Category Archives: Audio Book

#review #audiobook #whychoose Bitter Brambles (Ivy Institute 2) by Albany Walker narrated by Brooke and Jake Bordeaux

I expected to die as soon as I stepped foot into the Ivy Institute, but dying would have been too easy.

Nothing at The Ivy is quite what it seems. Not the enigmatic demon whose touch kills everyone he touches, yet somehow saved my life the first day I arrived. Nor the dark deity combat instructor who vows to train me to survive the Undertaking. A deadly game held to entertain the Gods he’s forsaken.

The headmistress brought me here to be her secret weapon. She made it clear if I can’t be useful, I’ll be dead. When I’m torn from The Ivy and my mates, I’m certain she’s responsible.

Huddled in the icy cliffs of Mount Nivei lies Frostburn Institute where the cold will kill you nearly as fast as its inhabitants.

Death seems inevitable, until an unlikely ally makes himself known.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221312795-bitter-brambles

 

i was given this audiobook from the author for an honest review

After arriving at Ivy, Briar was starting to get a bit comfortable she’s now got not 1 mate but 2 one she has fully attached to and the other just emotional. while working on her fighting next thing she knows it was black, she was bit by a snake and on the verge of dying, then she was traded to a new cold institute. both of her mates are fuming not knowing where she was and not being able to know how to get her back. Briar just wants to survive and after proving herself different, in the meantime she not only was discovering that she had some powers that she didnt know she had, she also now mated to a wolf shifter as well as her 2 back at the Ivy. this girl has her hands full while just trying to survive. the audio book was great and the story is just as good.

Albany lives in Michigan where she’s happily married to her high school sweetheart. She spends most of her time juggling her four children’s extracurricular activities, with her nose stuck in a book. When not reading you can find her writing her very own book boyfriends. Albany’s passion is writing romance with real characters that are far from perfect, but always seem to find their own happily ever afters.

#Review #AudioBook – Like It’s 1999: a Boston Classics novella by Karen Grey

Love ‘em and Leave ‘em Alice Kim and “Hot” Steve Lowell are perfect for each other. It’ll only take them ten years to figure that out.

Just because they throw the most bodacious wedding party ever…

Just because they’re perfect partners in pranks…

Just because they love all the same boss movies…

Just because they share one totally bangin’ night of sex together…

Does not mean they’ll break the One Time Rule.

Even if they do… they don’t do relationships.

And they’re never getting married.

Like, ever.

In this friends-to-lovers, marriage-pact novella spanning the last decade of the 20th century, life forces a playboy and a playgirl grow up—and grow apart—before giving them a chance to create a happy-ever-after they can actually be happy about.

 

Goodreads

 

Amazon

 

Where are all my Gen-X’ers and Xennials?!?! This book has it all for us! All of our slang, excellent movie quotes, rad pranks, all the boombox holding nostalgia with an epic love story! EVERYTHING!!!! I listened to this book and having two narrators, one for Love ‘em and Leave ‘em Alice and Hot Steve, was ON POINT!

Alice and Steve end up being bridesmaids to their best friend. Yes, this will be an unconventional wedding as guys and girls will be on both sides. The best part is that Alice and Steve are the perfect partners in crime for the wedding. Actually, they are very similar in most aspects of their lives. As their story continues and we get to know them, they end up learning things about themselves that they aren’t really happy about. After the party they make a pact for the 10-year anniversary. But what happens in the middle and leading up to the 10-year anniversary is…well, a lot. I can’t call it a page turner because I listened to it, LOL! It was gripping and I couldn’t stop listening because I JUST HAD TO KNOW!

This was so nostalgic, plus the story just had a touch of everything! I highly recommend it! Just read it or listen to it already!

 

Karen Grey profile image

KAREN GREY is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of vintage romantic comedies with smart heroines and hunky heroes. Drawing on a long career as a performer, her retro 80’s and 90’s romances are populated with characters working both on- and off-stage in theater, TV and film.

She’s a lifelong omnivorous reader (including 20 years as an audiobook narrator). When not reading or writing, she’s lounging at the beach or hiking in the mountains. Or dreaming about both with an IPA in hand and a dog or a cat nearby.

To get the latest news, join her VIP club at followkarengrey.com.

#Review #AudioBook – The Exception to the Rule (The Improbable Meet-Cute collection) by Christina Lauren

On February 14, an accidental email to a stranger opens the door to an unexpected relationship in a captivating short story by the New York Times bestselling authors of The Unhoneymooners.

One typo, and a boy and girl connect by chance. Wishing each other a happy Valentine’s Day isn’t the end. In fact, it becomes a friendly annual tradition—with rules: no pics, no real names, nothing too personal. As years pass, the rules for their email “dates” are breaking, and they’re sharing more than they imagined—including the urge to ask…what if we actually met?

Christina Lauren’s The Exception to the Rule is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.

 

Goodreads

 

Amazon

 

Kelly’s Review

I ran across this book when looking for a fun, sweet and quick-ish read. Then instead of reading it, I listened to it. I am not normally an audiobook kinda girl but once I started listening, I was HOOKED! The use of two narrators, one male and one female, was the key!

The accidental email that started this whole thing was just an accident, remembering the accidental email the following Valentine’s Day made me giggle, then the fact that they started competing to be the first to wish the other happy Valentine’s Day really had me LOL’ing! Obviously, you know they are going to meet but all their rules surrounding the “anonymous” emails that allow our two main characters to actually get to know each other and become friends that lead up to them actually meeting, is where its all at.

This is the perfect, sweet, funny and just all-around awesome read!

 

Christina Lauren profile image

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 Internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Dating You / Hating You, Autoboyography, Love and Other Words, Roomies, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating,The Unhoneymooners, The Soulmate Equation, Something Wilder and The True Love Experiment. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com, @ChristinaLauren on Instagram, or @ChristinaLauren on Twitter.

#Review #AudioBook – Getting Lucky: Tempered Steel – Vegas, by Maggie Adams

Lawrence “Lucky” Coalson is on the track of the arsonist that torched his older brother’s construction company. The clues have led him to the Mississippi Flame Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Taking a job as a bouncer there, he hopes to find a connection to the vandalism or even the arsonist. What he finds is a blonde bombshell in a bit of trouble, so like the alpha male he is, Lucky comes to the rescue. But like a magician’s trick, not everything is as it appears.
Can Lucky discern the difference between lust and love when what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas? And is the Coalson family prepared to face the consequences of his actions?

 

Goodreads

 

Amazon

 

Kelly’s Review

Just not that Lucky.

1st disclaimer, I wasn’t aware that this was part of a series when I started this book.

2nd disclaimer, I listened to the audiobook and had earbuds in and unable to stop the book (hands were busy), so I tried to keep an open mind while listening to the book.

Lucky goes to Vegas and is looking for a connection to the trouble that has befallen his family. While there he falls in love with Claudia. Ok, so we have the boy meets girl and of course she is part of the problem or at least bound up in it somehow. Now we bring in the BDSM club and things get really weird for me. I am not an expert by any means but nothing that happens in this club is very believable…at least to me. In my opinion, the narrator wasn’t that great for the story either. He wasn’t the guy for Lucky. Then the cliffhanger was huge! I just don’t know if I have it in me to explore this series any further but if I do, I will be reading it, not listening to it.

 

Maggie Adams profile image

International bestselling author Maggie Adams lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her husband, four kids, and four of the sweetest, smartest, and most talented grandchildren ever to grace God’s green earth. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on creative writing of poetry, short stories, and comics. It wasn’t until she read her first historical romance novel at the age of fourteen that she found the romance genre gave wings to her writing soul. She finds humor in everyday life, as her books often reflect, and believes in happy ever afters, no matter what the circumstances.

Her first novel, Whistlin’ Dixie, debuted in the top 100 of several book lists and made the tiny town of Grafton, Illinois, a reader’s romantic escape. There are five more books available in the series: Leather and Lace, Something’s Gotta Give, Love, Marriage & Mayhem, Forged in Fire, and Cold as Ice. She also released a companion cookbook featuring the recipes from the series as well as tried and true comfort food from generations past entitled, The Coalson Cookbook of Memories.

In addition to the Tempered Steel series, she is the author of the spinoff paranormal romance series, Legends. The first novel, Legends: Catori, garnered her recognition in the USA Today’s Happily Ever After section of Lifestyles. Legends: Kermode, followed in 2019 and Legends: Piasa is coming in 2021 along with the final book, Legends: Amarok, is coming 2022.

In 2019, Maggie also began releasing her over-forty series, Hell on Heels. The first two books in the series, Minx and Jinxed are widely available. Look for Sphynx, the next book in the series, to be released in Fall of 2022.

She has collaborated on several charitable anthologies and has enriched older stories into stand-alone novels, including her women’s erotica bundle, Lustful Legacy.

You can sign up for her FREE newsletter to keep in touch, find events and signings for the year and get exclusive sneak peeks into works in progress! www.maggieadamsbooks.com

She’s also been known to gift books randomly. Feel free to stalk her at these sites!

http://www.maggieadamsbooks.com – website

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maggie-adams

https://www.facebook.com/maggieadamsbooks – book page

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9867300.Maggie_Adams – goodreads

https://twitter.com/AuthrMaggieAdms – twitter

https://www.pinterest.com/maggiesminxes/- Pinterest

https://www.instagram.com/maggieadamsbooks/ – Instagram

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggie-adams-006a8b142/ – LinkedIn

#truecrime #audio – The Family Next Door: The Heartbreaking Imprisonment of the Thirteen Turpin Siblings and Their Extraordinary Rescue by John Glatt

From New York Times bestselling true crime author John Glatt comes the devastating story of the Turpins: a seemingly normal family whose dark secrets would shock and captivate the world.

On January 14, 2018, a seventeen-year-old girl climbed out of the window of her Perris, California home and dialed 911 with shaking fingers. Struggling to stay calm, she told the operator that she and her 12 siblings–ranging in age from 2 to 29–were being abused by their parents. When the dispatcher asked for her address, the girl hesitated. “I’ve never been out,” she stammered.

To their family, neighbors, and online friends, Louise and David Turpin presented a picture of domestic bliss: dressing their thirteen children in matching outfits and buying them expensive gifts. But what police discovered when they entered the Turpin family home would eclipse the most shocking child abuse cases in history. For years, David and Louise had kept their children in increasing isolation, trapping them in a sinister world of torture, abuse, and near starvation.

In the first major account of the case, investigative journalist and author John Glatt delves into the disturbing details and recounts the bravery of the thirteen siblings in the face of unimaginable horror.

 

HERE

AMAZON

 

I purchased this audio book.

I was on a true crime listening spree when I saw this book.  I kinda of remembered the story so I grabbed it.  Jesus I was not prepared for all that I heard in the audio  The fact the husband and wife did all they did to these children is horrendous.  I mean they left their kid for YEARS in a trailer while they and the new baby lived the good life?  I cant understand people.

This is not a book for people who cant handle to hear the extensive abuse that people put their children in but the fact is….it happens…more then we probably know.

I finished the book and shook my head.  I said a giant prayer for all the children in the story and hope they are living their best lives.

nglish-born John Glatt is the author of Golden Boy Lost and FoundSecrets in the CellarPlaying with Fire, and many other bestselling books of true crime. He has more than 30 years of experience as an investigative journalist in England and America. Glatt left school at 16 and worked a variety of jobs—including tea boy and messenger—before joining a small weekly newspaper. He freelanced at several English newspapers, then in 1981 moved to New York, where he joined the staff for News Limited and freelanced for publications including Newsweek and the New York Post. His first book, a biography of Bill Graham, was published in 1981, and he published For I Have Sinned, his first book of true crime, in 1998. He has appeared on television and radio programs all over the world, including ABC- 20/20Dateline NBC, Fox News, Current Affair, BBC World, and A&E Biography. He and his wife Gail divide their time between New York City, the Catskill Mountains and London.

#truecrime #Audio- The Lost Girls: The True Story of the Cleveland Abductions and the Incredible Rescue of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina Dejesus by John Glatt

New York Times bestselling crime writer John Glatt tells the true story behind the kidnappings and long-overdue rescue of three women found in a Cleveland basement.

The Lost Girls tells the truly amazing story of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, who were kidnapped, imprisoned, and repeatedly raped and beaten in a Cleveland house for over a decade by Ariel Castro, and their amazing escape in May 2013, which made headlines all over the world. The book has an exclusive interview and photographs of Ariel Castro’s secret fiancé, who spent many romantic nights in his house of horror, without realizing he had bound and chained captives just a few feet away. There are also revealing interviews with several Castro family members, musician friends and several neighbors who witnessed the dramatic rescue.

 

HERE

Review by Twinsie Angie

I grabbed this book when I saw I had an audio credit.  Man I thought I knew all about this case but after reading it I realized I did not.

What the ladies endured for 10 years is beyond torture.  To see the strength and determination is was something you never know you have until you face what they faced.

I think in the future I will listen to the other stories from the ladies but I may need to wait a few days to clear what  heard out of my head.

 

Amazon

English-born John Glatt is the author of Golden Boy Lost and FoundSecrets in the CellarPlaying with Fire, and many other bestselling books of true crime. He has more than 30 years of experience as an investigative journalist in England and America. Glatt left school at 16 and worked a variety of jobs—including tea boy and messenger—before joining a small weekly newspaper. He freelanced at several English newspapers, then in 1981 moved to New York, where he joined the staff for News Limited and freelanced for publications including Newsweek and the New York Post. His first book, a biography of Bill Graham, was published in 1981, and he published For I Have Sinned, his first book of true crime, in 1998. He has appeared on television and radio programs all over the world, including ABC- 20/20Dateline NBC, Fox News, Current Affair, BBC World, and A&E Biography. He and his wife Gail divide their time between New York City, the Catskill Mountains and London.

#WOTR25 #NewAudioRelease #LGBTQIA #MM #Paranormal- Full Color: ORCA, Book 3 by Vinni George

Quin Hunter likes the quiet life. He runs his gallery, forges famous art, and operates a fence where black market buyers get fakes and the real pieces get returned to their rightful owners. Nice and simple. He doesn’t do field work. But a call from his twin thrusts him into the action, and now he and his brothers are racing the clock to steal a painting from someone who never should have had it in the first place.

Dimitri Crysanthos is no stranger to mistakes. All he wanted to do was make life easier for his sister. Instead, he ended up making everything harder for both of them. With his life and his sister’s hanging in the balance, he has no choice but to do whatever one of the most ruthless men in Amsterdam tells him to do. All Dimitri wants is to stay alive…until a stranger changes everything. Now Dimitri craves something terrifying, something that will put him and his sister in even more danger—his freedom.

The stakes of the heist have changed, and Quin refuses to quit until Dimitri is safe for good. Can the ORCA team get the art and Quin’s fated mate out of Amsterdam, or are the odds too stacked against them?

Full Color is book three in the Organization for the Return of Criminals and Assets (ORCA) series, featuring an orca shifter art forger who isn’t keen on field work, a chameleon shifter with a lucrative secret talent, and a heist where the target is far more valuable than a stolen painting!

Vinni George has been a lover of romance novels (of all shapes, sizes, and colors) since she first got her hands on one of her grandmother’s Harlequins and has never looked back. She lives in Ohio with her two favorite guys (her husband and son) and, hopefully—one day—a dog. When she’s not writing, Vinni can be found working for her family’s business, which provides plenty of plot bunnies. In her spare time, Vinni is a soccer mom who dabbles in performance art, quilting, and various culinary pursuits and enjoys traveling.

Vinni’s debut novel, Hold the Door, was a finalist and runner-up in Contemporary Gay Romance in the 2020-2021 Rainbow Awards.

#NewAudioRelease – So My Ex-Boyfriend Is a Serial Killer by Kylie Scott

Love can be murder, especially when your ex is a serial killer. Don’t miss this spicy new romantic suspense by New York TimesUSA Today, and Audible best-selling author Kylie Scott!

Nothing prepared Sidney Walsh for the social awkwardness of having unknowingly dated an infamous killer. She’s doing her best to move on after her ex got dragged off to jail. If only online amateur investigators, his creepy fans and a particularly belligerent cop would leave her alone. Her personal life might be quiet, what with having few friends and the neighbors wanting nothing to do with her. But at least it’s safe. That is until tattooed chef and all-round thirst trap, Noah, moves in next door.

Now Sidney is being asked on dates for the first time in forever, and feeling a dangerous mix of soul-deep connection and red-hot desire. But the darkest moments of her life come crashing back when her ex decides he has unfinished business…her. Will she and Noah make it out alive, and can their love withstand the nightmare of her past?

Kylie is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best-selling, Audie Award winning Romance author.

#Review – The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir

Hildur Knútsdóttir’s The Night Guest is an eerie and ensnaring story set in contemporary Reykjavík that’s sure to keep you awake at night.

Iðunn is in yet another doctor’s office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something’s not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven’t revealed any cause.

When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same — have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.

Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .

What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?

I’ve been listening to more audio books lately while I’m walking. I’m trying to beat my yearly goal of books read/listened to. But I find longer audio books aren’t for me at the moment and it takes me forever to listen to them. So I came across some 3 hour audio books and it’s the perfect length! With that said, please see below.

TRIGGER WARNING: Animal death, specifically cats.

Now that we got that out of the way, I read a few reviews for this audio book and was nervous to start but also intrigued.

A woman randomly walks 40k steps during the night and doesn’t know why or how or where the heck she went? Sign me up!

But then I learned about the animal cruelty, cats especially and was extra concerned but I started listening to the book anyway. As a reader, can I just say that I love love love the short chapters?

I really enjoyed the narrator for this book and I also loved learning a little bit about Iceland. I will get there one day as well.

I will start by saying that I expected way worse after reading some of the reviews but I’m also thankful for them as well, so at least I knew what to expect in a way.

Maybe it’s because I read extreme horror that I could be desensitized because I’ve read WAY worse.

In this short novella, we learn about Iðunn and her what she does day to day, her friends, family and her partners and ex partners. She’s someone who doesn’t sleep overly well – welcome to the club, sweetheart – but tries to make it so she does. With some tips from her friends, she gets a smartwatch and begins her daily allotted 10k steps.

But she soon learns that she’s also walking while sleeping. As a walker/runner myself, that would freak me out. At the same time, I would be thankful for the extra steps. I would also want to know where I’m going at night and why I wake up so sore.

It takes a bit for Iðunn to figure out what’s going on with her.

I was left feeling a little confused at the end but maybe that’s just me.

Was it all in her head? Did she really experience sleep walking during the night? Was it something else? Split personality maybe?

Either way, even though I was left with a few questions, I still really enjoyed the story and I think the narrator helped with that a lot. I would totally listen to more books that she narrated and also listen to more books from this author as well.

One click – https://amzn.to/3IAXmQa

#Audio #RomCom – Text 2 Lovers , 2 Lovers book 1 by JD Hollyfield and K Webster

It’s the start of nothing good.
I fired off a storm of raunchy text messages…to the wrong number.
And he replied.
Him: Show me a picture.
Him: Tell me your name.
Why does the lure of anonymity have me craving to indulge a stranger?

It’s the start of everything right.
I received a slew of text messages…when everything in my life was wrong.
And she made me laugh again.
Her: You’re probably a creeper.
Her: Possibly a stalker.
Why do I have the overwhelming need to find this stranger who saved me and make her mine?

Him: Take a chance with me.
Her: This is crazy.
Him: I need to see you.
Her: What are we doing?
Him: We’re about to find out.

Her: PHOTO ATTACHED
Him: PHOTO ATTACHED



Goodreads

Amazon

Review by Twinsie Angie

I purchased this book.

I met JD Hollyfield at a book event and thought she was adorable. I knew she has sudio books and I had credits so here we are!! I grabbed this book based solely on the premise of texting the wrong number. I mean brilliant is todays society who hasnt texted the wrong person once or twice.

Ram is a hilarious stalker….LOL I mean he is pretty in to Dani from jump and when they actually see face to face he was 100 in all the way. Dani texted Ram accidently when she was drunk texting her ex boyfriend. The two start to daily chat but Dani gets in her head about the WHAT IF. Ram is not going to stop from meeting this girl who has become his everything.

I loved the story and how they met was amazing. The chemistry between the two was great but Andi and Roman have them beat hands down. LOL I was so captivated by the story I couldn’t stop and was super sad when it ended until that prologue dropped and I was in a fit of giggles. Another credit gone to see what happens with Andi and Roman.

K Webster is a USA Today Bestselling author. Her titles have claimed many bestseller tags in numerous categories, are translated in multiple languages, and have been adapted into audiobooks. She lives in “Tornado Alley” with her husband, two children, and her baby dog named Blue. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and researching aliens.

Creative designer, mother, wife, writer, part-time superhero…

USA Today Bestselling author J.D. Hollyfield is a creative designer by day and superhero by night. When she is not trying to save the world one happy ending at a time, she enjoys the snuggles of her husband, sons, and doxies. With her love for romance, and a head full of book boyfriends, she was inspired to test her creative abilities and bring her own story to life.

J.D. Hollyfield lives in the Midwest and is currently at work on blowing the minds of readers, with the additions of her new books and series, along with her charm, humor, and Happily Ever After’s.

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