The Exception

The Exception Series, Book 1

By: Adriana Locke

Narrated by: Connor Crais, Samantha Brentmoor

Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Foolish women fall in love with the bad boy.

Cane Alexander was bad boy personified.

Confident, he entered a room with his piercing blue eyes wearing a smug grin. He was the proverbial red flag wrapped up in a ridiculous set of abs.

I tried to resist him. After all, I was done being a fool.

Maybe it was his charm, or perhaps it was his persistence. Maybe it was how he entered my life and refused to leave. Whatever the reason, I fell for the one man I should’ve resisted.

Even though it made me a target.

I didn’t know if I’d become yet another notch on his bedpost or be the exception to his rules.

Or if I’d survive long enough to be either.

From USA Today best-selling author Adriana Locke comes a tale full of twists and turns. Listners who enjoy opposites attract, romantic suspense, and cocky heroes will enjoy this story.

Note: The Exception now includes an extended epilogue previously titled "The Connection".

©2014 Adriana Locke (P)2022 Adriana Locke

I like bad boys and I cannot lie

Oooh! Cane is a total book boyfriend material and I swooned over him. Loved the chemistry and all the drama. I nurse a love for alpha men and Adriana seems to have crafted him with keeping my kinks in mind. lol! The audio narration was engaging and the dual cast made the audiobook more fun, enjoyable and totally worth it.

Loved it!!!

I was completely immersed in Cane and Jada's story. I loved the bad boy who becomes obsessed with the girl who doesn't want to give him the time of day. Both of them make some poor choices, but it brings them to the best conclusion.

I was excited to go back and listen to this older book by Adriana. I have read her newer series and was so happy to find her older stuff is just as good. Romance with a little romantic suspense. Is there anything better?

The narrators did a great job telling this one. I didn't want to stop listening!

who is this guy???

oh my I really liked these narrators. even when Cane was being... ugh awful (he was! he wasn't a perfect book boyfriend the whole novel) I just liked hearing this guy talk.

I love Adriana Locke. There were a few times I wanted to smack ole Cane in the face and then he goes and does something sweet. There were some small thrills I wasn't expecting! ❤️

Exciting romance!

So I love Adriana Locke! She is one of my favorite romance writers so when I was asked to review this audiobook of one of hers that I had yet to read, I was so excited!

I love an Alpha hero, I don’t know what it is about them but I just like to see them soften because of their LI. Cane was exactly like this, and Jada was so good for him.

I really loved reading their story but I liked the action that came along with this book as well. I am finding that I love a romance that also has thriller/mystery components to it. This was exciting and fun and I really enjoyed it.

Spice: 🌶🌶🌶/5

Read this if you like:
❤️ An Alpha Hero
❤️ Keeping on the edge of your seat
❤️ Amazing, Supportive friendships

Thank you to the author for this gifted audiobook!

The Exception Series

The Exception (The Exception Series, Book 1) is a romantic suspense told in dual pov. With angst, love and a torrent of activity. Character's are complex and envelop unabridged passion. Brimming with a tortuous path, secrets from the past , sensual moments and a true exception hea.

Connor Crais, Samantha Brentmoor were remarkable in their narration of The Exception. Jada and Cane's lovestory was beautifully brought to reality. I enjoyed both narrators inflections.

Really enjoyed this story

Caine is drawn in by Jada. She wants nothing to do with him. I enjoyed the realness of this story. Jada is figuring out who she is after her divorce. But the chemistry between Jada and Caine is palpable! I liked how their relationship grew and how these narrators brought them to life!

Exceptionally Grand! Fantastic Story & Narration🎧

Consider me wowed, I loved everything about this book, from Adriana Locke’s wonderful writing style to the characters and storylines she created to the perfectly cast narration who bring it all to life from the pages to your ears. I can't believe that this is the author’s debut novel, it is impressive how gifted she was from the start. The story drew me right in, grabbing my attention and captivating it through the entire book. The characters are realistic, easy to relate to and connect with, they are likable and easy to care about too. Jada Stanley divorced her controlling and abusive husband and is starting over again, moving in with her sister, Cari, and will work in her father’s real estate business. Then Jada captures Cane Alexander’s attention, a friend of Cari’s friend, Max. But Jada’s ex-husband, Decker, has left her with a back taste in her mouth and she has no interest in men, especially cocky, alpha, bossy men who are players, like Cane. Cane is not used to being turned down and is not about to give up on her. This is something new for Cane and it was great to watch him try to get somewhere with her. There are a lot of layers to this book, besides the romance storyline, Cane’s past is coming back to haunt him and causing trouble for him, his business and threatens those he cares about. Jada’s ex-husband wants her back and stirs things up, too. I loved how everything played out in this wonderfully plotted story, there is plenty of drama, heartfelt emotions, angst, thrilling suspense, and a steamy romance. Adriana Locke, thank you for another amazing story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 And for the fabulous narration, Connor Crais and Samantha Brentmoor are superbly talented narrators and versatile voice artists. They do an amazing job portraying these characters, giving each a voice that suits their character’s persona perfectly, sounding believable in every role they played. Crais nailed Cane’s swoon worthiness and his alpha-tude and Brentmoor grasped every side of Jada’s personality, from her strength to her vulnerabilities. Both were great performing the roles of the secondary characters and handled the witty dialogue with ease. They set the perfect tone for the story, captured all the character’s emotions and projected them into their performance. These entertaining storytellers are a pleasure to listen to and their narration enhanced an already amazing story to another level. Thank you for another exceptional listen.

Entertaining and emotional

Adriana Locke is one of my go to authors and I’m surprised I haven’t read this series so when I was given the opportunity to listen to Connor Crais and Samantha Broadmoor’s narration I jumped at the chance. I was not disappointed because this listen was everything I have come to expect from this very talented author and this talented narration duo.
This is Jada Stanley and Can Alexander’s emotional and entertaining journey and from the moment I picked up my headphones I was captivated. Cane is a man not looking for a relationship, one night stands are his jam, a arrogant successful businessman and a player means there is no room for a woman until he comes across Jada. Jada has just got away from an abusive marriage and the last thing she needs is to fall for a player but what happens when this couple meet and both their life’s are turned upside down….one click now to find out.
The Exception ticked all my boxes, I was captivated and I was kept on the edge on my seat apps this couple danced around their feelings. I adored the characters and their journey touched me on so many levels which leaves me excited for the rest of the series.

Loved this book!

I’ve truly never read an Adriana Locke book I didn’t like and The Exception is no exception! Jada and Cane are the perfect match, as much as they both resist the pull between them. But Cane is ready to anything and everything for Jada, even when she’s hesitant to be with him. Loved the narration on this one too!

excellent debut!

𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘈𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢!

I can't believe this was Adriana's debut novel! I'm a big fan of hers; I've read a good amount of her books already. So when her team reached out to ask if I wanted to listen to the audio of this book I immediately said yes, and I'm happy I did! To be completely honest, it was a little more angsty than I'm used to from her but I didn't mind. Already evident from this first book of hers, Adriana is really good at crafting characters and staying true to who they are. It's a really impressive debut overall.

Similarly, I thought the narrators, Connor Crais and Samantha Brentmoor, did an excellent job as well. I felt like they were able to bring the personality of their characters to life and kept my attention.

Read/listen if you love: a reformed badboy alpha hero, a strong badass heroine, romance with a side of suspense, Dual POV!