Tag: Stella Bloom

Avenging Angel by Kristen Ashley, narrated by Stella Bloom

May 2, 2024 / Kaetrin / 0 Comments

Avenging Angel by Kristen Ashley, narrated by Stella Bloom. Fans of the Rock Chick series will love this one. I did.

So much fun* and excellent narration.

*there is a very sad part regarding Raye’s background and it involves violence to children (not super graphic but still) so content warning.
Narrated by Stella Bloom

In excellent news for fans of the Rock Chick series, Kristen Ashley has started writing the second generation in the Avenging Angel series. Avenging Angel pairs Julian “Cap” Jackson (formerly known as Sniff; yes – he’s all grown up and no longer scrawny) and Rachel “Raye” Armstrong. Cap works for Nightingale Investigation & Security and has moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to assist Mace to open NI&S’s new branch.

Mace and Stella have moved to Phoenix from LA and there are cameos from most of the Hot Bunch in Avenging Angel. Alas, not much from the Rock Chicks but I think there will be more coming up in future books. I hold out hope. However, in a not-at-all consolation prize, there is the return of Tex! Hurray and huzzah! Oh Tex, I have missed you.

Listeners should note that Raye has a backstory which will be a dealbreaker for some: her little sister, Macey, was abducted when Raye was 8 and Macey was 6. Macey was never seen again. There are some sad moments in the story around this. It’s not graphic but still, it’s a very sensitive topic and for some, it will be too much. The book also starts with Raye (being the “avenging angel” of the title) locating a little girl who had been taken and there is a subplot with missing strippers and sex workers as well.

Apart from that, the book is very Rock Chick – lots of shenanigans (alas, not all that much use of stun guns) and the kind of instalove fans of the OG series enjoy. When Cap and Raye first meet, Cap knows almost immediately that Raye is “it” for him. Of course, he shows this by breaking into her apartment (if this sounds familiar it’s because it is – isn’t it great?) and then he pretty much never leaves. The Hot Bunch do things differently but it works for them! (Caveat: obviously not endorsing this in real life but it’s definitely fun to read about in fiction.)

Raye works at Surf Club which is the Phoenix version of Fortnum’s. The owner of Surf Club is Tito who reminded me a bit of Smithy, although Tito is far more mysterious. If Raye is the “Indy” in this scenario, then Luna, her BFF, is Ally (though Ally and Luna are not that much alike both Raye and Luna do get into Indy/Ally-like scrapes). Other servers at Surf Club are Harlow and Jessie, Raye and Indy’s other BFFs. We will get books for all of them. Liam Tucker (Darius and Melea’s son) is one of the Phoenix crew, Roam will also get a story, there’s a Stark son and others who work for NI&S as well so there are plenty of hot guys and girls to be paired up in future books. According to the author’s Instagram there are currently 7 books planned in the series but that may change.

The story is different but it has very much the look and feel of the Rock Chick series. There are the strong female friendships, the male bonding, the found family and extended family and family family as well as some suspense and loads of the romantic good stuff.

Stella Bloom, who has narrated all of the Rock Chick books, returns to narrate the Avenging Angel series and, as I expected, she nails the brief. She just gets the humour, she understands the author and the characters, and her delivery of Raye and Luna is top notch. There were some lines in particular which were delivered so well I took a little time to marvel as I was listening. One is just Raye thinking to herself “oh Lord” when looking at the various members of the Hot Bunch and the catch in her voice as the line was said was just *chef’s kiss*.

Ms Bloom is very familiar with the OG cast and the style of book and this only adds to the new-but-familiar feel of the story. I enjoy her narration so much – audio is definitely the best way to take in Avenging Angel. (That said, I do hear Ms Bloom’s voice in my head when I read Rock Chick and now Avenging Angel books in print, so there’s that). Apart from the content warning I referenced earlier, Avenging Angel is pretty much a hoot and anyone who enjoyed Rock Chick and wants more of the same (in the best way) will likely enjoy.

B+

Fighting the Pull by Kristen Ashley, narrated by Lance Greenfield, Stella Bloom & Joseph Discher

November 29, 2023 / Kaetrin

Fighting the Pull by Kristen Ashley, narrated by Lance Greenfield, Stella Bloom & Joseph Discher. Solid entry into the series but equally, I doubt it’s one I’ll revisit.

I’ve dipped in and out of the River Rain series but enjoyed Chloe and Judge’s book (Chasing Serenity) very much and was keen to see how Hale’s HEA was going to work. I also enjoy Stella Bloom and Lance Greenfield’s narrations so picking up Fighting the Pull on audio was an easy choice.

Hale Wheeler has inherited his father’s wealth and has been working almost non-stop to make the various businesses ethical and sustainable. He had a distant relationship with his dad and has a tense one with his mother. He has declared he will never marry. But then he meets Elsa Cohen.

Elsa Cohen has appeared in earlier River Rain books as the creator and face of “Elsa’s Exchange” a kind of Lainey Gossip/TMZ/Entertainment Tonight YouTube channel. Elsa had interviewed Hale’s mother live and unfortunately it did not go well. Hale’s mother (as we say in Australia) “stuck the boot in” to people Hale is close to and the fallout caused a lot of pain and damage. Elsa, for her part, learned never do to live interviews (she pulled the video before Hale’s found family asked her to) and has worked hard to lean away from the more sensational celebrity stories.

Hale ended up making a deal with Elsa: he would grant her an exclusive 1:1 interview if she laid off his family. Now, a year later, Hale wants to fulfill his part of the bargain.

When he and Elsa finally meet, sparks fly and, for reasons, Hale ends up accompanying Elsa to a dinner with her (mostly) toxic family as her fake boyfriend to get them off her back.

Then a misunderstanding keeps them apart for a few months until they have a simple conversation that sets the record straight.

Their relationship is fairly smooth sailing really; they get along well, are very compatible sexually and both are busy, ambitious people who are looking for ways to slow down a little. Elsa is on the cusp of a big streaming deal and is expanding so she doesn’t have to do as much herself. She’s even thinking of opening a West Coast studio. This would suit her relationship goals to as Hale is based in LA (in so far as he’s based anywhere – he travels a lot) and she is in New York.

However, Hale has baggage from his childhood and chooses a particularly bad time to have cold feet.

Meanwhile, there is a stalker and various family drama from Elsa’s side of the equation.

Fortunately (if somewhat unrealistically) it all comes right in the end and they’re all one big happy family by the time the credits roll.

There was one thing which I particularly noted in the story. Mild spoiler: One of the characters in the series is described, late in the book, as having suffered from CTE. In the novel apparently this was diagnosed prior to the character’s death. I was pretty sure that wasn’t possible but I googled to check. Here is the first result that popped up:

Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed after death through brain tissue analysis. Doctors with a specialty in brain diseases slice brain tissue and use special chemicals to make the abnormal tau protein visible. They then systematically search areas of the brain for tau in the unique pattern specific to CTE.

There are very good reasons why it could not have been diagnosed after the character died.

Artistic license I guess.

Moving on.

The narration is very good. Joseph Discher narrates some small sections from the point of view of Hale’s father, Corey Szabo, but most of the book is narrated by Lance Greenfield (Corey’s POV) and Stella Bloom (Elsa’s POV). Mr Discher’s narration was fine but it was also pretty brief so I didn’t have a lot to go on.

Mr Greenfield has a particular cadence to his voice which I suppose won’t work for some people but it works for me. I’ve heard him narrate some of my favourite Kristen Ashley books (Complicated is one example) and something about his performing style suits the way Ms Ashley writes so well.

Similarly, Stella Bloom has narrated numerous Ashley books – I don’t think it’s any kind of secret to say she also narrated the Rock Chick series, albeit under another name. Her voice is one I associate with Ashley books so it puts me right in the zone when I start listening.

Both Greenfield and Bloom are skilled narrators, with good tone and pacing and a keen sense of comedy and irony – something that works well for this author.

While I doubt I’ll end up revisiting Fighting the Pull in the future (unlike many other Kristen Ashley books in my library), I enjoyed the ride while it lasted.

Grade: B-