Well, it’s Friday, so you know what that means around here! A round-up of the Gals’ current/recent listens and time to share yours :)
BJ
Narrated by Virginia Rose and Austin Stone
Caz
Narrated by Rosalyn Landor
Kaetrin
Narrated by Barrett Leddy
Melinda
Narrated by January LaVoy
I’m listening to TAKE A HINT, DANI BROWN. The narration is perfect, but I almost gave up a third of the way through due to boredom. Knowing that the ENTIRE rest of the world loved this book, I’ve persevered, and now, about 3/4 of the way in, I’m glad I didn’t abandon ship.
I know people who didn’t like it at all, so it’s not just you!
It didn’t click with me, but I’m not having much luck with m/f contemporaries right now. The first third was boring and all Dani did was talk about how she didn’t do relationships and all she thought about was how to get more orgasms. The last part was better. The narration is very good, and I really liked Zaf, plus I did like Chloe’s personal growth the last half of the book.
Chloe! I warped back to Book 1!
Last Friday I finished up Vixen and Velvet by Chase, narrated by Kate Reading. Even with the downsides of binge-ing the series, I enjoyed this book and the narration as usual.
I then took a trip down memory lane and relistened to These Old Shades by Heyer, and narrated by Cornelius Garrett. Humorous though it can be, this book deals with some heavy issues. I’m also glad Heyer doesn’t try to make Avon into a “good” guy by saying he really didn’t do all the things that earned him his title “Satanas.” (It seems a lot of “rakes” in historical romances are not actually like their reputations.) After rereading this I’m again struck by how closely Lucinda Brant patterned her characters in Noble Satyr from this book.
I then listened to The Governess Game by Tessa Dare, narrated by Mary Jane Wells. I don’t think the book would have struck me as anything very special in print, but Well’s narration is such a delight that I bumped it an entire grade.
I’m now listening to In the Wreckage by Hailey Turner, narrated by Greg Boudreaux (the name sounds so Cajun!). I’m enjoying the book–lots of good action and the world building is decent. Sex scenes are too long,though, at least the two I’ve listened to so far. Boudreaux is talented and I’m really enjoying his narration, but he does sound just a little stiff to me, like…a little emotionless. But that’s a minor quibble and since this is my first book narrated by him, it might be something I will cease to notice.
I think I said in my review of In the Wreckage that the sex scenes were too long and drawn out; I think that might have been her first book, and I think she’s definitely improved as a writer. If you get as far as book 3, a second romance is introduced which is actually my favourite (Sean and Alexei) which is just as sexy but far less kinky!
Greg (Tremblay/Boudreaux) is one of the best narrators on the planet – end of! These are tricky books to narrate I think – loads of characters and lots of different settings and styles and set pieces; they’re like mini movies in audio. I always find he’s one of those narrators who really gets the emotional stuff and portrays it really well, without going over the top. There are moments near the end of book 4 in this series which had me in tears.
I totally agree about the Dare – I would probably have given the book a C had it not been for MJW’s excellent narration. But I’ve kind of given up on TD now; she always seems to be winking at her audience going “look how funny I am” – and I doubt she’s ever going to top A Week to be Wicked.
Ah! Tremblay! I thought he sounded familiar. And I bow to your greater wisdom about his genius! LOL! I do really enjoy his voice, and I love the way he does the action scenes, in this and in the Rachel Grant book I’ve listened to. You did say that about the sex scenes in your review, I went back and checked after I listened through the first sex scenes because I was wondering if it was just me. I’m glad you feel Turner’s gotten even better, not that her writing isn’t good in this book,but there is room for improvement. I may read the next couple of books in print, then return to audio for book 4. They are all available on Kindle Unlimited, but I’d have to buy the audio versions. I can add the audio for about $8, so I’ll do that for a few of the books.
I’m enjoying Hailey Turner’s current Soulbound series as well – Gary Furlong narrates that and is doing a terrific job in similarly complex storylines with casts that are, I think, even larger than those in the Metahumans books. I wish that there was some written material like a glossary (which is in the books) to go along with the books, because they’re so detailed, and I’d like a quick reference list!
Greg is one of a handful of narrators who doesn’t make a secret of his pseudonym; he generally uses Boudreaux for the steamier things and Tremblay for other genres (although he’s recorded some as Tremblay that have sex scenes in – like the Rachel Grant books – so I’m not quite sure how he makes the distinction!) I think the Metahumans books really hit their stride around book 3 (although I’m a big fan of Alexei and Sean, which might account for that!) but the plotlines are ongoing so it’s worth reading/listening to them all if you can.
Falling back on a comfort listen this week with Rosalind James’ “Kiwi Rules” narrated by John Hartley and Emma Wilder. I really love all of James’ NZed set books as they have a good balance of humor, real life and realistic-feeling relationships (family as well as the main romance) and of course the location. Both narrators are total pros.