Review copy was received from Publicity team. This does not affect my opinion of the book or tThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publicity team. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I have been waiting for Whitney's story because she has had the most mysterious situation. Plus I wanted to continue the Carolina Classics series and see what is happening with all the five friends. With Whitney, it could be easy to think poor little rich girl but it's more complicated than that.
Whitney took ill at Violet's wedding and Ford takes her to the hospital. It turns out she was going into sepsis from a miscarriage. Her husband immediately files for separation. This is a timely issue today. She takes a job out of town because they will provide lodging. The other friends are very worried about Whitney and push Ford to become a conduit for them to know how Whitney is doing. Luckily, her new job needs a sound guy so Ford is able to get that job with his sound team.
Ford has always loved Whitney. But they don't really know each other. The comfort and caring of long time friends is there and the job gives them a chance to get to know each other more intimately while on their own. It's a little weird with a slow burn emotional and fast burn physical.
When I Come Around takes us through the emotional journey of Whitney and Ford building a relationship. They learn about each other. In a way, they each think they aren't good enough for the other. They are sort of committed to each other from start to end, but afraid to hurt the other person. Whitney wants to stand on her own before committing, after all she is separated but still married.
Ford and Whitney stay in their relationship, even when they are long distance. The rest of the group had various reactions but by the time they are more open about their relationship, they seem to be on board. I feel proud of how they tried to support and care for each other. I also feel badly for all Whitney went through. The sound effects of the AOL dialup for online email access was so .. familiar. Be sure to read the epilogue, which shows them all four years later.
Narration: I don't believe I have listened to either narrator before. Stribling narrates the chapters from Whitney's point of view and Dunlap narrates the chapters from Ford's point of view. In this dual narration, I had the problem I sometimes do. Stribling's voice for Whitney was sharp while Dunlap's version of her was husky. They just didn't sound similar at all. I didn't notice or have an issue with Ford's voice. Otherwise, I enjoyed the performance and the voices of their friends. I listened at 1.4x speed which is a bit slower than my usual speed.
[image] Author newsletter freebie (ebook is currently $5.99 and in Kindle Unlimited as of writThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
[image] Author newsletter freebie (ebook is currently $5.99 and in Kindle Unlimited as of writing this post)
Shamrock began right after the events of Eagle. Now instead of government secrets, some of the bad guys are after scientific discoveries. They are also enjoying some human trafficking on the side. Aiden sees a woman who is obviously uncomfortable with what she is having to do at the club. Violet turns out to have been kidnapped to try to get her brother's company to turn complete a technically advanced weapon. Violet is actually the scientist able to do it.
Aidan goes in to connect with them to stop them from the government side but also to protect Violet at their parties and figure out where she is being kept. After Aiden frees her, she works hard to build her own skills in self defense. She also wants a relationship with Aiden. Charlie is a good friend to her because they have both been kidnapped by this group of bad guys and suffered with them.
When the bad guys come after her again, she is in better shape to protect herself. A key part is she is mentally more prepared for the bad situations. It's exciting race to see if she finishes the weapon and they kill her before help arrives.
Narration: This was the same narrator as the first book, so I was familiar with the character voices and distinctions. I listened at my normal 1.5x speed.
[image] Author newsletter audio freebie (ebook currently $5.99 at Amazon and Barnes & Noble asThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
[image] Author newsletter audio freebie (ebook currently $5.99 at Amazon and Barnes & Noble as of writing this post)
Keirnan is a kindergarten teacher and a girl in her class, has been raised mostly by her grandmother. But now her father, Dane is back from the military. Keirnan loves teaching and is running a fund-raiser to update the main library where she does story times with young children. She comes from a military family with her father and brother both in the military.
Dane is just settling into raising his daughter and deciding what to do with his life. He is attracted to Keirnan and they start dating. Keirnan sees a weird man at the library and then someone tries to burn down her house. She ends up staying with Dane for protection. They try to figure out who would have something against her or her family.
When Keirnan is kidnapped, Dane and and Auggie, Keirnan's father work as team along with some of Dane's old team and Auggie's current one to save her. The situation is suspenseful and exciting with good strategy and tactical work by the teams. In the end, Dane and Auggie, who is retiring from the military, form a new company GHOST for security and protection.
I really appreciated how the characters and their interests were developed, along with their families, co-workers and friends. The couple took his daughter in consideration when they began dating. The work they do has good details and the mystery was interesting. Their personal relationship was grown steadily. The sex scenes seemed well balanced with their talking and other activities.
Narration: I am not sure I have heard these narrators previously. I felt very comfortable with their performance at 1.5x speed.
The beginning couple of chapters went right into lust and sex talk between two people we don't know. yet, and into sex-capades. This is also the firstThe beginning couple of chapters went right into lust and sex talk between two people we don't know. yet, and into sex-capades. This is also the first of the series. I don't mind steamy scenes but I want to know the characters a bit. These two characters do know each other, at least. The male is the female's brother's best friend. ...more
The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
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The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point). Audio freebie through a newsletter on January 28, 2023 (currently $17.35 on Audible as of writing this post) Kindle freebie on April 3, 2022 (currently $4.99 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as of writing this post) [There is an ebook Hot Heroes, which has the first books in 4 series by this author, including this book, for free]
3.5 hearts
Black List is another romantic suspense title with spy and foreign assassin themes. Maddy is an art appraiser whose father worked often in Russia. She was close to him and learned Russian in school. We start with her in Russia doing some work.
Jace is an operative with Black's team. He lived in the US until his family was sent back to Russia with his parents cast as spies. He was in the Russian military when the rest of his family was killed. Ian Black saved him and he's worked for him.
Jace is there to capture a female assassin. I had my suspicions about the assassin and I was right! Maddy is initially a suspect but when she isn't, she is in danger from the actual assassin. We get a fast, hot relationship with Jace and Maddy. There is a pretty good background on them and some of their current friends / team members.
I had fun and excitement with this couple. It doesn't feel too realistic but we really don't learn much about what Black's team actually does. Most of our time is with building the romance and protecting Maddy. I will probably read more in the Black's Bandits series as I have the next one Black Tie as an ebook freebie. They are entertaining and I want to learn more about the kind of work they do.
Narration: I have listened to both of these narrators previously. I've listened to Emma Wilder on several books. I wasn't sure if I had heard Joe Arden, but he narrated one of my favorites when I looked him up. Wilder narrated the chapters from Maddy or Calypso point of views. She did especially well with infusing emotion into her characters. Arden voiced the chapters from Jace's point of view. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
[image]
The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point). Audio freebie through a newsletter on April 5, 2019 (currently $27.99 on Audible and $14.99 on Chirp as of writing this post) Kindle freebie on December 20, 2013 (currently $3.99 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as of writing this post)
I've enjoyed a different series from this author and since I had Concrete Evidence as a freebie decided to try it. I have to say I like both series and the scientific aspects and some interesting locations and occupations. Oddly, this was the second book in a row I read with a theoretical physicist.
Erica is an underwater archeaologist who has had some rough breaks. She has completed her masters degree but discovered her mother has taken all her money and ruined her credit. In an attempt to earn some money to cover all the debts, she takes a job which ends up being with a guy stealing artifacts. She tries to get them away from them but they torture her to get her to say where they are.
Now Erica is working for a company on the east coast, after being blackballed on the west coast, after working for the unscrupulous treasure hunter. She's determined to expose him and get back the artifacts for Mexico where they belong.
She is trying to get the project for a casino since she thinks they have the artifacts. At the same time, she gets assigned an intern. Lee Scott is not an intern but a step-brother to the CEO there to find out about artifacts being smuggled in from Iraq. He sees Erica as a potential suspect. Lee and the CEO, want to make sure his father is clear of any scandal as he is announcing his run for president.
Lee and Erica are very attracted and eventually succumb to their desires and catch real feelings for each other. Yet, they are lying to each other to try to find and catch the culprits. Things are very dangerous for Erica, as the bad guys try to kill her to shut down her looking into things. Lee however, has the skills to get even closer to the them, but Erica ends up in the severe danger.
I found this story exciting, emotional, and sexy. It was a bit infuriating that Erica was so talented and yet had no money or power to protect herself. She did work hard to be able to defend herself and Lee helped to ease her financial problems and tried to protect her. The conclusion was exciting and a bit twisty. I'll definitely be continuing this Evidence series.
Narration: I have listened to both of these narrators before. I felt very comfortable with their performances. Zanzarella voiced all the chapters in Erica's point of view; Tremblay narrated the ones in Lee's point of view. There were more from Erica's perspective. I enjoyed the emotion brought forth from their work. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Anne - Books of My Heart
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