Category: Audio Books

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Let it Ride (Pickup Men #2) by L.C. Chase and Dorian Bane (Narrator)

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Let It Ride audiobookBridge Sullivan, pickup man and best friend of Marty Fairgrave (Pickup Men) has a secret. He’s lusting after EMT Eric Palmer and the problem is that everyone, including Eric, thinks he’s straight. But Bridge knows his mind and his heart, and he’s kept his past experience with a man secret so it shouldn’t surprise him when his flirtations with Eric aren’t taken seriously.

Bridge is a nice guy—a great friend, sweet and helpful and always there when you need him—but he’s not gay and Eric has been burned much too often in the past to take a chance on a guy who might change his mind and want to go back to dating a woman. Eric is a New York City native, complete with a realistic accent thanks to narrator Dorian Bane, but he feels unworthy of love. His parents had put him in foster care when he was thirteen and told them he was gay; most foster parents wouldn’t keep him either, and then the two men he loved in the past dumped him—one of them for a woman. It’s no wonder he’s guarding his heart. And Bridge will break it for sure. That is something he’s betting on.

Against his better judgement, Eric agrees to go out with Bridge, but only as friends with benefits. No more. So when things get hot and heavy between them, and Bridge continues to tell him he wants to date and get close to him, Eric bolts. Though he doesn’t want to lose them, he leaves the close friends he’s made in the rodeo circuit. He also leaves the man he cares about because he feels he needs to go now before the pain is too great. Of course, he then finds out that the pain is already too great. Will he man-up and go back? Will Bridge come looking for him? Or will the two “let it ride”?

I enjoyed this story, and I think it may be partly because the potential between Bridge and Eric was there and intrigued me in the previous story, and it’s partly due to the narration of Dorian Bane. I actually didn’t care for the voice he gave Bridge, but I was impressed by the vast difference in the two voices of the MCs and the variety of secondary character voices, all of which were different and distinctive. And that’s the bottom line for me—how well did the narrator handle the narration and vocalization of the story. So kudos to the narrator and kudos to LC Chase for a great story. Yes, I wanted to smack Eric upside the head quite a few times because his “poor me” litany wears a little thin, but in his case, with his history, it’s a reasonable reaction. I had to stay awake last night to finish the story because sleeping while the romance was still in doubt just wasn’t happening for me. So thanks for the HEA, Ms. Chase!

Though part of a series, Let It Ride can be read as a standalone. This is a wonderful MM story for readers who like a little NYC spice with their cowboys, GFY or men new to gay sex, virgins(!), hurt-comfort, and a delightful cast of secondary characters.

~~~~~

Cover Art by L.C. Chase features a close-up of a handsome, young cowboy, complete with large black cowboy hat. There’s a bronco rider in the background, symbolizing the rodeo in which this MC is a pickup man—a very fitting cover for this story.

Sales Links: Riptide Publishing | Audible | Amazon

Audiobook Details:
5 hrs 32 mins

Audible Audio, 6 pages
Published February 10th 2016 by Riptide Publishing (first published May 25th 2014)
Original TitleLet it Ride
ASINB01BLP6GZ0
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesPickup Men #2
Literary AwardsEPIC (Eppie) Award (2015), Contemporary Romance, Bisexual Book Award Nominee (2015)

Its Valentine’s Day and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

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Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s or should I say Lupercalia Day! Even when young, madly handing  out those cardboard valentines to my classmates in kindergarten, I never heard much or even cared much about the origins of Valentine’s Day.  I don’t remember any teachers talking about it, certainly no bulletin board presentations on it, other than to display our heart artwork such as they were.

Even as I thought about it this morning, the first thought in my head was that Hallmark came up with it as a way to move a ton more cards than ever before and bring the florists and candy industry along with them.  Just a scoosh cynical?  Perhaps.  Maybe I need Stella to write this…

Then I started to look into the history.  Some of it involved St. Valentine (did you know there were 3) and Roman Emperor Claudius who had a disagreement over which made better soldiers, unmarried young men or married men, with Claudius coming down resoundingly on the unmarried side. Which put St. Valentine on the other  (never a good thing with emperors, remember there is a  reason he’s called a saint). Claudius outlawed young soldiers getting married, Valentine continued to marry them…which saw him to an early grave and sainthood.  Going further down the timeline, there’s the celebration of Lupercalia, dedicated to Faunus, Roman god of agriculture and yep, fertility.  That’s the handsome fellow at the top. It involved sacrificing goats and dogs (purity), skinning the goats, cutting the hides into strips and then dipping them into blood.  Young maidens would then be flicked, flogged, whipped (depends on the history you read) with the hides, a practice that all believed would make the women more fertile.  Young unmarried men picked the names of the maidens out of a urn, and spent the night  together or maybe all together.  Those fertility things got a little crazy.

I loved that the articles said the women welcomed it.  Really? Show me the articles. Or did they just put up with it because they had to, culturally speaking.  Why even go there in a article?  Sorry, back to Valentine’s Day again…

Anyhow, all that stuff was declared un Christian and done away with at least on the surface and somehow we arrive at 1400 with rosy feelings intact.  The first valentine we know about was a  poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife (number one) while he was jailed in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. Charles spent 24 years as a hostage and became a renown poet during that time, including writing the first valentine.  Not bad.  Despite being imprisoned for 24 years (in very posh digs I might add) he was married 3 times.

1900 saw the first printed Valentine’s Day cards and the holiday has never looked back.  Here are a few Valentine’s Day statistics for you:

  • Over 1 billion cards worldwide are sent today.
  • Next to cards, are flowers and chocolates.
  • In addition to the U.S., Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, Italy and Japan.

 

Now for some winner announcements…Announcement clip art

  • Winner of Chase Potter’s The Music of the Sphere’s ebook is Carolyn.
  • Winner of  Christian Baines’ Puppet Boy is H.B.
  • Winner of Joe Cosentino’s giveaway for a book from his backlist is Ree Dee.

Congratulations to all three. They have been notified.

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

 

Sunday, February 14 (Valentine’s Day)

  • Looking for A Valentine’s Day Story?  Check out ‘Love At Roades End’ by Kris T. Bethke (author guest post)
  • Mia Kerick’s ‘The Art of Hero Worship’ release day book blast and giveaway
  • Its Valentine’s Day and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, February 15:

  • Chris T. Kat’s ‘Mending the Rift’ cover reveal and giveaway
  • Dreamspinner Press Author Spotlight: Dormant Heart by Lane Swift (guest post)
  • Voss Porter’s ‘The Wrong Kind of Woman’ cover reveal and giveaway
  • A VVivacious Review: Mute Witness by Rick R. Reed
  • A Lila Review: Pretty Human by Kayleigh Skye

Tuesday, February 16:

  • In the Spotlight: Brad Vance ‘Strength In Numbers’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Need a New Romance to Love? Check Out Love Me Tenor by Annabeth Albert (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Its Love and Kink Time with Morticia Knight ‘Bondage Rescue (excerpt/giveaway)
  • A Stella Review: Strong Side by Alison Hendricks
  • A MelanieM Review: Sharing the Pond by Alex Whitehall

Wednesday, February 17:

  • Dreamspinner Press Author Tour:   Conversation Hearts by Avon Gale (guest post)
  • Grein Murray ‘Capturing Oliver’ book blast and giveaway
  • Michele Michael Rakes ‘Trainwreck’ Keep Me In Mind tour and contest
  • A Ali Review: Spirit by John Inman (audio version)
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: James Eyre by Jade Astor

Thursday, February 18:

  • In the Author Spotlight:  Melanie Hansen on Writing and Love and the Exocism (guest post)
  • Love Science Fiction and Romance? Check out Scardust by Suzanne van Rooyen (excerpt and giveaway)‏
  • Bailey Bradford ‘Dragon Dreams & Fairy Wings’ book blast and giveaway
  • A Lila Review: Love and the Exorcism by Melanie Hansen
  • A MelanieM Review: Acts of Passion By Sedonia Guillone

Friday, February 19:

  • How the Cookie Crumbles (Bluewater Bay, #12) by Jaime Samms Riptide Tour and Contest
  • The Way You Look Tonight by Jo Tannah‏ guest post and contest
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review:How the Cookie Crumbles (Bluewater Bay, #12) by Jaime Samms
  • A Lila Review: Fantasy For a Gentleman by Caitlin Ricci
  • A Stella Review: Patchwork by Indra Vaughn

Saturday, February 20:

  • In the Spotlight: Love Unlocked: A Beaten Track Anthology’ (giveaway and excerpts)
  • A Sammy Review: Cronin’s Key III by NR Walker

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Ali Review: Second Hand (Tucker Springs #2) by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton, Iggy Toma (Narrator)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Second Hand audiobookPaul Hannon moved to Tucker Springs for his girlfriend, but she’s left him with a house he can’t afford and a pantry full of useless gadgets. All Paul wants is to get back to normal, even if he’s not sure what that is anymore. When he wanders into Tucker Pawn for a gift to win her back, he meets El Rozal, pawn shop owner and all-around cynic.

El Rozal doesn’t do relationships, especially not with clueless straight boys still pining for their ex. El may make his living dealing in castoffs, but that doesn’t apply to men. Still, when Paul starts clearing out his old life, pawning kitchen equipment he never wanted in the first place, El is drawn to Paul in spite of himself.

Paul and El have nothing in common except a past full of disappointments. There’s no reason to believe the two of them could fit, but in El’s line of work, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. When it comes to love, El and Paul may learn that secondhand doesn’t mean second best. 
 
This was an average story. Nothing really wrong with it but nothing that made it stand out either. Paul has gone through a bad break up and while looking for a gift for his ex-girlfriend he meets Eli. The two men become friends and while Eli realizes immediately that he has feelings for Paul, Paul just cruises along cluelessly. Paul bordered on getting on my nerves with his cluelessness. At other times though I felt for him and I thought the internal discussions/fears/etc he has over his sexuality were probably pretty realistic. Eli I liked throughout the entire story.  I didn’t really feel the emotional attraction between the two men.  It just felt like they were friends unless they were in the bedroom.  The bedroom scenes though were great.  The chemistry just jumped off the pages.  Unfortunately hot sex scenes isn’t enough to carry an entire book for me.  I needed more relationship development.  Again, I didn’t love this book but I didn’t dislike it either.  

The narration by Iggy Toma was just ok.  Overall I did not really care for the narrator.  He did a wide range of voices and did them all differently which is a plus.  I didn’t like some of the voices though.  This is probably a matter of taste.  While it didn’t work for me it might for others.  I suggest listening to a sample of the audio first.
 
Cover art by L.C. Chase. I like the cover.  I think it is a good representation of the main characters and their story.
Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Audible | Amazon
Audiobook Details:
Audible Audio
Published January 22nd 2016 by Audible (first published September 1st 2012)
Original TitleSecond Hand
SeriesTucker Springs #2 settingColorado (United States)