Renewing the Soul

Souls of Chicago #4

By: Annabella Michaels

Narrated by: Michael Pauley

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Rocko earned and loved his reputation as the wild child of the rock band, Carter’s Creed. His bandmates dubbed him Animal, not only for his skills on the drums, but because he was always looking for the next thrill. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll were what he lived for. That was until one night when his wild ways nearly cost him his life.

As the owner of Golden Entertainment Studios, Lachlan Edwards had a vested interest in his newest clients, the members of the band, Carter’s Creed. He wasn’t surprised when they quickly rose to the top of the music charts, given their talent, but he was concerned with how their drummer, Rocko, seemed to be spiraling out of control. When Rocko seemingly hits rock bottom, Lachlan decides to step in and offer him a chance to recover.

Will Rocko accept Lachlan’s offer even if it means facing the past he’s tried so hard to run away from, or will it all prove to be too much and send him spinning out of control once again?

©2017 Annabella Michaels (P)2019 Annabella Michaels

I love this series

Once again the combination of Ms. Michaels writing and Michael Pauley’s narration has made this book come alive. This book was my favorite of the whole series. I loved it!

Loved!

I loved listening to Michael Pauley bring Rocko and Lachlan to life so beautifully! This story is full of emotion and recovery and healing, and Michael does a fantastic job of conveying the emotions and feelings of each character. I quite enjoyed the evolution of Rocko and Lachlan’s relationship over the course of the book, though it isn’t easy for them. They truly have to work for their HEA, but the journey is well worth it. Definitely recommend both the story and audio, and the rest of the series too!

Amidst all the pain, you can find love....

Rocko has been in a never-ending party with booze and drugs for a long time. To keep the demons away, he felt he had to drink and drugged himself away. At the point of being kicked out of the band, he had to sober up and earn his friends’ and Lachlan’s trust again.

Lachlan is one of the richest man Rocko has ever met, and ever since meeting the members of the band, especially Rocko, he has felt this pull and attraction to the “bad boy” of the famous rock band.

As they start to spend more time together and got to know each other more, they start to see how wrong they were in their perception of each other.

Michael Pauley has done justice in voicing the different characters in the story, I love how Lachlan sounds, even the vulnerability of Rocko/Riley sounds sweet and adorable, and how Benjamin sounds so stuffy. Listening to a story in audio is a totally different experience, and I am loving it, Michael Pauley has made this story come alive with the different voices he used for each character. Congratulations Michael Pauley and Annabella Michaels! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recovery and Soulmates

I really enjoyed reading this book and was so excited when it was finally released on audio. In this story we have Rocko and Lachlan. Rocko is the drummer for the band that is under contract to Lachlan’s entertainment company. The huge success of the band has come at a price for Rocko. His downward spiral of abusing alcohol and drugs almost killed him. Rocko commits to rehab to regain control of his life and not lose the best gig he’s ever had. As Rocko’s boss, Lachlan only wants to help Rocko re-acclimate to the world outside of rehab and rejoin the band. Lachlan has Rocko move in with him to continue his recovery. As Rocko’s recovery continues, he and Lachlan become closer. Have they found their soulmate? Will Rocko stay sober and not lose his role with the band? Will they have lots of sexy times? Well, you will have to listen to the book to find out.
The narrator for this series is Michael Pauley, who I just love. He does wonderful accents, especially his British accent for Lachlan – possibly swoon worthy 😊 Michael has this uncanny ability to draw you into the book and immerse you in the story. When listening to him, he fleshes out the story and doesn’t make you feel like he is just reading the words off the page. He brings it all to life.
Another five-star story and reading. Looking forward to the next one coming out on audio.

loooove

this was amazing.. and sexy and wonderful. i loved it.. michael pauley i have listened to in the past and wasnt super fond of.. but this one he took the cake and it was amazing! plus this series is wonderful.

More please!

I love this series!! We need more Souls of Chicago on Audible!! Pretty please! :)

OMG Amazing!!

This is the story that when I just reading was waiting for. I just wanted Rocko happy ending and Lachlan is just perfect for him. So if I love reading this story then listening to Michael Pauley is just absolutely perfection. Michael Pauley just pulls me in and I just can't stop listening. Love this so much!

Still sweet

When I read this novel, I fell so hard for both Riley, aka Rocko and Lachlan, and this version only reminded me of how much I loved their story. The pain that Rocko weathers as he struggles to come clean, both physically and emotionally, is palpable and I feel for him as he figures out who he wants to be and how he wants to be with Lachlan. And Lachlan's acceptance of his growing feelings for Rocko is endearing. Watching these men fall for each other, dance around each other and fight against their feelings before finally caving in to them, despite the hurdles they must overcome, is still sweet to me. The performance was okay. Lachlan's English accent wasn't as well executed as I had expected it to be. And as I've found with this actor, his narration is sometimes too breathy and uncertain, The way his intonation too often doesn't manage to make sentences sound like they're complete is disconcerting to me every time, and takes away from the performance.

Starting Over

The Souls of Chicago series has action, romance, drama, and sweetness, but the books don’t shy away from angst. Renewing the Soul has angst in spades, but it’s also a book of hope and second chances. Writing about drug and alcohol addictions are not an easy feat, but Annabella Michaels takes care to really show the complexities and difficulties that surround addiction. Watching these two broken men heal and support each other was beautiful, and their romance was not only romantic, but extremely fulfilling to read about.

The audiobook was narrated by Michael Pauley who was the perfect choice for such a complex and sensitive subject. He embodied Rocko and Lachlan and brought them to life with care and tenderness, but also with intensity and confidence. The performance was spectacular.

Overall Rating: 5 Stars. The writing style of the book was lovely, and I loved how much care Annabella Michaels put into developing these characters. I was rooting for Lachlan and Rocko as they fell in love and rebuilt their lives with each other.

Loved It A Lot

I loved how it ended and can't wait to see what happens with Riley and Lachlan. I can't wait for the next book Morgan and Akio hoping it will be out on audible soon.