Chopped

Taboo Tales, Book 1

By: Colleen Charles

Narrated by: Tyler Darby, Stephanie Nemeth-Parker

I've got an ax to grind. Just like Red Riding Hood clutching her basket of goodies, a sexy scientist skipped into the wrong wood...I mean...woods.

This is my forest, and everything in it belongs to me. Especially things with hypnotic eyes, cascades of raven hair, and killer curves that make my long, hard ax roar to life.

My people have owned this land for generations. She's trespassing, so I'll claim her. Make her mine.

She may try to escape and return to her boring city slicker life. But I'll make her think twice. If my perfect little dove thinks she can just gallivant into my forest and keep her innocence, she's barking up the wrong tree.

Chopped is a steamy long novella by USA Today best-selling author Colleen Charles about a huge ax-wielding lumberjack in the depths of the forest and the woman he claims as his own. It's the first book in the Taboo Tales series and is a stand-alone with all the steam and feels you're looking for, along with an emotional HEA.

©2019 Second Wind Publishing LLC (P)2020 Second Wind Publishing LLC

Good Read

I enjoyed listening to this book, Colleen Charles, Tyler Darby and and Stephanie Nemeth-Parker did a great job bringing the characters to life

A real winner!

Gray lives off the land, as did his father and the father before him. He rejects technology, preferring to live with his hound dog, Hank, and to inhale the beauty of the forest. He's somewhat of a renaissance man, loving literature, collecting herbs and raising bees for his food and being a steward to the forest that surrounds him. Dove is finishing her doctorate in botany, studying the Aspen varietals of Northern Minnesota and she wants to prove the Dark aspen exists. She's going to forage through the woods until she finds it. Hearing the howl of an animal in the distance, Dove doesn't pay attention to the fallen logs and the world goes black when she falls. Hank discovers her and leads Gray right to her inert form. As Gray bends down to help her, he can't help but notice her beauty and for the first time in a long time, he is thrilled to have someone around. Dove is wary, at first, of what this big man might do to her, but when he takes her back to his home and tends to her wounds so gently, she wonders what secrets this giant man holds. When a heavy storm comes through, Dove is trapped in Gray's home, but is she really trapped if she's beginning to enjoy the thought of being with this man? The pace is perfect and the ending has a happy twist. Another winner for Colleen Charles!
I listened to the audible form and Tyler Darby and Stephanie Nemeth-Parker do an excellent job with the narration. The expression and modulation of their voices fit the characters perfectly.

Awesome

Loved this story. Charles’ writing was perfect in developing the characters and keeping you engaged. Both narrators were so pleasant to listen to and did an excellent job. Darby has a great sexy voice that makes you want to keep on listening.

Sweet and easy

The story is sweet and easy to read (and listen to). Seeing as the story takes place over a rather short time period, there are some parts that could have been fleshed out a bit more.

However, I am also glad that it doesn't make you feel like they've squeezed an impossible amount of activity into a few short days like some other books I've read.

The characters are delightfully awkward at first, which I love! Seeing them come out of their shells and try to understand each other was quite amusing. The hesitance and nervousness made the characters seem real and believable. Relatable.

I have to admit that I was hoping for a deeper, gruffer voice for Gray. The narrator did a great job, he's just not as growly as I would have liked.

Best part was the summary

Dove: “I’d rather read a textbook than have sex; at least I’d learn something.”
With the Red Riding Hood references and axe euphemisms, I was expecting a fiery grumpy grizzly / sunny scientist good time. Instead, everything was milder, like burly off the grid guy gets charmed by quirky scientist with occasional F bombs and him calling her “babe.” The story was fine. The sex scenes were fine. The conflict was minimal and the story ended with an HEA. But, nothing really wowed me and I doubt I’ll re-listen.

I might’ve liked the novella better if the narration had been duet, with a male narrator who sounded deeper as befits a mountain of a lumberjack, and if the recording for the male POV didn’t sound like he was in a fish bowl, wildly changing volumes.