Shades of Gray

A KGI Novel

By: Maya Banks

Narrated by: Adam Paul

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

The Kelly Group International (KGI): a super-elite, top secret, family-run business. Qualifications: high intelligence, rock-hard body, military background. Mission: hostage/kidnap victim recovery. Intelligence gathering. Handling jobs the U.S. government can't...

P. J. and Cole were sharpshooting rivals on the same KGI team and enjoyed a spirited, uncomplicated camaraderie. Until the night they gave in to their desires and suddenly took their relationship one step further. In the aftermath of their one-night stand, they're called out on a mission that goes terribly wrong, and P. J. walks away from KGI, resolved not to drag her teammates into the murky shadows she’s poised to delve into.

Six months later, Cole hasn't given up his search for P. J., and he's determined to bring her back home where she belongs. Bent on vengeance, P. J. has plunged into a serpentine game of payback that will make her question everything she's ever believed in. But Cole - and the rest of their team - refuse to let her go it alone. Even if it means sacrificing their loyalty to KGI, and their lives...

©2012 Maya Banks (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Worth my Credit!

Yep!! I loved me some PJ, she kicked some major butt! And Cole was just the right mix! He was hard core with a gooey middle :) Shoot!! I think my husband needs a make over lol But you are going to really like this book if you like action with some emotional depth. Beware: Their is a very emotional rape scene. But Ms. Banks tends to have some emotional trauma in most of her books. And if I may say this :) It was a kick-ass revenge scene!

I liked Adam Paul's reading of the story, I had to get used to the accents. My southern roots found it a little jarring to listen to the Yankee accent (?) ( Ya'll know everything that aint Southern is Yankee so sorry is that wasn't what it was lol)

Very good continuation of the series :D

4-4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this story. P.J. and Cole make a great couple and the deserved their HEA. Fair warning, this book contains sensitive content involving P.J. getting raped during a mission gone bad and her vendetta against the men who hurt her.

P.J. is a sniper for one of the KGI teams led by Steele. KGI (Kelly Group International) is a private company that performs Ops like hostage/kidnap victim recovery & intelligence gathering among other things. She used to be on a SWAT team but after her team turns on her for trying to do the right thing, she left and joined KGI. Although her team with KGI is like family, P.J. has always kept herself apart outside of work and is extremely private. Because of this, she's extremely surprised when, while hanging out at a local bar after a mission, Cole shows up wanting to join her and hang out.

Cole is also a sniper on the same KGI team as P.J. They have a friendly camaraderie in the job but things have never gone further. Cole has been attracted to P.J. for a while but never acted on it. He finally decides to see if he can get closer to P.J. and follows her home after the end of a mission.

P.J. is surprised to find that Cole has any interest in her outside of work and is even more surprised when he seems to be flirting with her. She tentatively responds and things spark between them. They end up at P.J.'s place and have one glorious night together. The next morning P.J. is having second thoughts about getting involved with a team member but they're called out on a mission and there's no time to talk things out. The mission end up putting P.J. in to a dangerous position and when her team can't get to her, she's drugged and raped. She's rescued by her team but once she gets back to the US she goes off on her own, attempting to quit KGI (although Steele doesn't accept her resignation).

For 6 months, P.J. is gone and no one can find her. Cole goes nuts and searches everywhere for her. When they finally find out where she is, Cole and the team goes after her and manages to get to her in time to help at a crucial point. P.J. had spent her time going after the men that were responsible for what happened to her and hadn't wanted to bring her team and KGI in to a questionable situation that would risk their reputations and their jobs. Cole and the rest of the team aren't about to get pushed away and insist on helping her bring down the last man when he is supposed to be at a meeting in 3 weeks to broker a deal (for his business of child sex slaves). Although the authorities want him brought in alive for the info they can get from him, P.J. wants him dead because he's a slimeball that tortures women and children for his own perversions and if he makes a deal with his info he'll go free to do more harm. Regardless of this issue, she's been injured and so she agrees to go back home with her team to recover.

Cole is patient with P.J. but he also very steadfast in his assertion that he cares for her and wants them to be together. P.J. ends up staying with Cole while recovering and they start to work things out between them. Cole has a bit of a stuggle convincing P.J. that their relationship is worth trying for. P.J. eventually agrees and they have a few days of being together and getting to know each other and even have their first date. It's sweet and nice to see. Cole sees P.J. for who she is and he wants her for who she is. He does realize he'll have to restrain his impulse to protect her though because she'll never accept coddling. Because of this realization, Cole agrees to help P.J. meet with a contact when she thinks she might have a lead on the bad guy. Unfortunately things turn bad and Cole and P.J. are both put in danger. It takes some effort, but P.J. is able to triumph. P.J. and Cole recover and proceed in to their sweet HEA ending.

I really liked this story. There are some dark parts but sometimes you have to see the dark to appreciate the dawn. I really liked Cole and P.J. and was so happy with their HEA (their light after the dark). While I think the story's balance was a little more tipped towards the action/suspense story-line, the romance part was definitely there and the parts where it came out were sweet and endearing (esp when Cole was so sweet with P.J. when she had problems getting past her rape). As always, the secondary characters are great and after this book I'm really looking forward to reading Steele's book (which I'll be starting on ASAP). I'd recommend this book. Thumbs up. :D

* note - They changed to a new narrator. He's alright but his male voices aren't the best. He puts a southern twang on some of the voices (which makes sense since they're from Tennessee) but sometimes with the twang the voices are a little nasally. It's nothing that ruined the story or anything but I hope he does better on the men's voices in the next book.

Why change narrators???

I have been caught up in this series and loved them all. This has a good story but the change in narrator is terrible!! He makes all these tough KGI guys sound like whiney nasally nerds! And the emotion is so flat! Ugh! If i had the time i would read the kindle version just so i dont have to listen to this narrator!

The narrator

I wish I could say something positive about this narrator but I just can’t find something positive to say. I enjoyed Harry Berkeley narrating the first couple of books of the KGI series. He has the deep strong voice needed for the sexy men of these books. This narrator is more suited for I believe mysteries. Now, I just purchased Forged in Steele and realized it’s the same narrator. SAD DAY:(

My favorite of the series

Cole and P.J. finally give in to their attention only to be parted when a mission goes wrong and P.J. disappears. I love how her team and KGI have her back. Such a awesome love story!!! Even better with Adam Paul as narrator.

Loved it!

What made the experience of listening to Shades of Gray the most enjoyable?

I love all of the KGI series but this story made my heart sing. I liked that this book was very raw and had a darker side to it all.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shades of Gray?

I don't want to give anything away but Cole's reaction to what happens to PJ.

What does Adam Paul bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love Harry Berkeley because he was on the journey with me threw the other books in the series. But Adam Paul was a great narrator.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I cried a lot... :( I think this book showed a vulnerable sensitive side to the series.

Any additional comments?

The KGI series is Amazing everyone needs to give them a listen.

Good story

Where does Shades of Gray rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love Maya Banks and this series so I am a fan. It was good.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shades of Gray?

When PJs nurse friend said friends bail you out of jail and good friends are sitting there next to you in jail. The exchange with her and Cole I enjoyed.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

After listening to Harry on all the other books, the new narrator took some getting used too. I don't think I ever got used to it. Most of the voices were alright but Steele sounded like Larry from the Bob Newhart Show and I found it comical.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Things are not always black and white

Poor narration for a good story

After 2 minutes of listening, I remembered instantly the reviews I had read about the narration. Which I forgot because I read reviews for so many books and had this in my wish list.

The narration would have been ok (just "ok") if not a series with preceding books. The stiffness in the beginning is more like listening to someone read, but it lightens up. However, when the hero's voice is pitched higher than the heroine, and Rio no longer has a south American accent, one has to work Very Hard to concentrate on the words of the story and more on one's imagination instead of the audio than usual when listening to an audiobook. This is one of a handful of audiobooks among approximately 140 I've listened to where the narration is actually an obstruction to the story.

The story begins hot, jumps immediately into mission mode and covers some very hard material.

I think rerecording this book would be a good idea.

Narrator and Story are very entertaining

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

Yes, enjoy this series. Have been waiting a while for this character's story and it is a good one from the start. I am also enjoying this new narrator - he doesn't detract from the story and brings his own brand to it and makes it little different than the previous ones.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All of them, finally getting a deeper look into Steele's team

Any additional comments?

Don't let the other reviewers comments on the narrator deter you from this story. While I enjoyed Harry Berkeley for the other ones, he can be a little bit over dramatic. This narrator gives this story a fresh voice and does the storyline proud. There won't be any confusion on who is speaking. Just jump in for a good Maya Banks adventure.

Great Narrator

I enjoyed this one more than some of the earlier KGIs, partly because I much prefer this narrator. I bought this book partly because I have enjoyed this narrator's work on other Maya Banks books. Also, though, the story is exciting and the characters interesting. I have enjoyed some of the earlier KGIs but the narrator made all the difference for me on this one.