Floodgates

By: Mary Calmes

Narrated by: Michael Anthony

Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

Tracy Brandt considers himself a lucky man. He has a wonderful family, good friends, and a dependable job. His love life, however, features a cheating ex who, though out of the house, is not yet out of the picture - with a past that just might get Tracy killed.

Homicide inspector Cord Nolan wants nothing more than to show his best friend's little brother that he's a reliable man, but to do that he'll have to get Tracy to look past the player he used to be. It'll be a tough sell; reputation is everything, and Cord's is tarnished by his past indiscretions.

Tracy and Cord have spent five years trying to suffocate their fiery attraction under a blanket of grudging antagonism. When Tracy finds himself with a target on his back, Cord finally has the chance to ride to the rescue and break through the dam of Tracy's reserve. But he'd better be careful: if Cord is breaking the floodgates to wash away the past, he's going to have to hold tight to Tracy to make sure they're still standing when the tumult recedes.

©2014 Mary Calmes (P)2014 Dreamspinner Press

Matter of Time Lite

If you liked A Matter of Time you will like this book. It is complete with a "Jory and Sam like" MCs, namely Tracy and Cord. It has a good murder mystery and protector vibe, a loving family on Tracy's side, and all round fun listen. Although there are a couple of characters that seem to go nowhere; which leads me to believe there may be a sequel. The narrator does a good job overall and really kept me engaged. I actually like the audio better than the ebook. Worth a credit.

Mary Calmes=Crack for the Soul.

Would you recommend Floodgates to your friends? Why or why not?

Well, I finished this little "gem" on the way home from work today.
What can I say that every other review hasn't already?

My Audible App: "MICH, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!"
Me: "Ok, But Audible, I keep rating Mary Calmes books with like 3 stars worth of eh!... Why do you keep recommending them to me!!??"
My Audible App: Because apparently you like books with 2 hot guys getting themselves in all sorts of shenanigans, HEA's, and I think cops and Russians?
Me: SOB, it's a conspiracy.

Well, the narrator was good. Relaxing to listen to and was a perfect fit for Tracey, the main character. Oh Tracey. He was sometimes so VOID of common sense through the book that I had to wonder how he put both shoes on in the morning.

Listening to the storyline is a whole other bag of WTF. I gave in to the plot and just let it happen at about 50% thru when I realized the holes in the story were too big to ever fill.

The author tried to set up a murder mystery (?) in the background of this terribly dramatic love triangle of sorts. Tracey falls in love with Brecken the hot doctor. Brecken falls in love with, well, pretty much everything with 2 legs. Cord, the hot cop and best friend to Tracey's brother, is in love with Tracey. Tracey of course, has no idea. And then somehow we end up in a love triangle murder mystery and ooh, ooh…there is even baby mamma drama.

The book even has a hot Russian import/export guy with a weird backstory, that we never learn about but gets brought up annoyingly every 30 pages.

If you aren’t following my review, than you know exactly how I felt for 85% of this ridiculous book.

I will say this, the narrator of the audio book was great. This was the first time I listened to Michael Anthony, and he portrayed the twinky Tracey to perfection. I also liked his rumbly, grumbly, growly (yes, I am making fun of the author) version of Cord.

Shamefully, I give this book 3 stars on the high end. Mary books are so addicting, and I keep coming back to them!

Actually better than the ebook version.

What made the experience of listening to Floodgates the most enjoyable?

Yes. The narrator had a pleasant voice, he inserted some acting into his narration but wasn't over-the-top.

Would you recommend Floodgates to your friends? Why or why not?

I don't actually know anyone else in my circle who reads m/m romance...

What about Michael Anthony’s performance did you like?

Pleasant voice, sounded like he actually enjoyed narrating the story, and characters were distinct enough that it wasn't hard to follow the dialogue.

If you could rename Floodgates, what would you call it?

It's All About Breckin.
Or
There's Something About Breckin
Or
Being Breckin

Any additional comments?

Story would have been a lot better if the whole thing didn't revolve around the ex-boyfriend. He wasn't even interesting or likable but everything was about him.

Nice but maybe ripping of herself?

As a mary calmes fan i may expect too much when i start one of her new books - and i did enjoy this one. But i think she borrowed the personallities of her MC from Jory and Sam (matter of times series) Not complaining because i liked them but still it feel a little like deja vu.
The story is fine and if you havent read/listened to the other books u migth enjoy it more. If u loved the other books u will either like this just because it kinds of remind u of them or dislike it for the exact same reason.

Good narration

If you could sum up Floodgates in three words, what would they be?

Typical great Calmes!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hard to say, I loved all of Tracy's family, Loved Cord! Good characters with depth

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

First time for me and he did a great job! I would listen to others he narrates!

Who was the most memorable character of Floodgates and why?

Tracy

B+ rating...

My Quickie Review:
Overall: 4.0
Performance: 4.25
Story: 3.75

Aww, I loved this book. There were a lot of things about this story that I loved...Cord was an awesome hero. I loved how the author showed his want through subtle things. I loved that show of vulnerability about him.

Then there was Tracy's family...I loved them all so much. When he moves back home for his safety? Some of the best scenes in this book.

Full disclosure...while I know that I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook...I listened to it all within a matter of two days, I put off writing the review for a few days. And now I'm having a difficult time remembering details. The story didn't stick with me. So, yes it was enjoyable at the time, but it wasn't one of those stories that stuck with me because it touched me deeply. It was fun, entertaining, and in a few months, I'll be able to listen to it again and it will be like a brand new audiobook.

Classic Calmes, I loved it!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Of course, because it's a damn good book!

What did you like best about this story?

The banter back and forth between characters, I was in stitches, especially with Tracy and his family.

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

I have not but I was quite impressed, will definitely look for more of his work.

If you could rename Floodgates, what would you call it?

Why do you even ask this question, what is wrong with the title? Why fix what isn't broke.

Any additional comments?

Cord Nolan met Tracy Brandt five years ago when he arrived at his then partner’s house for a party and tried, unsuccessfully, to pick up his partner’s younger brother. Since then Alex has gone to work for the DEA and Cord has been promoted to homicide detective. He’s also spent very little time in way to many beds, but still hasn’t been in the one bed he longs to roll around in, Tracy’s.

Tracy is fresh off a bad break up after catching his ex-boyfriend Brecken with another man. Little did Tracy know that the other guy wasn’t the only guy… well, person, that his ex was getting friendly with. After Tracy is attacked not once, but twice, his over bearing, over protective family close ranks, along with Cord to ensure Tracy’s safety. Tracy has been so busy trying to convince his ex that he is, in fact, an ex that he has missed the change in Cord. But when they are forced to spend several hours alone on a plane, no possible route of escape, Tracy is finally forced to see the man that now stands before him. Long gone is the player from all those years ago that tried to get Tracy to ride him to the store, literally. But it’s hard to start a relationship when there is a psychotic killer systematically knocking off Brecken’s exes.

This was a fast paced, action packed, thrill ride of a story. There was suspense and a bit of mystery with the death of one man, the attack of a pregnant woman and two subsequent attacks on Tracy, Cord is convinced they are all related, but how? And all the while Cord is working the case he is trying to keep Tracy safe and convince Tracy that he loves him and wants to protect him forever. The chemistry between them is electric and undeniable, though for the first half of the book they manage to keep their hands to themselves. But once they open that door and there is no going back, they can’t even be in the same room without a small touch, a hand on the cheek, brushing back the hair.

It wasn’t just the mystery and the suspense that was a constant current throughout the book, or the love story of Cord and Tracy as it grew and engulfed them. It was the way all the characters were with each other. I had so much fun listening to Tracy with his family, that scene in the bedroom with the musical coffee cup, that was hysterical. And the banter between characters as well had me in stiches half the time.

Narrated by Michael Anthony and I’m always in awe of a narrator that can take a wide cast of characters and give each one their own unique voice. Anthony truly brought Calmes words to life with little nuances and tone inflections, like Tracy when he looks at Cord and asks “What?” so innocently knowing full well what it is. And Cord’s usually exasperated sigh, that little sigh always made me chuckle.

Definitely a must for those that love Mary Calmes work as much as I do. There is mystery, suspense, lots of action, romance, passion and such a fun HEA!

A very good listen

This was amazing way to spend a rainy day a fire a nice lunch and a really great story, this author above all is a good storyteller. At the end of the story I knew the people who inhabited this story, that doesn't happen enough, thank you.

One of Mary Calmes best stories

I always loved Floodgates even though it's one of Mary Calmes's stories that hasn't seen much traction. I love it because it's down to earth, with no extravagant descriptions, with not a million side characters that have nothing to do with the story and not an oblivious but likeable by all MC.

Cord and Tracy have great chemistry and I just loved seeing a 5 year build up (the build up was off page) resulting in such a strong HEA.

As far as narration goes, I love Michael Anthony's voice but to be honest sometimes I couldn't distinguish between his Tracy voice and his Cord voice and there was very little performance and feeling.

What a depressing story...

I fully admit to not being a huge fan of Calmes, repeatedly. I will say that when she catches my interest with a story, it sticks with me and it becomes a favorite of mine maybe 50% of the time. She always has her main characters experiencing some sort of life change—often the result of a scum bag of a partner. There have been a few where cheating is a theme (L’ange and The Guardian). Usually they are written in a way where the main character shrugs it off and moves on with their life, so it doesn’t really have that much of a prevalent theme. Oh, it’s still there in the background, but really a minor blip in the grand scheme of things. In this book, the bad ex is pretty bad and does some truly devastating things. And this time, the MC does not shrug it off as easily. It’s definitely more realistic than her stories usually are, I’ll give her that. The whole entire book revolves around the cheating ex and his decisions. It really is more the Brecken and Tracy show, with Cord (the true love interest) being a minor character. By the end, I was so tired of hearing about Brecken. And seeing Brecken. And listening to Brecken spout the same thing over and over. To be completely honest, if someone had told me **SPOILER** that I had to go to my ex’s parent’s house (that I had never even heard about) with my ex and his baby mama, I would NOT have given in. I also would have never started a relationship with the person that demanded I go. It’s clear she didn’t consult with law enforcement for this book, because that was the worst idea to draw a killer out that I had ever heard. **END SPOILER**

Anyway, if you want a book that revolves around a cheating ex with a small part about the MC’s HEA, this is your book. The supporting characters in this book are not able to redeem the craptastic storyline in any way.

The narration is done by Michael Anthony and he was also a first for me. I do have to say that he nails Tracy’s voice in true Calmes fashion. Other than that? No, not at all. It was too hard differentiating between character’s voices. There was virtually no difference between Cord and Tracy at all. He fell short of some of the better narrators that Calmes has used.

Tolerable

When chosing Mary Calmes to read, you know there will be a lot of ridiculousness in the novel and the MC is the same as every other story. I was in the mood for that. Narration was great.

Floodgates

This was a new to me narrator and I really enjoyed the performance sped up to 1.2 seems to really help as I’m usually a very quick reader and struggle with some audiobooks

One of Mary Calmes best stories

I always loved Floodgates even though it's one of Mary Calmes's stories that hasn't seen much traction. I love it because it's down to earth, with no extravagant descriptions, with not a million side characters that have nothing to do with the story and not an oblivious but likeable by all MC.

Cord and Tracy have great chemistry and I just loved seeing a 5 year build up (the build up was off page) resulting in such a strong HEA.

As far as narration goes, I love Michael Anthony's voice but to be honest sometimes I couldn't distinguish between his Tracy voice and his Cord voice and there was very little performance and feeling.

Enjoyable story

A well written story with likeable characters. There was a little inconsistency with police procedures that niggled but other than that all good.