The Binding

By: Samantha Jacobey

Narrated by: Johnny Cee

Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

One cursed diary will change two strangers forever....

Merideth Monroe was born to a wealthy politician; luxury was her middle name. The happiest childhood, the finest schools, and landing her dream career; her future couldn’t have been brighter. She didn’t care that her mother wanted a different path for her; but when her mother is murdered and she appears to be next, nothing in her flawless life will matter.

Rider Bradshaw lived a carefree existence. Ex-military, he only wanted out of his family’s shaded history and chose to leave the sins of their past behind. However, when a girl he’s never heard of is placed in his charge by his father, protecting her becomes his obsession and keeping her safe his only reality.

Can Meri and Rider use her mother’s old book to figure out why someone is after them? Or will the guilty party succeed, ripping the tome away before killing them and then slithering back into the darkness?

©2016 Lavish Publishing, LLC (P)2019 Lavish Publishing, LLC

not my favorite

okay it's not my favorite book I have to say that I expected more I do know that the book wasn't long and maybe the author he didn't developed characters as she should but it wasn't enough it was 3 hours the story had potential but it didn't work the narrator was great though and I think it was part of what kept me going actually the narrator and deface that's the story will developed and the liking of the characters will increase but it just didn't happen it was cute but nothing else

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

not one I'd recommend

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I'm afraid I must agree with my fellow reviewers on this one. I didn't really like this book that much and was thankful it was pretty short. I just found the characters to be annoying and unrelatable. I just kind of disliked them, so I never felt engaged in the story. The narrator was decent. His female voices weren't that great, but otherwise he is good. All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book.

This is a pass for me............

The premise of The Binding sounded interesting, but I ended up not enjoying the book. Meredith, the female protagonist, comes from a wealthy family, and her life has always been perfect. She had an entitled, snobbish attitude from minute one. However, out of the blue, midway through the book, she becomes an absolute bratty shrew. Her personality change was so distasteful that I lost all interest in the outcome of the story. I liked the male protagonist, Rider, but I thought that he deserved so much better than Meredith. If you can tune out Meredith from the story completely, it was probably enjoyable, but I'm afraid I just couldn't succeed on that front.

My review on Johnny Cee is mixed. He has a very deep, raspy voice that is perfectly suited to Rider alpha male personality. However, when he narrates the female characters, he misses the mark. Instead of sounding feminine, he makes the women sound like they are swallowing helium gas. His female voice is too high pitched and too shrill, making an already unpalatable Meredith even worse. If Cee focuses on male roles, he will steal the show because his delivery is flawless, and he truly has a sexy voice.

I received a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for this honest review.

Short and steamy!

As always, I have to state that this book was given to me for free in exchange for a review.
I always like to state that this does not impact my review or my opinion of the book. My reviews are honest and my own opinion of the story, performance, and overall thoughts on the book.

The Binding kept me wondering. Merideth and Ryder meet at her mother's funeral. She's feeling guilty for not spending more time with her mother and the way their last visit ended. Ryder didn't know her mother but his father did and was a close friend, or so he said. No one had ever seen them together and she hadn't spoken of him. When the man and her own father agreed that her mother's death may be foul play Ryder was assigned to protect her.

Who was after her and how did they seem only a half step behind them as the two flee?

There is an attraction between these two never-gonna-get-in-another-serious-relationship people. Neither wants to admit it even though they come close a few times.

While I did enjoy the book, I was unable to care about Merideth. Her better-than-you attitude was off-putting. Ryder was easier to like, however, with the mystery not allowing us to delve into their personalities too closely it wasn't easy to be on their side. I did enjoy the story and if you are looking for an interesting mystery with a couple and little steam this will fit the bill.

Okay start, but hoped for more

This book was pretty interesting, but the characters weren’t. It was full of suspense, mystery, and drama. I feel like it would have been more enjoyable if Meredith was more likeable and less self-centered, but she’s definitely realistic because there are people out there like her. I liked Ryder’s personality and enjoyed his role in the book. I wouldn’t mind seeing where the next book goes, but I do hope for more character development and growth for their relationship.
Johnny did a pretty good job with this narration. I liked that he did different voices for each character and it was always easy to tell who was talking. His male voices for the characters were perfect, but the female voices were shrill and not that easy to listen to. Overall I did enjoy the performance and I wouldn’t mind listening to more work from him if they were mainly in a male POV.
*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

The Characters Weren't My Favorite

Unfortunately, I can't say that I really enjoyed this one.

The reason? I really couldn't stand any of the characters. It's just personal preference, but I really didn't connect with Meri, and the male love interest wasn't... interesting to me. I've read a lot of these sort of books, so I suppose maybe it just comes down to the fact that they didn't stick out in comparison to other characters, or maybe they were just poorly written. Overall, the characters lacked something, and the side characters were annoying and unimportant to the plot.

It's always hard to review writing when listening to an audiobook, but the narration was decent. I did find that the male narrator stereotyped the female voice a little bit, but I'm not one who should be able to judge on that - I don't think I could narrate an audiobook at all, regardless of voice types.

The idea of the plot was unique, however, I don't think I'm the best person to comment on it. Witches/paranormal is not a genre that I have ever enjoyed, and this book was certainly no exception to that. Overall, the book was very mediocre.

just okay, but great narration

I had a hard time getting into the story, the characters didn't seem to draw me in as well as one would have hoped. It did seem like it was mostly a fast paced romance but I failed to focus on the story.

I thought the narration was excellent and would love to hear more by this narrator.

I received a review copy at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.

Just Say No

I got this story via audiobook boom and this is my voluntary review. the story was too convoluted to even begin to be believable. The narrator was too hyped for me and the story moved so fast. There were spots that I liked but most of it was just so much noise.

:)

This was entertaining, and the characters were great, but I felt like the plot motivation was either a little forced or not explained well enough, or maybe a bit of both. Overall I enjoyed the book but was left with a lot of questions.

I was given an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my review but that did not affect my opinion.

Great Read

The Binding was a good read by Samantha Jacobey. Merideth is that daughter of a wealthy politician. Her mother is murdered and she finds out that she is next. Rider is ex-military who is placed in charge of protecting Meri. Meri and Rider find her mother's old book to find out who is after her and why. I enjoyed reading Meri and Rider's story and can't wait to read more by Samantha Jacobey.