Category: LGBTQ Audio Books

An Ali Audiobook Review: Where There’s Fire (Panopolis #2) by Cari Z. and Nick J. Russo (Narrator)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Making a name for myself as a Villain in Panopolis is hard work. Six months ago, my boyfriend broke me out of jail. Now he’s spending most of his time defending our turf against other Villains he accidentally freed along with me. And my new psychic powers are not only impossible to control, but they’re also giving me migraines.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. My skills are improving every day, and Raul—aka the Mad Bombardier—and I have never been happier. That is, until my first solo job is interrupted by a mysterious woman who tells me that Raul has been kidnapped by a ruthless new Villain. The only way to free him is to do a job for Maggot, a man with scary ideas and an even scarier superpower.

I can’t go to the cops or a Hero for help. Odds are they wouldn’t listen to me anyway. If I fail, Raul will be killed. If I succeed, we’ll both be bound to a man who’ll stop at nothing to put Panopolis on the path to civil war.

It looks like the only way to win is to take out the competition.
This entertaining story picks up six months after the last one ended. Edward is trying to get a handle on his new powers and he and Raul are living a quiet life. Edward is having some bad side effects to his power that he’s struggling with and he’s exploring how to make a name for himself as a villain. His first bank robbery goes awry and Raul is kidnapped by the worst villain they’ve encountered yet. His love for Raul forces Edward to step into the role he doesn’t think he’s ready for yet.

This was another really good read by this author. I think this series is so unique and creative. I love the world the author has made and I personally haven’t read anything like it before. The plot races along and keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen next. In addition to the action you also get a sweet love story with a bit of sexy times thrown in. I highly recommend this fun series and I can’t wait for the next episode in Edward and Raul’s lives. 
This book was narrated by Nick J. Russo.  I felt like he did a great job with all of the voices.  I’ve listened to many books narrated by him over the years and he’s consistently good.
Cover by LC Chase:  I love the cover of this book, as well as the others in the series.  They are striking and they have a sort of comic book/graphic novel vibe to them, as do the plots of the books.
Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing | Audible | Amazon | iTunes
Audiobook Details:
Audiobook
Published April 18th 2017 (first published July 12th 2015)
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesPanopolis #2

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Until Forever Comes​ by Cardeno C and Charlie David (Narrator)

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

A sensitive wolf shifter and a vicious vampire challenge history, greed, and the very fabric of their beings in order to stay together until forever comes.

 

Plagued by pain and weakness all his life, Ethan Abbatt is a wolf shifter who can’t shift. Hoping to find an honorable death by joining his pack mates in a vampire attack, Ethan instead learns two things: draining his blood releases his pain and his wolf, and he has a true mate – a vampire named Miguel.

 

Over four centuries old, strong, powerful, and vicious, Miguel Rodriguez walks through life as a shadow, without happiness or affection. When a young shifter tells Miguel they’re true mates, destined to be together, Miguel sends him away. But Ethan is persistent and being together comes so naturally that Miguel can’t resist for long. The challenge is keeping themselves alive so they can stay by each other’s side until forever comes.

 

Ethan has always been an outsider to his pack and in his family.  When he is drawn to Miguel he realizes that he does have a true mate, the one thing he never thought he would have.  Miguel takes a little more convincing but Ethan can be more than stubborn enough.

 

This story is told from Ethan’s point of view so you can feel just how broken he feels with his family and how determined he is to make his home with Miguel.  He packs up everything he can carry so that he can leave his parent’s home to make a life with Miguel knowing that his mating will never be accepted by his pack.  Ethan is such a sweet heart and I felt connected to him throughout the story.  Miguel doesn’t quite understand Ethan’s connection to him but it’s the first time in a long time that he isn’t so hungry that he doesn’t need to drink more than enough for multiple vampires.  Ethan’s illness allows him to feed Miguel despite that shifter blood is usually poisonous to vampires.

 

Charlie David did a good job narrating this story.  I could connect with the characters through the voices and emotions he portrayed.  However, he didn’t seem to stay consistent with Ethan’s voice in the story, I always knew who was talking but his accent fluctuated and changed throughout the story.

 

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

 

Sales Links: Audible | Amazon | iTunes

 

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 5 hrs 54 min
Published: September 22, 2015 (ebook, 2nd edition, published July, 15 2015)
Edition Language: English

Series: Mates Collection

An Ali Audiobook Review: Wedding Favors (Bluewater Bay #7) by Anne Tenino and Nick J. Russo (Narrator)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Lucas Wilder’s best friend is a traitor. First, Audrey moved back to their hick-infested hometown, Bluewater Bay, and now she’s marrying a local. His own brother, in fact. And as her man of honor, Lucas gets coerced into returning for an extended stay. Although, between his unfaithful ex-boyfriend and his artist’s block, going home isn’t the worst thing that could happen. Even if the best man is Gabriel Savage, Lucas’s first crush, first hookup, and first heartbreak.

The only reason Gabe hasn’t been waiting for Lucas to return to Bluewater Bay is because he never thought it’d happen. Not that it matters now that Lucas is back—Gabe’s still a logger who’s never been anywhere (Canada doesn’t count), and Lucas is now a famous sculptor who’s been everywhere twice. Plus, there’s that shared past.

When Audrey asks Lucas to make her wedding favors, the only place to set up a kiln is at Gabe’s tree farm. Soon, they pick up where they left off twelve years before, then blow past it, discovering why neither of them forgot the other. Now they have to choose how much of their history they’ll repeat, and what future they’ll make together.
I forgot how much I enjoyed this author.  This was a great example of her story telling style. This was funny, sweet and steamy.  It starts as a bit of an enemies to lovers story due to a fall out between the two MC’s back when they were in high school.
I also liked the fact that the story felt realistic.  It was believable that these two could come together like they did.
I liked both Lucas & Gabriel as characters and they went well together.   I also enjoyed the side characters.  They all added to the story and I was so interested in one of them, Seth, that I had to look to see if he had gotten his own book.  (I’m glad to report he has & I’m off to read it as well).
This is a long series that is done by a collaboration of authors.  Since each of the books is written by a different author they can be read as a standalone with no problems.
This audiobook was narrated by Nick J Russo & I felt like he did a very good job on all of the characters.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and I would definitely recommend it.
Cover by L.C. Chase:  I like the cover and feel it is a good representation of the MC’s and the storyline.
Audiobook Details:
8 hrs 14 mins
Audible Audio, 9 pages
Published April 13th 2017 by Riptide Publishing (first published April 11th 2015)
Finalist: Best Gay Romantic Comedy in the 2015 Rainbow Awards!
Original TitleWedding Favors
ASINB06Y3MWY3S
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesBluewater Bay #7
CharactersLucas Wilder, Gabriel Savage settingBluewater Bay, Washington (United States)

An Ali Audiobook Review: The Winter Dark by J.S. Cook and K.C. Kelly (Narrator)

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
The horrific murder of a local woman rocks Morristown, Mississipi. With her death, veteran police chief Eli Gallagher feels he’s failed his small town, despite trying his best to serve and protect everyone in his jurisdiction. Sometimes that’s harder than it looks, given that rich and poor don’t always get along, and life on the other side of the tracks can turn deadly.

By his side is conscientious young Deputy Stan Leach. Together they work to discover the killer. But as they uncover evidence, their personal lives begin to unravel. Eli’s long-distance boyfriend telephones saying he’s getting married to a woman. Stan learns that the man he helped shelter wants to move on. When the clues unveil a history of abuse, the two men pull together to bring the murdered woman justice and maybe find the answers to theother questions in their lives.
This is a novella by a new to me author.  The  story was just ok for me.  The majority of the story is about the two main characters in relationships with other people.  We see those relationships and eventually why those don’t work out.  They end up working a horrible murder case together and take comfort in each other.  All of a sudden they are a couple and it is the end of the book.  We get an epilogue which shows their happily ever after but I felt cheated.  I felt like the book was about the other relationships and we didn’t get to see any of this relationship develop.  The ending was very abrupt in my opinion and honestly I wasn’t too happy with the way it all played out.  
The book was narrated by K.C Kelly and I felt like he did a nice job.  He had a nice voice and I was always able to tell which character was talking.  
Although the narration was solid and I liked that aspect, I didn’t really enjoy the story as a whole.
Cover:  I like the cover and felt it was well done.  It’s an attractive cover that catches your eye.  It’s also a nice representation of the story.
Sales Links Kindle and Audible  :  Amazon
Audiobook Details:
Audible Audio
Published February 17th 2017 (first published September 10th 2014)
ASINB06WD4YF9F
Edition LanguageEnglishsettingMississippi (United States)