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Jen Quinn

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So disappointed with the addition of 2nd narrator

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
2 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 05-04-22

Let me start by saying that I love the book, love how the story is progressing, and LOVE Kirt's narration. It is both disappointing and baffling to me that a second narrator would be added 3 books into the series. Kirt has already established strong, distinctive voices for the characters. We have listened to 20+ hours of those voices, developed a connection with the characters based on those voices, and now we are faced with 2 VASTLY DIFFERENT narrators with VASTLY DISSIMILAR voices narrating the same characters from one chapter to the next. It is jarring, to say the least. I would be more understanding and more accepting if the stories were being told in first-person, dual POV, but they're not. There is absolutely nothing to be gained from the addition of the second narrator and, in my opinion, a great deal lost. Unfortunately, I will not be finishing this series in audio if the second narrator is here for the rest of the books. It is simply too distracting to have to go back and forth between the disparate voices of the characters.

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1 person found this helpful

Emotionally exhausting, but so worth it!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-11-20

*** This review is for the duet; Worship and Adore ***

This story was brilliant and beautiful, and sad, and funny, and heartbreaking, and amazing all at once!

Vance may just be my favorite fictional person ever. What an absolute gift to the world this man is! Iggy Toma narrated this character so well and with so much real emotion it was a challenge for me to listen while driving. I honestly had to pull over twice so that I could cry without crashing my car. Aiden Snow's portrayal of Pastor Luke was perfection. He was such a mass of f@cked-up contradictions and emotional baggage, and Aiden Snow portrayed every single nuance like the master he is.

I loved and hated everything about the evolution of their relationship - That's how excellent Ella James' story-weaving was in these books. I was so emotionally invested that I felt like I was experiencing all of the ups and downs, and starts and stops of their relationship.

I also really enjoyed the addition of the third narrator in Adore. It's such an uncommon thing, and I feel like it really worked in this story.

I don't feel like I can write anything else without giving away spoilers so I'll just say this: This duet is worth the credits. It's a beautiful representation of the power of love and I recommend it highly.

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3 people found this helpful

Short but Wonderful

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-20-20

This story was such a nice surprise! It was very short, and yet beautifully conveyed all the necessary information. The cast was fantastic, and the production, with it's added sound effects really tied the story together for me. I would absolutely listen to more like this!

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2 people found this helpful

Joe Arden saves this audio book

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-03-19

I read the first two books in the series, and when I saw that Joe Arden was narrating book 3, I one-clicked it. I am almost sorry I did. I really wish that I had read the book first so that I could skip Tracy Marks' chapters and only listen to Joe's. Tracy's dialogue is not bad, and she has a couple of different voices for the female characters that make it so you know who's talking, but her male voices are terrible, and her non-dialogue narration is so completely lacking any kind of natural flow that it is painful to listen to. Her pauses make no sense, and she ends every sentence in an awkward fashion that makes it almost sound like a question. It is baffling and destroys the flow of the story. She also ends words with a "sh" sound. All in all, I will definitely make sure I check the female narrator before I one-click a book. I am really sad I used a credit for this.

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Another Sensational Story by the Mistress of Twist

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-10-19

Let me say first that I read this when it was initially released to Kindle and I LOVED it! I laughed, and cried, and growled, and blushed. . . but hearing the audio version took it to a whole 'nother level for me. These narrators are at the top of this game!

Savannah Peachwood was, as always, exceptional in her performance. Her voices for AJ and Logan weren't my favorite male voices, and there was a little issue with consistency, but she played her own part very well - so well that I could at times feel her sense of loss, desperation, and readiness to just be done with it all.

Tad Branson and Teddy Hamilton were so, so, so good! It was really interesting to me that when I was originally reading the story, in my head Teddy was AJ and Tad was Logan. It took me a few chapters to get it straight. It just seemed to me that if someone was going to be someone's monster, Tad was the guy for the job, and Teddy always seems so affable to me that I had a hard time adjusting to him as Logan the Loyal.

They played their roles exquisitely, both of them. I don't want you to think I am complaining about their performances, because I am absolutely not. It was just an "Expectation Vs. Reality" thing for me.

It's a fantastic polyamory story with enough twists, turns and darkness to be classic JA Huss. She really does weave the best tales, and even if you have an inkling as to how they might end, you sure do want to savor the journey that gets you there!

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Still in love with the Walshes

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-05-19

After reading and listening to Matt and Lauren's story in book 1, I was intrigued by Sam. I am so glad that he was the third story. I really loved his character. He's so beautiful and broken and such a perfect amalgamation of his horrific and love-filled childhood. Christian Fox was wonderful, once again in bringing one of the enigmatic Walsh brothers to life.
Some of my favorite books are those that run through a family, group of friends, or neighborhood - where you get to see recurring characters like old friends throughout the series. These books deliver all I could want in that respect. The Walsh siblings have such a bond (even Erin - can't wait for her to come back!), and I am so pleased to watch their family grow.

Though Lucy Rivers was incredible as always, Tiel was a little frustrating for me. Maybe because I related to her, and wasn't a fan of the mirror of insecurities I felt like I was looking into. There were so many instances when I just wanted to shake her and yell "JUST TALK TO HIM! BE HONEST! He knows you're a f@#$ed-up ball of insecurity, but he loves you! Stop pushing him away! Recognize how INCREDIBLY awesome you are!" And then I stopped, took a breath and thought, "yeah, I totally get that reaction. Sounds like something I would have done (probably did do) 25+ years ago at the beginning of my relationship with my other half. " So I get it, I get her, and I appreciate the accuracy with which Kate was able to portray this incredibly gifted, giving woman who had been so damaged by other people's carelessness.

My biggest grumble, and it's really just the first-world problem of an entitled audiobook lover, is that I would LOVE these stories a million times more if they were duet narrated. There is so much phenomenal dialogue between the characters that I feel would be so much more phenomenal-ier if the characters were speaking in their own voices. For example, without giving too much away, there was a scene towards the end, one of Tiel's chapters, where she was reading something Sam had written for her. It was stunning, and beautiful, and poignant. . . but hearing Lucy Rivers' Sam voice reading it made me sad. I wanted to hear Christian Fox reading these touching, emotion-filled words Sam had written, to hear the depth of his emotions.
Anyway, that's my only complaint, and like I said, it's a small thing. I'm off to the next one. Thank you Kate, for putting these in the RP!

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Amazing and poignant. Julie nailed it again!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-13-18

I have come to love the dark and twisty nature of Julie's mind! This story was touching and moving. I loved the fact that Ix mentioned repeatedly that he wasn't a therapist, yet he absolutely therapied the sh!t out of Evangeline.
The narration was spectacular as well. Can't wait to hear the next one!

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A journey I was grateful to share.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-03-18

I was completely blown away by this story. It felt it was very different than Lauren Blakely's other books. (And I love each and every one!) This was so emotionally gripping from beginning to end. Joe Arden's portrayal of Andrew was perfection. His emotional narration was so powerful and moving that I had to stop the playback several times so that i could cry in peace and not miss any of the story.
It really was an exceptional story of love, loss, grief, and growth that was so beautifully told. It was much more a tale of personal growth and finding answers about oneself in unlikely places than it was a true "romance." And while I felt like the romance aspect was secondary, it was by no means unimportant. Erin Mallon was excellent as usual, perfectly balancing Holland's sympathy, empathy and the yearning to reconnect with an interrupted love without losing herself in the process.
There simply aren't enough stars for this book. All aspects were perfect in my opinion, and I felt lucky to have heard it.
Bravo!

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1 person found this helpful

Wrong Narrators for the Characters

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-08-18

The story was okay for an insta-love YA sports story. It was predictable, and the H was borderline stalky at times, but the narration KILLED this story for me. Both narrators sounded like they were in their late 30's-early 40's at best. The male narrator enunciated like he was performing Shakespeare at the Globe theater. I read the book before I listened to it, but I could not get all the way through the narration.

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2 people found this helpful

Female Narration ruined this story for me

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
2 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-05-18

The story, while predictable, was relatively well-written. The female narration was a huge detractor. Enough so that I could not finish the story. Her voice for the h was whiny and nasal, and her voice for the H, was wretched. She spoke super-slow and over-enunciated every word. It was like she was trying to convey that he spoke in this sexy, seductive voice all the time. It was not great. Sam Crowley was awesome, and if he had done both parts, I would have totally finished it. His voice for Samantha was way more attractive than the female narrator's

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