Jack of Hearts

Aces & Eights, Book 1

By: Sandra Owens

Narrated by: Amy McFadden, Sebastian York

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

Alex Gentry doesn't scare easily. Working as an undercover FBI agent in the biker bar he and his brothers co-own, he hangs with deadly criminals in order to gather information. Danger is just part of the family business. But one thing has him terrified: his attraction to Madison Parker.

Madison is the cousin of Ramon Alonzo, son and second in command to a notorious drug lord Alex is trying to bust. Alex has befriended Ramon as part of his cover, and Madison has unknowingly become his informant. Falling for her could risk this case - and both their lives.

All Madison wants is to get her new bookstore business off the ground, and for her creepy cousin Ramon - to whom she's unfortunately indebted - to leave her alone. If she could only stop fantasizing about his mysterious new friend, Alex...

As the Alonzo cartel investigation heats up, so does their relationship. But will the secrets they're keeping tear them apart - or get them both killed?

©2017 Sandra Owens (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Sadly This Wasn't For Me... 😥

Jack of Hearts had all the makings for a great story. An FBI agent working to infiltrate a drug ring to gather intelligence to bring down a drug lord. He co-owns a biker bar with his brothers who he works closely with. Then there's a romantic interest in a woman who has family ties to the drug lord. However, the story never grabbed my attention, and I felt underwhelmed with both the plot, and characters, and gave up around 47%.

From the portion I did listened too, the story seemed to be more on the serious side, but wasn't overly emotional. The plot came across as dull, lacked intrigue, and I never really felt the chemistry, and attraction between the H/h.

The bottom line for me, this story lacked exciting suspense, action, steamy romance, and humor. I'm sure others will enjoy it, and appreciate the more serious tone, but sadly this wasn't for me. Since I DNF the audio, I gave the story two stars, but an overall three stars to be fair for not completing the story.

I love Sebastian York

This book was a good listen but I had a problem with the female narrator and character. She was too weak and her voice was very mousy. Sebastian York always makes it worth the listen .

Not worth credit

Sadly this audio book was not worth listening to. Sebastian York was excellent as usual but the story was so boring and poorly written even he couldnt salvage it.

Very good Story. Fantastic Narration!

This was a great story. I really enjoyed every bit of it. I really liked Alex and Madison together. They made a great match and they had some great chemistry together. There was a little sex in the story which was perfect. It didn't take away from the from the actual story or the characters.

The story line and plot was great. I really liked the undercover FBI agent story. I enjoyed the three brothers very much and am looking forward to reading their books. Drug dealing, murder, undercover hot, badazz agents. What's not to enjoy.

As for the narration, it was fantastic. I love Sebastian York, he is fantastic! Amy McFadden did a great job too. I really enjoyed both of them very much!

I especially liked that this was NOT written in the first person.

GREAT READERS, OK STORY, TOO MUCH GRAPHIC SEX

I am giving this 3 stars only because I will listen to just about anything read by AMY McFADDEN. The male reader was also good.
The story was weak. Not much reasearch, I'm guessing, went into the works of the FBI, biker bars, money laundering or even book stores to prepare for writing this book. The details are superficial.
I'm not into voyeurism. I skipped the graphic sex. If you like that sort of thing you will enjoy this book.

Did not finish

I quit at 33%.

From the beginning you'll know the hero has secrets, the bad guy is bad, and the heroine is something of a dish rag. That's what you still know at 33%.

The narration is good, the writing is good, but if this story ever goes anywhere I'll never know. So be it.

Feels like it's a sequel

This synopsis of this book sounded really interesting. Sadly I couldn't get through the book. After the first couple chapters I felt like I was missing part of the story (to the point I paused to make sure I didn't miss a previous book). The book felt like it began in the middle of a story that was being told. The only thing I liked about this was the male narrator. The girl narrator was ok but it sounded like she recorded in a bathroom. I got this book on sale and it was pretty inexpensive and and it wasn't even worth that price.

Amy McFadden ruined the book for me

I guess to each his own. It took me 3 days to listen this book and still didn't finish it.

I could not stand Amy McFadden's narration. It was like listening to two books, Amy's narration was adolescent like and the females sounded like airheads with the way she reads. Her male voices were actually better than her females in my opinion. Even though Sebastian is made to read the alpha male role with his deep smoky voice he still made the female sound sexy and sophisticated. It was hard to go from AM narration of an immature adolescent type book to SY narration of a more alluring romantic listen.

I stopped listening due solely in part to wanting to literally slap AM every time she reads and bought the book to read myself. I really wished SY did the entire book.

5 Stars !!!!!

Great start to a new series. Kept your attention all the way through. Definitely got to know all the characters for the next books.
Can't wait for the next one. Sebastian York is always a great choice.

Kim B.

Fun Story with OTT baddies!

3.75 Stars for me!

My rating range of this story... 3.25 - 4 Stars
If significant, why?

Main Character Ratings...
H = 7/10
h = 7/10

Narrator Rating(s)
M = 9/10
F = 9/10
If below 5/10,why?

Was cheating involved? No
Any major triggers to be aware of? Sexual intimidation

If Comedy... Type? n/a
Genuinely Funny
Cringe Inducing
Just No!

Angst Level? Medium
Light, Moderate, Heavy or Please Stop
3 Stars for me!

Internal Monolog/Dialog? Heavy
Light, Moderate, Heavy or Please Stop

Scenes with heat... Yes
What point does it start? 70%
How much of the story? 10%
Anything beyond M/F? No
If yes, explained

Heat Rating... 5/10
Clean or Fade to Black - 1 or 2
Normal to Descriptive 3-5
Detailed Descriptive Sex - 6-7
Um, Wow, Beyond Descriptive Sex - 8 or above

Was there so much sex or unrealistic sex that you rolled your eyes and/or skipped forward? No

The back story... The Gentry Brothers are the owners of a bar and working undercover for the FBI chasing down criminal biker gangs. The H meets the h at a party and they are immediately attracted to each other. The problem is that she is the cousin of a major baddy and, ewww... he is sexually interested in her.

The Romance/Gist: Difficult to see as the first half was full of lust and a heavy amount of push/pull. The relationship developed more in the last 20% of the story.

The drama explosion... Baddie cousin and his father make their move.
Did it feel Real, OK or contrived? Ok
Was it OTT? Of course
Separation involved? Minimal
Was it resolved properly or rushed? Properly

Final Notes... I have to admit that I did like the story even with the over the top baddies and storyline. This story will require some skipping forward for me as the heavy internal dialog will drive me nuts.

HEA or HFN? HEA