Cross & Crown

By: Abigail Roux

Narrated by: Brock Thompson

Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

When Nick O'Flaherty arrives at the scene of a double homicide to find he has a witness to the crime, he thinks it's his lucky day. But when he realizes his witness is suffering from amnesia and can't even remember his own name, Nick wishes he'd gone with his gut and put in for vacation time. Then Nick's boyfriend and former Recon teammate, Kelly Abbott, joins him in Boston, and Nick finds his hands a little too full as the case and his personal life collide.

The witness he's dubbed "JD" is being tailed by Julian Cross, a retired CIA hitman. To complicate matters further, JD forms an attachment to Nick that Nick struggles not to respond to as they search for the key to JD's identity. Trying to determine whether JD is friend or foe as they investigate the crime puts them on the trail of a much older mystery. When multiple attempts are made on their lives, Nick is forced to turn to old enemies and new allies to solve a centuries-old crime before he and Kelly get added to the history books.

©2014 Abigail Roux (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

I loved this so much

Yessssss. I'm so happy that we get to read what happened for Cross to owe Kels and Nick a favor in the Cut and Run Series. I love this series.

Great story and performance!

I mean, what's not to love about macho men, romance, mystery and comrades. I also was very pleased that the narrator did a great job! This is the first time I heard Brock perform and I'll be adding him to my favs list!

Love Julian, love Abigail, love Brock. Love.

(See my review for Shock & Awe.) :)

By the time this book was released I was all on board the Minion bus. I was excited for it to be released (and am presently anxiously awaiting the arrival of Book 3 in the series). I am not one to write "fan mail", in general, but twice in recent history I have felt compelled to reach out with a note of gratitude and appreciation to an author whose works had particularly touched me. Abigail Roux is one of the two.

I wrote her a note that included an anecdote about one of my (now deceased) uncles. He was not a Sidewinder marine special forces guy, but a Green Beret. He told us many crazy and not-quite believable stories. When I saw the movie Big Fish I thought it could have been about him! And much like in that film, at his funeral, with no prompting what-so-ever from us, some of his insane and "that can't possibly be true" stories were independently verified by some of his old Army Buddies as they recounted fond memories and experiences they'd shared with the man. The Sidewinder Guys remind me of my uncle. I love their interactions, their antics, their "that can't possibly be true" experiences. And while I am fully aware that they *aren't* true because Sidewinder are fictional characters - in my mind they *could* be true and real - and are, just a little bit, because they remind me of that Uncle whom we all loved and doubted, ached for and partied with, and miss terribly.

*That* is what this book is for me. Screw suspension of disbelief and all of that. Abigail Roux and Brock Thompson have done a phenomenal job taking us on a fun, sexy, exciting, harrowing romp and I loved every moment of it. In my opinion, well worth the time and credit (though to be fair I paid actual money for this one, and again - no regrets.)

Treasure Hunt, The Mob, Dubious Allies, & Romance

What did you love best about Cross & Crown?

So many things! Nick and Kelly, the treasure hunt, the mystery and suspense, characters that may or may not be allies, the deeper insight into Nick, and a Julian Cross crossover.

What did you like best about this story?

This was a re-read so this time, I enjoyed hearing it told to me and the cozy reunion feeling that gave to me- like I was back with friends.

Have you listened to any of Brock Thompson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I listened to his reading of the first book in the series which I thought was stellar. I felt this one was very challenging for him to do the variety of Irish and Boston accents of the characters surrounding Nick and Kelly. Just a little off, but not awful. Storytelling, timing, ability to engage the reader was all wonderful.

Who was the most memorable character of Cross & Crown and why?

The enigmatic JD. He may or may not be what he seems to be. He's a mystery and I was never sure about him. I like that feeling.

Any additional comments?

This book is a sequel, but it is also part of a larger world of the Cut & Run universe. It is my opinion that the reader would get more out of it reading it just after Ball & Chain in the Cut & Run series.

Nick and Kelly are a good couple. I enjoy how this story is exciting, but also grows their relationship.

Fun! And a great narration!

First of all, I have to say, I'm pretty surprised by the mostly mixed reviews of this one. I'm not a rabid fan-girl of Abigail Roux, but I definitely have a soft spot for all things Cut & Run related. Maybe it was the REALLY good narration by Brock Thompson (excellent choice, by the way), or just that I'm used to not really following the plot of Abigail Roux's stuff, but I had a great time listening to this one!

While I'm on the topic of the narration, I really have to hand it to Brock Thompson. He kept SO many voices distinct and separate, did a great Boston accent (I went to college there so I know my Boston men!), and an Irish accent to die for (no, I have no idea if it was accurate, but it was hot). I think the narration for this book was a huge factor in my rating, and I really want to thank whoever chose this narrator because he was much better than the average reader.

I actually really like the pairing of Nick and Kelly. They are a solid, low drama couple, and I enjoy going on adventures with them. Sure, they get into a ton of dicey situations, but there is very little angst between them, romantically speaking, which I appreciate. This book takes them on more crime solving expeditions and mayhem ensues.

I think if you are reading an Abigail Roux book you can't worry too much about accuracy and departmental procedures and all of that mumbo-jumbo. No, I'm sure that Nick's having a suspect sleep on his boat with him and teaming up with random other people isn't to department code. Honestly, I really don't care. Sure, this book was a little Dan Brown-ish and this book REALLY doesn't stand well if you try to read it apart from the Cut & Run series, but despite those facts, I just thought that it was really fun.

I think I'll keep listening to every Sidewinder book because of how entertained I am by them, and isn't that the point of reading after all? This book was sexy, exciting, and high-energy and kept me wanting more.

**Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Fun Continuation

This is a fun continuation of the series, you definitely need to start at the beginning with this one and Thompson does a great job with the narration.

sidewinder

I love Nick and Doc. This book is filled with Chaos Drama and passion. Also Julian Cross shows up to cause even more chaos

For fans only - NOT newbies

Any additional comments?

I must admit, I might have enjoyed the narration for this more had I not listened to it back to back with Shock & Awe.

I'll also admit I'm still confused as to who's who and doing what, which, being this is the second book in this new series, I should not be having these difficulties at this point. This is not a "friendly to new readers" series.

There's mention of a transplant Nick had? He donated half his liver to his dad? What? When?

While under the influence of Dilaudid and ketamine after the surgery Nick apparently asked Kelly to marry him, but Kelly never answered and it's a thread that's dropped after that bombshell.

Why was Nick on Dilaudid and ketamine for the surgery? I mean I think it may have something to do with Nick having some weird super tolerance for alcohol and pain meds...but I'm just guessing. Am I right? What?

Kelly works at a camp? As what? A counselor? What?

Also, when is all this going on? How long is this between the first book and this one? What's my frame of reference for time?

It all makes me want to scream at Abigail Roux, "I'm sorry I haven't read your precious Cut & Run series but can you give me some details, please? I'm new here!! FFS! Can you give me a break and let me in on the details?"

This is literally like coming into a series starting at book 8 or 9 and trying to figure out what the f*ck is going on with barely any reference to past exploits or situations.

I mean, would you please not market this as a standalone new series if it's not one?

Then there's the narration. Which is okay, if lacking in certain accents (I was really looking forward to hearing JD's accent and felt a little let down), but it's totally off to me because the character voice Brock Thompson uses for Nick is yet again different this go around. That brings the total to three different voices for the same character over two books. WTF?

Once all that bitching is out of the way there's the story, which was okay, but was a little too heavy on the cop shop, history and treasure hunting at times, though that's mainly because I would have liked more on the relationship/romance end.

I liked seeing Julian Cross from Warrior's Cross again (he's so cool), I really liked the glimpses into Nick's background, I loved seeing Nick and Kelly together (even if it was too little in between everything else), and I super loved the sexy times.

All of which will bring me back for book three of the series. Maybe then I'll finally be able to catch up.

*fingers crossed*

Oh my!!!

Well, I didn't see that coming. I guess I should read the introduction of the book better. As a heterosexual female, if I had questions before, I don't now. With that out of the way, the book was pretty good and read pretty good. It is odd that it was written by a female. I guess she interviewed well.