Carolyn Gwaltney

New Non Romantic Suspense from Nicky James!

Revisado: 03-16-24 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Nicky James takes a break from romantic suspense to write a complex and emotional contemporary romance. Promises of Forever is a character driven story about two men who formed an unusual friendship in their youth and are now meeting again thirty years later.

Koa Burgard is a traumatized ten-year-old attending camp for the first time when he meets Jersey Reid. Jersey is reluctantly drawn to the odd boy, and while Jersey is afraid the other campers will harass him for spending time with the “weirdo,” he finds he wants to anyway. So he befriends Koa when others aren’t around, like sneaking out at night to look for “pirate treasure” on the camp’s grounds. The two become penpals during the rest of the year, which serves as a kind of lineline for Koa, who is isolated and controlled by his domineering grandfather, with whom he lives. During their last day together at camp a disastrous decision leads to a complete estrangement between the boys who, when the book opens, haven’t been in touch for three decades.

Jersey returns to his childhood home twenty years after becoming estranged from his parents. He grew up to be the professional hockey player he’d dreamed about and worked for his whole life. He married and had a son and everything was looking good until a freak on-ice accident cut his career short. When Jersey became addicted to painkillers it cost him his career, marriage and eventually his parents as well after he refused to get help. Now a drunk driver has taken away his chance make amends with his parents, and Jersey is back to clear out their home and take care of their estate. While looking through the attic he finds a box full of the letters he’d received from Koa over those four winters many years ago and rereading them sparks a desire to find and reconnect with Koa and to apologize to him for simply disappearing from his life.

Koa grew up and went to college to become a teacher. Now he teaches philosophy and literature at an elite private school not too far from Jersey’s parents’ home. Koa’s childhood trauma, which the listener knows little about, and harsh upbringing by his grandfather have left him with a nihilistic life-view: there is no god and life is meaningless. He deals with his past by locking down all emotions and emotional attachments. He doesn’t trust anyone and won’t let anyone into his life in more than a superficial way. Niles, a former lover who gave up on the romantic relationship but remained a friend, is there when Koa receives the letter from Jersey and notices Koa’s genuine emotional response to the letter. This unusual reaction prompts Niles to insist Koa accept the invitation and he even offers to go with him as support.

Nicky James does an excellent job with the dual timeline, interspersing scenes from the four summers at camp with Jersey's attempts to reconnect with Koa in the present day. These flashbacks chronicle the development of their unusual but strong bond. In the present day Jersey realizes he still cares for Koa and sets about trying to love the walled-off man, and while it’s obvious Koa still has an emotional attachment to Jersey, it’s just as obvious he’s fighting it.

I knew from the start the narration was in good hands with Nick J. Russo, who is a favorite of mine. But even so, I was especially impressed with how well he does the voices of the main characters as children. They sound convincing and age appropriate, and I never once felt like I was listening to an adult imitating a child. Mr. Russo also beautifully conveys the deep emotional content of the story. My only quibble is that there are a few mispronounced words that temporarily took me out of the story that should have been caught in post production.

Promises of Forever hit a sweet spot for me by being deeply moving and emotional without being overly angsty. The emotional punches are real and at times raw, but serve to illuminate the characters and their growth and feel appropriate for the story. Nick J. Russo’s excellent narration adds depth to the story making this an audiobook I can highly recommend.

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A winner!

Revisado: 12-21-23

A- for story, A for narration
Alexis Hall has an incredible way with words and the POV character, Sam, is funny and has a sort of self-deprecating humor that's mostly endeariing. Jonathan is a little harder to like, but his character unfolds so beautifully over the course of the book. Jonathan's family are a bit over-the-top, and while I could laugh at them, I also found the pushiness really annoying at times. It's the same with Sam's coworkers. They all walk all over him and frankly, and I kept thinking some of them really did need to be fired. On the other hand, Hall writes those characters really well, making them not completely likeable or unlikeable, but more like real people--a mixed bag. And that ability is exactly what makes this book so good.

I cannot praise Will Watt's narration enough. It's absolutely brilliant. All the voices, the accents, and the spot-on delivery of the emotional content outstanding. As I listened I thought how I would have liked this book in print, but I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much as listening to Watt's narration. His delivery brought out the genius in Alexis Hall's writing. This is a narrator I'll be looking for in the future.

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A wonderful series ender!

Revisado: 12-19-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Matrimonial Merriment starts just two weeks after the events of Disrupted Engagement where Aslan Doyle’s aborted attempts at the perfect proposal sent his partner, Quaid Valor, into stress overdrive. They are now finally engaged and planning the wedding! Unfortunately, wedding planning on a tight deadline of less than three months has again sent Quaid’s anxiety levels into the stratosphere.

In keeping with Aslan’s request that they get married sooner rather than later, Quaid is spending every waking hour, plus too many hours when he shouldn’t be awake, planning his perfect wedding. Aslan is determined to give Quaid his dream wedding and tries to find a way to get Quaid to relinquish his absolute control over every aspect of the planning. When Quaid’s stress lands him in the emergency room with chest and stomach pains, Aslan finally has the trump card he needs: “Doctor’s orders.”

Aslan’s partner and best man Torin, along with Quaid’s best man Ruis, step up to help make everything happen, much to Quaid’s dismay and apprehension. Without a suspense plot, much of the book deals with the varying aspects of wedding planning, like the scene where Aslan and Torin go to a swanky bakery for cake tasting, which is priceless! Still, not everything about the book worked for me. I didn’t find reading about Quaid’s initial anxiety levels over the planning to be entertaining. I also don't get the appeal of spending tons of money on a wedding, so the small details of the preparations and even of the wedding itself sort of made my eyes glaze over–although the wedding vows are truly lovely.

NIck J. Russo has expertly narrated the entire Valor and Doyle series but his narration here is exceptionally good. He is able to depict a wide range of deeply felt emotions without slipping into melodrama or making it sound maudlin. This book is a perfect example of why Mr. Russo is a narrator I seek out, knowing I won’t be disappointed.

Without the usual mystery plotline, Matrimonial Merriment concentrates on the relationship between Aslan and Quaid, and it’s a very satisfying wrap-up to their love story. Add in the excellent narration by Nick J. Russo and this is a must listen for Valor and Doyle fans.

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Amazing series!

Revisado: 09-23-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Toronto’s two sexiest detectives return in the 6th installment of the excellent Valor and Doyle series. These books follow the same couple and need to be read in order, so if you haven’t read the others start with Temporary Partner.

Aslan Doyle is determined to find the perfect way to propose to his boyfriend, Quaid Valor. He knows Quaid will want a memory he can tell their kids and grandkids, so he makes reservations at an expensive restaurant to set a romantic scene. Unfortunately Quaid can tell Aslan is distracted and nervous about something, and with his self-esteem at a low point after his cheating and lying ex, his mind goes straight to “Aslan must be about to tell me something terrible and wants to be somewhere I can’t make a scene,” instead of “Oh, look how romantic!” After wine gets spilled all over Aslan, he decides to regroup and try proposing another time, and they go home in tense silence.

The next day Aslan and his partner are sent out of town on an unusual case. A body dump site has been found in Cornwall and they’re being sent to take over the investigation. The bodies have been buried there over several decades, often with long time spans between them, plus they vary in age and gender. Adding to the tension between the detectives and the local PD is the fact that the most recent body foundwas a local policeman who disappeared less than a year ago. Of course, the timing couldn’t be worse for Aslan. He’s leaving an obviously anxious Quaid at home and has no idea how or when he’ll be able to propose. Tensions between Aslan and Quaid mount as fast as the tensions over the new case, and the resolutions of both are surprising!

Good romantic suspense books balance the romance with the suspense plot, giving both arcs equal importance. The BEST romantic suspense books have fully developed characters and meaningful relationship growth as well as complex and engrossing mysteries. Nicky James hits it out of the park on both counts in this series.

Nick J. Russo gives a master class in voice acting throughout the Valor and Doyle series. He keeps the large cast of recurring characters consistent and distinct, while also adding in all the new characters for each book. His ability to deliver the emotional states of the characters is amazing. He's an excellent narrator who's at the top of his form in this series.

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One of the Best of 2021!

Revisado: 12-24-21

Creative story and well-written characters makes this one of the best and most unique books I've listened to all year. Kale Williams does a great job getting across the slightly flat voice inflections the author describes Larkin as having. Very well done.

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Wonderful!

Revisado: 07-28-21

A thoroughly researched story with memorable characters, humor, a little intrigue, and love. Beautifully narrated by the very talented Alex Wyndham. I've listened to every one of this author's book available on audio, and have never been disappointed.

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Excellent

Revisado: 06-12-12

Envy an amazingly well-crafted suspense story with a multilayer plot and perfect pacing. Sandra Brown creates a solid sense of place for every setting, whether it's a big city, a college frat house, Key West or an obscure Georgia island. The book consists of two story arcs that eventually intersect. One story arc starts with Maris, a publisher, tracking down a reclusive author. Parker Evans is the author who submits an unsolicited manuscript to her publishing house. The second arc is the book Parker is writing, titled "Envy." The intertwining of these two plots is well done, with Brown doling out the backstory contained in the manuscript in tantalizing installments. In addition to the mystery in Parker's book, there is intrigue and betrayal going on in the present day story of Parker, Maris, Maris's husband and her father. The twists and turns are wonderful and the timing is superb. Brown also manages to write a compelling romance, even with such unlikely circumstances.

Victor Slezak voices all the characters well, but he has a special knack for the southern accents of Parker and his assistant, Mike. Slezak's voice for Parker is deep, rough, and perfect. Slazek doesn't use a high voice for the female characters--no falsetto here-- but he still manages to soften his voice and differentiate between the genders with no problems. I can't think of any way to improve the narration of this book.

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Definitely worth it

Revisado: 05-03-12

The narrator has a nice, strong voice and does a fine job with the story. I usually listen to audiobooks while I occupy myself doing chores or walking. However, this time I simply listened to the last 2 hours of the book while sitting quietly with my eyes shut. It was a great way to experience the story, being immersed in it. I felt the anxiety of both Linc and Daisy as they came to grips with their feelings while trying to understand what best to do about them. Linc turns out to be a great hero, and Daisy is equally wonderful.

This book is different than the other lighthearted contemporaries I've read by Jennifer Crusie, although Bet Me had some serious moments. The Cinderella Deal is certainly humorous, even laugh-out-loud at times, but the humor is laced with poignancy. This story about two mismatched people trying to work things out could have been simply another zany tale of opposites attracting, clashing, and finally getting it right. But for Linc and Daisy, getting it right was at times a painful experience. Both struggle with who they think they are suppose to be, and who they think the other person is. I've read several fun books with the basic "pretend fiance/spouse" plot line, but I've never gotten so caught up in the characters or their feelings. This book may be a fairly short, easy read, but it certainly has depth.

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Excellent narration

Revisado: 04-20-12

The audiobook is narrated by the talented Robert Petkoff. His voicing of the many accents and his ability to do both male and female characters well makes him a perfect choice for this series. He differentiates the characters very well, even when voicing two males with Slavic accents, or two Valkyrie sisters. His timing and inflection when reading dialogue is excellent. He delivers humorous lines with the right "punch" and is good at knowing just the right inflection needed for the context. My only caveat, and this is a small one, is that the love scenes are delivered a little too dramatically for my tastes, and Kaderin sometimes ends up sounding too breathy. Overall, however, this is an enjoyable story made even better by an excellent narration.

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Great fun!

Revisado: 03-30-12

I'm so glad I listened to the audiobook instead of reading the book. While I would have liked the book in print, I can't help but think the narrator increased my enjoyment quite a bit. Narrator Laura Lefkow's unusual delivery worked perfectly for the heroine. The reader felt the distracted way Sweeney's mind worked, complete with her vagueness and social unease. It was very well done.

Although I figured out the killer early on, I still enjoyed the mystery. The characters, from Sweeney and Richard to the secondary characters, like the police detectives, were well fleshed out and enjoyable. The dialogue was well written and made sense, something I always appreciate!

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