Craft

By: Adriana Locke

Narrated by: Wen Ross Kai Kennicott

Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

They’re not quite enemies. Not really friends. More like frustrated balls of sexual tension, and neither will give in.

Lance Gibson drives Mariah Malarkey absolutely crazy. He uses her office like a phone booth, and takes cupcakes from the corner of her desk like she baked them just for him. She didn’t. Maybe she knew the history teacher happened to love peanut butter icing, but that was purely a coincidence. All 16 times.

Mariah has a way of getting under Lance’s skin, too. She calls him out on his crap, spoils him even if inadvertently, and, seeing the librarian in skirts, drives him wild. She won’t give in. It’s for the best, really, considering there’s no way he could lie to a woman like that, and he’s not about to tell her the truth about himself. Not in a million years. These two don’t hate each other. They don’t really like each other. But for this to be a friends-to-lovers story, they have to start somewhere, right?

Note: This can be listened to as a standalone novel.

©2018 Adriana Locke (P)2018 Adriana Locke

Hot for Teacher!

Craft is a sexy and playful enemies to lovers story. It's book 2 in the Gibson Boys series, but can be listened/read as a standalone.

I really enjoyed the sexy banter and innuendo between Lance and Mariah. It made this such a fun listen! Some of the text exchanges had me giggling and laughing out loud, while others had me blushing like crazy. Lance honestly had some of the best come backs and dialogue. Wen Ross and Kai Kennicott narrated it so wonderfully. Wen especially was just the right amount of cocky and vulnerable. Even though I'm not a big fan of the manwhore hero, I loved Lance's amazing chemistry with Mariah and how supportive he was of her throughout the book. I also really enjoyed the build up between these two and the will they/won't they really set the stage for that absolutely scorching scene in the pantry.

Though I loved seeing Lance and Mariah navigate the road between co-workers, friends, and more, I did feel that the overall pacing of the story was a bit slower than the author's previous books. I'm glad there wasn't any true other woman/man drama though and that the push and pull was all internal to Lance and Mariah. The epilogue felt just right for our characters and I'm really excited for Machlan's story next!

*Note: I heard a bit of feedback or echo while listening to this audiobook. It didn't detract from the story or actual narration, but because I'm a big fan of these narrators, I did notice a slight difference from their previous titles.*

4 Stars for the History Hunk!

*I received an audio code for Craft and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.* Lance is the only Gibson whose book I hadn’t yet read. I’ll be totally frank- I couldn’t get invested in his character while reading Walker, Mach, and Peck’s books. He was very take-it-or-leave-it for me. However, I am pleased to say that I was oh so wrong. The depth of this character absolutely blew me away! I’m a longtime fan of Adriana’s writing, so I knew it would be a good story, and I’m so thrilled that there was more to Lance than meets the eye. I loved all of the tender moments with his family, with Ollie, with Mariah. I loved their connection, their strength, their defense of each other. Mariah is the perfect heroine for him, and their story made me giddy quite a few times while listening. They evolve as individuals and as a couple, and that’s truly one of my favorite things to see in romance books. I’m very glad I finally gave them the chance they deserve. And Wen & Kai brought it home, as always! Give this one a listen if you haven’t yet.

I loved this!

Amazing listen with loads of emotion, humor, and romance. Lots of fun characters and a great friends-to-lovers story. Amazing narrators, I love their duet style and they bring the characters to vivid life. I received a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Craft is hot romance

Mariah is in a weird place in her life, settled professionally and absolutely not where she expected personally. Lance's life hasn't gone as planned but he believed he made lemonade out of his situation. This friends to lovers romance has fabulous chemistry and it's a delight to listen too.

Lance and Mariah

A great story with great character dynamics and a flowing storyline. Lance and Mariah flirt and even have more in common than they think but she refuses to cave into the playboy because of a broken heart that leaves her untrusting. When a secret brings them together they take a leap of faith until Lance has a secret that could ruin them so he decides to run. Will tat be the end of them? Or can they find a way back to each other?

Performance was fantastic! Wen and Kai brought their A game!

Wow!!

Ok so I already LOVED Lance and Mariah’s story but Wen Ross and Kai Kennicott really brought it life for me and it was AMAZING!!!!

Entertaining

From the first chapter I was hooked on the story that Ms. Locke wove. I fell hard and fast for Lance Gibson, he was such a cheeky but wonderful man that you cannot help but fall in love with him.
The chemistry between Lance and Mariah was intense; it was impossible to ignore and once they crossed the line, there was no stopping it’s intensity as it built.

I loved this book, the characters were engaging and I was quickly invested in the story that Ms. Locke wove. The narration by Wen Ross and Kai Kennicott was easy to listen to and certainly brought the story and characters to life for me.

Craft - the Gibson Boys

Craft by Adriana Locke is the second book in the series of standalones, The Gibson Boys. The audiobook is beautifully narrated by Wen Ross and Kai Kennicott.There are a few cross-over, but you don´t have to read book one, Crank, to understand Craft.
Craft is not like the other books by Adriana Locke. It´s a quiet beautiful story about a battered hero and a strong heroine.
Meet Lance Gibson, he´s not a alpha male like his brothers and cousins. Yes he´s a player and avoids commitment, but he also has depth. He´s a highschool teacher and loves his job. And there is a feisty redhead librarian who drives him crazy.
Both have a love-hate relationship. They can´t be with and can´t be without each other. One is just as hardheaded like the other character. While Mariah is an open book to Lance, he has secrets. Secrets that threaten to destroy his happy.
Craft left me torn. Put a infuriating hero, and a difficult heroine into the equation and you get a pleasure reading this book - leaning back and watching the showdown .
Craft is a friends - to - lovers romance, one of my favorite reads by Adriana Locke and I really can´t wait for the next book , Crave - Machlan´s story.

Fun Frenemy Opposites Attract Romance

This is the second book in the Gibson Boys series, but it reads as a complete standalone. This one is NSFW so listen with headphones or take caution if you don't want little ones or anyone else to hear the steamy bits. The narrators do a pretty good job acting those out.

Much like with Crank, I thought the narrators did a great job with the narration and the voices of the characters. If you read my review of book 1 there was a ton of chuckling in the audiobook, and while this had some chuckling it wasn't as much as the first book. Also as with the first book the the narrators actually swapped in an out when a male or female character were talking. When Lance and Mariah are talking the narrators take turns having that conversation. That isn't common in audiobooks and I really enjoy the added element of performance that it gives. I enjoy both of these narrators, and they frequently narrate Locke's books.

This follows history teacher Lance and librarian Mariah. They are work colleagues with flirty banter and alot of chemistry. Lance is a player and Mariah wants a relationship, so neither of them have acted on their attraction. Both of them have some past relationship trauma that they carry with them. Mariah just wants to be loved for who she is, but she has some insecurities built by a lifetime of being put down and told to change by her mother and sister. She can't comprehend what Lance sees in her when he wants to start spending time with her, but the kind of just fit together. I really enjoyed the banter between the two characters and the character development they go through.

I'm slowly making my way through the series and can't wait to read about the rest of the Gibson boys!

Deep dive into Lance Gibson

Oh the complicated thoughts within the Gibson brothers. Lance may look to be a simple type of guy, high-school teacher with his life seemingly together but the depth of his mind is so much more than anyone could see. I loved seeing the playful banter between him and Mariah, definitely a hate to love you vibe. The narrators did beyong fantastic with these characters. I loved how the duet narration came together in a way that made you feel like you were right there with these characters.

great story

I really enjoyed listening to this broken couple rebuild and fall in love.

thanks Adriana
brilliant narration from wen and kai

Nice and easy

This is a nice easy read. Not too involved. The plot line could of been a bit more involved but I did enjoy it. Performance’s wonderful by Kai and Wen.

Book 2 is so good!

There is just no way to that all these Gibson boys can be so wonderful! Or is there? Well, Nana has done an incredible job of raising these three, and this book is the story of Lance. Lance is a school teacher who is smitten with the Librarian, Mariah. There is definite attraction, but neither acts on it. When the two finally do get together, it's combustible. They are meant for each other. Lance carries some heavy baggage with him though, and does not want a serious relationship. But can he help it? I love the way Locke always weaves some realness into her stories. The secret that Lance carries is big and can really effect his future with a woman, and the way she handles it beautifully. The best part of this story I found is the relationship the brothers have together and with their grandmother. The true adoration they have for each other, and the love and respect she has raised this family with oozes through and you can feel how it affects their decisions. And the baking...YUM! What fun that is! This is a loving, warm and decadent story and left me wanting to hear Machlan's story.

That warm voice of Wen Ross becomes Lance in this book. He is able to catch the essence of Lance, both the passionate and the vulnerable, and there is a lot of of very emotion with this man. Kai Kennicott flawlessly takes on Mariah, not with a typical librarian tone, but with a truly caring vibe that carries from the students to Lance. Truly a wonderful listen.