Category: LGBTQ Audio Books

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

An Alessandro Audiobook Review: Willow Man by John Inman and Austin Rising (Narrator)

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

 

Woody Stiles has sung his country songs in every city on the map. His life is one long road trip in a never-ending quest for fame and fortune. But when his agent books him into a club in his hometown, a place he swore he would never set foot again, Woody comes face to face with a few old demons. One in particular.

With memories of his childhood bombarding him from every angle, Woody must accept the fact that his old enemy, Willow Man, was not just a figment of childish imagination. 

With his friends at his side, now all grown up just like he is, Woody goes to battle with the killer that stole his childhood lover. Woody also learns Willow Man has been busy while he was away, destroying even more of Woody’s past. And in the midst of all this drama, Woody is stunned to find himself falling in love—something he never thought he would do again.

As kids, Woody and his friends could not stop the killer who lived in the canyon where they played. As adults, they might just have a chance.

Or will they?

 

Woody is a country singer(not yet successful) who travels across the US doing jobs in bars. After his manager gets him a really good job in his hometown San Diego he is kind of spooked, because his hometown has some memories he rather not face. But he does it anyway, because he wants to get famous. But as soon as he arrives in San Diego he gets a visit of an old friend. The friend who has basically ruined is life. After his first show, he meets his old childhood friends and the journey begins. But there is a threat lurking in the shadows, and they’re all familiar with what and who the threat is.

 

Oh well, after I read the blurp I was really interested, that’s why I decided to review this book. And of course I’m a sucker for audiobooks. And it all could’ve been so good. I need to add, that this was my first ever horror book, in M/M or otherwise. And I thought I would like the genre, because I’m really into horror movies. But this was just not for me. I felt quite detached from this story, it didn’t draw me in as I hoped it would. I didn’t get spooked or felt hardly scared at all. It was just a “horror” story, with grotesque language from the evil in this book. It made me cringe a lot of times. Also, the story was quite depressing. I know this was a horror book… but I thought at least there could be some good moments… but there barely were any. At least not ones that I could understand and really relate to. And then there is this matter of the insta-love thing. Which I’m not a fan off, and I think in such a serious book, there is no place for that. I can relate to it a little bit, but not really.

 

As for the characters in this book, I think they were great. There was a lot of depth to them and they all felt like different people, this is one of the reasons I enjoyed this book. In such a short time, well it was so short, I think I dragged a little bit(a lot) one learns to love the characters. They all had character traits that were solely them. Like Cathy, I really loved her, she is like a witty, fearless(most of the time) and such an understanding person. The other 4 characters were great as well.

 

Now, lets talk about the writing and what bothered me and what I thought was just great. The writing was really beautiful, I think that was one of the best written books I’ve read so far. The expressions the author used, were so lyrical and just satisfying, even thought that made the narration rather slow moving.

Now to the things I didn’t really like about the writing and I will include a little bit of the issues I had with the construction of this book. Well as I said I really loved the writing, but it made the book really, really slow moving, to that point, that I couldn’t keep my interest. If I hadn’t decided to review this one, I probably would’ve quit and not finish it. I was listening to the audiobook and normally I just speed the narration just a little bit, because often the speed is just too slow for me. The speed that I use is 1.25. For this book I sped it up even further, sometimes I put it on 1.5 or even 1.75, just so I could get this book done as fast as possible.

The big issues that I had were with the construction of this book. When you read this book you are basically following 2 stories and several POV(the book is written in 3rd person POV). One of the stories is of Woody and his friends when they were younger, barely hitting puberty(13 years old). And because you followed the grown up Woody in the first few chapters, one basically knows what will happen in the peak of the story of the past. That’s what really was annoying. There is all the build up to an event you already know what will happen, yes you don’t know exactly how it will come to pass, but one knows the outcome. So there was no suspense at all. At least not in the story when they were teenagers.

The other story, where the group of friends are adults, isn’t quite what I would’ve liked it to be. As I said above, there was insta-love, which I couldn’t relate to at all but also the end was just a little bit anti-climactic. I thought at least there would be some blood, but no, there was just some groping of the evil and some cringy conversations going on. I was really disappointed.

 

The narration was superb. Austin Rising did a REALLY good job at narrating this book. Each character had their own “voice”. They even differed from the 2 story lines. The adults got their own voice and the teenagers did as well. But they weren’t as much different than the teenagers “voices”. So one could still distinguish which of the characters is “speaking”.

 

Would I recommend this book? Yes and no. For the ones who like a really dark story, with a lot of hurt and heartache, who are also a little in horror, I would definitely recommend this. But if you are looking for a book with equal amounts of romance and horror, like I did, I wouldn’t. For me it was quite a depressing story, not fun to read at all. I even needed to read a light hearted novella in between to just get through this book.

 


The Cover art of “Willow Man” by Aaron Anderson was quite fitting to this book. I think it shows the mood of the book and the intention of the author.

 Sales links:  DSP Publications | Amazon

  

Book Details:

Ebook 350 Pages

Published January 13th 2015 by DSP Publications

ISBN: 1632163500

Edition Language: English

Audiobook 12 Hrs 50 Min.

Audiobooks published April 7th by DSP Publications

ASIN: B06Y2KZRD8

Edition Language: English

Narrator: Austin Rising

Release Audiobook Blitz for Isobel Starling ‘s As You Wish, Narrated by Gary Furlong

 
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Audible US | Audible UK
 
Ebook Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Narrator: Gary Furlong
 
Length: 4hrs 9mins
 
Blurb
 

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?

Author Bio
 

Born in Germany, Isobel Starling spent most of her twenty-year professional career making art in Ireland. She relocated to the UK and, faced with the dreaded artist’s creative block, Isobel started to write and found she loved writing more than making art.


The ‘Shatterproof Bond’ series is an Amazon Gay Romance bestseller. Isobel has just completed her eleventh book and signed French and German and Italian, translation and publishing rights deals for the whole Shatterproof Bond series. The ‘As You Wish’ translation “Comme Vous Voudrez” is a best seller on Amazon France. It was released in German in March 2017, and as an audiobook in May 2017.


Isobel’s greatest love is writing M/M relationships, and she hopes one day to actually finish the fantasy novel that she put ‘to rest’ three years ago.

 Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions