Tigerland

By: Sean Kennedy

Narrated by: Dave Gillies

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sequel to Tigers and Devils

After an eventful and sometimes uncomfortably public courtship, Simon Murray and Declan Tyler settled into a comfortable life together. Now retired from the AFL, Declan works as a football commentator; Simon develops programs with queer content for a community television station.

Despite their public professional lives, Simon and Declan manage to keep their private life out of the spotlight. Their major concerns revolve around supporting their friends through infertility and relationship problems - until Greg Heyward, Declan's ex-partner, outs himself in a transparent bid for attention.

Though Simon and Declan are furious with Greg and his media antics, they can't agree on what to do about it. Declan insists they should maintain a dignified silence, but both he and Simon keep getting drawn into Heyward's games. Simon and Declan will once again have to ride out the media storm before they can return their attention to what really matters: each other.

©2012 Sean Kennedy (P)2014 Dreamspinner Press

Such a great Story!

Any additional comments?

Tigers and Devils was such an emotional ride with more than enough angst and romance to keep me drooling for days. I just didn't think the story of Dec and Simon could get any better.

But it did with this one.

From Roger to Abe and their partners to the whole Greg (the jerk) fiasco, this story had me honesty at the edge of my seat wondering, 'what in the world is wrong with Dec to not vehemently protect Simon?' Poor Simon!!!!

And, his time around, there is no weirdly place music at the beginning of each chapter. The performer actually sounds like he's from Australia (thank you for that) because in Tigers and Devils, having an American accent using Australian phrases was so off!!!!

This audio was perfect because the performer actually performed! That made a world of difference. Although I will admit, I did miss that sexy deep husky voice of Dec from Tigers and Devils audio but other than that, Dave Gillies did an excellent performance for this story!

Grrrrrrrrreat

I was hesitant to purchase this installment of the series until I listened to the sample. I liked the first book, but the narrator wasn't right for it. Mr. Gillies is perfect. I'm not sure if he's an Aussie, but he did a wonderful job with the accent. The only issue I had (and it's a personal thing) is that Greg never got comeuppance - at least on the page. Perhaps there will be a third book in the series?

Sometimes the narrator really makes

all the difference and we definitely see that here. Gillies does such a great job bringing this story to life and what a great story it is. Definitely read/listen to the first one first since you need it to have the best experience of these characters and their story.

Loved the narration

Tigerland picks up about three years after we leave the guys in Tigers and Devils. Simon and Declan are happily living together and going through life. The media attention surrounding them has died down and their families are accepting and welcoming. Life as they say is pretty good for them. That is, until another football player decides to come out of the closet and drag both Declan and Simon back in the spotlight – no matter what.

Just like the first book, Tigerland is as much about family and friendships as it is about romance and relationships. Both Lisa and Abe and Fran and Roger are always there for them when things are getting tough – or for a beer or two just because. I love to see them interacting and I loved to see that it wasn’t one-sided, that they were there for their friends when they struggled as well. So many times in books the spotlight always shines on the main couple and we rarely get to know about the lives of the secondary characters. That’s not the case with this series, they are as much part of the story as Simon and Declan are – they never take over, but it shows that they are genuinely involved in their friend’s lives.

As far as Simon and Declan goes, it’s nice to see that they’ve come a long way from when we first met them. They still need to work on actually communicating with each other and solve problems together but there’s no running away or thinking the worst. That uncertainty is gone.

When it comes to the narration and production of this book there has been a few major changes compared to the first book. There’s no music playing between the chapters, something I’m eternally grateful for. It made it easy to be swept away on this journey and forget about real life for a while. We also see a change in narrators and to be honest I can’t say that I was disappointed about that. Paul Morey did a good job with the first book, but I far prefer Dave Gillies and not only because he’s Aussie. But that accent did soo much for this book. This time I actually felt like I was in Australia, and the many Aussie terminologies wasn’t lost in translation like in the previous book. But most of all – Simon really came alive with his performance, his snark and runaway mouth was so present, and it really set the tone for the book that I think Kennedy was after.

All in all, I had a great time listening to Tigerland and I’m going jump right into book three.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Two all time favorite characters brought to life

I’d read the Tigers & Devils series more than once and have loved it more and more with each read. So much so, on a recent trip to Australia, I’d actually attended an AFL game, proudly wearing my team colors scarf, which started me back on my kick of a total series reread. Or, in this case, a first time audiobook listen and review. I admit, I was concerned when I’d picked up the first book and the narrator had an American accent. That immediately took the wind out of my sails, and within minutes, I put it down. I just could not ruin the image in my mind with that voice. Nothing against the narrator personally, he just didn’t fit the scene. I noticed the narrator for the next two books was a different narrator and so I sampled Tigerland, loved the accent, and here I am.

I can safely say, with my trip to Oz, my first hand experience at a footy game, fully admiring the legs and butts on these athletes, that I now have a brand new appreciation for Declan Tyler. He was portrayed as a man with a body made for sin and a heart of gold, but the narrator brought the image in my head to life with his amazing performance. As much as I loved Declan, I have to admit, David Gilles took Simon Murphy to a whole new level. I liked Simon, I really did, but this performance made me absolutely love him. I much preferred his voice of Simon over any other character and now Simon has supplanted Declan as my favorite. See what happened here? A book you love, turned into an audio, can take that love and elevate in ways you never imagined.

If you have never read this series, and I am well aware it is a few years old, take my word and read it. And if you want the true Aussie experience, pick up the audiobook for Tigerland. I guarantee you will thank me.

Love the sequel...

... just as much as I did the first book, Tigers and Devils. Simon and Declan are my go-to-guys when I need a dose of good, happy, everyday life and romance.
Despite that the narrator did not have an Australian accent, I think he did a good job.
Now I'm off to listen the third book :)

Not as good as the first, stil good

Well, since i loved the first part of this story, i had to listen to the second. I am not disapointed but still not as impressed as with the first. Its not a bad sequal, but i Think that the first book kind of finished the story nicely, so the second part was is just a bonus story. You May listen to it if u Want but not as an essential part of the story. Narrator fine - i liked the first one better but understand why they changed him since this guy is actually an aussie.