline I'm leaving out here, but it is so worth it to go into LJ's books blind! She has so much love for her characters, the words, and the music each book is set to, just trust her to tell you the story as you need to hear it, and know that the ending is beyond beautiful.

Wynn and Lonnie are amazing, and I adore the love and care the narrators obviously have for the characters they're speaking for. I was thrilled to have been able to listen to the audiobook, as well as reading My Life As a Mixtape. Worth 6 stars AT LEAST!!