We’ve got another eclectic mix of audios on the go this time, from dark contemporary romance to romantic suspense, Tudor-era historical fiction to 19th century werewolves. If you’ve listened to any of these, drop by to tell us what you thought. If not, maybe something here will give you some inspiration for your next listen.
Here’s what the Gals are listening to this week.
BJ
Narrated by Marnye Young and Connor Goff
Caz
Narrated by Garrett Kiesel
Em
Narrated by Hamish McKinlay
Kaetrin
Narrated by Rupert Channing and Charlotte North
Melinda
Narrated by Soneela Nankani
Shannon
Narrated by Simon Vance
This week I listened to The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare and narrated by Mary Jane Wells. I got this one simply because I wanted to listen to Wells again and my library had this one on Hoopla. Wells does an incredible job and made an ok story enjoyable.
I also listened to Heated Rivalry (#2) by Rachel Reid and just a little ways in remembered people here recommended this in print not audio. I liked the story a lot, but Tor Thom’s performance was lacking. I’m going to listen to Common Goal (#4) with a different narrator, and perhaps read the 3rd book in print.
Next up was Burn Zone by Annabeth Albert, narrated by Iggy Toma. Toma was a huge improvement over Tor Thom, thankfully, although I do think his female voices were weak. The story got a little too into the “I’m doing this for your own good” trope, which I don’t care for. Telling someone you know what’s best for them is taking away their agency and basically gaslighting them. I did like that Jacob resisted the manipulations by family and even Linc , and proved the rightness of his choices. Good call by the author to have Jacob hesitant at the end to trust too easily. Overall I enjoyed the book and will continue with the series.
I needed a break from m/m (read a couple in print, too), so now I’m listening to Dukes Prefer Blondes by Loretta Chase and narrated by Kate Reading. I wanted a book with humor and the marvelous narrative skills of Kate Reading.
I really like Mary Jane Wells, and I wish she recorded more romance audio – but I know that she’s spent the last couple of years on tour in a one-woman play she wrote, so I’m assuming that’s taken up a lot of her time.
I agree about the conflict in Burn Zone (I may even have mentioned it in my review) – and I’ve said elsewhere that the “I’m doing this for your own good” trope always annoys me for the same reason; it’s tantamount to one partner telling the other they don’t know their own mind.
Heated Rivalry is SUCH a great book. I reviewed it at AAR and although I gave it a B+ because of a couple of plot points that didn’t work for me, it still made my Best of list that year. I could have cried when I saw who’d been assigned to narrate it :( I’ve reviewed Tor Thom a couple of times here and didn’t rate him at all (although Melinda listened to him in a contemporary m/f dual narration and liked him a lot better). Thankfully, Harlequin Audio has taken over the production from Tantor (who doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to choosing the right narrator for a project) – I liked Cooper North’s performance, although I agree with one of our regular commenters that he needs to work on his Ilya voice if he ends up narrating the sequel (to Heated Rivalry).
Dukes Prefer Blonds is hands down my favourite Dressmaker book.
Heated Rivalry was so emotionally satisfying. I loved the way it’s set up in vignettes over the years, showing the growing attachment between the leads. I’ll definitely reread that one (in print!).
I went back and read your review of Burn Zone after I read it and you had the same issues I did, which I was glad to read
because sometimes I think I’m too picky. But it was still a good story and I like the author so I’ll definitely keep going.
I’m about two-thirds of the way through the Chase book and I’ve been trying to find chores to do so I can keep listening! I just moved the refrigerator and cleaned under it for the first time in…well a long time! LOL!
I’m really looking forward to listening to ‘Managed’. I read it last year and it was the m/f contemporary that I enjoyed the most.
I’ve finished with ‘A Friend in the Dark’ and am looking forward to reading Caz’s review to see whether our views coincide!
I’m now listening to the much admired ‘Him’, which I have previously read, and can see why the narration is much admired.
‘Dukes Prefer Blondes’ is another audio that we can’t get on Audible in UK – grrr.
Oooh, Ilya again :)
There are some very irritating production issues with AFitD, which I’ll be flagging up (I’ve made the authors aware of them).
HIM is so good – it’s one of my regular go-to re-listens. I think Jacob Morgan has developed SO much as a performer since then, though. Not that he wasnt good, but I’d love to hear what he’d make of it now. #agirlcandream.