Bear Essentials

Bear Lake Chronicles, Book 1

By: Rain Carrington

Narrated by: Jake Rockridge

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

A sleepy little town doesn’t know what, or whom, is about to hit it when Ked, Kaden Edmond Donegal, comes to live. 

Hyper and determined, Ked longs to be a great forest ranger, taking care of the land, watching over it like its protector. What he didn’t count on is falling in love with the people there nearly as much as the land, and one in particular that doesn’t give him the time of day. 

Sean Ashby moved to Bear Lake to hide away from the world after he nearly died while serving in the army. A local artist, he makes his living bringing pieces of wood to life with stories of their own. When he sees Ked, he sees someone who needs to be tamed, but he doesn’t feel as if he’s up to the job. 

Not giving up on the bearded ginger bear, Ked does everything he can to get in the way of the man, and he finally gets what he wants. Or, at least, what he thought he wanted. Sean is a dominant who needs a submissive, and Ked never thought of himself that way. With Ked’s rambling voice hushed and his hyper movements slowed, Sean leads him into a new life he didn’t realize he needs so badly. 

The townspeople take him in as family, a man loves him unconditionally, and poachers are in need of catching. Is Ked up for his new life? Can he be a part of a community that is quirky and quiet, or will his own quirks and rarely silent voice make him permanently an outsider? 

Contains BDSM and consensual sex between two men. Trigger warnings: abuse, violence, and PTSD flashbacks. 

©2020 Rain Carrington (P)2021 Rain Carrington

Motor mouth meets his match!

I enjoyed the story. To say Ked talks a lot is an understatement! Phew!, the only times he calmed down were when he and Sean got together 😉🙂
Though there are some BDSM elements, it is not all about that. I enjoyed the other characters, like some of the town's residents who take adopt Ked into their care. There's a lot that goes on in the book, hence the length.
Jake Rockridge is nee to me. I quite liked his Ked voice, talking 19 to the dozen and his gruff voice for Sean. I had no trouble knowing who was talking at anytime.
Overall, this is a good listen!

I Liked It

I enjoyed the story and liked the characters. Ked the new ranger with his uncontrollable rambling was very cute, together with Sean they made some entertaining moments and hot and kinky scenes. This was my first book by the author and I am going to check out more of their stories. I did not care for narrator's style, he has a pleasant voice, but made no distinction between such unique and different characters. Overall it was a good listening experience and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

HOT, INTENSE AND FUNNY

Bear Lake is the setting of this book. With Rain Carrington's words narrated by Jake Rockridge this book took on a whole new dimension. Kaden Edmond Donegal, KED for short. Is a bright eyed, bushy tailed, new Forest Ranger. With his natural talkative personality he takes the community by storm. This character is hilariously funny. Sean who is a quiet, solitary Military veteran never sees him coming. These two open each others lives wide open. The small community of Bear Lake is laid out before us in such a way that if you close your eyes you can see it all clearly in your imagination. Every character, situation and adventure is wrapped around you by Jack Rockridge's amazing voice. This book had me laughing out loud. Ked is a character like no other. He had me in stitches throughout the whole book. Rain Carrington's love of Colorado is in every tree, flower and blade of grass. Her characters love hard and play harder. Visit Bear Lake, it's a place you'll never want to leave. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!!!

Ked

After listening to this, I'm left to wonder about the bond between Hannah and Dan her husband, if she was so blind to his needs, wants,psin, suffering, conflict, in retiring. Wth. Where were her eyes, head, and heart that someone had to tell her her spouse didn't want to move/retire?????
I liked Keds spirit, integrity and tenacity and going after what he wanted. I liked watching the relationship and dynamics change and grow between Ked and Sean. I look forward to more to this special place in book two. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a great job bringing it to life

Could not get into the book

The plot is interesting but I couldn’t follow what you was going on . At the end of one chapter Sean is ignoring Ked and the next chapter they are making out in the wood the . The narrator repeated several lines over the first time .

Slow burn small town romance

Really slow burn small town romance with somewhat annoying main character. There's very little sex or kink and the book is too long. It took about 6 hours before the MC's even get together.
The romance build-up was a bit weird, Ked feels more like a stalker and Sean avoids him and then suddenly is all over him.
The narrator has a good voice and narration is ok despite some techical issues, like repeated sentences and too long breaks.

Worth the credit.

Overall I liked the book. The relationship was a bit of a slow build up. The BDSM is pretty minor. The repetition of why Ked's nickname is Ked was annoying. The narrator was good. Just a note: this type of bear is not the animal kind. At first I thought it was but alas, it was not.

Sweet Ked

Really enjoyable small town read. Ked is adorable. He just word vomits and I love him. I could listen not him all day. The town was so accepting of him, even if he was a little much to take. Sean makes him work for it, which is understandable but poor Ked. This was my first listen to this narrator. He did okay, there were some times the timing of the sentence seemed off, or something, but didn't really take away from this adorable book.

I liked it

I enjoyed this story. I liked to be in this journey with Ked and Sean to find their way to each other and find something they both need with the bdsm. Ked rambles a lot and I really enjoyed his ramblings. I like small town books and the sense of community they have. It makes me want to go and live there.