Review: Overruled (The legal Briefs #1) by Emma Chase

Overruled (The legal Briefs #1) by Emma Chase
Narrators: Jason Carpenter, Charlotte Penfield
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication date: 28th April 2015
My rating: 5 stars 

A Washington, DC, defense attorney, Stanton Shaw keeps his head cool, his questions sharp, and his arguments irrefutable. They don't call him the Jury Charmer for nothing - with his Southern drawl, disarming smile, and captivating green eyes, he's a hard man to say no to. Men want to be him, and women want to be thoroughly cross-examined by him. Stanton's a man with a plan. And for a while life is going according to that plan. Until the day he receives an invitation to the wedding of his high school sweetheart, the mother of his beloved 10-year-old daughter. Jenny is getting married - to someone who isn't him. That's definitely not part of the plan. Sofia Santos is a city-raised, no-nonsense litigator who plans to become the most revered criminal defense attorney in the country. She doesn't have time for relationships or distractions. But when Stanton, her "friend with mind-blowing benefits", begs her for help, she finds herself out of her element, out of her depth, and obviously out of her mind. Because she agrees to go with him to The-Middle-of-Nowhere, Mississippi, to do all she can to help Stanton win back the woman he loves. Her head tells her she's crazy... and her heart says something else entirely. What happens when you mix a one-stop-light town, two professional arguers, a homecoming queen, four big brothers, some Jimmy Dean sausage, and a gun-toting Nana? The Bourbon flows, passions rise, and even the best-laid plans get overruled by the desires of the heart.

I’d listened to Chase’s Tangled series before and despite it being narrated by Sebastian York, I sadly wasn’t a fan, but then when going through Chase’s books and I came across her Legal Brief’s series and I knew I had to give it a go and I’m so glad that I did, as I ended up absolutely loving Overruled. I loved how Chase started the beginning of this book, as I had read the summary of the book so long ago, I was quite surprised with the turn of events, as I’d thought that Jenny and Stanton would have been together forever. But with the way the story developed, I was glad later on that this wasn’t the case at all.

I could understand Stanton’s reasoning for wanting to go back home and stop Jenny’s wedding to another guy, he had assumed that he and Jenny were meant to be, yes, they currently lived in different states, and had been with different people over the course of their “relationship”, but she was the mother of their child and when Stanton went back to Mississippi it was always Jenny. So, when Stanton got the news and decided to go back, I didn’t like the fact at first that he was taking Sofia with him, his reasoning behind it was that she was a woman, so would have a better understanding of Jenny’s character and could also calm him down and keep him in check if he got too angry and went overboard in trying to win Jenny back. But it wasn’t fair on Sofia at all, Stanton and Sofia had been sleeping together for a little while, but that’s all it was, they were work colleagues, so didn’t need any further blurring of their relationship. So, as you can imagine, Stanton’s behaviour did make me mad at times, he was hell bent on winning Jenny back that he couldn’t see that he had something amazing right in front of him in Sofia. This minor irritation aside though, I still ended up really enjoying Overruled, it was funny seeing the lengths to which Stanton would go to win Jenny back, and just generally Stanton was an overall funny guy. He had such a dry sense of humour that caused me to laugh out loud several times, and receive strange looks from people on my commute to work. But I couldn’t care less, as this was such a funny book and Chase mixed up aspects of the romance and humour really well. Also, we didn’t really know which way things would go romance-wise (well I knew which way I wanted them to) and then you had characters such as Jake and Brent (Stanton’s co-workers) and Stanton’s family bringing so much drama and fun to the story too.

I really liked the story that Chase gave us with Stanton, Sofia, Jenny and her fiancé JD, but the secondary characters bought so much to the mix, making Overruled such a delight to read. And let me just say the narration from Jason Carpenter and Charlotte Penfield just made this book for me, Carpenter’s Southern drawl and charm that he put into Stanton’s character was just on point, it definitely made his character more realistic and also bought a lot of swoon too!

Overruled was a brilliant start to a new series for me, it reminded me a lot of the TV show Suits; with clever lawyers running around all over the place, but it was also charming, funny and full with such weird and wonderful characters that I know I’ll have a hard time putting the rest of the series down.

Review: Trade Me by Courtney Milan

Trade Me by Courtney Milan 
Publisher: Audible
Publication Date: November 18th 2016
My rating: 4 stars

Tina Chen just wants a degree and a job, so her parents never have to worry about making rent again. She has no time for Blake Reynolds, the sexy billionaire who stands to inherit Cyclone Technology. But when he makes an off-hand comment about what it means to be poor, she loses her cool and tells him he couldn’t last a month living her life. To her shock, Blake offers her a trade: She’ll get his income, his house, his car. In exchange, he’ll work her hours and send money home to her family. No expectations; no future obligations. But before long, they’re trading not just lives, but secrets, kisses, and heated nights together. No expectations might break Tina’s heart...but Blake’s secrets could ruin her life.

I’m one of those readers who when told to read book, never reads it, a few of my friends had recommended Trade Me to me, saying it would be my sort of read, but of course I just added it to my never ending tbr pile. Until one day finally I decided to give the sample a go on audio, and seriously the couple of seconds I heard from Sean Crisden convinced me to buy a copy straight away. I’m the fussiest person ever when it comes to listening to audio books, but Crisden’s voice was perfect for me. Also on top of that Trade Me ended up taking me completely by surprise, I assumed it was your typical boy and girl make up your typical fake relationship and then end up really falling for one another, but I couldn’t have been more wrong, with Trade Me, Milan gives us a complex story centred around family, social status and on top of that, a nice sprinkling of a swoony romance. 

I like how Blake and Tina ended up with more than they could have imagined when they went into their trade deal, both characters came from opposite ends of the spectrum, with Blake living the wealthy, lavish lifestyle and Tina barely making ends meet and on top of that having to double check that things are okay with her family too. Again although the trade between them seemed straightforward enough, there was so much more that both had to take into consideration, that we didn’t know a lot about. I really liked Tina’s character, she was a down to earth girl, who always tried to put her family first no matter what, I admired her strength and determination and her sassiness (her conversations with Blake’s dad were some of my favourites). But Blake too was also an unexpected surprise, I have to admit that I was quick to make assumptions about him, based on my first introduction to his character, but I liked how over the course of the story, he was able to convince me otherwise. 

I liked how with Trade Me, Milan didn’t give us your easy-going typical sort of relationship, but what Tina and Blake had, did come across many complications and barriers, and despite it not being smooth sailing for either of them, I liked how Milan made them fight for what they wanted and showed them both going through tough ordeals in order to make it through. 

Sorry to all of my friends who had recommended this book to me ages ago, because honestly I loved the absolute heck out of it and I’m kicking myself for not giving it a go sooner. Trade Me was a book which completely took me by surprise with its depth and complexity of characters and loveable romance that Milan wrote for us. Trade Me was my first book by Courtney Milan, but it certainly won’t be my last.

Review: The Player by Claire Contreras

The Player by Claire Contreras
Publication Date: October 19th 2016
My rating: 4 stars. 

I'm naturally gifted on the field and between the sheets. With flashy cars and enough media attention to put the Royal Family to shame, I’m the definition of Most Eligible Bachelor. I've never met a man who doesn't want to be me or a woman who doesn't want to tame me. Until I meet Camila. From the moment I lay eyes on her, I know I have to have her. She wants to keep me at arm's length. I want her naked in my bed. She thinks our worlds are too different. All I want her to think about is screaming my name. She says I’m bad news. I have three weeks to prove her wrong.

The Player was a book which really took me by surprise, I went into it with not a lot of expectations, having not heard a lot about it beforehand, but I’ve always been a fan of books which feature a sports romance, and also having devoured Contreras’ Hearts series I knew I was in for a great read! The first thing that had me hooked were the narrators: Megan Tusing and Zachary Webber, I’m really fussy when it comes to narrators and listening to audiobooks, but these two were one of the main reasons that I enjoyed this book so much. They were both able to get into the character so well and for me actually represent them how I imagined them to be. Also I rarely ever listen to audiobooks with English accents, but Webber definitely bought all the swoons with his accent! 

The story was also typically done well; we have our major football star Warren Silva who falls for Camilla when he first sees her on a chance meeting. What I liked most about their relationship was the fact that the attraction between both characters was there and I could see the potential for a great relationship to develop. But Contreras didn’t give us what we were asking for straight away, we had Camilla who was a strong independent woman, who didn’t want to get into relationship with Warren straight away because he was famous or had loads of money, (she actually didn’t even know who he was at the beginning). So I quite enjoyed Warren’s pursuit of Camilla, I wanted to know how far he would go and just how much he really cared for her. The Player gave us perspectives from both Camilla and Warren, and this I really appreciated, as it allowed us to get into their heads and actually know what they were thinking, this also allowed me to get to know the characters better too and definitely helped me fall for Warren that much more. Contreras also bought a lot of different issues to the story too, so we had the development of a swoony, yet bumpy relationship between Camilla and Warren, Warren also had his football career to focus on, how could he make their relationship work, if they were both living in different countries and both characters had so many complex things going on with their respective families, which did bring a lot of drama to the story too. I did like that Contreras bought so many different things to the story and it really did work for me, I liked how she made family such an integral part of the story too, Warren and Camilla’s families were really different to one another, so it was interesting to see each of the interactions with each other. Overall I really enjoyed The Player, it is probably one of the best sports romances stories I have read in a long time, my only reason for knocking a star off is because I thought some aspects could be a little cheesy at times and the big revelation that came I really wasn’t surprised by it at all, I thought that Camilla could have discovered this on her own a lot sooner! This minor detail aside, I would recommend The Player to fans of sports romance stories, or even those looking for a great romance read.

Reviews: Sweet Filthy Boy and Sweet Filthy Morning After by Christina Lauren

Sweet Filthy Boy (Wild Seasons #1) by Christina Lauren
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication Date: May 13th 2014. 
My rating: 4.5 stars. 

One-night stands are supposed to be with someone convenient, or wickedly persuasive, or regrettable. They aren’t supposed to be with someone like him. But after a crazy Vegas weekend celebrating her college graduation—and terrified of the future path she knows is a cop-out—Mia Holland makes the wildest decision of her life: follow Ansel Guillaume—her sweet, filthy fling—to France for the summer and just…play. When feelings begin to develop behind the provocative roles they take on, and their temporary masquerade adventures begin to feel real, Mia will have to decide if she belongs in the life she left because it was all wrong, or in the strange new one that seems worlds away.

I’d tried Lauren’s Beautiful Bastard series just a few weeks before and I hadn’t been as successful with it as I was hoping to (I actually made it to book 2.5, before calling it quits, maybe I’ll come back to it one day). Alas I decided to give Lauren’s Wild Seasons series a go, and seriously the audiobook was probably one of the best decisions I’d made, as the narrator Shayna Thibodeaux had me hooked from the very beginning. She did Ansel’s French accent perfectly, that I was swooning throughout. Typically I’m really fussy with a woman doing the voice for a guy, but Shayna nailed it! 

Also the situation that Ansel and Mia found themselves in was really awkward; they’d only met a few hours before and had woken up the next day married and could only remember bits of the best sex they’d had the night before. But Lauren really made their relationship work for me and make it appear so realistic. I could understand the connection that they had and why they didn’t want to get their marriage annulled. I’m glad that despite not knowing one another, they decided to take a chance with their relationship. 

Having visited Paris just last year I adored the days that we were given with Mia exploring her new life out there, it made the traveller in me want to go back and visit as soon as possible. This alongside Mia and Ansel slowly learning to adjust to one another in their lives made Sweet Filthy Boy an addictive read. I was eager for more Mia and Ansel time, their chemistry was off the charts, but I was also scared for what could be around the corner for them. I could see that they were perfect for each other, but how could they make it work? So you could say that little bombshell at the end was a complete shocker to me, it sort of left me reeling. 

All in all Sweet Filthy Boy was a truly wonderful read, I honestly can’t wait for more from these two in the rest of the series, as by the end of this book, I was totally in love with Ansel! Readers you do not want to miss out on this gem of a book!

Sweet Filthy Morning After (Wild Seasons #1.5) by Christina Lauren
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication Date: October 14th 2014. 
My rating: 5 stars.  

This audio exclusive short tells of events from Sweet Filthy Boy from a new perspective.

This 30 minute audiobook really wasn’t enough, after finishing Sweet Filthy Boy I knew I would devour anything Ansel-related, so this book from his perspective was perfect! I already knew that Ansel was a person that wore his heart on his sleeve and this short book went onto show that even more. I loved getting into his head and learning his exact feelings about Mia and the situation they found themselves in. His fascination and concern for her was always apparent, but actually getting it from his own perspective made me love Ansel that much more. Also Jason Carpenter’s French accent was on point! This 30 minute audiobook made me want to buy all the books that he narrated immediately! And just to move to France so I could be around this sexy accent all the time. Sweet Filthy Morning After is a super short book, but definitely worth it. Fans of Ansel, I highly recommend giving this book a go.

Review: The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy

The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy
Publisher: Audible Studios 
Publication Date: November 3rd 2015.
My rating: 4 stars. 

She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy... Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date. ...and it’s going to be oh so good. All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.

I really hadn’t been feeling YA books for a while, I had binge read several books by Lauren Layne and thoroughly enjoyed them, but I was in the mood for my good run to continue and when I stumbled across Elle Kennedy’s Off Campus series, I’m thrilled that I decided to give it a go, because it was exactly what I was after. I love the set up of popular guy falling for the girl that he’d never noticed before. I loved the situation that Garrett and Hannah found themselves in, because it was done so well, Garrett was failing his ethics class and if he didn’t pull his grade up in his makeup exam, this could prevent him from playing in his upcoming hockey games. And that’s where Hannah comes in, she passed her ethics test with flying colours and so Garrett knows with her help he could be passing too. But Hannah is as stubborn as they get, Garrett is on her case relentlessly about tutoring him, but she won’t concede, what could Hannah want in return? And then Garrett knows exactly the solution, he will help Hannah make her crush notice her in return for her tutoring him. To be honest I knew how things would plan out, but I couldn’t care less, I loved seeing the relationship between Hannah and Garrett unravel, watching them really get to know one another and getting to know the real Garrett underneath, not the playboy type that we had been hearing so much about. Because seriously this Garrett that we got to know was every girl’s dream, he was attentive, sweet, but also vulnerable deep inside, he had so much of his own crap to deal with; but regardless he was always looking out for Hannah. They truly were a beautiful couple; the chemistry between them was just hot!

There were some real difficult issues that both Hannah and Garrett had to deal with, but Kennedy excelled in how Hannah and Garrett were there for one another. Also seriousness aside Kennedy was really able to mix up the humour well within the book, not only was Garrett a funny guy, his flatmates and friends Tucker, Dean and Logan also bought no end of fun to the book, I for one can’t wait to get to know these characters more in the next few books!

For the majority I really enjoyed this book, I was actually contemplating giving it 5 stars if it hadn’t been for that one incident which I really thought could have been unavoided, I felt as though it also dragged on for far too long and could have been resolved so easily if Hannah just talked to Garrett! That and the abrupt ending aside (that was totally the audiobooks fault, it had like 30 minutes left, but I didn’t realise this was because it had an extract of the next book for you to listen to!) The Deal was a book I thoroughly enjoyed. Lorelei Avalon was also a fantastic narrator, she did the voices for Garrett and her friends perfectly, so I’m happy that she will also be narrating the next book!

The Deal was definitely a guilty pleasure read, it had characters which you couldn’t help but fall for, some sexy as hell scenes and love hate relationship which was done spectacularly. I’m actually already considering buying this pretty set of paperbacks for future re-reads.

Review: Making Faces by Amy Harmon

Making Faces by Amy Harmon
Publication date: October 12th 2013
My rating: 5 stars 
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Ambrose Young was beautiful. He was tall and muscular, with hair that touched his shoulders and eyes that burned right through you. The kind of beautiful that graced the covers of romance novels, and Fern Taylor would know. She'd been reading them since she was thirteen. But maybe because he was so beautiful he was never someone Fern thought she could have...until he wasn't beautiful anymore.

Making Faces is the story of a small town where five young men go off to war, and only one comes back. It is the story of loss. Collective loss, individual loss, loss of beauty, loss of life, loss of identity. It is the tale of one girl's love for a broken boy, and a wounded warrior's love for an unremarkable girl. This is a story of friendship that overcomes heartache, heroism that defies the common definitions, and a modern tale of Beauty and the Beast where we discover that there is little beauty and a little beast in all of us. 

My Thoughts:

Making Faces was a compelling, beautiful story of love, loss, and the beauty of a person found underneath the superficial, exterior layers.

Fern Taylor loved Ambrose Young from an early age, idolizing him at the beginning, but falling for his soul in high school. Ambrose is everything a town hero could be: gorgeous, captain of the wrestling team, athletically gifted, and nice underneath it all. Fern, however, is the perfect example of an ugly duckling albeit with a heart of gold, running around with her beloved cousin and best friend, Bailey, a boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.  Instead of being a depressing figure, Bailey is filled with positivity and a humorous outlook on life.

In the aftermath of 9/11 Ambrose chooses to go off to war with his four best friends instead of taking the wresting scholarship offered and going to college. Ambrose comes back broken and battered, but Fern and Bailey won’t let him hide in his shell for long.

I’m not going to elaborate on the plot, I’m just going to say that this is one of the most beautiful NA stories I’ve read.  The writing is gorgeous without being distracting or disrupting plot flow. The story was completely riveting to me! The romance was a slow burn, super sweet, heartfelt, but it wasn’t just about the romance.  Friendship, loyalty, family, mortality, and the beauty that is within were at the heart of the moving tale. 

“I think people are like that. When you really look at them, you stop seeing a perfect nose or straight teeth. You stop seeing the acne scar or the simple in the chin. Those things start to blur, and suddenly you see them, the colors, the life inside the shell, and beauty takes on a whole new meaning.”

This is a self-published gem! I’ll definitely be picking up more Amy Harmon for sure, and soon!  I listened to the story and Rob Shapiro does an excellent job of both male and female voices. Total recommend!

Review: Foreplay by Sophie Jordan

Foreplay by Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publication Date: November 5th 2013
My rating: 3 stars  

Before she goes after the life she’s always wanted, she’s about to find the one she needs. Pepper has been hopelessly in love with her best friend’s brother, Hunter, for like ever. He’s the key to everything she’s always craved: security, stability, family. But she needs Hunter to notice her as more than just a friend. Even though she’s kissed exactly one guy, she has just the plan to go from novice to rock star in the bedroom—take a few pointers from someone who knows what he’s doing. Her college roommates have the perfect teacher in mind. But bartender Reece is nothing like the player Pepper expects. Yes, he’s beyond gorgeous, but he’s also dangerous, deep—with a troubled past. Soon what started as lessons in attraction are turning both their worlds around, and showing just what can happen when you go past foreplay and get to what’s real…

Foreplay was one of those guilty pleasure reads that I knew how things would go down for our characters, but I didn’t care because I enjoyed the build up and tension along the way.

Pepper has always had her eyes set on Hunter, her best friends brother, he’d been the ideal guy that she needed after her up and down life that she’d had and when thinks were looking rough for her too Hunter was one of the first people to give her a chance. Despite having a crush on Hunter for the longest time and choosing to go to Dartmouth because of him, he hadn’t really noticed her the way she would have like to. But now that Hunter is a single guy, may be its time for Pepper to take her chance? Her friends think the best way to would be to get some experience first and they’ve heard of this hot bartender who’s known to play around, so he would be the perfect guy to start with.

Despite hearing great things about Hunter and how he had been there for Pepper at her time of need and how he could be her perfect boyfriend, as soon as Pepper met the hot bartender Reece I was immediately smitten! I know Pepper initially got hot and cold vibes from Reece and at times he could be hard to understand, but when finally Pepper overcame her shyness and told Reece exactly what she was after, I thought things would be over even before they began, but I’m glad that this is exactly the right push that Reece needed to make his move. Like I mentioned Reece was hot, guys with tattoos are always my biggest weakness, but I loved how Reece had this softer side to him, he was a guy who was upfront about his feelings. Even though Reece and Pepper’s relationship started off as them messing around, I could genuinely see it becoming something more. Their chemistry was off the charts and despite them leaving little snags along the way I adored how they always find their way back to each other. My only complaint about this read was that it took Pepper a long time realising she had something so good right in front of her!

This was my first audiobook that I listened to all the way through. I’m really fussy when it comes to narrators. But Kim McKean left me wanting more from the story and characters, and although I found it strange at first narrating Pepper and Reece’s voice, I was so deeply involved in the story by that point to care, however people who are particular about accents, may notice McKean pronouncing palms as “polms” a few times, but again I loved the story so much and couldn’t wait to see how things would turn out that I didn’t really care. Overall Foreplay was a hot, fun read which I really enjoyed; I’m hoping that I end up liking the rest of the series just as much!

Review: 3 Truths and a Lie by Lisa Gardner

3 Truths and a Lie (Detective D.D. Warren #7.5) by Lisa Gardner
Publisher: Dutton
Publication date: January 5th 2016
My rating: 4 stars 
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Audible

Boston Detective D.D. Warren faces her most brutal adversaries yet—a class of jaded thriller writers—in New York Times Bestselling Author Lisa Gardner’s exclusive e-Book short story

In Lisa Gardner's second short story, after the New York Times bestseller The 7th Month, Detective D.D. Warren takes on her most intimidating assignment yet: a fifty-minute class meant to educate a horde of bloodthirsty thriller writers on the ways of actual police work. Yet sometimes life really does imitate fiction, as D.D. takes the writers through the reality of one of her most twisted cases—a case that involves a seedy motel room, drugs, prostitution . . . and a severed leg.

With Gardner’s trademark suspense, sharp observations, and thrilling storytelling, Three Truths and a Lie is a fascinating chapter in D.D.’s storied career. Includes an early look at Lisa Gardner’s next novel of suspense, Find Her, coming February 9, 2016.

My Thoughts:

Detective D.D. Warren and her husband, Alex, are taking a “vacation” in Wisconsin as featured guest speakers at the Writers’ Police Academy.  As a bonus they get to hobnob with popular thriller writers, and attend the other work-shops for free.  D.D.’s a little nervous; really a day in the life of a homicide detective is not nearly as exciting as the fictional mysteries they write. D.D. decides to regale them with one of the most bizarre mysteries of her career involving “seedy motel, a hooker, and a dismembered leg”.  With that lead in she has her class (and me) riveted to the pages as she goes through the crime and uncovers the murderer. 

3 Truths and a Lie was a fast, fun, Forensic Files type of mystery.   Real life authors Karin Slaughter, Kathy Reiches, and Joe Finder make an “appearance” with Joe showing off his knowledge of Locard’s principal.  D.D. managed to keep her audience on the edge of their seats until the last reveal.  

I revel in every scene where Alex and D.D. are featured.  I was a huge fan of their romance even though their relationship has usually taken a back seat to the mystery of the stories. There was a short exchange, but it was nice to see them still solid together as a married couple.  They went through some rough times in the last book, Fear Nothing, because of D.D.’s injury.

You don’t need to read the previous books in the series to enjoy this short story.  The audio copy is FREE on Audible right now! I listened to it after reading the e-copy because I adore the narrator, Kirsten Potter, and because this short story was that good.  Both e-copy and audio version includes the first 2 chapters of Lisa Gardner’s next mystery featuring D.D. Warren, Find Her.  I’ll be reading that soon!

 

Short & Tweetish #5: Until the Beginning & Third Grave Dead Ahead

I'm back again with a couple of Short & Tweetish Reviews (There's no way I can keep it to 140 characters!).  This style of reviewing was introduced to me by Mary@The Book Swarm  and Karen's @For What It's Worth. 

Until the Beginning (After the End #2) by Amy Plum
Publisher: Harper Audio
Publication date: May 5th 2015
Length: 8 hrs and 30 min
Narrator: Emily Rankin, Graham Hamilton
My rating:  4.5 stars 
Amazon | B&N | TBD | Audible | GRs

My Thoughts:

Excellent conclusion to an exciting duology!  This is YA at its best! I definitely recommend the audio version.  Emily Rankin and Graham Hamilton’s performance made the story come to life!

I was amazed with Juneau and Miles ability to strategize and use whatever they had available in pursuit of the ultimate goal of saving Juneau’s clan.  Juneau had to sort through her beliefs to and find her own truths, but she didn’t let the questions hold her or her powers back.  I have to say her father and clan trained Juneau well, in spite of the lies they told. 

I loved the positive character growth Miles had through this journey, and I was pleased he caught on so quickly and became a real asset. The romance was lovely. Not so much that it took over the plot, but enough swoony moments to satisfy this romance junky. 

Third Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson #3) by Darynda Jones
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication date: January 31st 2012
Length: 9 hrs and 51 min
Narrator: Lorelei King
My rating:  3.5 stars 
Amazon | B&N | TBD | Audible | GRs

My Thoughts:

As usual I laughed my ass off (got weird looks from my hubby all the while, lol!) at Charley’s antics.  The mystery was addictive, but I put a few things together way before Charley should have.  I was surprised by at how things got serious real quick and there were grisly parts that creeped me out and wrenched my heart!  Darynda really put Charley through the ringer in this installment! Betrayals from loved ones and something sad at the end made me feel terrible for Charley!

I wished we got more meaningful interactions between Charley and Reyes, and that we got more information on him.  I’ve already started the next book, and I’m happy to report we are finally getting somewhere on that front!