Review: Wed to the Barbarian

Wed to the Barbarian by Keira Andrews and Michael Ferraiuolo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sheltered in the palace with his books, Jem’s life is peaceful. Even if he’s lonely and yearning for romance, the big, strong men he wants don’t crave small, timid princes.
Then he’s forced to marry a mysterious barbarian. Jem must do his duty. Even if he must leave behind everything and everyone to journey to a forbidding island of ice and stone.


Wed to the Barbarian is the first action-adventure romance in the Barbarian Duet and must be read before The Barbarian’s Vow.

 
This was a nice surprise! I loved the flawed characters and their growth. This was not a sugarcoated fantasy and it kept me listening breathlessly. The only thing that bothered me, was Jem suddenly having a lot of physical strength. 

You can accept the happy-for-now ending of book #1 without listening to book #2, but then you miss out!
The narrator was great. Maybe, after a relisten, I change my rating to 5 stars.

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Review: Men Under the Mistletoe

Men Under the Mistletoe by Josh Lanyon, Ava March Harper Fox K.A. Mitchell and ~
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It may be cold outside, but these four holiday novellas will warm you up.

• A man receives the gift of pleasure at the hands of two expert lovers. 

• Boyhood sweethearts get a second chance at romance.

• Two very proper gentlemen indulge their forbidden desires.

• And a Christmas-tree farmer has an epiphany. 

My True Love Gave To Me, by Ava March:
It might be too late for readers of this audiobook review, but you should avoid reading the blurb. It covers 50% of the novella and the following 50% of groveling got tedious fast.
I disliked the booming sound of this novella. Also, after every editorial cut, the volume changed. The narrator goes on my 'avoid' list, with his random pauses after every few words and lack of voices.

Winter Knights, by Harper Fox:
Beautiful story, marvelous narrator.

Lone Star, by Josh Lanyon:
Forgetable. Narration was all right but the edited sentences added at a later point, sounded different.

The Christmas Proposition by K.A. Mitchel was a nice gay romance although in the end I missed some emotion. I did not like the ending. Good narration.



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Review: Lone Star

Lone Star by Josh Lanyon and ~
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Growing up in rural Texas, Mitchell Evans' ambition to be a dancer made him a target. Though he found success in New York City, Mitch is at a crossroads, and heads home for the first time in twelve years to figure things out. When what appears to be a reindeer jumps out in front of his car, he drives off the road and into the path of the one man he hoped to avoid.

The last person Texas Ranger Web Eisley expects to see four days before Christmas is his first love. He hasn't seen Mitch since they quarreled over coming out to their friends and family years ago. Though he's not in the closet now.

This audiobook was forgetable but nothing was wrong. Just an LGBTQ holiday romance as many others.

The narration was all right but the edited sentences added at a later point, sounded different.

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Review: Coddiwomple

Coddiwomple by S.E. Harmon and Nick Hudson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a wildlife photographer, Journey “JJ” Sutton never stays in one place too long. The world is his classroom, and he’s living his dream. His only regret is that he had to sacrifice the love of his life to do it. But as the saying goes, you can never go home again. That’s until there’s a family emergency, and he has to…well, go home again. His easy breezy lifestyle gets complicated fast. It certainly doesn’t help that his ex-fiancé has bought the house next door.

After an unstable childhood, Cameron Foster loves small-town life. He has everything he needs in his vet practice, his friends, and his animals.

I liked this audiobook and all characters in it. So why only three stars?
I felt exasperated. Thousands of people are in a happy relationships while one of them travels a lot. And even in their thirties, these men could not figure out a solution beyond breaking up?

The narration was nice but at several points, he missed the spot and it made me focus on failures. For example his kid voices and a few times he was stating facts where he should have been performing. And it was not always clear who of the men was talking.

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Review: Pine Cove: The Complete Series

Pine Cove: The Complete Series by H.J. Welch Nick J. Russo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Welcome to Pine Cove, where true love lives happily ever after! This 2000 page box set contains all six novels as well as all five companion short stories. Each Pine Cove book can be read as a stand alone and has its own happy ever after.

Safe Harbor
Robin Coal needs a fake boyfriend for his high school reunion. He asks his housemate: a gorgeous, totally straight ex-Marine. 
 
Sweet Spot
It’s Halloween and Robin has prepared a sexy little surprise for his boyfriend Dair when he gets home from work. 

Troubled Waters
Bodyguard Scout Duffy doesn’t know what’s worse: the fact that his scorching one-night-stand, Emery Klein, is his bratty new client, or the fact that he doesn’t even remember Scout. But Emery’s life is in danger thanks to his out and proud charity work, and once he finally recognizes Scout, their chemistry in undeniable.

Homeward Bound
Swift Coal just found out he’s a father, and his daughter (and her cranky cat) are coming to stay. His best friend’s younger brother, Micha Perkins, has nowhere to go. He’s relieved when Swift asks him to be a live-in babysitter.

Bright Horizon
With sixteen years between them, baker Ben Turner and lawyer Elias Solomon have no idea their crush is mutual. But when Ben inherits his long-lost family’s estate and becomes an overnight millionaire, Elias swears to protect the innocent younger man from the vultures circling him. To unravel the mystery of the inheritance, they must go to England.  
Crossed Paths
Raj Bhat is done living in the shadows. It’s time for him to take charge of his own destiny and tell the man he’s fallen for how he really feels.

 
Midnight Sky
It’s the night before New Year’s Eve. Taylan Demir is all alone, and he’s just lost his dog. Except when his handsome customer, Hudson Perkins, comes to his rescue, Taylan doesn’t just get his dog back. 

 

Memory Lane
Angel Shields saved Jay Coal’s life in high school, and Jay has secretly loved his straight best friend ever since. Now Angel’s back in town with amnesia after a suspicious work accident and it’s Jay's turn to rescue him. He pretends to be Angel’s fiancé to see him in the hospital.

Thin Ice
Kamran’s ex broke his heart, tricked him into aiding a bank robbery, and now he wants him to do one last job. There’s only one way to say no: seek the protective custody of the biggest, grumpiest FBI agent ever, Lee Marshall. 
 
Calm Shores
Gorgeous, sophisticated Dante walks into Oliver’s bar and orders…a boyfriend?! Dante needs a man to keep his mother from setting him back up with his awful, cheating ex, and Oliver is up for the challenge.

Fresh Snow
Emery Klein is throwing the best Christmas party ever, but his fiancé, Scout Duffy, and all their friends have something more exciting in mind.

 
6 full length novels for 1 Audible credit. What is not to like? Even if you skip several endings out of boredom, you still have hours and hours of entertainment. And you gain a badge! 

I liked the first one and thought the second one had a memorable main character. Listening to six in a row should be avoided, I think. Problem is, the writing is mediocre at best. Only plain tropes and no surprises. Shallow characters without growth. Way too much inner monolog for every point of view, always about tiresome insecurety combined with much crying. Never a hurdle in the relationship but always a secondary character being an over the top villain or rude bigot with vague motivation.
The narration is great and I finished 2 novels.

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Review: In Step

In Step by Jay Hogan and Gary Furlong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Karma. You reap what you sow, and KANE MARTIN isn’t looking for forgiveness. But the arrival of ABE TYLER in Painted Bay has Kane dreaming of the impossible. The sexy, silver fox choreographer is determined to pull Kane out from the shadows.
But life’s dance can make for unexpected partners, and learning to trust and keep up with the footwork is the name of the game.

I was underwhelmed, the first time I listened to this audiobook, because I could not tell the voices apart and had no sense of the characters. Something made me restart the recording and it was great. So many details I did not pick up the first time! I was fascinated by Kane. Abe was less developed. 

When paying attention you can notice the voices are slightly different. Abe has an amused tone.
I love this M/M romance!

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Review: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles and Martyn Swain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Abandoned by his father as a small child, Sir Gareth Inglis has grown up prickly, cold, and well-used to disappointment. Even so, he longs for a connection, falling headfirst into a passionate anonymous affair that's over almost as quickly as it began. Bitter at the sudden rejection, Gareth has little time to lick his wounds: his father has died, leaving him the family title, a rambling manor on the remote Romney Marsh...and the den of cutthroats and thieves that make its intricate waterways their home.

Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy. His family is his life...which is why when the all-too-familiar new baronet testifies against Joss's sister for a hanging offense, Joss acts fast, blackmailing Gareth with the secret of their relationship to force him to recant. Their reunion is anything but happy and the path forward everything but smooth.

Who thought to employ a narrator who pauses after every three words was a good idea? I tried a few chapters and then the M/M romance grasped me. It is doable. I loved the action, the side characters, the villains and the rival smuggling gang. The Marsh in my head turned from grey and desolate to lively, colorful and social the longer I listened. It brought to mind Daphne de Maurier's work, which makes it not original but breathtaking none the less.

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