Wicked Embrace

Chronicles of a Dancing Heart, Book 2

By: Olivia Boothe

Narrated by: Tim Paige, Kelsey Navarro

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

I wanted one thing: to never fall in love again. But the universe had other plans. One look into Tom Wright's olive-green eyes, and I free-fell crazy in love with the one man destined to break my heart. I know, because I've yet to learn my lesson. The past never dies, and mine is ready to rear its ugly head. Question is, will I be strong enough to survive the fallout?

She wasn't supposed to happen. I'd vowed to never let anyone in, but with one curve of her lips, Sara Hart bulldozed through my heart. I'm happier than I've ever been, yet scared as hell of how much I love her. Despite my best intentions, I haven't been 100 percent honest. My biggest torment still lurks within, threatening to unwind the strings holding us together. And if I lose her now, it might as well be the end of me.

©2020 The Wild Rose Press (P)2020 Olivia Boothe

Reader Or Listener?

Rating: 4.5 Stars

This is one of those cases where you will need to decide if you want to read or listen to the book. I wasn’t too far into it when I decided that this is one that I want both. If I want to read then I can pick up the book and get to know the characters again. Other times when I have things to do but want something to make the work more enjoyable, I just need something to take my mind off the task at hand.

The author does a great job in grabbing my attention with all the emotions she’s created between our two main characters. I would have been happy with that but then she adds in some suspense that made it difficult for me to stop listening. It was hard to find just the right spot when I knew that I had to stop. Most times it would be stopping at the end of a chapter but life didn’t always let me do that – and that made it even harder.

When reading a book, it can be hard to feel those emotions the author is trying to convey and that’s one great thing about having a narrator. Mr. Paige and Ms. Navarro made my experience enjoyable. Ms. Navarro is able to change the tone of her voice enough so I know she was giving us a look at Tom through Sara’s eyes. Mr. Paige is great in creating Tom in my mind. It’s a little tough to picture who Tom might be without listening to the timbre only a man can give us. We also get to see Sara through Tom’s eyes. That’s one good thing about a story being told in the first person. If I have to give one negative, it’s hard to keep a straight face when listening to a man imitate a woman’s voice.

Narrators help the reader fall in love with an author’s work. I may not have read the first book in the series but these three people didn’t let me feel as if I was missing anything. However, they all had me looking forward to going back and fixing that. They also make me wish that I had a fireplace. This is one where I would love to sit by a roaring fire in a comfortable chair, with some hot mulled cider, and a nice warm blanket while sitting there listening in on Tom and Sara’s current situation.

I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

A really entertaining story with lots of drama

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Olivia Boothe. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

So this is the second book in the Chronicles of a Dancing Heart series. I did not read or listen to the first one – but it did not subtract from my enjoyment of this one. I was a little lost at times when they referred to past events but it was easy enough to catch up.

I really enjoyed this story. It starts off with a bit of a boom with a pregnancy scare and because of this I immediately fell in love with Tom. After the initial shock wore off he had the cutest reaction to it that he melted my heart completely.

I felt the same way about Sara. The two of them made the most amazing couple. There is so much drama and angst surrounding their relationship and the development of it – but through out it all the two of them are stellar.

And of course I am always a fan of a good twist.

The narration was amazing. I always prefer that an audiobook be narrated by both male and female when a book is from more than one p.o.v as I am not a fan of listening to a woman try and play a man and vice versa. Add to that Tim Paige has such a HOT voice I couldn’t stop listening to him.

It’s about their past love lives

It was a good follow up. While the first book focused on Sara’s and Tom’s traumas–the accident that kept Sara from dancing, and Tom’s experience with war that left him with PTSD–here it’s more about their past love lives, which come back literally in the form of their exes while they try to build their future together.

Of course, there’s a lot of drama involved, and how they manage to stay together is beyond me. Because, seriously, everything and everyone is against their relationship–old and new threats, and even one I didn’t see coming. There wasn’t a dull moment in the story. The path to their happily ever after is a difficult one, which make the ending of the story really rewarding.

I especially enjoyed the audiobook because the author opted for a dual narration with two very talented narrators who are used to working together. My only complain is that the male narrator didn’t have that much narrating time, as the story often focus on Sara’s point of view–but I’m biased, he’s one of my favorite.