L. Hew

Great book, definitely up to the standard of what to expect. The series has always been dark and gorgeously written, which I love. As always, I look forward to the next book in the series, and I buy them without any hesitation, knowing I won't be disappointed. Christopher Evan Welch gets top marks for reading as usual, adding depth and emotion to these lovely characters. I love how much, without even having to say, Alice and Tom love each other. He is her light in her darkest time and he hurts when he's away from her. FYI to those wondering, Patrick Arrasmith is NOT a co-author. Delaney writes the series by himself. Arrasmith does all the illustrations in the USA hardcopy books which is why he is credited. So, a definite five star recomendation!

I've been having a very hard time recently getting through an entire audiobook. Still, I've been devouring e-books from my favorite authors. This leads me to believe that my dissatisfaction is down to the narrators (and yes, a lot is also down to the books and the authors). I bought this book on merit of Jack Lefleur alone. I've never heard of the author, Fae Sutherland (which is likely my own folly and nothing to do with her talent) but I've been wasting so many credits buying books and losing interest that I got desperate. I knew Jack Lefleur as the narrator would not let me down (the synopsis of the book sounded like something he would excel at reading).

Somebody needs to figure out how to bottle this man's voice. It's one of the sexiest things I've ever heard and the more he reads is the more you lose yourself in the words he's weaving around you. Every book he reads is a performance. Each character is given their own distinct voice. Each action pulls you in. It's not hard to imagine that you're sitting in that cockpit with Rain or stalking around the ship with Torin. Once he starts going, you really just have to drop everything, close your eyes, and let his words infuse you.

This book is sexy. There is no other word for it. If I've listened to it slowly it's because I've been savoring it. This is why we listen to gay romance as audiobooks. A sizzlingly hot story with a great plot. Throw in some off-planet action, hidden pasts, and running from the law and you're left with a story that has great characters and lovely world building. I wouldn't say it's the best story I've 'read' but it's definitely better than so many others. Rain and Torin burn the pages the second they are in a room together. Hot, sexy tension and scorching hot sex. And it helps that the plot is solid and believable.

If you have a lazy weekend or could do with a lie-in, download this book and listen. Definitely worth the credit!

When Sophie Kinsella has a chick lit out there's no need to even listen to the preview. Really, just buy it. Okay. To be honest, there were moments when Poppy's character edged my teeth with how flighty and air-headed she seemed. This is one very ditzy heroine. And she's impulsive. And sometimes I found myself thinking aloud to her "God girl think this through!" But well, she is just a character in a book. Fortunately this is a very well-written book. And it's fun to read (bought it in the airport for a flight), and especially fun to listen to (left the book behind then just re-bought it here on Audible as soon as I got back home). It's all the funny moments, and yes, all the groan-out-loud at Poppy's madness, moments and of course those moments when you're really so into a book that you can't bear to put it down (or turn it off in this case). I do have to warn again the narrator's choice of voice for Sam. He sounds like an old man! I couldn't get over it. This was sadly disappointing since the narrator is otherwise really great and everyone else had convincing voices. But for some reason the 'leading man' got assigned the voice of a 50 year old. No idea why! Fortunatley once you get over the shock the first few times it turns out alright. Bottom line, don't expect the next of the great best literature here, it is chick lit after all. But if you want a fun easy listen with laugh-out loud moments then this is a no brainer to just buy.

I would certainly recommend this book to a friend but must admit that this would be a title I would rec only if I've run out of more interesting titles. It's definitely worth the recommendation and is by far better than most other books out there in this genre. Still, it's not the kind of book you'll find yourself listening to over and over. So, it's not going to be one of those titles that immediately spring to mind when a friend asks for a recommendation.

The most interesting aspect was the romance between the two male leads. I liked the development of the romance between the two men, as well as the friendship within the band between the bandmates. I was however a little irritated because one of the men already had an established best friend and suddenly the two lead men were being referred to as 'best friends' just to perhaps give the upcoming relationship a firmer foothold. I don't mind the two men being best friends. I just got a little miffed because I saw no point in establishing a bff just to 'replace' him, since the bandmates are all pretty tight with each other throughout the story anyway.

The least interesting aspect I found was the climb from obscurity to fame. I am admittedly divided on this opinion because on one hand it was very interesting to live the 'journey'. However, on the other hand this is a romance novel. Brace yourself, I warn, because 3/4 of this book has no romance whatsoever. It's all about the climb. For the 1/4 that is all about the romance however, this was admittedly well written and well-read. So while I was seriously bored during some parts, if those parts were edited out, the story would have fallen flat because so much of it was about the rags-to-riches. To take even the tiniest bit of that away would have destroyed the story. The UST however was nicely handled, and the fact that the main characters were best friends helped to distract from the lack of romance. Also, the second half of the book does its best to make up for the prudeness of the first half. So, much of this is forgiven.

I loved Sean Crisden's performance. As usual, it's not his best performance, but neither is it close to being his worst. He does a very good job with establishing each character and bringing his own unique brand of youthful enthusiasm to the read. He kept my interest in the story even at its most boring points.

I realize though that my like for Crisden as a narrator helps me to appreciate this and some other novels he's narrated, more than if I'd read them myself in print form. I imagine that if you dislike Crisden as a narrator then this may not be the book for you to buy. In my opinion he carries the book further than I would have appreciated it on its own. In the same way, I imagine that in this particular book, disliking him as a reader can just as much take away from the experience, especially because so much of this book is about the band, the bandmates' friendship, and their journey from obscurity to fame, more than about the two men who eventually - admittedly convincingly and very gorgeously, and slowly - fall in love with each other.

I vaguely remember this title previously being given five-star reviews on some known review sites, but admit that such ratings never swayed me before. Truthfully, I bought this book entirely on merit of Sean Crisden being the narrator. He did not disappoint me! Neither did the novel itself. Admittedly, I'm a huge gay-for-you fan and as Sean Crisden is one of my top ten favorite audiobook narrators, I knew I would not regret this purchase.
Even at its angsty-est moments, this novel is a cut above the rest. Personally I found that the storyline reminded me quite a bit of the movie Shelter (2007) and as the previous reviewer mentions, there is an overdone ocean imagery that could have been reigned in. I'm also not the biggest fan of the main characters (incl. the supporting cast!) bursting into tears at any given emotional moment. But all this is forgiveable in light of a well-written, well-narrated story. And it is indeed a well-written novel! I never got bored, never had a moment when I was tempted to skip forward. The pace and the story arc was excellently done, balancing angst with humor very well. To his credit, Sean Crisden does what he does at his best, giving personality to the characters and diving into every scene with such enthusiasm and fearless animation that it was difficult to turn the audio off, and I never really wanted the book to end. With over 12 delicious hours to enjoy, I say forget listening to the sample. Just go ahead and buy this one!

I happen to love this book. It???s my favorite in the series so far. Personally, Sean Crisden had his work cut out for him being the narrator of a novel that I've loved reading in print. I know every line in this book, know all the jokes and all the emotional scenes, and I've had a mental impression of what these scenes sound like. Sean Crisden doesn't always get it right, but he gets it right when it counts. It must be said that I'm not impressed by his reading of the first quarter of the book. For whatever reason his tone seemed monotonous and frustratingly, his inflections were off. He seemed to emphasize random words in sentences instead of the correct words. Also the voice he chose to use for Nick O was so irritating it borders on being the worst voice I've ever heard assigned to a character. However, his reading of Ty and Zane, and the supporting characters in general, were very well done as usual. The most important scene in the book (you know which one!) was read with a combination of strength and vulnerability, for which Crisden deserves the highest kudos. It may not be Crisden's best, but it's certainly a lovely effort. This is for the most part due to the story that was written. There's no getting enough of Ty and Zane. Urban and Roux makes falling in love breathtaking and sexy, hard to come to terms with, sometimes even painful to bear, and achingly difficult to endure alone. Therein lies the reason why this series is so popular. Although I intensely dislike Cameron as a character in Warrior's Cross, I have every faith in Roux succeeding in her new solo role for the crossover sequel. I will likely buy the next book in the series, Armed and Dangerous, provided Sean Crisden (or someone as talented) continues to read.

I have no words to describe how gorgeously beautiful and heartbreakingly touching this book is. Sarah Drew puts a world of emotion into her reading. And the words that Lauren Oliver weave are so breathtaking that I cried and laughed and ached and loved. 'I love you. I LOVE you. I love YOU...' so simple this sentiment and yet so very powerful. If this book were a poem it would be Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda. And if it had a song at the closing credits it would be Amongster by Polica. I reccomend listening to this book with every fibre of my being. You'll not regret it.

I've always considered F&C to be the weakest in the C&R series. My personal favorite is the book that follows, Divide & Conquer. Still, I've been impatiently awaiting the audio version. And it is definitely worth the wait! Since Sawyer Allerde is no longer available to read, I'm happy with the choice of Sean Crisden. He reads for Mary Calmes and I've always loved him with her lighter, 'perfect' protagonists. F&C can't have been the easiest book to narrate. There are accents flying everywhere, even Italian text, and worse the authors never pre-warn when Ty's accents, in particular, gets switched. Sean Crisden, bless him, is horrible with accents. Every time he did the British accent I had a flashback to a Georgette Heyer novel. While he lost points for the accents, he gained points for tackling these accents. Sean Crisden's version of Ty, in general, is softer, more emotional, than the Ty of C&R and S&S. I'm curious to hear his interpretation of Ty in D&C and hope that he does get to read it. At this rate though, my three favorite M/M narrators will end up reading all my favorite M/M romance novels.

The first time I read this book I hated it. I got about 20 or so pages in and was quite disgusted with Gabe's character. Now, two years later I bought the audio book on merit of Susan Elizabeth Phillip. I LOVE the way she writes and I couldn't stand the idea that I hadn't given Dream A Little Dream a chance. I love this book. I love every painful moment, every angry word, I even love how Gabe responds to having Edward around, and how gentle and healing and perfect Edward was. Gabe is like a wounded animal and this book was so beautifully written, so much hurt beautifully, honestly, portrayed that I can't believe how immature I was in not giving it a chance before. As for Anna Fields/Kate Fleming...nothing and no-one will ever compare to how brilliantly she read and what a woman she must have been to bring such animation to SEP's alpha males and strong, resilient female characters. Rest in Peace beautiful soul.

Josh Lanyon is one of my go-to authors, and Ray Ramano as the narrator has yet to really disappoint me. When I got to the end of this book though, I had no trouble moving on to another. I didn't hate it or love it, I just thought it was fine-just-fine. This is mostly because it's not often that I like a gay romance novel and yet don't care whether or not the leading men get together. The mystery/suspense is good. Elliot and Tucker were pretty good characters on their own. Yet, at the end of the book when the mystery was solved and it was time to wrap up the romance, I didn't really care too much. These two men seem great in bed, but the emotional aspect, the 'relationship' was a stretch. I didn't buy that they were in love. I think they both just missed the sex when they were apart. In the end, they could have convincingly carried on as even-closer now-friends with benefit. Nothing wrong with that. So, two stars lost, because the gay romance shouldn't have to be padded to be convincing. Overall though, a solid read. Go for it!