I’m over at AudioGals with a review of What It Takes by Shannon Stacey, narrated by Lauren Fortgang. The Kowalski family reunion adds an extra something for fans.
Category: audiobooks (Page 54 of 93)
Monthly Mini Review
Tease Me, Baby by Katie Reus, narrated by Sophie Eastlake – B Katie Reus usually delivers a reliably entertaining story in novella length – although I’m more used to her romantic suspense books and this one is a straight contemporary. However, my confidence was not misplaced. Added to that, Sophie Eastlake narrates and she is excellent and always elevates a story for me.
Fallon O’Connor is the youngest of four siblings. Her three older brothers have all had distinguished military careers. Fallon has found it hard to settle into a career and feels she is the under-performer of the family. She has a business degree but she’s not really using it. She came back to Holly, her home town, the year before and has been doing some freelance baking. As the story begins, she is two weeks away from leaving for California and culinary school. She feels conflicted about going. Culinary school is not so much a long-held dream as something she thinks she ought to do to be a proper grown-up. Continue reading
That’s another thing to check off my bucket list! I spoke to my friend Kat Mayo from Book Thingo during the Romance Writers of Australia conference last year in Adelaide. I mostly talk audiobooks. Links to the podcast can be found here.
Why I read it: This is one from my own TBL.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Camilla, “Cami,” LaRue was five years old when she first fell in love with Landon Palazzo. Everyone told her the puppy love would fade—they clearly never met Landon. When he left after graduation without a backward glance, she was heartbroken. But Cami grew up, moved on, and became part-owner of wildly popular restaurant Seduction. She has everything she could want…or so she thinks.
After spending the last 12 years as a Navy fighter pilot, Landon returns to Portland to take over the family construction business. When he catches a glimpse of little Cami LaRue, he realizes she’s not so little any more. He always had a soft spot for his little sister’s best friend, but nothing is soft now when he’s around the gorgeous restaurateur.
Landon isn’t going to pass up the chance to make the girl-next-door his. She’s never been one for romance, but he’s just the one to change her mind. Will seduction be just the name of her restaurant or will Cami let him get close enough to fulfill all her fantasies?
What worked for me (and what didn’t): The long-time crush Cami had on her friend Mia’s older brother, Landon, was referenced in Listen to Me, which I listened to a little while back. Landon was a navy pilot and when Close to You begins, he has been discharged from the military after having to eject from his fighter jet. It was never specified exactly why, but the result of the accident was that he was unable to ever fly (as a pilot) again. He loved to fly so this was a huge blow to him. He comes home to Portland to lick his wounds and work out what he’s going to do with the rest of his life. He had planned to stay in the navy for life but after 10 years, that dream is over. Understandably, he is not the happiest camper when he first comes home.
Continue reading
Monthly Mini Review
Lady Luck by Kristen Ashley, narrated by Emma Taylor – B+ I reviewed the ebook of Lady Luck sometime ago and I wouldn’t normally review the audio as well. But, because it’s been some time and because I had a different reaction to it and, also because I wanted to talk a little about the narration, I thought it was worthwhile posting this mini review.
What I’d recalled from the book was that I liked it okay but it was also my least favourite in the series – mainly because there was a lot of men referring to women as “pussy” and I didn’t like it. I still don’t like it but for some reason it was easier to hear in my ears than to read on the page. I put that down to the narration which was, for the most part, very good. But it’s also possible that I’ve seen and heard so much derogatory referencing of women in books and real life that maybe I’m just becoming slightly immune to it (although if that’s the case, that’s very sad). Continue reading
Monthly Mini Review
Echoes in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen – B+ It took me quite a while to understand the title of the latest In Death book. (In fact, Roarke had to tell me what it meant before I got it.) The “echoes” are between the murders and violent crimes Eve Dallas investigates in the book and Eve’s own violent past. (There you go KM readers. Now you don’t have to wait for Roarke to make the connection. You’re welcome.)
Eve and Roarke are driving home after a social deal where Eve wears a sparkly dress, the dreaded facial goop and skyscraper high heels. It’s the early hours of a very cold winter morning and the couple are stunned to nearly run over a naked, bloody woman wandering down the middle of the street. It turns out she was raped and beaten by the man who killed her husband and thus begins the investigation the subject of the latest In Death installment. Perhaps I’m more sensitive and the earlier books were actually just as brutal but the last few have had some pretty difficult things to read or listen to. There is sexual violence in this book and it is fairly graphically described, albeit after the fact and not in the villains POV (so that’s something). Anyway: all the trigger warnings. Continue reading
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