At First Sight

Global Security Unlimited, Book 1

By: Sharon Michalove

Narrated by: Emma Wilder, Jason Clarke

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Oxford, England 1993. An awkward American grad student runs into a gorgeous English undergrad with her bicycle. She’s embarrassed. He’s intrigued. They go their separate ways, but neither forgets.

Chicago, Illinois 2013. When Cress Taylor starts receiving anonymous threats, the successful novelist feels her world crashing down. Max Grant turns up at a book signing and wants to renew their fleeting acquaintance. Is the timing coincidental or suspicious? Should she fall into his arms or run like hell? Then the plagiarism accusations start.

A former spy now working for a global security company, Max Grant has always steered clear of relationships—until now. When he sees Cress in a TV interview, his curiosity ignites. Will the spark he felt 20 years ago burst into flame? Cress is a magnet he can’t resist. As threats escalate to physical danger, Max feels driven to protect Cress. They must learn to work together if they want to stop her nemesis and find their happy ending.

Nominated in the suspense/thriller category for the 2022 InD’tale RONE Awards.

©2021 Sharon Deborah Michalove (P)2022 Sharon Deborah Michalove

Suspense with a dash of romance

This was a multilayered, slow burn romance with lots of plot detail.

Emma Wilder and Jason Clarke did amazing work on this narration including all the accents and languages used!

Loved my first romantic thriller book by Sharon Micahlove !

ALC review - At First Sight is a second-chance love-at-first-sight meets international suspense. Rotary scholar/author meets MI6 operative, 2nd time around. Its such a unique premise and I found it refreshing. Sharon Michalove is a new author to me and Im impressed with the fast paced plot development, yet slow burn romance between the Cressida and Max. Emma Wilder and Jason Clarke put their accent skills on full display and it was delightful. Jason narrates the protector perfectly while Emma narrates the stubborn “ I can take care of myself” heroine to a tee. In spite of the threats, their past traumas and the intrigue of their current circumstances, the romance is forefront in this book. Its sweet and passionate just like the HEA. Cant wait to listen to the next book !

Jason Clarke & Emma Wilder were perfect

Sadly I just didn’t love this story. It seemed very long and too descriptive in most of the story. I honestly just couldn’t connect with the characters. Cressa was overly clumsy way too many times. It just didn’t make much sense to me or add anything to the story. I really wanted to love the story but I just couldn’t get there.

What I did love was the narration. Emma Wilder is always amazing. But Jason Clarke knocked it out of the park with his narration. He had so many accents that he performed flawlessly. The narration is the reason for the 3 stars of my review.

A Second Chance Twenty Years in the Making

I listened to this audiobook and was pulled in immediately by Jason Clarke's and Emma Wilder's excellent narration. Mr. Clarke's Scottish brogue and the various other accents are spot-on and truly bring the characters to life. Ms. Wilder is equally as talented at bringing Cress to life and showcasing her emotional highs and lows. I immediately dove into the next book in the series, At the Crossroads. I highly recommend this book and audiobook.
I absolutely loved this story. Cress and Max are a unique couple. She's a historical romance author whose past has caused her to keep her inner circle small, and Max is a former MI6 operative whose previous career causes him to keep secrets. A chance encounter brings the couple together but apparently they had a previous encounter twenty years prior and both characters wondered what if.
Max's memory of their encounter is ingrained in his soul and Cress was forever the one who got away. Her memory of the encounter is clouded by the behavior of Max's companion but she wistfully watched him around Oxford.
Cress is a very successful, independent woman, who has high walls built up around her heart. People, except for her two very closest friends, have always hurt her and let her down, so Max has his work cut out for him. When a stalker and allegations of plagiarism put Cress in danger, it's fortunate Max works for a security firm.
The story that follows is a well-written, slow burn, second-chance romance with elements of danger and suspense. Ms. Michalove delves into the web of emotions and the secrets each character harbor that threaten to derail the budding relationship. While Cress's family is a train wreck, Max's big Scottish family is tight-knit and boisterous. Secrets are revealed, emotions are laid bare, danger lurks but justice wins out and the couple end up together in a satisfying HEA.

Enjoyable,

This is the 1st time I've ever listened to this author. And I'm not going to lie my interest was because of Jason Clark and Emma Wilder. These 2 know how to elevate a story like no other. Though I will say the story itself was very intriguing had little suspense. The 2 characters came together nicely. Or should I say they didn't really come together nicely because he really had to work to get her to show interest but it was just such a different story and I enjoyed the whole thing and how it came together so much so that I definitely would like to listen to the 2nd book in this series. Now I know the 2nd book is different characters but I met them in this book and the characters all had were so interesting that I would love to listen to it. All in all it was worth the listen.

Romantic Suspense

Sharon Michalove is a new-to-me author. She opens with a quote from a Penny Reid book, so I was instantly drawn in. This audiobook has an intriguing hook, captivating suspense, and complex characters. The trope and narrators were a huge draw for me with this book. I love Emma Wilder and Jason Clarke. I found the story lagged a bit at times in the middle, but I enjoyed it overall. I’m inclined to think some of the lag was due to the author world-building since this is a new series started. Emma and Jason were phenomenal. I’m intrigued to see what book 2 in this series brings!

Romantic Suspense Thriller

At First Sight by Sharon Michalove is a romantic suspense thriller that I listened to on audio narrated by Emma Wilder and Jason Clarke. This is the first book in the Global Security Unlimited series.

This is the first book of Sharon's that I have read. This book has a slow burn romance between Cress and Max. It focuses more on the threats that Cress is receiving and the secrets of Max past being a MI6 agent.

I look forward to the second book in the series At The Crossroads to be released on audio so I can get more of their story.

Emma and Jason did an amazing job on the narration. They both really know how to bring a story to life. I look forward to listening to more of their work in the future.

I would recommend this book if you like romantic suspense, thrillers, second chance romances, or contemporary romances.

Suspense with awesome narration

3 stars for the book, 5 stars for the audio performance.

The premise of this book was very exciting but it unfortunately didn’t work for me. There was so much detail given to some elements, like describing the cars driven by Max; but ultimately, I had a hard time connecting to the characters. I never understood why Max didn’t immediately step in when the threat against Cress was apparent and why Cress was so unsupported as a best-selling author.

While I have reservations with the storyline, the audiobook narration was stellar with Jason Clarke and Emma Wilder voicing the characters. There were lots of accent work and English and French accents were French kiss!

Intriguing suspenseful romance!

At First Sight by Sharon Michalove was an intriguing suspenseful romance! This is my first book by Sharon Michalove, and it won’t be my last. Cress and Max have quite the history, having a brief yet memorable encounter long ago, and crossing paths again twenty years later. I guess you could definitely call it fate! Cress and Max’s journey to HEA is filled with various unexpected twists and gripping turns.

Emma Wilder and Jason Clarke narrate this audiobook, and both were amazing in bringing Sharon’s words to life! In Emma’s performance of Cress, you could feel her passion for her work, her vulnerabilities to trust, and then of course her newfound love for Max. I was entranced! Jason’s performance as Max was utterly captivating, in a decadent British accent! Both narrators also performed various side characters, with even more accents! I loved it!

Overall, I enjoyed this book! If you are a fan of romantic suspense with a hunky Global Security hero, a successful determined author, supportive friends, creepy stalkers, danger, secrets, bravery, a loving family, and a HEA that will leave a satisfying smile on your face, then you will love Cress and Max’s story. I’m looking forward to more from Sharon Michalove.

Great Romantic Suspense

When this book, written by a new-to-me author, was released, my first thought was ‘I hope it comes to audio’. And my dream came true! To say I loved it would be an understatement.

Let me first start with the narrators. Jason Clarke is a favorite of mine and he nailed Max. The British was superb. That being said, I also adored his French and Scottish accents as well. He delivered a fantastic performance and I liked how seamlessly he worked with Emma Wilder. Their ability to make the voices sound similar was great. No matter who was narrating, Cress sounded like Cress and Max sounded like Max.

The story is also fantastic. I don’t read a lot of romantic suspense, but I have high expectations when I do, and this book hit all the right notes for me. And the villain? Man, I hated her. As I was supposed to. Another character in this book is the city of Chicago. I only knew a little bit, but I feel like I know a whole lot more now. The author breathed life into the city for me, and I can’t wait to visit.

The second book in the series is, I understand, in audio production right now – I can’t wait until I can grab a copy.