Borden

By: R. J. Lewis

Narrated by: Hanna Knox

Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

WARNING: This is NOT a love triangle. This book contains sexual situations - of a very rough nature - violence, and strong language that may be offensive to some.

Marcus Borden has always been used to power and control. After a crime-filled upbringing in a very harsh neighborhood, Borden leaves his hometown, returning four years later mysteriously rich and unrecognizable, with one woman on his mind.

A woman he'll never have.

Pained by his devastating loss and filled with rage and guilt, Borden's world turns dark.

As a fiercely independent woman, Emma Warne knows all about hard living. Having kept to herself most of her life, the last thing she expects is to be thrust into the world of infamous criminal Marcus Borden, the dangerous man the entire city fears and loathes. But the more she pushes him away, the more he comes back, taking over her life and stripping her of her control she desperately clings to.

Once Borden has his sights on her, Emma is going nowhere anytime soon, and what she doesn't expect least of all...is that she may not want to either.

Book 1 of 2.

©2015 R. J. Lewis (P)2020 R. J. Lewis

Powerful men and the two women who weakened him

Kate was a privileged upper class naïve nineteen year old who came from wealth. She was tired of dating preppy guys, she was looking for a thrill.
She wanted to break free of the monotonous life and stop being the people-pleasing Kate Davenoth, daughter of Judge Douglas Davenoth the third, the first in all her classes, a straight-A student that towed the line all her life. After six months of watching Borden deal drugs to people on school campus she decided to attend a party where she knew he would be at.

Marcus Borden was a low life thug who lived in a crappy dangerous neighborhood. Everyone knew he was a criminal. At fifteen he was kicked out of his home by his abusive father and uncaring mother. All that didn’t matter to Kate. All she saw when she looked at Marcus was an attractive guy whom she was drawn to. Marcus wanted a girl like Kate, but knew she would be his weakness and she’d get hurt since he was involved with some really shady guys.

Narrator:
Hanna Knox was the solo female performer of Borden. This was an unabridged audiobook. Hanna was the voice of both Borden and Kate alternating between points of view. Normally it would bother me to listen to a female narrator perform a male character but in this case it didn’t make a difference to me.
For me the narration was mostly about telling the story which I might add was a damn good story. This audiobook enhanced my reading experience. This audiobook was listened to as a companion to my already read copy of Borden. I like to follow along while listening.

Overall:
This was not about Borden as a criminal-thug-drug dealer-womanizer. It was about the man himself, when Kate and Emma crossed paths with him. Everyone knew who Borden was, he had a reputation for being a criminal, but Kate saw beyond the man with a criminal record. She saw an opportunity to defy the wealthy privileged life her parents gave her. Emma on the other feared Borden. She recognized the criminal and that scared her. However, there came a time when she would put her fears aside and see him as a man who offered protection.

Part one was about Kate and Borden. This part was a sexually driven story. This was nine years ago when Borden was working for shady men.
Part two was about Borden becoming the most powerful man in New Haven. While we never really saw the criminal side of the business RJ built a great villainous character. When he walked into a room people feared him.
When Borden met Emma he was in a void playing a part he no longer wanted to play. Emma was a poor young girl working as a waitress living in a sketchy part of town. Borden was all too familiar with the neighborhood she lived in.
Borden was cocky, violent, angry and arrogant. Emma was a feisty firecracker and a hard-ass. Combining all their traits created a combustible and powerful energy. When these characters interacted with one another the dialogue was sarcastic, witty, and hilarious. It was fun and exciting reading the smart-ass, egotistical remarks. Borden enjoyed riling her up. RJ took a typical love/hate trope and made it her own.
This is where Hawke gets introduced before RJ writes his own book. Hawke was the business liaison between Borden and the bikers.

Whew!

I only wish there was a male narrator. The female did phenomenal, but with the level of fear that Borden projected, Troy Duran would have been a fabulous choice.
Aside from that, this first book was great. I like how part 1 covered the first relationship, but it didn't take forever to get through. Borden was in love with Kate, and then things happened. I like how he crossed paths with Emma in the most obscure way, but like Kate said, she wasn't the one he was supposed to end up with. Can't wait to start book 2!!

So! Good!

New author and narrator for me. Those first chapters are rough af, but do well in setting things up for later. Loved this! It's dark and gritty and made me laugh more than it should have, seriously. Highly recommend this! Need the next!