Category: LGBTQ Audio Books

A BJ Audiobook Review: Daylight Again (Hell or High Water #3) by S.E. Jakes and Adam North (Narrator)

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

Daylight Again audiobookBefore Prophet Drews can have a future, he must first put his past to rest.

Prophet Drews is a man on the edge, and he’s pulling Tom Boudreaux, his partner on the job and in real life, right over with him. When his old CO calls in a favor, Prophet asks Tom to join the off-the-grid rescue. But the mission raises all of Prophet’s old ghosts: CIA assassins, the terrorist Sadiq, and most importantly, John—traitor, former teammate, and Prophet’s first love.

To help bury those ghosts for good, Prophet and Tom gather the members of Prophet’s former SEAL team . . . and a spook named Cillian who’s been tailing Prophet for years. In the process, Prophet is forced to face his team’s shifting loyalties, ghosts who refuse to stay dead, and scariest of all, his own limitations.

With everyone’s lives in danger, Prophet and Tom must unravel a tangled knot of secrets, including their own. Prophet must decide how much to reveal to Tom, while Tom must decide how far he’s willing to go to help Prophet lay his ghosts to rest.

With books one and two of this audio series, I’d already read prior to listening. This one I had not, and since it’s very complex with a ton of characters, I was worried I’d be a bit lost. I needn’t have worried. The narrator did an excellent job of keeping me in touch with all the characters and his voice was easy to listen to.

This book picks up about four months after the end of the prior book, and it does finally provide a few of the moments I’d been waiting for between Tom and Prophet, and they lived up to my expectations in traditional Tom/Prophet style. Whereas book two explored Tom more, this one we get to see more inside of Prophet. I loved seeing a bit of a softer side to Prophet. Yes, in this book we see Tom and Prophet’s relationship solidified but not with flowers and sweetness. The times when they weren’t having sex showed how the act helped them both to deal with their emotions. Enjoyed BDSM elements that came into play in this one.

Having read the first book of the Dirty Deeds series and waiting impatiently for book  two for a while, I was pleased to see some bits of the relationship between Mal and Cillian come out in this story. It was also enjoyable to see more of Remy from book two and to finally see a few of the baddies get their due. Alas many more wait in the wings, including the ever-mysterious John.

As I’ve come to expect from this series, this book is packed with hot sex, action, ass kicking, fighting, interrogating, and even jumping out of airplanes. And the plot moved along very nicely in this one with quite a few of the questions about Prophet’s past with John being revealed, while still leaving much open and ending on a cliffhanger that will have me loading book 3.5 onto my iPhone tomorrow.

A few things I saw as inconsistencies kept me from giving it a higher star rating, such as in one of the final scene, Prophet’s wrists are tied behind his back and jerked viciously enough that he states he knows he’ll need them in casts again, but in the next chapter a few weeks later, they are not in casts and no mention that they had been. And the twist at the end didn’t sit “right” to me given what we know of all these men’s skills. Perhaps that will change as I read the next book, which I am eager to do, but I know that one is just a short and the knowledge that the final book in this series is unavailable at this time and quite a bit overdue makes me sad.

The cover by L.C. Chase fits those for the previous books in the series but isn’t as sexy as those prior.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Audible | Amazon


Book Details:  

6 hrs 57 mins

Audible Audio, 7 pages
Published December 16th 2015 by Audible Studios (first published May 2nd 2014)
ASINB016WPY4R6
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesHell or High Water #3, Extreme Escapes, Ltd.

A BJ Audio Review: Long Time Gone (Hell and High Water #2) by S.E. Jakes, Adam North (Narrator)

Rating:  4.25 stars out of 5

Long Time Gone audiobookWhen a tornado meets a volcano, nothing is safe.

Soldier of fortune Prophet Drews always worked alone—until Tom Boudreaux became his partner. But when Tom walked away three months ago, ostensibly to keep Prophet safe, Prophet learned the true meaning of being alone. Everyone knows that Prophet, a Navy SEAL turned CIA spook turned mercenary, can look after himself. Which means he must’ve driven his lover away.

Even with half a world between them, Prophet can’t get the man out of his head. Maybe that’s why he’s in New Orleans in the middle of a hurricane, protecting Tom’s aunt. But the only looter around is Tom, bursting back into Prophet’s life. It turns out that Prophet’s been stuck in Tom’s head—and heart—too.

Their explosive reunion gets even hotter when Tom is arrested for murder. As they fight to clear his name, they delve deep into his past, finding enemies among everyone they meet. Staying alive in such a dangerous world is hard enough, but they soon discover that fighting to stay together is the most difficult thing they’ve ever done.

Once again, I enjoyed the narrator’s performance and felt he added extra dimension to the story with the accents and drama he brought. The voices for each character were clearly discernable and well in character with the guys as  I’d envisioned from having previously read this book. His pacing was never rushed and kept me eager to listen.

From the beginning, this story is a roller coaster ride of nature’s fury, sex, intrigue, secrets revealed, action, and more sex. My favorite scene in this book by far is the hurricane sex scene in New Orleans. In fact, it’s right up there as one of the most memorable sex scene’s I’ve read in a m/m story. Oh my, that is definitely a one-handed read or listen, in this case. Tom and Prophet were already combustible together, but put them in the midst of a raging storm and the hurricane around them pales into perfect background music. Damn, that was hot as heck. Aside from that scene, there are numerous other heated interludes. IMHO, just enough to keep that fire burning without being too much.

Here we delve very strongly into Tom’s past in the bayou; allowing us to get a much better picture of the man as we see it all unfold. I won’t reveal too much more than the blurb has already shared as don’t want to spoil it. But we meet some characters in this story that I found very interesting. And the settling! New Orleans and the bayou country has always been a place I’d like to spend a longer time visiting (been there only briefly), and this book did an excellent job of making me feel the heat, humidity, social climate and wildlife. Excellent sense of place.

I felt the deepening of the connection between Tom and Prophet, and it seemed to build very naturally as both men begin to let down their guards and allow each other further in. The ending didn’t tie things up with a bow, but thankfully it was a bit more of a HFN than we got in book one at least. It seems as much as we learn about these two, the more there is we don’t yet know.

Cover art by LC Chase: The displays the tattoos on Tom’s back this time, not quite as detailed as the dreamcatcher on book one’s cover, but still hot and fitting to the story.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Audible | Amazon


Book Details:  

December 16th 2015 by Audible Studios, 7 hrs 52 mins
Audible Audio, 8 pages
Published December 16th 2015 by Audible Studios (first published October 28th 2013)
Original TitleLong Time Gone
ASINB016OXU8WQ
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesHell or High Water #2, Extreme Escapes, Ltd. setting

A BJ Audiobook Review: Catch a Ghost (Hell and High Water #1) by S.E. Jakes and Adam North (Narrator)

Rating:  4.25 stars out of 5

Catch A Ghost AudiobookEveryone knows that Prophet—former Navy SEAL, former CIA spook, full-time pain in the ass—works alone and thinks only about the trouble he can cause. But his boss, Phil Butler of Extreme Escapes, LTD., has just assigned Proph not only a new partner but also a case haunted by ghosts from Proph’s past. Suddenly, he’s got to confront them both head on.

Tom Boudreaux—failed FBI agent, failed sheriff, full time believer in bad luck—is wondering why the head of a private contracting firm has hunted him down to offer him a job. Still he’s determined to succeed this time, despite being partnered with Prophet, EE, LTD’s most successful, lethal, and annoying operative, and even though the case is also resurrecting his own painful past.

Together, Prophet and Tom must find a way to take down killers in the dangerous world of underground cage matches, while fighting their own dangerous attraction. And when they find themselves caught in the crossfire, these two loners are forced to trust each other and work together to escape their ghosts . . . or pay the price.

If you enjoy alpha males and need heat in your m/m books, look no further! Grab this series right the heck now! If I had three words to describe this story, they would be “intense” and “flaming hot.”

Prophet and Tom together are like a volcano gouging out steam and flames and hot, sizzling lava. Okay, yeah, sometimes the refractory time is really short and their uh, hardiness borders on unrealistic. But there is no doubt at all about their chemistry, and both are well-realized characters with complex backstories which come strongly into play in this series. A few times the backstory on Prophet got a bit complex for me to follow easily, especially given the often fast pace of the storyline. There were a lot of people and details and twists and turns to keep track of… especially as it neared the end. This ending is left largely unsettled as far as the relationship, so its not a HEA/HFN. But  it totally makes me want to read on in the series and get to know what happens with these guys.

I’d already read the book and rated it four stars, but since I’d purchased but not yet finished reading the whole series, I was intrigued when it came out on audio. The narrator was new on audible, but I decided to take a chance and see if the narration would add another dimension to this previously enjoyed story. It totally did! I adored Tom’s Cajun accent… and both men sounded pretty much as I’d imagined. I had no trouble telling the speakers apart. It’s sometimes hard for me to say whether I prefer the audio or reading experience, mostly because only rarely do I partake of a story in both formats. Overall, I enjoyed the audio and the one small part where I felt the book was a bit better had pretty much nothing to do with the narrator. Near the end, in the parts there’s a part where a lot is going on, it was even harder for me to take in and visualize when heard than when reading. Probably because in print, I can read back over a sentence here or there if there’s a need to ground myself more firmly in the details. Since I’m most often driving when listening to audio, rewind isn’t something I do.

The audiobook cover is basically the same as the book… and it’s perfect for the story. The tattoo is just as imagined and love the nipple bar! Beautiful, sexy, hot cover.

Sales Links: Riptide Publishing | Amazon |  Audible  | Buy It Here


Book Details:  

Audible Audio, 9 pages, 8 hrs 3 mins

Adam North (Narrator)
Published December 16th 2015 by Audible Studios (first published September 7th 2013)
Original TitleCatch A Ghost
ASINB016DW5VUC
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesHell or High Water #1, Extreme Escapes, Ltd.December 16th 2015 by Audible Studios

An Ali Audiobook Review: Stars & Stripes (Cut & Run #6) by Abigail Roux , J. F. Harding (Narrator)

Rating:  5 of 5 stars                ★★★★★

Stars & Stripes audiobookSpecial Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have managed the impossible: a few months of peace and quiet. After nearly a year of personal and professional turmoil, they’re living together conflict-free, work is going smoothly, and they’re both happy, healthy, and home every night before dark. But anyone who knows them knows that can’t possibly last.

When an emergency call from home upsets the balance of their carefully arranged world, Ty and Zane must juggle family drama with a perplexing crime to save a helpless victim before time runs out.

From the mountains of West Virginia to a remote Texas horse ranch harboring more than just livestock and childhood memories, Ty and Zane must face their fears—and their families—to overcome an unlikely enemy and bring peace back into their newly shared world.

This was a re-read for me but the first time I had listened to it on audio. This book remains one of my favorites of the series. The guy’s have worked hard to get to the positive place in their relationship that they’re in. During the course of this story they go to both of their parents’s homes and it is interesting to see the different dynamics between the two families. Most of the story is spent at Zane’s home where they try to solve a case involving Zane’s family ranch. I enjoyed the case in this one and I found it fast paced and entertaining. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments in this story, some really sweet and romantic ones and some of the steamiest ones in the series. I love every minute of this book every time I read it.

Audio:

I had listened to the first four books in this series on audio in the past. There were two prior narrators and this narrator is totally new. I wasn’t sure about his voice for Ty when I first started. The problem with reading a book first, in my opinion, is that you have the characters firmly set in your mind. While his Ty was fine, it wasn’t how I envisioned Ty. His Zane though was fantastic. Deep, growly voice with just a bit of a Southern drawl. After a few chapters I got used to his Ty and decided I liked it. There are a lot of characters in this book, with a lot of different accents and I felt like this narrator did a great job on all of them. I also found him able to do both male and female voices well which is a talent some narrators do not have. I loved listening to this on audio. I think listening to this really emphasized the emotional scenes and made them more heart wrenching (There was a scene between Ty & Zane’s dad that made my eyes water. It was much more emotional listening to it than reading it.) And the sexy scenes? Holy moly they’re burning hot on audio. I would definitely recommend this to readers/listeners.

Cover art by L.C. Chase. I don’t know what to say about the cover really. It’s very simple but it’s a classic and I would never want to see it change.

Sales Links:  Audio at Amazon |  Audio at Audible

Audiobook Details:

Stars & Stripes
Written by: Abigail Roux
Narrated by: J. F. Harding
Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
Series: Cut and Run, Book 6

An Ali Audiobook Review: Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run #7) by Abigail Roux , J.F. Harding (Narrator)

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars                    ★★★★★
Touch & Geaux audiobookAfter having their faces plastered across the news during a high-profile case, FBI Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have become more useful to the Bureau posing for photo ops than working undercover. Just as Zane is beginning to consider retirement a viable option, Ty receives a distress call from a friend, leading them to a city rife with echoes from the past.

New Orleans wears its history on its streets, and it’s the one place Ty’s face could get him killed. Surrounded by trouble as soon as they land, Ty and Zane are swiftly confronted with a past from which Ty can’t hide—one with a surprising connection to Zane’s.

As threats close in from all directions, both men must come to terms with the lives they’ve led and the lies they’ve told. They soon discover that not all their secrets are out yet, and nothing lasts forever. 
 
This was a re-read for me but the first time I have listened to it on audio.  This is another of my favorite books in this series.  This is probably the most emotional of all the books.  Ty and Zane head to New Orleans with the Sidewinder guys for a weekend of fun and end up in a complicated case involving both of their pasts.  In some ways I think this part of the plot is over the top but really the most important part of the story is Ty and Zane’s relationship.  Both of the them have issues which we’ve known from the start of the series.  In this book though, the tentative hold they’ve had comes crashing down on them.  And when it comes crashing down it comes down hard.  Not only does it come crashing down hard on them, it comes crashing down hard on the reader.  There are some emotionally charged scenes in this book and I remember how devastated I was at parts of this the first time I read it.  Even on re-read it was very hard to go through with them.  It’s our first detailed look at the Sidewinder guys and that part is a great set up for the branch off series with Nick and Kelly.  
 
Audio:
 
I really love this narrator and I felt like he did an excellent job.  As stated above this is an emotional read anyways but hearing this on audio was very difficult.  The narrator captures all the emotions, both good and bad, that the guys are going through in this.  There were a lot of scenes that just broke my heart.  It was brutal hearing the things they were saying to each other. There’s one scene where one of them starts to cry and the narrator just nailed the scene perfectly.   In addition there are a lot of side characters in this story and I felt the narrator did a great job on all of their voices.  Extra enjoyable were Digger’s Cajun and Liam’s British accents.  If you are a fan of audio books I highly recommend listening to this book.
 
Cover art by L.C. Chase. This is one of my favorite covers in this series.  It captures an important part of the story.  These covers are simple but are classics and I would hate to see them  change.  
Audiobook Details:
Touch & Geaux: Cut & Run Series, Book 7
By Abigail Roux
Narrated By J. F. Harding
Series: Cut and Run, Book 7
Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
Release Date: 12-15-15