LISTENER

Ruthie B.

  • 20
  • reviews
  • 2
  • helpful votes
  • 162
  • ratings

This was good…

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

Reviewed: 07-07-25

I really liked it, and I eagerly await the next one’s eventual release!
This one took the story and an interesting and relatively unexpected direction. I had a feeling here and there that this thing might happen but I was like no that wouldn’t make sense, but then the thing did happen and it did make sense. I hope that made even a little bit of sense, but it means that I don’t know where the next book will go, and I really want to find out. Usually, I can figure out where a plot is going to go, but I honestly don’t know this time and that’s great.
I will say that the romance this time around seemed a little less… interesting? I don’t know, it’s just kind of a feeling. I think it mostly comes from both Connor and Malcolm being leader-types who have been under so much pressure for way too long that they’re just kind of relieved to meet each other. Obviously, that isn’t a bad way to go, it just happens faster than in the previous two. Regardless, they’re a good match.
Declan Winters did a great job yet again.
Overall, I really want to know what happens next, and I highly recommend this series.

There are more TWs in this one which are listed in the preview so keep that in mind. I will say that I tend to be very tender hearted, but I thought everything was handled pretty well on the author’s part and I was able to get through the book with minimal distress. And obviously, I was very happy with the book overall.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

I was so excited for VRC book 6…

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

Reviewed: 07-05-25

And Alice Winters totally delivered!
I was really curious to see how Ender would move from the role of antagonist to protagonist, and I thought the transition was done well. I also liked that neither we readers nor the characters were asked to forgive his past transgressions, just to understand them.
I also think Mads was a really good fit for Ender and just a fun character in general. Obviously it takes a long time for Ender to warm up to Mads, which totally makes sense, but the long lead up made their romance feel a little squished in during the last few hours or so. Ender’s more romantic feelings towards Mads felt a little abrupt, and I would’ve liked more on why Mads decided to like Ender to begin with. But again, I think it was a great pairing, they really suit each other.
The plot plot was good too, it made sense and tied into the other books really well. It was a little darker than the rest, mostly because of Ender‘s backstory, but humor was woven in here and there too. I really hope to see the overall story continue, and I think a lot of interesting avenues were left open at the end of this book.
Overall, definitely recommend.

Though if you’re a bit tender hearted like me, you might just want to skip chapter 18 completely. I thought it was definitely the most emotionally taxing part of the book, and you can pick up what happens later from context.
Also, I’m going to include a tiny spoiler below of something that did *not* happen in this book. I repeat, something that did *not* happen.











I am really, really hoping we get to see vampire Finn at some point. Alas, Finn is still just as human at the end of this one.
Not that it won’t be a hot mess, for the characters I mean. They’ll probably be super stressed about it, but I want to see Finn’s turning so bad.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

This was great…

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

Reviewed: 07-01-25

The plot made sense I didn’t see any huge plot holes, the romance was good, and the paranormal setting is slightly different from anything else that I’ve read. The history of vampires and hunters is very interesting and I like this take on vampire politics.
I mostly just wish the book was longer!
I hope we get to revisit Kain and Vlad’s perspective at some point in the series. I don’t really think we will, but I’m excited to see how their story develops along with those of Kain’s siblings. I’m actually excited to listen to Izaiah and Artemis’ upcoming book, and I really don’t listen to romances that aren’t MM pairings often.
For those of you who like spicy scenes (I am of your ilk), there is one at the end of the book and it’s good. For those of you who don’t like spice in your books, there is only the one scene so you can skip it pretty easily.
I was initially wary of this book because of the low rating on Goodreads, but based on the reviews on Kindle my guess is that reading comes from the absolutely atrocious number of typos. However, the narration fixes it, I only caught one swapped name I think.
Declan Winters does a great job and I think he was a really good fit for Kain in particular.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Dropping seven hours in…

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

Reviewed: 04-08-25

Because this book moves sooooo slowly. I can’t speak for the last six hours, but the first seven are mostly Victor getting progressively sadder.
Sorry for this early on spoiler, which I’ll put a couple lines down so it might be hidden…












but the first two hours are Victor meeting Erik (Eric?), who turns out to be a big jerk. I really think that relationship could’ve been backstory or just a couple flashbacks. Jayce (Victor’s actual love interest) makes dumb cliche mistakes that make Victor sad. Yeah, things are just now starting to look up (the upward movement in mood probably started like six hours in) but I can feel the upcoming drama (bc even if things are looking up there are still lots of problems Victor’s gotta go through/fix). At seven hours in I’m tired of being sad/mad/frustrated so I’m just not going to continue.
Syntax is decent, though there’s lots of “the brunet(te?) did xyz” or “the doctor did xyz.” It’s a better book if you like lots of angst, but it still moves sooooooo slowlyyyyyyyy. Yeah slow burn can be good, but at seven hours in, there’s been one spicy scene (one night stand type deal) and very, very minimal romance. Jayce and Victor started talking with the intent of an eventual relationship somewhere around the six hour mark. I think lot of what happened in the first six hours really didn’t need to happen for us to see. Not many scenes were actually important, many could have and probably should have been cut. Also, so far, we have nearly zero lore/world building on the supernatural side of things.
I don’t like to factor virtual voice in my ratings because it’s fine-ish, so any stars docked are from the book itself. There are worse human narrators out there.
Overall, if you really want to listen I recommend getting to the wedding and listening to everything from that night and the next day (I don’t remember exact time stamps… it’s like two hours in? Three?), then skip to six hours in or so and go from there. You really won’t miss much, and most (if not all) of that can be inferred.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

The ending was…

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

Reviewed: 03-22-25

Very, very abrupt. Like it felt like we were in the middle of a scene and then, “This title was narrated with virtual voice.”
The plot was a little meandering, and nothing was ever explained. Like we’d hear about something, Patrick would go, “I wonder what that’s all about,” only to pretty much immediately go, “Oh well I’m too stressed/happy/annoyed/etc. to bother figuring anything out.” Though I will say, one of the details we don’t know about Justin for most of the book was well done and interesting. It gave him a dimension other than “hot vampire” and wasn’t one I’d seen before. I liked it enough for it to earn a star back from 2 after the ending cut off.
Unfortunately the rest of the book is pretty boring because nearly every interesting plot point is ignored. The spicy scenes are decent, though. Another issue I have with the end (nonspecific spoiler ahead) is that it’s super anticlimactic. There’s a stressful buildup and then they’re like “everything went fine the end.”

So basically, if you’re looking for something awesome, keep looking. If you’re super bored, this works.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

So…

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

Reviewed: 03-22-25

I’m glad I read the reviews on kindle. I’m fairly certain listening to this all the way through would be both stressful and dissatisfying (apparently all of the icky behavior on Karadas’ part just kind of magically evaporates, everyone forgives and forgets after we learn the reasons for his behavior).
So, if you want to get to book five (which kindle says is much better) I recommend listening through the first sex scene, stop, then listen to the last three chapters.
I mean yeah, there are going to be details missing, but I think a) it’s worth it to avoid hurt/comfort without the comfort bit, and b) those details can be inferred or just aren’t that important.
You get enough context to understand the next book without having to listen to what seems like a pretty bad time :)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

This was Fantastic…

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

Reviewed: 02-25-25

But I thought I would offer a bit of a disclaimer. This title is a little more serious than most of Alice Winters’ other works; its tone is reminiscent of her earliest works. Again, an excellent listen, but if you’re expecting another Hitman’s Guide, this is not it.
I love the both main characters and the conflict Gabriel feels over wanting him. Liam is very interesting and is so sweet to Gabriel. I mean he’s definitely one of those “hot in a book scary irl” types but it *is* a book. Lucille (the cat) has a wonderfully accurate personality and her feud with Liam is quite entertaining. The mystery itself is good too, probably Winters’ best that I can think of.
Overall, 10/10, very excited for the sequel :)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Idk if anyone else has said this…

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

Reviewed: 02-20-25

Because I admittedly haven’t read the other reviews, but I thought it would be be a helpful warning: I was already crying less than ten minutes in. I mean I’m a huge cryer but still.
Anyway, the book is good. The angst starts to ease up before I got annoyed with it, the spice is nice enough, and the mystery isn’t too hard to figure out, but not so easy that you get it by the end of like chapter two. Everything made sense.
Hats off to the narrators, they usually make a good pair and this one was no different.
So overall, a generally pleasant listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

My biggest complaint…

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

Reviewed: 12-22-24

Is that there isn’t a sequel!
I think the world and the island itself is interesting and fun, and I’d like to see more from it. I do wonder if the island is so enthusiastic about other holidays. Alas, the text was published a year ago so we probably won’t see more of them, but we can hope!
I love how much Grey and Zen trust each other, and of course they’re great together. The spice is excellent too. There were many interesting side characters, and I loved how important some were to the story. Often times books featuring romance only place importance on the two main characters and the antagonist, but that’s not the case here. I would’ve liked more hints as to who the antagonist was before we found out, but the mystery’s resolution still made sense.
And of course Michael Ferraiuolo did a fantastic job, as always.
Overall, fun, very Christmasy, 10/10 definitely recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A good conclusion…

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

Reviewed: 11-12-24

(I mean sort of, considering the sequel series is under works) to the series, but it’s not as good as books two and three. Mostly because I was frustrated for the entire Halloween party arc.
I don’t mind the planning of the party, and the arc following, but the four hours dedicated to the party are incredibly frustrating. I really like Octavius, and of course he isn’t written to be a perfect person, but when the party starts he stops being fun and ridiculous and just becomes a massive jerk. He doesn’t listen to Turney about anything to an uncomfortable degree, he has no empathy for the people involved with the mystery at the party (they’re not bad people, so it’s completely uncalled for) and is almost cruel to them for no reason than his own entertainment, and generally bulldozes over anyone who suggests anything he doesn’t like. It’s icky. Like the author just took his character and all the fun parts of him and stretched them beyond fun and into mean. It was not a good four hours; I missed the fun tone of the rest of the series.
Now fortunately, Octavius goes back to his regular self after the party, and I liked the rest of the book. The author did pull it back to feeling like the other books. There were no loose ends, and I’m excited for the sequel series.
And finally, the narrator was just as good in this book as the rest.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!