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JT

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Meandering

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

Reviewed: 06-10-23

Synott spends a lot of time talking about various people who have attempted to summit Everest, and the challenges faced along the way. The conclusion he seems to be leading towards - that this obsession is recklessly dangerous, not only for individual climbers but also their teammates and guides - never manifests. They're just anecdotes with no thesis. And, as has been mentioned in other reviews, the search for Sandy Irvine is very much not the focus of the story or even in the end the focus of the expedition. Round it out with some good old Big Bad Chinese government red scare fear-mongering and it's all a big hard pass for me.

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putting the sass in assassinate

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

Reviewed: 08-28-20

If you were ever like "man, Cable and Deadpool should really be dating" boy have I got a book for you.

Leland is manic, immature, distractable, glib, and scarily competent at killing people. He's obnoxious and also adorable. Big ADHD energy, also big Wade Wilson energy. like I'm not saying this concept maybe started life as an AU fic but I AM saying I can see some parallels - and if you like one, I'd imagine you'd like the other.

This whole story is genuinely funny, often verging into goofy, complete with slapstick. And can I say how refreshing it is to encounter characters who LAUGH and seem to have FUN during sex? it's still steamy, but in a way that feels honestly affectionate.

Michael Ferriauolo's narration is PERFECTION. His Jackson voice is very H. Jon Benjamin, while his Leland voice is almost lilting and sweet. And every time the narrative describes a character as laughing (which Leland does quite a lot) he ACTUALLY LAUGHS with the dialogue. It's mostly Leland giggling and it's so cute and charming?? I absolutely loved it. Definitely going to be seeking out more from him.

Overall this audiobook is an absolute keeper for me, worth a relisten and DEFINITELY worth immediately diving into the sequel. Can't wait to see what they get up to next!

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4 people found this helpful

a starkly lovely epic

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

Reviewed: 01-20-20

First things first: potential trigger warning for a character committing suicide. Not a big spoiler as it happens in about the first third of the book, but skip to the next paragraph if you don't want any more details. Otherwise...... The book obviously centers around early Christianity, but only one character is really fire-and-brimstone, eternal damnation in the pit, burn for your sins Westboro Baptist about it. Unfortunately, one of the monks internalises a lot of this homophobic bullshit and ends up consumed by guilt and self-loathing. I will say it was for me very jarring and unsettling, it nearly made me stop entirely. I ended up being glad I stuck it out but ymmv.

I object to the classification of this book as a romance novel. it's a love story, sure, but sort of in the sense that Gone With the Wind is a love story; it is, but it's also a portrait of a particular time and place. It has a happy ending for our leads, and the focus of the story is love, but it's more than just the love they have for each other. It's a story about magic, or maybe miracles, and faith, and home, and things worth fighting for. it's about a lot of things, and it's maybe difficult to fit it into any one genre. But I suppose I can't really complain, as I probably wouldn't have given this one a listen if it didn't fall under the Audible Escape line.

The narration takes an already compelling story to a level of near perfection. i cannot imagine experiencing this story any other way, having now heard Hamish Long's take. The VOICES, the range, the emotion! I can't possibly praise it highly enough. Simply one of the best audio performances I have ever heard.

In a lot of ways, this story is almost difficult to get through, and it's not one I think i can return to any time soon. But it will stay with me, and it was an experience worth having. It's as beautiful (and, yes, occasionally harsh) as the coastlines of the wild north sea.

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1 person found this helpful

lovely novel, poor choice of narrator

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

Reviewed: 12-24-19

Full disclosure, I did not finish this audiobook but instead read the ebook from Hoopla. There's nothing WRONG with the narrator, precisely - but he's American. reading a novel about British characters, living in England, during the Napoleonic Wars. it's jarring. he makes the barest attempt at dialects when they are specifically written out, but, for example, no attempt to make a specifically Scottish character sound any different than any of our English leads. it really didn't work for me.

The novel itself is wonderful and will probably be a reread for me, and I recognise that not everyone will be as thrown by the American accent as I was. but personally, while I wholeheartedly recommend the book, I'd only choose this method of enjoying it if I had no other option available.

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4 people found this helpful

a definite reread, but maybe not a relisten

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

Reviewed: 11-24-19

I was so taken by this that I stayed up much too late finishing the audiobook, and the next morning I couldn't resist buying the Kindle edition in anticipation of the inevitable reread. It honestly baffles me that a genre so ripe for m/m romance as the classic Western is so TRAGICALLY UNDERUTILIZED but thank goodness for gems like these that fill that void.

The highlight of this story for me is the relationship between the two prisoners, who meet when they're both being escorted to trial and form an immediate connection. I want to read like two more full novels about them, honestly, they were just.... very sweet and charming. The Marshals have a romance built on years of friendship, which I did enjoy as well, but I didn't find myself quite as invested. I think it would've helped to have Wash's perspective - the narration follows Flynn and Cage, with a handful of scenes from the villains' POV. Cage and Rose's affection for each other is obvious, and since we have Flynn's perspective we know he's pining away, but Wash is much less emotionally demonstrative than Rose. Seeing his thoughts on Flynn could've given their story more emotional weight.

Of course, that said, there's more to this story than just romance. In fact if you're searching for something steamy, this isn't it - there's no sex until the very end. The main story is more of a road trip/heist adventure, naturally with some shootouts along the way. The plot does get resolved, but without all of the answers really coming together. I would've thought this was a setup for a sequel, or even a series, but apparently this was published in 2014 and I don't see any recent discussion of it on the author's blog. It's not an unsatisfactory ending, but it's a shame to leave some of the questions dangling with no resolution.

The narration isn't exactly BAD. The narrator's voice is very rich and that's always nice to listen to. But there's little to differentiate the various voices, and the absolute most minimal effort at a British accent for Rose. It's disappointing. I know I'll want to revisit this story (and I do hope that someday Ms Roux will, too!) but next time, I'll just stick to reading it for myself.

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more or less PWP

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

Reviewed: 11-22-19

If you're in the mood for something steamy with a bit of story mixed in for flavour, then you've hit a winner. There's enough plot to make it clear how and why two ostensibly different people would fall in love, and even to establish some good side characters, but I'd say about 70% of the book is smut. Which isn't a complaint by any means! Sometimes that's what you're feeling, and this is well-written and engaging besides. but it's not my preference, so for me it was just... pretty good? Enjoyable, but not something I'd come back to. The performance is decent, but unexceptional; there are some varied voices, a few Southern accents mixed in and some more feminine tones, and for the most part the two leads' voices were distinct. But again, nothing that stirred strong emotions in me. Overall, this one wasn't quite for me, but I can see its merits well enough to think it might be someone else's perfect pick.

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4 people found this helpful

a very cute fantasy adventure!

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

Reviewed: 11-18-19

I'm a big fan of the fantasy/fairy tale genre; I love stuff by Naomi Novik and Shannon Hale, things that combine adventure and intrigue with romance. In fact I first started dipping into romance novels because I was hoping to find something that satisfied that criteria while also being queer, and I think this book is exactly what I was looking for. It's a fun, sweet story, with enough conflict to keep things interesting but never enough to lean towards angst. There's even a love-at-first-sight feel, just to really play up that fairy tale angle, though the relationship is fleshed out enough not to seem trite.

The performance is definitely very good; Philip Alces has a nice voice, and the characters are varied and distinct enough to make it mostly clear who's speaking. I would listen to something by him again, though I wouldn't be willing to stick out a bad book just for his sake. (yes, there are actually narrators whose voices I enjoy THAT much)

Overall I was absolutely pleased with this book and will probably read it again. My understanding is that it's an expanded novella, but it definitely doesn't feel needlessly padded out. A note for those who are here for the spice: there is nothing explicit in this novel. There's definitely some mature implications and discussion, but nothing on-page. Obviously not something I take issue with but ymmv. Personally I was happy with it, especially since it means I can recommend this one to my niece (who's 16) without guilt. I'll probably be recommending this one to quite a few people, come to that!

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reasonably fun

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

Reviewed: 11-15-19

I've enjoyed Cornell Collins work on some of KJ Charles' novels, so I thought this might be a fun listen. I ended up sticking through it more on the strength of his narration than anything. The plot isn't bad, but there was quite a bit of back and forth with the emotional drama that sort of dragged. Pirate captain Hawk spends a lot of time catching feels, denying them, trying to act like a hardass, and then catching feels again. I think the story might've benefited from some other form of conflict, maybe, or just by being a bit shorter.

It was funny to me to see other reviewers say they felt the voices didn't match the characters. They might not match up to the cover art, but the characters themselves are 18 and 41. There's 20+ years between our leads, no matter what the cover might lead you to believe, and the story itself certainly makes that clear enough more than once. Caveat lector (or caveat audiens, I guess): if the phrase "barely legal" doesn't do it for you, maybe give this one a miss.

That said, Cornell Collins' narration is worthwhile for me; his normal speaking voice is low and soothing, with Hawk's voice even lower and with a West Country accent that I found pretty charming. and the sex is SPICY - his breathy take on Nathaniel's voice when things get steamy is honestly a blessing. He's got the range to make the characters distinct, which makes this a pleasure to listen to, though probably not one that will merit a relisten from me.

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5 people found this helpful

wonderful story, just okay audiobook

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

Reviewed: 11-15-19

I listened to this as part of my Audible Escape subscription, and for that it's certainly worth a listen. the story is a delight, as is everything KJ Charles writes, and I'm very excited to know she's considering a sequel. The narration is just alright - I didn't find the voices distinct, and honestly I felt the sound quality itself wasn't the best, though i tried a few devices just to make sure it wasn't a hardware problem. Someone else said the narrator has a lisp, and I'm not sure it's quite that; to me it sounds almost like a faint accent that's only sometimes audible. Regardless, I did find it a bit distracting. not a keeper, but worthwhile on the strength of the story alone.

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