Layers

Stark Novel, Book 1

By: Sigal Ehrlich

Narrated by: Aletha George, Nelson Hobbs

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

When Hayley makes a resolution to put an end to her loose lifestyle, it's all good in theory - that is, until she meets Daniel Stark, a well-respected businessman in his mid-30s who is known for his short temper, lack of steady relationships, and strict preserve of his private life. Opinionated, sharp-tongued Hayley accidentally steps into his office, leaving Daniel resolved to put Hayley in her place and have her in his bed. Neither Hayley nor Daniel can ignore the immediate attraction between them. In a unanimously agreed-upon verdict by Hayley and her two best friends, Daniel is to mark the closure of Hayley's pure-physical-attraction, emotions-aside era. Will it indeed be a closure, or will it be the beginning of something neither Hayley nor Daniel ever bargained for?

Contains mature themes.

©2013 Sigal Ehrlich (P)2014 Tantor

A Nice Novel for "in Between" the turbulent ones

This is an enjoyable audiobook. It took me a bit to get used to Aletha George's voice, as it's different, but overall I thought her performance was good. Now, regarding Nelson Hobbs, well I freaken love his gorgeous voice, but he only performs for the epilogue at the end.

This story is a familiar one. A beautiful young woman (Hayley Grace), who recently graduated, has a chance encounter with a handsome, self-made millionaire (Daniel Stark) that sets them on a course of no return in the journey toward love. Even though it was a familiar story, I did enjoy the variations that strayed away from the typical. For example, it seems like so many heroines in these type of novels don't realize their own beauty and ALWAYS overly admire the beauty and lack of inhibitions of a best friend (who always seem to have green eyes). Well, Hayley does have a best friend with green eyes, who is beautiful, but I did like that Hayley does seem to have a good handle on her own beauty as well, and didn't overly dramatize the best friend's qualities as they were both pretty equal. Plus, add to that Ian,a gay model who is also a bestie, and you have a very fun trio of friends who serve as Hayley's support group.

Hayley's not shy when it comes to men, in fact, she's used to dropping them like flies when it's necessary. She's not one to commit, or form emotional attachments until Daniel Stark, that is. Oh Daniel Stark, he's tall, blonde, has tattoos, gorgeous body, and well even his scars are appealing. [on a side note, I should add that the cover model doesn't really match with the hero described in the book. The cover model seems to have darker features than the book hero--that was weird, but hey whose complaining?] Daniel's also somewhat of a workaholic with a temper who Hayley likes to peg as having a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide" temperament. Oh my goodness, that is one thing that I LOVED about their relationship, both Haley and Daniel are funny! They flirt like crazy and share awesome banter between the two. It's evident that Hayley's witty humor really does something to Daniel...perhaps she inspires the unexpected.

So, take a trip on this Daniel and Hayley ride. I enjoyed it. I think this is a good book to read/listen when you're in between more turbulent, angsty reads. Both Daniel and Hayley definitely have things to work out in their relationship, but everything is pretty low on the angst part. This didn't seem like a complete book to me, but more like a volume I, as there is a cliffy at the end. You have to push through to the next book in order to continue and finish this saga.

GREAT START BUT A CLIFFHANGER SO I NEED BOOK 2 NOW

A listen that instantly drew me into all the characters lives but especially the relationship between the confident and feisty Hayley and the handsome self-made Billionaire Daniel as their mutual attraction flares and ignites into a love affair that starts off funny but rocky, has an all consuming middle but ends up sad and rocky again.

There's drama as Daniel has a frustrating Jekyll and Hyde personality, heartache, not very graphic sex scenes (unfortunately!!) and witty banter between all the characters but the main plot is the courtship of Hayley by Daniel. The sexual need for each other is always there from the start but Hayley has to match, or overcome, Daniel's wit, temper and quick mind for their relationship to work.

Worth a credit? Once I started listening I was hooked in this couple's nicely developing relationship which was intense, funny, sweet, emotional and tender but was left on an expected frustrating cliffhanger ending. Narration was good, it was very enjoyable and definitely worth the credit.

Loved it!

This book had me hooked for the 1st page. I loved the story and how the characters evolved. The chemistry- the quick witted banter- the sarcastic snark. I loved it all!

The narration was wonderful- They did a great job bringing this to life.

I will definitely continue on with this series.

Extremely well written

Wow.. this was so good. I seriously waited until book 2 came out because of all of the reviews and I am so glad I did.. this was pretty darn good.

Stark is just a good fun time...but that darn cliffhanger ending had me on pins and needles. Glad I moved right on to book 2. I must say after listening to this.. i find I totally like the competely arrogant CEO dominating men types! They are like the perfect book lovers. Stark is by far on of the best...he is up there with Grey and Cross!

Well worth a credit or sale... its a bit pricey over 10 bucks so I wouldn't buy... but yest to credit!

Narration was not actually dual... Which I loved... it was mainly read by George...with the eppy by Nobbs at the end of the book. All in all narration was pretty good too.

Sassy, billionaire romance!

There is nothing better than a sassy woman taking down a dead serious billionaire who never seems to be happy. Its even better when said billionaire falls fast and hard for the sassy woman. There were many times I had to stifle a laugh while reading this book.

Aletha George did an amazing job narrating this book. I look forward to hearing more from her.

It does end on a cliffhanger but luckily the series is complete and I am able to go right into book 2!

Narrator can't read male parts

What would have made Layers better?

Let Nelson read the part of Daniel

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I do not purchase books that only have a female narrator. It changes the whole way you see the characters. Hate that you list TWO narrators and only have the male read for 10 minutes. Totally distracts from a strong male character. Makes me see him as weak and not in the light the author describes him.

Slow story annoying female narrator

First off, I got this book based on thw reviews. I gave up in the middle of chapter 6. The story has potential I guess but add a robotic female narrator to a slow story with whiny childish characters and you have a one star. Will return this one, so not worth the credit or time.

This book is in the BDSM category, but is not BDSM

other than being in a wrong category, the books are pretty good. However, they do seem to mimic many books like them.

Odd audio performance

I struggled with this audiobook. Although I am no stranger to this genre on my Kindle, this was my first on audiobook. I've only ever listened to non-fiction previously. So maybe I just don't know what to expect, but I really struggled with the vocals. Particularly the "male voices." They were so exaggerated in "deepness" and lacked real emotion. It left me with zero emotional connection to Daniel. It was extremely distracting and at times made me cringe. I would have MUCH rather listened to the narrator keep her voice the same. If I give book 2 a chance it will definitely be on my kindle.

Whatever happened to the copy editor?

What disappointed you about Layers?

OK, I can deal with a derivative story, and characters that seem to have been lifted directly from another book, but this sounds like it was translated by a computer or someone using a thesaurus for the first time.

What could Sigal Ehrlich have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Ms. Ehrlich should employ a GOOD copy-editor if she wishes her books to sound anything other than stilted and awkward.

What character would you cut from Layers?