Category: Audible

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Feathers From The Sky Audiobook by Posy Roberts Narrated by Paul Morey

Dreamspinner presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5745

feathers

Blurb

Cal Thompson is going a little mad over the Christmas holiday, stuck in a tiny house with fourteen members of his immediate family. There’s no privacy and no boyfriend to help him cope—because Philip is still a secret, though not for long. Cal’s family knows he’s bisexual, but they’ve always assumed Cal would marry a woman and be fruitful and multiply. Just as he’s ready to set the record straight, his parents tell the family they’re selling the family house and tip this introvert’s world on edge.

Philip Sherman arrives at Cal’s family home to find his lover mourning the loss of his home, paralyzed by the abrupt and unexpected announcement that trumped his own. Though Philip takes the setback in stride, they won’t be able to avoid the calling of their hearts for long: Cal needs to reveal the truth of his relationship with Philip to his family, and Philip has a question he’s desperate to have answered.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar package “Heartwarming”.

Morgan’s Review

Book:

Cal is going home for Christmas. He’s part of a huge family and though his parents are very liberal, he worries about coming out to them, but this is the year he plans to finally come clean. He’s invited his “roommate” (his boyfriend) to share the holiday as well.

Philip is the perfect boyfriend. Supportive. Loving. Understanding. Loyal. He wants to be part of Cal’s family, yet he doesn’t pressure him into telling them, but he’s hopeful.

Most of this short Christmas story is about Cal facing his family and their surprise announcement that his parents are selling his childhood home. He has to face what “home” really means and determine just who he is and what “family” means to him. He has to finally grow up.

Philip is nothing but supportive, and when he shows up he’s embraced with open arms. He’s shown the crazy life Cal had, being one of seven children, and falls in love with the madness.

When push comes to shove, it turns out Cal needn’t have worried, the family accepted his announcement with grace and Philip rewards Cal’s courage with an important question of his own.

**

Though this had romantic elements, it wasn’t your typical romance. Cal and Philip are a solid couple and there really isn’t any issue there. Mostly, Cal just needs to face the final hurdle and claim his adult-self, free from his family, free from his childhood home, and embrace who he is, as a man and as an artist.

I really enjoyed this story. It was almost a “coming of age” in that, at 26, Cal still needed to cut the apron strings of parental expectations. Though he had lived on his own for years, he still pictured himself as the boy who lived in the house where he grew up.

When he learned that childhood home was going to be sold, he had to face the fact that he was no longer that child. He needed to make the leap and “confess” his sexuality and face the fact that the art he wanted to do wasn’t the typical portraiture his family thought, but instead more body forms and creative, less “reliable”. He wants to travel the world with Philip and take photos. This does not lend itself well to becoming a father.

His biggest hang-up was that he worried his mother would bemoan the loss of grandkids, because though adoption, surrogacy, etc. is an option, he and Philip really didn’t want kids. This is ridiculous, given that he has 6 other siblings, some of who already have kids, to provide the needed grandchildren.

In the end, it was touching and sweet. Sort of a melancholy look at growing up and letting go, but hopeful and exciting, too.

I give the book 4 of 5 hearts, I really liked it.

Audio:

Paul Morey, a favorite in this genre, did another really nice job with the narration. My only problem was Philip. He was supposed to be British, but the accent was definitely more Scottish or vaguely Irish. It’s a small thing, but it sort of bugged me.

The rest of the voices were nice, nothing too dramatic or exciting, but easy to understand and it was easy to lose yourself in the story.

I give the narration a 3.5 of 5 hearts.

Overall, I’ll round it back up to 4 of 5 hearts because it really was a nice listening experience and I enjoyed the story.

4

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Serenading Stanley Audiobook by John Inman Narrated by Tyler Stevens

serenading

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreamspinner Presents:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5659

Blurb

Welcome to the Belladonna Arms, a rundown little apartment building perched atop a hill in downtown San Diego, home to the city’s lost and lovelorn. Shy archaeology student Stanley Sternbaum has just moved in and fills his time quietly observing his eccentric neighbors, avoiding his hellion mother, and trying his best to go unnoticed… which proves to be a problem when it comes to fellow tenant Roger Jane. Smitten, the hunky nurse with beautiful green eyes does everything in his power to woo Stanley, but Stanley has always lived a quiet life, too withdrawn from the world to take a chance on love. Especially with someone as beautiful as Roger Jane.

While Roger tries to batter down Stanley’s defenses, Stanley turns to his new neighbors to learn about love: Ramon, who’s not afraid to give his heart to the wrong man; Sylvia, the trans who just wants to be a woman, and the secret admirer who loves her just the way she is; Arthur, the aging drag queen who loves them all, expecting nothing in return—and Roger, who has been hurt once before but is still willing to risk his heart on Stanley, if Stanley will only look past his own insecurities and let him in.

My Review

Stanley Sternbaum is a shy, very shy, grad student who is just now leaving the nest to study Anthropology in San Diego. He rents his first apartment ever at the somewhat dodgy Belladonna Arms, a place full of gays with only one “pesky” heterosexual in the bunch. He is immediately entranced by one of his neighbors, Roger Jane.

To Stanley, Roger epitomizes all things perfect and in fact, god-like, and therefore unattainable to a little, “nobody” like him. Even when it seems that Roger might be interested in him, he has a hard time believing, and is in fact doing what he can to avoid the man so as to avoid a broken heart.

Though he is avoiding Roger, he is not avoiding the rest of the wacky tenants, and though he wished he could, his mother. There’s ChiChi, the rent boy. Ramon, the beauty student. Charlie, the kleptomaniac. Sylvia, the transsexual. And we can’t forget Arthur, the super. Each of these characters go out of their way to bring Stanley out of his shell, and in fact spend quite a bit of time waxing poetic about Roger!

Though it is a tough road, it is very entertaining and Roger eventually manages to win over his “little mouse” and together they find their very HEA.

**

I can’t believe I missed this book when it first came out! I ended up reading this in preparation for the sequel, Work in Progress, and boy am I glad! John Inman is an excellent writer. He is funny, sweet, descriptive and his characters are sublime.

Stanley and Roger almost, almost!, take the back seat to the secondary characters in this book. Arthur is hysterical! He’s an obese drag queen forever having to haul himself up 6 flights of stairs and nearly passing out. He looks for love for all his tenants while quietly pining for his own unrequited love.

ChiChi and Ramon are two colorful neighbors who aren’t afraid to put in their two cents while in between entertaining “massage customers with special needs” (ChiChi) or practicing new hair techniques like pink hair dye for Stanley’s mother (Ramon). Charlie is a diagnosed klepto, off his meds and you can imagine the antics he gets up to.

Stanley’s mother is a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, busy-body who only wants what’s best for her son but has a hard time showing it.

All in all they make for a hysterical crew of well-meaning friends who gently nudge Stanley into Roger’s arms and help him to see for himself that he is more than worthy of that kind of love.

I highly recommend this book and give it 5 of 5 hearts.

Audio:

Tyler Stevens is a favorite narrator of mine and I think this ties as the best I have heard from him. He did a fantastic job with all the many and varied characters of the Belladonna Arms. Arthur is appropriately swishy/queeny. Sylvia is sweet and delicate. Ramon and ChiChi both have a fantastic accent with “attitude” and Stanley’s mom is perfect in her smoke roughened way.

I really, really enjoyed his narration and hope he does the sequel as well.

I give it 5 of 5 hearts.

Overall, 5 of 5 hearts.

5

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Night Shift Audiobook by Kim Fielding Narrated by Max Lehnen

night

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreamspinner Presents:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5588

 

Blurb

Aside from a sympathetic parole officer, Aiden Finn is alone in the world. He knows this is his last chance—after a lifetime in and out of prison, one more mistake will land him there to stay. Unfortunately, his job as a night custodian at a motel is neither satisfying nor good for building his confidence, and booze and burglary are always just a step behind him.
Enter beautiful, exotic, and secretive Luka Gabor, the motel’s new security guard. He seems to know a great deal about literature, history, and travel but otherwise remains a mystery. Aiden has to admit, the sex has never been better, and he might even be feeling the beginnings of friendship. He dares to hope that this time, he won’t mess things up—if lurking monsters don’t ruin his plans.

My Review

Aiden thinks he’s a “loser”. He’s an ex-con on parole ,working at a nothing job, his last chance before being sent back to prison for life. He’s got a GED but nothing else. No money, no friends, nothing much to do. Until he meets Luka.

Luka is the new security guard at Aiden’s work and every night, during Aiden’s dinner break, Luka gives Aiden a BJ! He never seeks reciprocity and refuses to see Aiden in daylight hours. Sure they enjoy some lovely conversation as well, but most of their “relationship” is confined to these encounters.

At first Aiden goes with the flow, enjoying the benefits of Luka’s peculiar form of contact, but then he begins to get attached, and his feelings get hurt.

To make himself “a better man” (and to distract himself from Luka), Aiden joins a book club, considers going to community college and starts to think about the future. Where does Luka fit in to his new life plan?

Eventually, Luka has to tell his secrets and Aiden has to decide if his monsters can co-exist with Luka’s.

**

This is a short, sweet love story. Both Aiden and Luka are so alone and so … troubled. The secret is pretty easy to figure out, it’s not meant to be a great mystery, but I liked how it gets divulged and this is a unique take on the vampire theme.

I really felt like Luka and Aiden had a chance at making a go of things, and I wished the book had continued on- maybe another chapter or two at least – to give us a picture of the two of them together, as a couple, with no secrets.

This was a great, unique, vampire story and I highly recommend it, giving it a 4.5 of 5 hearts, dropping it down from 5 only because it was too short.

Audio:

Max Lehnen did a good job with this. His accent for Luka was good (I wished it were a little more pronounced) but the “vaguely European” accent he used matched what I imagined Luka having.

The sound quality and editing was good as well.

I give it a 4 of 5 hearts.

Overall I’d give it a 4.25 of 5 hearts (rounded back to 4.5 to keep things easy).

4.5

 

 

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The Only Guy Audiobook by Skylar M Cates Narrated by Matt Baca

only guy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreamspinner Presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5762

Blurb

Aaron Weiss knows how to escape. Years ago, he ran from a romantic disappointment and impulsively joined the Army. Now, he’s forced to take a medical discharge and readjusting to life at home proves a challenge.

Jesse Ross knows how to hide. He realizes he’s an oddball, and that he’s an outsider within his own family. He also knows his secret love since childhood, Aaron, only wants his good-looking, favored older brother. Yet Jesse could never completely abandon his intense feelings for Aaron. Over the years, Jesse was a faithful pen pal to him. Still, he’s shocked to his core to find Aaron on his doorstep.

As long-buried secrets and past hurts take center stage, the two are overwhelmingly drawn to each other. But it’s their future that may force them to risk everything.

Morgan’s Review

Aaron fell in love with Jesse’s brother when they were kids. When he didn’t return the sentiment Aaron fled, but has harbored the crush for all these years.

Meanwhile Jesse has had a crush on Aaron ever since he knew what it was to want another person.

While Aaron was in the military he and Jesse formed a strong friendship through the mail but still, Aaron harbors nothing more than a vague feeling of companionship for Jesse and a burning hot adoration for his brother.

One day, after Aaron is sent home from the military for a bad heart, he goes to visit Jesse and is surprised at the man Jesse has become.

Jesse, a loner from the beginning, has only become more of a recluse over time, doesn’t know what to do with his childhood crush. On the one hand he thinks he’s just as gorgeous as ever, but doesn’t know how to like someone who can “like” his huge jerk of a brother.

Finally – FINALLY – Aaron manages to see Jesse for the amazing man he is and to see the other crush he’s harbored all these years was nothing more than a mirage.

It looks like the couple is really going to make it work when Aaron’s medical troubles drive him to the hospital again. Aaron doesn’t want Jesse to be burdened with anyone less than perfect so he pushes Jesse away. Fortunately Jesse fights for Aaron, and after a brief, but tense period apart, Aaron pulls his head out and the two re-unite… forever.

**

In this book, Aaron (Dean’s friend) is nothing like you’d expect an ex-military man to be. In fact, Jesse is the hard-ass of the relationship.

I really enjoyed watching Jesse deal with his social anxiety and the support he got from Aaron. I also really liked that Jesse was NEVER a wimp. He put up a good fight and Aaron really had to work hard to convince him what they have is real.

The secondary characters, ie brother, parents, friends; were all very well thought out and really added to the realistic feel of the story. The sub-plot with Jesse’s family was fascinating. I could really feel his pain at being “the red-headed-step-child” of the family.

I enjoyed this book when I read it and Matt Baca did an excellent job with the audio. He did a nice vaguely Brooklyn accent when needed and it was clear who was speaking.

I give both the book and the audiobook 4.5 hearts, I really enjoyed them!

4.5

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The Guy from Glamour Audiobook by Skylar M Cates Narrated by Matt Baca

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5710

glamour

Blurb

Anthony Carrino loves his big, gregarious Italian-American family, even if his sisters are interfering, and his dad, the local sheriff, knows everything going on in town. He’s happy as a middle school guidance counselor. Despite helping kids and their parents fix their problems, Anthony can’t manage to get his own love life right. If only everyone would stop calling him the “nice” guy.

Dean Pierce doesn’t do relationships. A tough-minded military man, he is dedicated to his job as a Night Stalker, flying Chinook helicopters and not speaking much to anybody. He certainly doesn’t want to deal with a mess of emotions. But when tragedy strikes, Dean finds his hands full with his troubled niece, her irresistible guidance counselor, and a meddlesome family, which includes a rather large puppy.

My Review

Dean gets called from active duty in Afghanistan to return to Arizona when his sister is killed to take charge of his 13 year-old niece. He’s totally freaked out because he really doesn’t want to A) leave the military B) raise a teenaged girl C) live in Arizona.

Then he meets Anthony, his niece’s guidance counselor and realizes that he is A) in over his head B) very attracted to Anthony.

Dean doesn’t have many social skills, he’s used to the military and hidden, hard, fast screwing as a means to release and he really doesn’t know how to handle things like “lovemaking”, feelings, or parenthood.

Dean was in foster care as a child, so he decides he can’t abandon his niece to the system and decides to leave the military to raise her. He works with Anthony to make this happen.

Anthony, who was used by his last boyfriend and left hung out to dry, is kind of a mess, but he really, really likes Dean and his niece, so he agrees to form a “no strings” relationship with Dean. He schools Dean both on “slow, tender, the-end-isn’t-important-it’s-the-journey” sex and tips to raise a teenager.

In the end, Anthony thinks he must sacrifice his family for Dean’s career. Dean has to confront his feelings and be willing to “come out” to his niece and accept a new life, without the military. We get a terrifically sweet HEA here and a glimpse of the pair in the future in the sequel!

**

Dean is sweet, closed off, hard to reach, but in the end very warm. I loved watching Anthony “train” him in the ways of tender lovemaking. I also enjoyed Anthony’s sisters, they were a hoot!

Anthony was the weakest character, but he did provide an interesting contrast in that he was kind of spineless out in the world, but totally owned things in the bedroom. In the end, he was the perfect foil for Dean.

I had originally rated this as a 3.5 when I first read it, but upon re-reading/listening to this, I upgraded it to a 4.5. I don’t know if it was the sequel, wherein everything is far more stable that convinced me, but I really enjoyed this book more knowing what I know about them in the future.

Audio

Matt Baca (previously from Into this River I Drown) did a great job. He didn’t do too much with the voices, but Dean had a nice rumbly voice and Anthony wasn’t done in any over-the-top gay-boy voice. The sisters had a vaguely Brooklyn type lilt that suited them well. I enjoyed his narration very much. 4.5 of 5 hearts.

Overall 4.5 hearts

4.5

 

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Bianca’s Plan Audiobook by BG Thomas Narrated by Paul Morey

biancaDreamspinner Presents:

Blurb

Bianca worries that her daddy, Gavin, is lonely and decides he needs a boyfriend for Christmas. So she enlists her father’s best friend, the straight and unattached Curtis. Gavin has a Christmas wish, too, and Curtis setting him up on disastrous dates isn’t part of it! Meanwhile, Curtis finds life becoming complicated as he tries to please Bianca, make Gavin happy, and fend off his own unexpected mixed feelings. Will anyone’s wish come true?

My Review

Bianca, Gavin’s 10 year old daughter is trying to get her dad a boyfriend for Christmas. She enlists the help of their mutual, straight neighbor/friend, Curtis to set Gavin up on some blind dates, since Gavin has been alone for the last two years.

Co-incidentally, two years ago is when Curtis moved in, and it’s no secret Gavin is harboring a huge crush on the straight guy. Curtis feels guilty about this crush so he elects to help Bianca, even though each set up leaves him angry and vaguely unsettled.

Finally, Gavin meets someone on his own, and Curtis realizes that he has actually been deluding himself all this time, and he makes his move in a jealous fit.

When the boys tell Bianca that they are finally together, Bianca admits that had been her plan all along!

**
This was a fast story with quick humorous “dates” punctuated by Curtis’s guilty conscience acting as a monologue in the background. Bianca is no ten year old I’ve ever met – but as a catalyst, her interest in seeing Daddy with a boyfriend works. (I don’t know why the author didn’t just make her older, it would have worked just as effectively, without bringing you out of the story, thinking “a ten year old said that?!”)

The last 20% was the couple exploring Curtis’s new forays into gay sex and it was appropriately steamy.

All in all I enjoyed the story and thought it was pretty funny and sweet.

3.5/5 hearts

3.5

Audio:
Paul Morey does another nice job. I love the deep bass voice that he gives to Gavin and he did some funny characterizations with some of the bozos Gavin ends up dating. This is another case where listening might be a bit more entertaining than reading, because the voices add some color to what might be a more vanilla story.

4 of 5 hearts

Overall 3.75 hearts.

4

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The Nothingness of Ben Audiobook by Brad Boney Narrated by Charlie David

Dreamspinner Presents:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4245

nothingness

Blurb

Ben Walsh is well on his way to becoming one of Manhattan’s top litigators, with a gorgeous boyfriend and friends on the A-list. His life is perfect until he gets a phone call that brings it all crashing down: a car accident takes his parents, and now he must return to Austin to raise three teenage brothers he barely knows.

During the funeral, Ben meets Travis Atwood, the redneck neighbor with a huge heart. Their relationship initially runs hot and cold, from contentious to flirtatious, but when the weight of responsibility starts wearing on Ben, he turns to Travis, and the pressure shapes their friendship into something that feels a lot like love. Ben thinks he’s found a way to have his old life, his new life, and Travis too, but love isn’t always easy. Will he learn to recognize that sometimes the worst thing imaginable can lead him to the place he was meant to be?

My Review

Ben lives in New York at the start of the story, he’s friends with the influential and looking to rise quickly in the world of lawyers. His parents die suddenly and leave him his younger brothers to raise – back in Texas. He’s sure the thing to do is move everyone back to NYC , there isn’t anything keeping him in Texas and many reasons to leave the dust behind. Until…

Travis has been friends with the Walshes for a while now and is especially close to their sons. He plays an influential role in helping Ben reconnect with his brothers and somehow, along the way, finds himself being attracted to a man (Ben) for the first time in his life.

The attraction is mutual, though the path to love is far from easy. First there are the brothers – they don’t trust Ben and don’t know how he’s going to fit in their lives again. Then there’s the fact that Travis has some pretty hefty hurdles to overcome concerning his own sexuality. Finally, once Ben and Travis are together and the boys have come around, there is the problem of location. Namely, Ben can’t see himself in Texas and no one else can see themselves in NYC – especially not Travis, who really is a good ol’ boy at heart.

After some much needed time apart, the advice from friends and some unexpected visits from beyond the grave, Travis and Ben re-prioritize and we get our HEA.

**
I have to admit, I didn’t like this book nearly as much when I first read it as I do now that I have read the subsequent sequels. Without giving away too much, just let me say that Travis and Ben have much more to their relationship than we see here and the payoff is really, really worth it.

This is essentially a GFY story for Travis and a sort of coming of age story for Ben in that he has a lot of growing up to do, despite his years. The book is heavy on dialog and the romance, the sex is subtle, slow building, but very sweet. Again, with a re-read after knowing more about the characters from the next books, the subtleties are really showcased as quiet clues to a much bigger, more amazing story that you will want to re-read this book just to catch them.

I highly recommend this book and the subsequent books that follow.

I give it 4.5 of 5 hearts

Audio:

Charlie David is one of my favorite m/m narrators. He does a really fantastic job with the southern drawls and is very easy to listen to. The sound quality is excellent and I think that I enjoyed listening to the audiobook even more than reading it, due to the quality of the narration.

I give it 4.5 of 5 hearts.

Overall, 4.5 of 5 hearts.

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The Art of Breathing Audiobook by TJ Klune Narrated by Sean Crisden

 

Dreamspinner Presents:

Tyson Thompson graduated high school at sixteen and left the town of Seafare, Oregon, bound for what he assumed would be bigger and better things. He soon found out the real world has teeth, and he returns to the coast with four years of failure, addiction, and a diagnosis of panic disorder trailing behind him. His brother, Bear, and his brother’s husband, Otter, believe coming home is exactly what Tyson needs to find himself again. Surrounded by family in the Green Monstrosity, Tyson attempts to put the pieces of his broken life back together.

But shortly after he arrives home, Tyson comes face to face with inevitability in the form of his childhood friend and first love, Dominic Miller, who he hasn’t seen since the day he left Seafare. As their paths cross, old wounds reopen, new secrets are revealed, and Tyson discovers there is more to his own story than he was told all those years ago.

In a sea of familiar faces, new friends, and the memories of a mother’s devastating choice, Tyson will learn that in order to have any hope for a future, he must fight the ghosts of his past.

My Review

Book

Here’s a brief run-down of the story:

Ty has fallen for Dom, Dom ends up getting married and having a baby. Ty gets freaked the eff out and runs away to school where he gets addicted to anti-anxiety drugs. Ty makes a friend/boyfriend but it’s not “all that”. Ty gets off drugs. Ty goes on a trip to the Southwest. Ty reconnects with Dom. Crazy stuff happens in the last few pages showing us what will likely show up in the next installment.

It took me forever to write this review – so long in fact, the audiobook came out! So…I decided to combine the two, save everyone some time.

I think the main reason it took so long to write this is my ambivalence towards the book.

Things that I loved: It was great seeing everyone again. I love these characters. They make me laugh and cry and howl. They are so very entertaining. I had longed to see Ty and Dom together and was so satisfied when they finally do hook up. TJ is a hysterical writer and I am always entertained by his writing. The forward movement of the story looks fantastic and I can’t wait to see Bear and Otter as parents again! Hopefully we will get to see more of Ty and Dom as an established couple in the next book.

What I didn’t love: So much of the story was NOT about Ty and Dom together. The story felt fractured into these widely divergent pieces. There was the “remember when”, “the reunion”, “the trip to meet Sandy”, “lots of lots of Ty angst” and only a teeny tiny smidge of “Ty and Dom the couple”. I wanted that, the couple part. I yearned for it. And they were almost never together on page.

What I both loved and hated:
Bear’s ramblings: He’s funny and I love where his mind goes, but sometimes he took the light away from Ty and Dom.

Dom: He changed. I really felt like the sweet, never going to leave Ty-guy, did. He left Ty. That was really hard to swallow. And I don’t know that I felt like that change was ever really fully justified. On the other hand, new-Dom was a more complex character and I really appreciated that he actually seems like a grown-up with grown-up concerns and priorities in a land of perpetual “Young Adults” like Bear and Creed.

The Cross Over: I both loved and hated the cross over with “Tell Me It’s Real”. It felt superfluous. Sure, I LOVED that book and thought all the interactions between the characters were funny. But necessary? No. Not really.

Kori/Core: As the best friend cum boyfriend s/he did fulfill an important roll, but again, sometimes I felt like this was more about Ty and Kori than Dom. Kori got more pages (it felt) than Dom.

I think that, at this point, some of the ramblings and meanderings that have become sort of the hallmark to TJ’s writing could really use a more forceful editing. He clearly has talent, creativity and an amazing sense of humor, but I wish that this book could have been more focused and more tightly drawn to show Dom and Ty more and the others, less. (Even though they’re funny, they took away from the story. IMHO)

So, though I hate to do it, I’d give this a 3 of 5 hearts. I liked it (at times I loved it) but when I look back at what I wish the story was and what I got, I’m disappointed. It won’t stop me from being a fan and from devouring the next book, but I am hopeful there will be some positive changes.

3

Audiobook:
I love Sean Crisden. I think he does a terrific job and I really liked his Dom voice. He also did great work with Sandy and though I wouldn’t have thought of Vince as a kind of stoner, it worked. Ty was appropriately whiny and Otter rumbly. I think I enjoyed listening to this more than reading it because Sean gives the characters even more color and charm. Of course it’s hella long, 15 hours, so pace yourself, but it’s worth it! 4.5 of 5 hearts.

4.5

Overall 4 of 5 hearts.

4

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Tequila Mockingbird Audiobook by Rhys Ford Narrated by Tristan James

Dreamspinner presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5121

 


Blurb

Lieutenant Connor Morgan of SFPD’s SWAT division wasn’t looking for love. Especially not in a man. His life plan didn’t include one Forest Ackerman, a brown-eyed, blond drummer who’s as sexy as he is trouble. His family depends on him to be like his father, a solid pillar of strength who’ll one day lead the Morgan clan.

No, Connor has everything worked out—a career in law enforcement, a nice house, and a family. Instead, he finds a murdered man while on a drug raid and loses his heart comforting the man’s adopted son. It wasn’t like he’d never thought about men — it’s just loving one doesn’t fit into his plans.

Forest Ackerman certainly doesn’t need to be lusting after a straight cop, even if Connor Morgan is everywhere he looks, especially after Frank’s death. He’s just talked himself out of lusting for the brawny cop when his coffee shop becomes a war zone and Connor Morgan steps in to save him.

Whoever killed his father seems intent on Forest joining him in the afterlife. As the killer moves closer to achieving his goal, Forest tangles with Connor Morgan and is left wondering what he’ll lose first—his life or his heart

Moragn’s Review

Connor is the oldest Morgan, he’s a tough cop and he’s straight. Right?

Forest is another tortured artist, a drummer, who ends up falling for this straight cop, despite his best intentions. And people are out to kill him. Don’t forget that part.

Connor has to come to grips with his feelings and goes to his dad – the best dad that was ever invented (IMHO) – and finds out that love is love and he should go out and get his man. And take care of the bad guys – don’t forget that part.

Forest finds out that Connor has feelings for him and not only that, gets him access to the newly forming band made up of super-stars Damien and Miki from Sinner’s Gin. And he has to stay alive – don’t forget that part.

This is a fantastic addition to the Sinner’s Gin series. I love how the new band keeps growing and the Morgans keep getting more deeply involved with each new member introduced. I love how the Morgan patriarchs help to heal these “boys” and give them the family they so richly deserve.

I can’t wait for the audio version of this to come out! Connor’s voice on the previous two audio books was super-sexy and I’m betting an entire book of him will be drool-worthy.

I also just loved the time Forest spent with Damien and Miki. I really feel like the formation of the band is almost more of the story than the individual love stories, it’s so heart wrenching and powerful. It almost steals the show, but not quite. Why? Super-hot sex scenes. Damn. Rhys Ford can sure write sex scenes. I just love the sensuality she infuses into each one. So deliciously hot.

I am excited for the next installment – I just know Quinn is going to be a riot!

I highly recommend this book, the entire series, the audio versions and anything Rhys Ford has written.

Ok – I’m a fan, so shoot me!

6 out of 5 hearts

amazing

Audiobook

Tristan James does the Sinners series and his Irish Cop Voice is to-die-for. Somehow he makes Donal different from Kane different from Connor and let me tell you, Bridg – the mom – is THE BEST! She is absolutely hysterical when she tells Forest she’ll take out his mom with a knife if he wants.

Though you it’s hard to do much better than a Rhys Ford book, listening to the series with Tristan James does just that. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating – I just love his voice and he makes listening to the story even more interesting by infusing emotion, character development and timing.

I highly recommend this book on audio and give it 6 of 5 hearts.

amazing