A Lorenzo

Absolutely perfect!

Reviewed: 03-22-24

This series is a favorite of mine, and its SUCH a treat having it on audio. The narrator was utterly perfect, and I'm just so thrilled about listening to the next two books after this. This series is much more realistically narrated than the previous series, which I personally love, with less overt "voices" but still with really excellent differentiation between characters. His Taavi, Hart, Ward, and Mason voices are terrific. As for the story, as I said, it's a long-time favorite for me. The balance between everyday moments/slow burn and moments of tension is excellent, and I appreciate the author tackling difficult subjects. The fantasy world she created is a great metaphor for many issues we face in our real world, and I think she handles them with both empathy and firmness of conviction. Also, her characters are always worth following, as their growth is well-earned.

Definitely give it a listen, whether or not you've read the first series (though you might find it a lot easier to follow if you do read them). I sure hope the rest of the series comes out soon!

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A long time favorite!

Reviewed: 11-10-23

This book is such a breath of fresh air! I've loved the written version for a long time and re-read it several times. The world-building is incredibly fun, and I adore Ward and Mason, the protagonists. Ward is angsty but endearing, and neither of them are too perfect, which I always prefer. I also appreciate an author who isn't afraid to discuss different viewpoints and moralities, and really engage with tough issues. This book isn't 100% perfect in that regard, but it's the beginning of several books that show the author's increasing skill at delving into tough conversations. It's one of those books that manages to deliver on the drama and high stakes, while somehow also remaining really sweet (and spicy, so don't get surprised).

Audiobook-wise, I admit I didn't love the narrator quite as much as I was hoping. Some of the characters felt little bit cartoonish, which doesn't make sense for subsequent books, and doesn't allow the reader to feel the tone and quality of the writing quite as well. The majority works, though, with many clever narration moments, and I still think it's worth the time and credit. Hopefully, that effect is eased somewhat in subsequent books! Either way, words on a page, or listened to, I encourage readers to try this one out!

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1 person found this helpful

Absolutely lovely, charming, delightfully spicy

Reviewed: 10-17-22

If you like detailed storytelling, spicy romance, compellingly flawed characters, and richly imagined worldbuilding, this is an audiobook for you. Truly, you'll be missing out if you pass it by.

Entreat me is a fairy tale retelling with JUST enough of the original in it to be charming and familiar. The rest of the time its extraordinarily refreshing, with a heroine who is realistic and wonderfully interesting and a hero who is equally interesting and fully swoon-worthy. I always love Grace Draven's characters because they actually behave like people. The couple's relationship starts through mutual attraction and then moves with electric sweetness into love, and my goodness is the spice-level fun. The re-telling of Beauty and the Beast is incredibly well done, with many tongue-in-cheek nods, but without anything stale to weigh the story down or bore the reader. As always, Draven's measured pace and rich, beautiful details bring this story fully to life, and make you dearly want to live in the world she writes with such care. This is my 2nd favorite of her books, with the first being Master of Crows.

As for the narration, I adored Stacey Holme's charming tones, detailed intonation, and varied characterization. Her male voices were absolutely perfect, and though her pronunciation varies, I found her work really compelling. Many "mispronunciations" are probably because she's British. Regardless, its just not that bothersome.

I do see the reviews that mention being confused... I think they may not have listened closely enough, or are perhaps used to tell-don't-show books spelling things out ad nauseam. I promise there is more than enough information in the storytelling to solve all of the mysteries. Lastly, reviewers mentioned Ballard basically not being sexy enough... good heavens, if *only* a youthful faerie prince with abs works for you, I guess this book shouldn't be on your shelf. Both of the principal characters are essentially anti-heros with major heart eyes for each other, and I find that the most realistic and interesting of all.

Highly recommend this audiobook, for sure, and equally recommend the written version. Cheers!

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An All-time Favorite

Reviewed: 09-06-22

One Giant Leap is a delight to listen to. A sweet, well-paced, and very comforting story with just enough angst to tie your heartstrings to it completely. It reminds me a little of Red, White, and Royal Blue in that we have an alternate world here — an ideal world in some ways — which feels like it's meant to give you comfort from the actual one. Curt and Patrick are such wonderful characters, very human and not "too" perfect, which is always true in Kay Simone's books, and is something I really appreciate. You love them, but you still have the feeling that they are flawed and that being flawed is alright. Like many of Kay's books, it's lower on the steam meter, but honestly, that fits really well with the rest of the book's tone. It isn't fade-to-black. The NASA storyline is also extremely interesting and highly enjoyable, though of course there was a little bending of the real-world rules in order to give us a more charming story.

I adore Kay Simone. The only tragedy here is that a ton more of the author's work isn't on Audible, because I want every one of Kay's books in both versions. I've listened to this book several times, and it's become a comfort read for sure. Greg Tremblay is a genuinely perfect narrator and his ability to lightly differentiate between voices is masterful. This pairing of author and narrator is an ideal match.

I hope you listen to this book and adore it! Highly recommend all of this author's other work as well.

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SUCH a good book, and a favorite series

Reviewed: 03-08-22

I don't often write reviews, but I want to encourage folks to give this charming, complex, and beautifully detailed story a chance, both in book form, and audio form. While the narrator takes a little getting used to, and doesn't always nail the subtle tongue in cheek of the dialogue, you soon get into the rhythm of his soothing voice and overall his voices are well done. Ginn Hale excels at characterization and world-building, as well as spinning up the perfect amount of suspense. While the characters are younger in this book, I would definitely not rate it a "teen book" as one reviewer suggested, though I certainly would have enjoyed reading it at that age as well. There are several more books in this series, and everyone only gets more mature from here, and the stakes only get more complex, fast-paced, and excellent from here. I hope you discover a new favorite!

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1 person found this helpful

Whoa. I had no idea what I was in for.

Reviewed: 12-08-21

Ok, this book is not YA. I genuinely feel more impacted by reading this book than I have by any other novel in a while. It's a top-notch Sci-Fi, with very little YA content other than the literal ages of the characters. You'll have a moment at the beginning where you feel like it's YA and that maybe the voice actor isn't as good as everyone says, but trust me, James Fouhey is wonderful, and the book will get wildly more excellent and more complicated. The themes are very mature. Like... contemplate your whole life and the complexities of human existence, the constructs of civilization, and the meaning of love, mature. For those who say the romance in the book runs sidecar to a larger story, that's only true in the sense that the actual larger story is SO DARN LARGE. In another respect, the romance is literally the thing that every part of the plot hinges on, and the only reason you feel genuine joy and hope at the end of what's really a very intense book.

Highly recommend reading it, but please don't have the expectation that you're walking into a fluffy sweet story. Worth it, I promise, but whew. Give yourself a little space to ruminate on these themes.

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12 people found this helpful

A wonderful book with workable narration

Reviewed: 07-03-20

I avoided this book, as well as the second in the series, after hearing the preview and hearing other reviewer's cautions. This series is one of my very favorites though, so I'm glad I took a chance. I don't recommend allowing these audiobooks to be your first experience, but if you already love the books, the narrator is workable. Slow down the reading speed to .8x instead of 1x. He still mispronounces and stumbles, and his character voices aren't super well defined, but at least you can absorb the prose and pacing. I even started to look past the imperfections and enjoy his voice. He's not a perfect narrator, but certainly workable with some adjustments, especially if you already adore the story.

As for this series, I highly recommend you read it in some way, shape, or form. This first book is a bit of a workup — much character and world building, all leading to the wonderful and exciting second book. Valen is a tough main character as he is quite flawed, but I assure you his character arc is masterfully done and you will absolutely adore him by the end of the series. Similarly with the world. Carol Berg has created a rich and complex world that is often cruel, but still well worth your time. Truly, one of my most favorite authors, whose books bring me joy yearly as I re-read and re-listen to them. She's an incredible writer and story builder, so if a slower pace, intricate creation, and fascinating complexities don't scare you, I urge you to dive in (just, possibly with the written book first).

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One of my very favorite books, Workable narration

Reviewed: 07-03-20

I avoided this book, as well as the first in the series, after hearing the preview and hearing other reviewer's cautions. I can't tell you how much I adore the books though, and always thought they'd do well on audio. I'm glad I took a chance. Though I don't recommend allowing these audiobooks to be your first experience, if you already love the books, the narrator is workable. The trick? Slow down the reading speed to .8x instead of 1x. He still mispronounces and stumbles sometimes, but at least you can absorb the prose and pacing. I even started to look past the imperfections and enjoy his voice. He's not a perfect narrator, but certainly workable with some adjustments, especially if you already adore the story.

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1 person found this helpful

Totally Gosh Darn Adorable

Reviewed: 02-14-19

I checked the reviews after listening to this entirely sweet charmer of a book expecting rave opinions and nary a downer. I can be pretty dang picky, and I'm so surprised that there were people who didn't like it! I thought the characters were excellently flawed — in a way most romances do such a terrible job at (similar to the way people answer that question, "What's your worst quality" at interviews). It's still a romance novel of course, so there are character and plot exaggerations, but that exaggeration is also what makes romances so dang fun, amirite? Its part of the genre. I really appreciated Sally Thorne's narration (without knowing it was her, actually. I generally think its a risk for authors to narrate their own books). She had good inflection, her voice is very good, and I could tell the characters apart easily. This book is also capital-everything HAWT and slow burn, which was exactly what I was expecting from the author of The Hating Game. I actually don't see that the two books are fundamentally so different — they're clearly written by the same person, with all of the metaphor and description and internal monologues and mistakes and drama that made the first so fun. I would listen again in a heart beat ;)

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