Category: Audio Books

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Just Drive (Anchor Point #1) by L.A. Witt and Nick J. Russo (Narrator)

Rating:  5 stars out of 5

 

For Sean Wright, driving a cab in the tiny Navy town of Anchor Point isn’t an exciting job . . . until he picks up just-dumped Paul Richards. A drive turns into a walk on the pier, which turns into the hottest hookup Sean’s had in ages.

 

After a long overdue breakup, Paul can’t believe his luck. Of all the drivers, he’s picked up by the gorgeous, gay, and very willing Sean. Younger guys aren’t usually his thing, but Paul can’t resist.

 

One taste and neither man can get enough . . . right up until they realize that Paul is Sean’s father’s commanding officer and the last man Sean should be involved with.

 

With two careers on the line, their only option is to back off. It’s not easy, though; the sex and the emotional connection are exactly what both men have been craving for a long time. But Paul has devoted twenty-four years to his career and his dream of making admiral. If he’s caught with Sean, that’s all over. He has to choose—stay the course, or trade it all for the man who drove off with his heart.

 

This was such a wonderful and in depth story.  Sean has spent his life moving from base to base due to his father’s military career and it seems the military is going to keep dictating his life.  Paul has finally found that connection he has always been missing in his relationships but is his career more important than love?

 

This story is told from both characters’ points of view so we could see how everything was affecting both Sean and Paul’s life and thoughts.  Sean wants too much for everything to work out but puts his happiness aside once again.  Unfortunately it takes Paul to lose what he loves to get perspective on his life and career.

 

Nick Russo did a great job narrating this story.  I could just feel the characters’ emotions happy and sad while listening.  The different voices he used for the characters helped me keep up with what was going on.

 

I love the cover art by LC Chase and it is perfect for this story.

 

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing |  Audible | Amazon | iTunes

 

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 7 hrs 5 min
Published: March 23, 2017 (ebook first published November 21, 2016) by Riptide
Edition Language: English

Series: Anchor Point #1

An Alessandro Audiobook Review: As You Wish (Shatterproof Bond #1) by Isobel Starling and narrated by Gary Furlong

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Narration Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

 

One wedding, two best men, one hell of a love story!

Declan Ramsay’s brother Oliver was marrying Annabelle Aiken at a fairytale castle on the banks of Loch Ness in Scotland. The bride and groom decided that Annabelle’s gay younger brother would share the best man duties with Declan. Declan had never met the kid who was to be his joint best man. Sam Aiken was abroad, working as an interpreter and finishing his studies. He wouldn’t meet Declan until a few days before the wedding, so the best men communicated and planned their speech by email for more than a year.

But on meeting Sam Aiken, Declan is surprised to realize the kid isn’t a kid at all, but a tall, blond, and athletic young man. Declan is sure he’s straight, so he’s alarmed by the ferocious attraction he feels for Sam. And as the attraction is reciprocated, the events at Dunloch Castle change everything Declan has ever believed about himself.

But, is Samuel Aiken all that he appears to be?

 

The story is about Samuel Aiken and Declan Ramsay, they have been in contact for almost a year now planning the wedding of Sams sister. They got along really nicely, up until the point where they meet in person. Declan doesn’t really like Samuel, or does he? During the course of the wedding, they get to know each other better. And there is an undeniable attraction between those two, but there are still some parts missing and things don’t really add up.

 

Oh well, my first thoughts after reading this book is that I’ve got mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed it for the most part, but it wasn’t something new or exciting… The whole theme with the wedding is quite a popular plot for M/M books, so its quite difficult to make it interesting and fresh. Usually when reading a book/listening to a book I finish it quite quickly, but this time it was not the case. It took me like 2 weeks to finish this book. I got through the first 3 hours rather quickly, but I couldn’t see anything happening.. so I just didn’t finish it quickly. Not necessarily because this book was bad or anything. It just didn’t catch me.. if you know what I mean.

 

The story of this book was okay, I guess. As I said above, the plot wasn’t something new, so I knew what to expect when I started this book.

I really liked the setting of the book, I love to read about some Scotsman.(Hehe) But I feel like this story had something missing.. I think there was quite a big elephant in the room, but it wasn’t really discussed until the end. There were some things that didn’t really add up and I think the author could’ve used the potential of this book better. I think there was something going on behind the scenes, that we didn’t get to know, maybe we will get to know it in the next one.

What I enjoyed about this book were the characters. The development of the relationship between the two main characters, went quite fast, but the MCs alone were lovely. I really liked the grumpy feeling I got from Declan.(he is this manly, grumpy guy who is generally not really satisfied with his life.) He shows that with his behaviour towards people. I think this could’ve been explored more thoroughly. On the other hand, I didn’t enjoy Sam that much… I think there was a huge portion of his character missing and I always got the feeling that he is holding something back. I don’t think that the side-characters are worth mentioning, they were nice, but not memorable.

I think there were a lot of plotholes in this story and questions unanswered.

 

Oh well, the writing.. this was something I felt was kind of lacking? Or confusing rather. This book is written in the third person point of view. We follow the characters as a spectator. The thing was that sometimes it was hard to tell which characters I was following. Maybe it would’ve been different if I had read this instead of listening to it, but sometimes I was just like “What’s going on?”. Also I find that the writing had a weird pace to it. Like the first half of the book was quite good in pace, but the end was so rushed. Not just the end, but like 40% of the book was just.. sex and little plot. Some things could’ve been explored more. I wished this book had a little bit more detail to it.

 

Oh my lord, the narration? It was soooo good, I really really loved it. Every character had his own voice. The narration speed was okay. I loved that Gary Furlong even added accents to the Scotsman. It just sounded very sexy. Even though I sometimes really needed to concentrate on what he was saying, because he even made the accent thicker, when it was described that way. Loved it!

I recommend this story to all people who are looking for a light, sweet read with not too much depth in the story and don’t expect a masterpiece.

 

The cover art is by the author herself – Isobel Starling. I think the cover is quite fitting, because it pictures something that really happens in the book.

 

Sales Links:  Audible | Amazon

 

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook
Published May 9th 2017 by Audible (first published October 5th 2015)
Original TitleAs You Wish
SeriesShatterproof Bond #1
CharactersDeclan Ramsay, Sir James Aiken, Annabelle Aiken, Oliver Ramsay, Sam Aiken settingLoch Ness, Scotland, 2015 (United Kingdom)
London, England, 2015 (United Kingdom)

A Lila Audiobook Review: Perfect Alignment (Thorne and Dash #3) by Silvia Violet and Greg Boudreaux (Narrator)

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Thorne proposed to Riley. Riley accepted.

Thorne thought that was that. They’d take a nice trip, get married, and spend a week luxuriating in a five-star hotel with occasional excursions to fabulous restaurants.

Riley imagined a traditional wedding with all the trappings. With all their friends and family. At Christmas.

Thorne concedes reluctantly, and a flurry of wedding planning ensues. At the same time, Thorne is wrestling with a recalcitrant client, and Riley and his business partner, Susan, are consumed with renovations and planning for the opening of their bakery. Stress on top of stress makes both Riley and Thorne doubt their relationship, and a major misunderstanding nearly silences the wedding bells.

By the time they reach their happily ever after, they’re both going to deserve all the romance they’ve been dreaming of.

Perfect Alignment is a sweet, HEA ending to a well-established series that brings Thorne & Riley full circle. We are presented with highlights from their past–how they got together–and their hopes for their future as married men. Throughout all this, their relationship becomes stronger and the last of their insecurities come down.

Most of the conflict in this story comes from miscommunications and lack of openness from both MCs. They still hold their cards close in order to keep each other, but at the same time, they run the risk to lose all they had built together. Their relationship is evolving faster than they expected, bringing their uncertainties front and center.

As with the previous books, the secondary characters are excellent and relevant. The settings play a part and the love scenes advance the plot without losing its uniqueness or steam. Overall, this is a nice end to a series and the perfect way to set up the spinoff including Marc and Darius.

Greg Boudreaux delivers the right intensity for this story. We get to experience Thorne’s and Dash’s love, doubts, and jubilation throughout the book. The narration brings this characters to life.

LC Chase’s cover goes with the rest of the series, giving the reader a hint of the events to come in this installment.

Sales Links:  Amazon | iTunes | Audible

Audiobook Details:

Narrator: Greg Boudreaux
Length: 5 hours 37 minutes
Published: May 4, 2017 (Audio Edition) by Silvia Violet Books
ASIN: B071VCM5RM
Edition Language: English

Series: Thorne & Dash
Book #1: Professional Distance
Book #2: Personal Entanglement
Book #3: Personal Alignment

 

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Wake Me Up Inside (Mates #1) by Cardeno C. and Charlie David (Narrator)

Rating:  5 stars out of 5

 

A powerful Alpha wolf shifter and a strong-willed human overcome traditions ingrained over generations and uncover long-buried secrets to fulfill their destiny as true mates.

 

Regarded as the strongest wolf shifter in generations, Alpha Zev Hassick is surprised and confused by his attraction to his best friend. His very human, very male best friend. A male shifter has to mate with a female shifter to keep his humanity, so shifters can’t be gay. Yet, everything inside Zev tells him Jonah is his true mate.

 

Maintaining a relationship with the man he has loved since childhood isn’t easy for Jonah Marvel, but he won’t let distance or Zev’s odd family get in their way. When unexplained ailments begin to plague Jonah, he needs to save his own life and sanity in order to have a future with Zev.

 

Zev and Jonah know they’re destined for each other, but they must overcome traditions ingrained over generations and long-buried secrets to fulfill their destiny.

 

I loved this story just as much as when I read it the first time.  Zev and Jonah have been friends forever, even longer than Jonah knows.  When Zev realizes that Jonah is his mate he does everything he can to keep their new relationship going and to keep Jonah happy until they are able to fully mate, he is determined to let his mate finish getting his degree and become a doctor before he ties him down.

 

This story is told from both of the characters’ points of view so we can see both of their internal struggles.  Zev does everything he can to keep Jonah happy even when they can’t be together all the time.  While Jonah struggles with their separation and his need to Zev when they are together Zev works very hard for them to communicate as clearly as possible so that they are both satisfied.  Zev and Jonah’s relationship was instinctual from the beginning and their bond only got stronger the longer they were together.

 

Charlie David did a great job narrating this story.  I could connect with the characters through the voices and emotions he portrayed.  He did a good job of separating the characters using different voices and inflections.  The one thing this book have over the other audios is it did not have the music between chapters which I found a bit distracting before.

 

Cover art is wonderful and gives a great visual of these two characters together.

 

Sales Links: Audible | Amazon

 

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 7 hrs 55 min
Published: May 24, 2017 (ebook, 2nd edition, published July, 15 2015)
Edition Language: English

Series: Mates Collection

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: The Mystery of Nevermore (Snow & Winter: Book One) by C.S. Poe and narrated by Derrick McClain

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

First of all, kudos to Derrick McClain for his outstanding performance of the characters in this story. His vocalizations were varied and seemed perfect for each one. That is especially true for the voice he gave Sebastian Snow, the geeky bookworm and antique store owner. Even with my eyes closed, I’d realize that voice belonged to a geek. It was perfect. So, getting this story in audio will set the stage for a very pleasant listening experience.

Now, for the story. I need to say that the audiobook doesn’t contain a note from the author, which I found out was present in the e-book version. That note apparently states that these characters are intended to be a tribute to Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English Mysteries, so at first I wondered why the story was so eerily familiar. And then I went to the reviews posted for the e-book version and read about the author’s fascination with, and tribute to, that series—one which is an all-time favorite among many, many MM romance readers.

Once I understood that, I was able to relax and enjoy all that unfolded in this book. This murder mystery took place in the world of antique and bookshop owners and involved the mystery of who was trying to find and steal a very rare copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tamerlane. Along the way, Sebastian Snow and his live-in lover, Neil, a deeply closeted cop, break up and Sebastian ends up in bed with the investigator of the murder mystery, Calvin Winter. Over the course of the story the romance between Snow and Winter develops to the point where we have a HFN by the end of the book.

I likely would have scored this book higher if Sebastian didn’t have sex with Calvin before he and Neil officially broke up, and in fact, it seemed as if it happened while Neil’s head indent was still on the pillows on the bed. Too soon for me, it smacked of cheating so it left me disinclined to be pleased for him, though by the end I really liked Calvin and wanted him to find happiness. I also think it’s critical that an author’s note be included in an audiobook when it includes an important piece of information as this one apparently did so I can’t give this more than 4 stars overall—3 for the story and 1 extra for the outstanding narration.

Because of Derrick’s narration, I enjoyed this story enough to highly recommend the audiobook to lovers of MM romance, geeks, and mystery.

~~~~

The predominantly white cover by Reese Dante features a gray-and-white rendition of Sebastian with a faint gray-on-white picture of a raven in the background. It suits the story perfectly.

Sales Links:  DSP Publications |  Amazon | Audible | iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Listening Time: 7 hrs 58 min

Audiobook

DSP Publications
Published March 30th 2017 (first published August 30th 2016)
Edition Language English
Series Snow & Winter #1