Shock & Awe

By: Abigail Roux

Narrated by: Brock Thompson

After barely surviving a shootout in New Orleans, Sidewinder medic Kelly Abbott has to suffer through a month of recovery before he can return home to Colorado. He's not surprised when fellow Sidewinder Nick O'Flaherty stays with him in New Orleans. Nor is he surprised when Nick travels home with him to help him get back on his feet - after all, years on the same Marine Force Recon team bonded the men in ways that only bleeding for a brother can. He's very surprised, though, when Nick humors his moment of curiosity and kisses him.

Nick knows all of Kelly's quirks and caprices, so the kiss was a low-risk move on his part...or so he thought. But what should've been a simple moment unleashes a flood of confusing emotions and urges that neither man is prepared to address. Now, Kelly and Nick must figure out what they mean to each other - friends and brothers in arms or something even deeper - before the past can come back to ruin their tenuous future.

©2013 Abigail Roux (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Good spin off

This is a good spin off to the cut and run series. I loved getting a closer look at Nick and Kelly but also the slightly quieter story. It's fairly quick listen and Thompson does a good job with the narration.

Love This Series!

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

Yes! Brock Thompson does a great job with differentiating between Nick and Kelly. His gravelly voice adds to the emotional scenes.

What did you like best about this story?

LOVE Nick and Kelly and getting to be in their head as they discover each other and what they ultimately want from each other.

Which scene was your favorite?

The salute at the end, when they are at the airport. I won't say more but that is a moment that really got to me. Very touching moment that just cemented how close the Sidewinders are.

If you could rename Shock & Awe, what would you call it?

Nope. Name fits just right.

Any additional comments?

This is a side story to the Cut and Run series and yet it works by itself. Short, fun, sexy and heartwarming. This is a another good one from Abigail Roux.

Nice interlude

The narration was terrible .2 main characters sound almost exactly the same . Really bad

I love Nick and Kelly! Not happy with narration

I liked this book a lot and was excited to see it at Audible....The narrator was a disappointment :( He did ok on Nick but he turned Kelly into a different character to me...He made Kelly less vibrant and playful.

Sidewinders are off to a great start!

Where does Shock & Awe rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is one I would listen to again.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shock & Awe?

The hotel room!

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

The native Boston accent for Nick.

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

Shock and Awe seems to fit perfectly.

Any additional comments?

Kelly Abbott and Nick O'Flaherty have been friends, brothers, comrades in arms for over a decade. With Kelly still on the mend after being shot during the fiasco in New Orleans, Nick takes the time off to stay with his friend and help him while he heals. Kelly isn't sure if it's the pain meds, or being in such close quarters with Nick, but his perception of his friend shifts almost as soon as they get to his cabin. What starts out as mild curiosity, quickly turns into so much more and soon, they cross a line that they can never jump back over again.

I really enjoyed getting to know more about Nick and Kelly. Being secondary characters throughout the Cut & Run series as members of Ty's rag tag secret black ops team, the Sidewinders, I only got to know them in the capacity that fit into those stories. Now the focus of the story shifts to Nick and Kelly, the strong bond they already share after relying on each other in life or death situations for over a decade. So, while to some this may seem like an insta-love story, I assure you, it is not. It's been brewing for close to fifteen years.

Narrated by Brock Thompson, this is my first audio with Thompson and it did take me about twenty minutes to get used to his narration. After listening to the Cut & Run series, I got used to that specific voice for Nick and Kelly, so Thompson's was off at first. It did not take long for the story to pull me in though, and I actually think I like Nick more voiced by Thompson because he has his Boston bread accent. This wasn't the norm for the Sidewinder guys, this was a singular story about Nick and Kelly realizing a mutual attraction, talking about it, then acting on it. It was short, sexy and even a bit steamy.

I quite enjoyed this romantic reprieve and look forward to more stores for Nick and Kelly. They aren't quite as troublesome and volatile as Ty and Zane, but they might graduate to that with more time. If you are a fan of the Cut & Run books of course you'll enjoy this companion series. But if you've avoided that series due to the madness, murder and mayhem... this is slower but just as appealing as anything else Roux has written.