Cruel Paradise

Beautifully Cruel, Book 2

By: J.T. Geissinger

Narrated by: Troy Duran, Marnye Young

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

The international best-selling series with more than one million copies sold.

Anti-hero (noun):
1) A powerful and charismatic man lacking moral character
2) A magnificent bastard
3) Killian Black

You don’t know me. You think you do, but you don’t. The only thing you know is my name, and even that’s a lie.

I’m king of Boston, lord of criminals, ruler of an underworld empire.
Or am I?

Only one thing’s for sure: I operate alone.

Until I cross paths with a brazen little thief who sets my whole kingdom on fire.

Just as two wrongs don’t make a right, two villains don’t belong together. Especially since she’s the daughter of my most deadly enemy.

Taking her would start a war.
Keeping her would be suicide.
Making her mine would break every code of honor and defy all common sense.Then again, where’s the fun in following the rules?"

©2020 J.T. Geissinger, Inc. (P)2021 J.T. Geissinger, Inc.

ENJOYABLE.. & GREAT DUET-STYLE NARRATION

Firstly, Troy Duran And Marnye Young’s duet-style narration was so good and they brought all the characters, the feels, the friction, the fireworks and the fire to life. Juliet is a feisty character but sometimes I wanted to put a pillow over her stubborn head to stop her making any more frustrating assumptions or bad decisions.. however, I settled for her ‘come to Jesus’ moment when the poop really hits the fan for her and, hallelujah, she finally sees the light.

And this author really knows how to describe eye candy heroes and there are so many good ‘qualities’ to the possessive alpha Killian.. and, even though he’s meant to be bad, he's really all things good.. but he's got BIG secrets. And this sexy hero knew from the start that he wanted mouthy sassy Juliet.. but Juliet is the Italian Don’s estranged daughter and she has already escaped a Mafia life of fear, lies and death. So, the sexy Irish Mob Boss will have to walk away or be very.. very patient for his happily ever after. And they must both learn to lower walls and trust each other.. yea right that's easier said that done.. especially when somebody is trying to kill Juliet.

Worth a credit? Yes I really enjoyed their humorous banter, the thrills, the suspense, their journey of sex and secrets and their struggles to get on the same damn page.

This could of been a great book

The Female Charector was so tiresome that I almost stopped listening. Instead I fast forward past all of her drama. Once I did that and got to the close of the book (passed all of crying and drama) it ended up not being a bad book. it could of been an amazing book if it had more of a story and not centered on angsty.
Troy Duran and Marnye Young did a 5 stare performance. the first book was better.

Heists, Hijinks and delicious mafia-lite romance

“Don’t take it personally, I just like to poke bears.”
The first half is my kind of rom-com, with feisty Jules and her ride-or-die girlfriends going all Robin Hood and stealing from criminals like dark, dangerous Liam (he’s not really a bad guy… or named Liam) Black.

Jules: “Do you always talk like you ate a dictionary for breakfast?”
Killian: “No, sometimes I talk like I Fk: dirty.”
This author does dark, delicious and dirty so well. Add the duet-style narration with Troy Duran’s deep, panty-melting voice and this series goes from saucy and sizzling in the first half to scorching at the midway, when the hawty-nawty kicks in (3 scenes in quick succession and one more to wrap the story).

“Aardvark!”
The second half of the book is more uneven. The romance side overplays her reasons not to trust him and his reasons not to explain who he really is. The whole “there’s more to his crime boss story” schtick leads to multiple plots that are so clunky and contrived I eye-rolled right out of my chair.

“I like you the way Newton likes gravity; once he found it, everything made sense.”
But, I don’t listen to romance for tightly woven crime dramas or realistic relationships. I want passion and adventure, fun and heart. Most importantly, I want Mister Tall, Dark and Deadly to save the day, get the girl, and roast my marshmallow heart to goo. Even with it’s blackened, crispy bits, this was the sweetest.

A word about the related Monsters & Queens series: As much as I enjoyed this series, I stopped at book 1 of the related M&Q series because it crossed the line from mafia-lite to Dark Romance. I can handle criminal Hs in every other genre but not in the romance genre. If it’s meant to be romance, I can’t fall for guys who are criminals but the author tells me it’s okay because they’re nice to their gal or they’re selective criminals who don’t do the “really” bad crimes like harming women. The related M&Q series features guys who run drugs, require their crew to cut off fingers, and embrace being criminals. That series features gals who find their HEA by accepting that their guy will continue being a criminal and the h’s even become criminals themselves. I know it’s a fine line to draw, since I can suspend disbelief and get behind all sorts of other unrealistic plots, but Dark Romance is just not for me. So, this series, with it’s kind-of-but-not-really criminal Hs, is as close as I get to mafia romance.

Loved!

Great narrators ✅
Love the duet narration ✅
Wish there was more of Killian’s POV ✅
Intrigue ✅
Hot scenes/chemistry ✅
Me needing to finally get Killian Black’s story ✅
Some irritation toward heroine ✅
Understand where the heroine is coming from in spite of my frustration ✅
Falling more in love with Killian Black ✅
Wanting more Liam & Killian ✅
Praying for stories about Diego and Declan ✅
Recommend this excellent listen ✅✅✅

loved Killian, not so much Juliet

the storyline was really good. I love to Killian. I loved his character, his authority, his accent, everything. Juliet on the other hand was a complete basket case. she drove me nuts. I don't even understand how he still wanted her after her crazy behavior. still a fan of the author though.

Cruel Paradise: Beautifully Cruel Book 2

🎧🎧AUDIO REVIEW🎧🎧

PERFORMANCE REVIEW & RATING: 4 Stars

I don’t listen to enough narrations by Troy Duran and that needs to be rectified STAT! This man is one of the most versatile narrators I have had the pleasure of listening to. He not only brought Killian to life for me, but he was also very distinct when narrating so many of the other male characters that I never had to pause to think who was who! Well done!

Marney Young is not one of my go-to narrators. She’s talented, and very good with her voices, but more times than not, her voice has a *shake* to it that sometimes makes me feel a 100 year old woman is the narrator *shrug* It can get pretty intense in my brain when her characters are self-reflecting and it becomes a long monologue, so I shy away from her at times.


STORY REVIEW & RATING: 5 Stars

I’ve read quite a few anti-heroes in my time, but this guy … maaaaaaaaaaaan, I want to lick him from top to bottom *lawd have mercy* !!

Sidebar: It’s possible I might want to lick Juliet from top to bottom as well. This chic is fire! Seriously.

The level of fun I had listening to their story is one I may not be able to convey. The story is not a romantic comedy, but everything about it entertained me. The storyline is unique, and I have to sternly recommend you read Beautifully Cruel before you jump in. There’s not a plot point that you will miss out on, it’s more of an essence of Killian’s world you might miss out on. I know that sound like a bad riddle, but just do it.

Let’s move on. Wait, just one more point on Beautifully Cruel. When I read that book, I was stunned stupid. Like there were no words in my brain except wow. Going into this book I was more prepared for the author’s power. But not nearly enough. Jesus Christ on a cracker can this woman write incredibly passionate characters and stories!

Alright, since I’m not giving you plot points on the story, I will leave you with this … If you like your stories passionate and captivating with characters that spark off the pages, this is an author that needs to be on your radar. #TRUST

Female narrator.... NO just NO

Troy Duran was amazing. Marnye was just completely wrong. All the female's voices sounded the same, she sounded way to old for the characters, and too monotone.
The first book was a slightly better with her narrating. Don't waste your credit or time on this one.

Absolute delight

I stumbled upon this author with her first Beautifully Cruel book and was instantly hooked. The dual narrators in the series were a home run. The story was interesting with twists I didn’t anticipate. I will be putting this author on my “must listen” list.

Amazing

I absolutely loved this story!! Juliet and Killian are so great and their story is so beautiful! The narrator's give so much life to these characters and I absolutely loved the audiobook!! I can not believe how amazing these stories are and can not wait to move into the Queens and Monsters series ❤️❤️

Frustrating

Jules is so irritating and I found myself so frustrated because of her overthinking. I love the Black Brothers though, Liam and Killian are my most ultimate dream of a man…I need more stories with them, I want to what they get into next after finding their loves

Simply amazing

Already read and loved this book, but this audio version of the book was something else!

Excellent 👏

I loved the first book and when I realised the second was about Killian I wasn’t sure if I’d like it but I was soooo pleasantly surprised.
I loved his character, Jules took me some time but I grew to love her as well. I enjoyed this book as much as the first! I’ll be listening to both again 😍 These brothers have a hold on me.

An Enjoyable Listen

Good story. Some laugh out loud moments that I’m not sure we’re supposed to funny. Namely Troy’s attempts at British, Aussie and finally Scottish accents, that didn’t sound any different from his Irish one. I found that hilarious. The deep timbre of his voice however, made his Irish accent sexy. Enjoyed the female character’s wit and banter. I always prefer duet narration and I think it contributed greatly to making this an enjoyable listen.

Killians voice!!

I loved this story when I first read it on Kindle.Although I loved Troy Durand narration at the begging I found it very hard on the ear near the end! And Marnye Young was just hysterical all the way through.

Loved it !

I really enjoyed the book, thought there was going to be a bit more enemies to lovers/ kidnapping but there wasn’t as much as it seems

Killian is soooo 🔥

I love this author's writing style but this one wasn't as good as Liam's story.

Killian was delicious and it was great getting to know such a swoon worthy hero but as for Juliet! she need a slap and I'm surprised that Killian put up with all her nonsense. as they say, love is blind!

I would give this a 3.5 as I felt that the ending was poor and finished off too quickly but the narration was perfection and it is definitely worth listen to.

Cruel Paradise

Omg I loved listening to this story it was exciting passion scary bits also the hero Killian what a voice I’m in love so thank you xxxx

Cruel paradise

Really enjoyed this story but the narrating.was remarkable the phone calls seemed so real it was great