Badlands

Badlands, Book 1

By: Morgan Brice

Narrated by: Kale Williams

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Medium and clairvoyant Simon Kincaide owns a Myrtle Beach boardwalk shop where he runs ghost tours, holds seances, and offers private psychic readings, making a fresh start after his abilities cost him his lover and his job as a folklore professor. 

Jaded cop Vic D'Amato saw something supernatural he couldn't explain during a shootout several years ago in Pittsburgh and relocated to Myrtle Beach to leave the past behind, still skeptical about the paranormal. But when the search for a serial killer hits a dead end, Vic battles his skepticism to ask Simon for help. 

As the body count rises, Simon's involvement makes him a target and a suspect. But Simon can't say no, even if it costs him his life and heart.

©2018 Gail Z. Martin (P)2019 Tantor

Perfect for lonely gay commuters

Best thing I've ever played on my commute. HOT and tender. Narration was perfect, the sexy talk and character acting made it an immersive escape. It's nice to feel things. Thank you.

4.5 stars for this suspenseful journey

I had to marinate on this one for a bit and then go back and listen to parts of it again to make sure I could write this review correctly. I flip flopped between 4 and 4.5 stars, but in the end, decided to give it the higher rating because once I started listening, I didn't want to stop.

Story: 4.5 stars
Simon and Vic are attracted to each other, feelings are developing, but something could come between them. On top of that Vic has to find a killer and Simon is caught in the middle. The story is good and full of intrigue, especially with the psychic abilities thrown in. Add to that a cast of colorful characters, and you have a great story that pulls you in and you don't want to put down. At least I didn't.

Narration: 4 stars
I always think that the narration adds to the story, and it did in this case. However, there were a few times I got confused as to who was talking. I don't know if it was the way it was written (I've only listened and not read) or Kale Williams as the narrator. Usually, the voices were distinct and I could pick them out, but sometimes it would slip. That said, I enjoyed the narration and the spin Kale put on this story. He did make it his own. The intonations and inflections, plus the emotion he put into it, brought the story to live, and for the most part, I could hear Vic, Simon, and the other characters.

Overall: 4.5 stars
I'm giving Badlands by Morgan Brice, narrated by Kale Williams 4.5 stars and highly recommend you either listen to it or read it for yourself. The story is great and keeps you entertained and Kale will bring it to life. One click this one today.

Really good!

I've decided to listen to 1 'new to me' author once a month, and lucky me, I picked a good one to start!
The story was really interesting, I liked both Simon and Vic immediately, add in the secondary characters and the story, I was hooked.
The narration by Kale Williams kept me listening well into the wee hours. He is really good! I plan on looking for more audiobooks by either Morgan Brice or narrated by Kale Williams (both together would be an added bonus!👍)

Good Times

Two words, Kale Williams, really does a fabulous job, It's come to be the norm with anything Mr. Williams does.

An interesting escape...

I enjoyed listening to this story. The inclusion of the paranormal interconnected with the deranged antics of psychopath provided for a tale of intrigue, suspense, and mystery. The only thing that proved to be a bit unbelievable was the inconsistency associated with the relationship between the two protagonists, Simon and Vic. I understood the jadedness that developed from previous relationships, but at times in the story, I just wanted to smack the fool out of both of them. Perhaps that was the intent of the author, Morgan Brice, and if so, it worked. Though the premise was a bit far-fetched, I did enjoy this story and I found myself shedding a tear or two at poignant points in the story (no spoilers here). The narration style of Kale Williams added immensely to the story.

Nice mystery

This is a mystery with little magic thrown in. The two main characters come from a palace of mistrust and skepticism of how they approach several murders and each other. I haven't read anything by this author but have now several books on my wishlist. Kale williams is a wonderful narrator, his voice is pleasant and there is enough variation to each character to tell them apart. This story takes place in Mrytle Beach SC. He doesn't try to layer on the accent which being from the south I appreciate. Some narrators miss the mark with southern accents so thick it sounds cartoonish or like a hick. Different states have their unique qualities and if you don't spend time with these people you may make someone from SC sound like a Texan. This is not the case with the native characters.

Such a cute love story!

I love the serial killer story and how the love story flows in and out of the case. Really well read, too! Kale Williams is a very talented barrator for such an amazing story written by Morgan Brice. Would definitely recommend.

Rather distressing

I have a very small tolerance for murdered characters and this book exceeded my tolerance for that. A lot of named characters die. It’s a murder mystery, though, so… At any rate I like paranormal investigations & gay romances and the novella set after this sounded fun so I gave it a shot. It’s ok.

The story mostly held my interest, but the romance was rushed and the literal magical Black characters are mostly there to aid & advise Simon, a very white main character who falls in love with a cop who does nothing to upset my view that ACAB. Much of the character of the police, well, characters seemed kind of boilerplate for this millennium’s cop fiction in that they kind of sort of mean well but use the badge to break the rules in their favor and suspect the wrong people, whom they antagonize on purpose.

Worldbuilding: The magic is mild so it’s mostly a non-magic world with not so useful protection amulets, mildly magical people prone to being murdered, and some slightly more magical folks who have meetings & sell books. There are some magical visions & some visible magic. It pulls from a hodgepodge of varying traditions (sage, evil eye, auras) but seemed internally consistent to me for all the alternate to reality wasn’t expansive in this first book of the series.

Steam: Med-Low. It was nice. There’s M/M details on page with not a lot of build up. I was more ok with the pace of the physical affection than the emotional connection tho. They were together for about 45 seconds where they talked freely, then decided independently that they liked each other so naturally that’s when they stopped communicating 🙄. While they are withholding info from each other, they both dream of long term love. But they’d barely met and clearly don’t trust each other so the emotions are a hot mess that seem to work by accident. They at least acknowledge that they need to do better. (Mostly the cop does. He has a worrying tendency to punch out his emotions.)

Narration: I enjoyed listening to the narrator. I might not have finished, given all the characters dying left and right, had it not been for the audio.

I’m going to give the Novella a shot to see if the author improves on what irks me & leans more into making the characters work together.

A promising start to a new series

A promising start to a new series I wish there were an easy way to give constructive feedback to a writer, rather than just reviewing the book and not knowing if the writer ever sees it. So I’ve never been to Myrtle Beach, so I don’t know if the setting is accurate but it sounds believable, the weather seems accurate as I live in North Carolina and it’s very similar. The dialogue is good believable, the characterization is great And not to stereo typical. The plot could use a little bit of work in my opinion; I know on one hand the writer has to create drama and suspense, but I think these to do that and still make the plot progress without the stereo typical genre specific actions and reactions. The problems I had with this story were Mostly based on usage. The writer had some issues in my opinion with her using the past tense when the past participle should’ve been used and a couple of discrepancies. I’ve mentioned this in other reviews and it must be a genre-specific thing but why do writers in this paranormal/Urban fantasy feel the need to recap the previous book in the series? How many times do we have to be reminded that the detective came from Pittsburgh? How many times do we have to be reminded that the bookstore owner used to be a professor? How many times do we have to be told that your thighs are muscular? How many times do We need to be told that the coffee went cold and they drink it anyway? When does the writers job end and the editors begin? For most readers, these “small“ issues can be overlooked but for others these mistakes can slow down the progress of the story and detract from its overall quality. Also also this writer tends to use the wrong case as do many other riders these days. Neither and none is singular; saying “neither were“ is incorrect. In case you care, these kind of basic mistakes detract. If this is just a light romantic gay MM story that’s based on fluff, then you’ve done a great job. Also one last commentEnd it would be nice if you created the words of a spell rather than just saying that a character said a banishment spell. It’s not difficult you can do two or three lines of doggerel and it would improve in my opinion always the quality of the writing. Thank you

Wonderful, fabulous

This book was truly awesome. The story was very interesting, exciting, thrilling, suspenseful. I listened to it while packing boxes for a move, a. VERY boring, dull experience, made almost enjoyable listening to this great story. Planning on buying another book by this author immediately.

I’m glad I tried again!

Despite others’ fantastic reviews, when I first read Badlands I wasn’t quite sure I enjoyed it...and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. I decided to buy the audiobook and I am so pleased I did; Kale Williams absolutely made the book for me with his narration. What a laid back, very masculine drawl! I had obviously made a picture of our leads, Simon and Vic, which didn’t do them justice but to hear the wonderful narration added dimension and flesh to the bones of the characters, particularly Simon who, if I remember correctly, was my main offender. I’ve remarked before that I don’t know why but sometimes my switch will be flicked by a word or action, and I just roll my eyes and plough through, not able to equate what I’m reading to the men I know in my life. Who knows! Back to the book; a well written, paranormal mystery romance with amiable characters and an interesting plot. The sex was descriptive but wasn’t too frequent (though lots of hardening from a look etc...I’m not a bloke, so not sure if this is a normal affliction...men obviously have fun times!) I will buy the next in the series, as I think that the author will have a few more adventures to pen. As I didn’t do the book justice, I will buy the audio and, fingers crossed, it will have the same narrator.

An awesome, thrilling, mystic love story.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.5 stars
🔥🔥🔥 Heat Level: 3.5
🎧🎧🎧🎧 Narration: 4 (really well read, wonderful voice, but character differentiation was hard to adapt to at times)

An awesome, thrilling, mystic love story. I loved it!

This story was a thrilling chase against a psychic serial killer, stealing the powers of low-level psychics and mystics around Myrtle Beach. Somewhat damaged and jaded, Vic must stop this serial killer but is confronted with the fact that this is not a normal case and if he really wants to solve it he must stretch his mind and accept that there is a whole nother world of ghosts, magic, and psychics. 

Simon Kincade (such a great name) is a psychic medium and clairvoyant and has been burned in the past. I really liked Simon and found his character very real, strong and kind. I enjoyed 'reading' about his gifts and found that Morgan's approach to this world was wonderfully detailed and even whimsical without being overdone. I was taken into this world and was along for the ride! 

I love the passion and chemistry between Vic and Simon and while they had their roadblocks I'm glad they could overcome them and find their way back to each other. 

I look forward to many more story of this duo, Myrtle Beach and the world Morgan has created. I loved it!!

Thanks for reading!

Enjoyable

Looking forward to the next book in the series. Good narration by Kyle Williams Recommed

A bit of a daft story

What a silly story. The cops were inept and couldn't do even basic investigation - this could be down to lack of research by the author or lazy writing. Simon worked out who the killer is way too easily and his justifications for going after the killer alone were the height of ridiculousness. Good narration made it listenable.

Disappointing

Insta-love and silly. A man who shops for his relationships like he buys his coffee is one to skip, just like this book. After 40 mins of silly from a blurb that promised so much more is disappointing. Perhaps all the v good Josh Lanyon books have spoilt me for this genre.

Great series

Great start to a new series with likeable characters and good narration. Looking forward to the next book.

Loved it

My first audio by both Morgan Brice and Kale Williams. I had previously read the book and thought the audio complemented it beautifully. I love books involving police investigators, I also really love books with Psychic elements. Put the two together and I’m very happy.