Smash & Grab

Relic, Book 1

By: Maz Maddox

Narrated by: Kirt Graves

Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

My standard issued lab badge reads "Simon", but it really should say "unexciting nerd with no social life". Don't get me wrong - I love what I do with a passion, but it doesn't leave a lot of time for much else. Especially romance.

While chipping away at my work, I'm suddenly the person between hired cartel muscle and the fossil that will define my career. Which isn't the most insane part of the story.

My savior is a chaotic, bat-wielding punk with a bubble-gum pink mohawk and a killer smile.

In a mad dash to escape the thieves, my knight in studded armor sweeps me across the country while hitting every tourist trap along the way. While smuggling a fossil, might I add.

Oh, and did I mention this pink punk can shift into a dinosaur?

Contains mature themes.

©2020 Maz Maddox (P)2021 Tantor

Just...Omg!

I didn’t know that my love of shifter books was missing something vital until this book. Just...omg RAPTORS!! And I so so SO want to know about The captain America look alike who is also the king of all Dinos in shifted form, and just my gods a Raptor with tattoos and piercings while in shifted for is something I can and never will ever forget. Amazing Awesome Punk Rock Raptors!!! (I am sure he must be distantly related to Harley Quinn, seriously lolz.

Fresh & fun, nerdy shifter romance

If you like shifter romances and want a fresh take, this is a great start to what I hope will be a comprehensive series. Simon, the unsuspecting paleontologist, gets thrown into a world of adventure and fantasy when saved by a sassy punk rock dino shifter. Yep, a DINO shifter. There is a comic book feel to this story that's really fun. The narrator did a good job of keeping voices separate without over the top inflection. I hope more comes soon and that we get more of Simon, Dalton, and the rest of the RELIC team.

Dinosaur shifters!

I really really enjoyed this story it was a lot of fun.
Dalton is basically a Utahraptor shifter He works with a team of shifters to gifters to preserve fossils. Also to protect archeological and paleontological artifacts.
Simon is a nerdy scientist- Is paleontologist.
The whole story revolves around a group of bad guys who try to steal a fossil egg Simon has been working on. And the bad guys are stealing it for a terrible terrible bad man who is a private collector of precious artifacts.
Bad guys are not afraid to hurt people.
However the whole story felt very light hearted to me with a little Abbott and Costello -screwball Keystone cops. And some lovely kind of cheesy dialog thrown in the mix.
I enjoyed it very much, It kept my interest.
Kirt Graves does an excellent job of narration.

Fun Dinosaur Adventure

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, but it was very fun and a great listen. Kirt Graves was wonderful as usual and was a perfect fit. It was great to find an original story with good writing and dialog. It seems like so many m/m books are the same story line (fake bfs/straight best friend, etc.), but this was different in the best way. Never a boring moment. I just wish it was longer! Looking forward to more in this series.

Fat rabbits for Pretty Simon!

I’ve had this audiobook since it came out. Maz Maddox is a new-to-me author and the premise sounded interesting. I mean...shifter dinosaurs? I can’t recall that being done before...at least outside of bargain basement erotica. I started listening, made it halfway thru, and then stopped. I don’t know why exactly....Simon was kind of a stick in the mud for most of the book, and a fairly weak character overall. I’m guessing his blandness combined with Kirt Graves sometimes monotone narrating just made me bored and uninterested in finishing it. I dusted the audiobook off this week and finally made it straight through....twice! I had to speed narration up to 1.2x, which greatly improved my experience. Final opinion? I’d recommend this book 100%. The lead up to Dalton and Simon actually getting together was a little slow (IMO) but the book started to get a lot better after that point. I’m anxiously awaiting the release of Book 2 in the series and starting to dabble in Maz Maddox’s other works (starting with Heartache & Hoofbeats, which I highly recommend as well). Overall: give it a chance if you are like me and struggled through the first part—it will be worth it!

A new favorite!

First experience of both this author and narrator and I loved it all! Everything from the writing to the narration was excellent! Worth the credit/money. I will definitely be revisiting this story many times. I love all the characters and their quirky personalities :) On to the next in the series!

loved it!

this was my first book by this author, but I will definitely be checking out more!

this was a very fun and engaging story with an interesting premise on the how/ why of the shifter characters. can't wait to see what the next in the series brings.

Dalton is my hero!

this audiobook was hilariously written and wonderfully performed. the characters are all people I would love to have in my life. new life has been breathed into the shape-shifting trope!

I love this so much! ❤️

Dalton is awesome, and he's so funny. Simon is a sweetheart. I love them. I love this book! There are so many swoon worthy moments in the midst of all the action in this story. I love how Dalton's raptor thinks of pretty Simon. It's so damn adorable. The ending is so completely satisfying. This book is so well written.

I bought the audiobook, and the narrator is amazing. I'm glad this isn't ai or virtual voice because I would not have bought it if it was.

Great narration and storytelling!

I loved how the narration flipped between the main characters! Also enjoyed leaning some cool facts about dinosaurs. Lovely gay romance with a happy ending!