Sara S.

A fantastic listen to a great romance.

Revisado: 09-19-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

What I can always count on with this author when I begin one of their books is I am going to get complicated characters. Characters that are going to make mistakes, put themselves in harm's way and sometimes even do things that make me want to give them a mother’s tap on the back of their heads. But they are real characters, not just ink on a page, they live and breathe and are human. That's what makes me adore this author's work and what ultimately sets it aside from the rest.

While this is a sub-genre departure from the usual Garrett Leigh, it's not so far removed that the essence of what makes a Garrett Leigh book is absent. Sure, we have a woman lead in this book but Eddie still fits the complicated and complex role that she fits right in with all the others in the Leigh Universe.

Now speaking of Eddie. I like that the book begins with us being thrown straight into her drama and turmoil. She's a young woman, a university student who plays violin and who depends on her father for financial assistance. The book opens with Eddie's dad going bankrupt and Eddie falling down a hole of WTF am I supposed to do now? It's not unheard of that young people rely on their parents for financial support going through school and that many of them (my step son included) didn't have to do anything for money until they were absolutely forced to. So reading that Eddie was a novice at working didn't faze me. But now that she knows she needs to fend for herself, Eddie grasps at the reins of an opportunity that presents itself when she ends up in Jimmy's Cafe after a night of bad sex and not knowing what comes next.

Let's just take a moment to acknowledge the food in this book. Again, a signature of the authors work is food and how hungry their work can make you while reading. The life of anyone in the food industry is always a welcome and real aspect of their books and I always look forward to it. Also on a personal note, whenever a character states they don't eat meat, I get a happy grin.

Back to Eddie. Eddie who needs money. Eddie who has a boyfriend who is awful in bed.
***Side bar: Ugh. Ian. I have to mention him because he is Eddie's boyfriend when we begin but he was just so not...not anything really. I feel bad saying that but yeah. Ian was not.***

Anyway, Eddie who is 22 and lost. I liked Eddie. She is flawed but think back to the decisions you made at 22, go ahead I’ll wait for the cringe to fall from your face. Yeah. 22 was fun, eh? But she’s doing her best and when we meet the handsome man with the bedroom eyes that she is now working for aka Sam. Things start to heat up and I’m not just the temperature in the kitchen.

Sam, my man. You gruff dude with a slight chip on your shoulder. You my dear had me spinning from the jump. You’re a jerk and yet you do things like take care of your grandparents. You kiss like your life depends on it but you also tell the woman you’re with she annoys you but you’d sleep with her anyway. You’re competent, confident and crass and I craved to read your name on the page. When I found out your medical history, all your moods sort of made sense. Sort of. What am I saying, I’d probably forgive you for a lot.

I don’t like you.”
Eddie smiled. “I don’t like you either.”
“So why am I here?”
“You tell me.”

Goodness, even the early push and pull between Sam and Eddie was delicious. I love that he shows vulnerability right away and that Eddie sees more than his grumpy side.


Dylan. Where oh where did you come from and are we going to get more of you? (I just realized we DO get more of you in your own mm novel). Not saying we didn’t get *ahem* a lot of you in this book but you dear sir deserve more on page time. I loved your friendship with Sam and how easily you fell in step with Eddie. And then stepped in WITH Eddie and Sam. What can I say, the three of you were hot and Eddie I’m jealous. I really should have stopped at that scene and not listened at work because a fair skinned ginger without a poker face is kind of a dead giveaway but there was no way I was going to stop after Eddie gave the green light.

Goodness am I rambling? It’s been a long time since I’ve done that. Guess that means the book was good, eh? It was good.

The narration was perfect! Chloe De Burgh delivered this story with the detailed professionalism that made this an easy listen. There are times when listening to romance with on page sex that can make me feel like a preteen watching something I shouldn’t; you know – shame and embarrassment, but De Burgh delivered this flawlessly and every word was simply part of the story.

What Matters is an aptly titled romance between two characters who really find out what matters most to them when they are thrust together and life and in love. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the romance of Sam and Eddie.

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I am in love with this series. I need more!

Revisado: 03-20-18

I woke up this morning with Liam and Thompson on my mind. If that doesn't tell you how I felt about this book before you read another word of my review... know that.

What do you get when you take a grieving psychic who the dead talk to and one gruff police detective who has unrequited feelings for said psychic and have them work a case that could cost them their lives? You get one hell of a romantic mystery that I adored.

Nine months ago, Liam Baker lost the love of his life William and in that time, he’s not been the same. Liam has tried to take his life and if it weren’t for William’s friend, Detective Kimball Thompson there to save and take care of Liam, Liam wouldn’t be living at all. Literally.

I liked that Liam and Thompson have a shared history before the story begins. I didn’t need to see them meet or have their first awkward moments, I liked them being comfortable as work partners and as friends given the circumstances. As the story is told through Liam’s POV, we get how he sees his life and how he sees Thompson, a bit confusing but also the rock that grounds him when he’d rather fly away from the pain of losing William.

I dug Liam and his psychic ability. I’ve always liked books, movies or TV shows that use a psychic to aid law enforcement to find killers and this is just another I have added to the my list. I have to say, I dug that it took place in California and maybe close to where I am. Giving distance with time instead of miles is such a California thing to do and the mention of the desert so close to Los Angeles has me doing my own distance calculations.

"Perhaps good things really did come in packages you'd never expect. Maybe sometimes, those packages were steadfast rumpled men with orange auras so bright they hurt your eyes".


I loved Thompson. OMG he was amazing with how he took care of Liam and you felt how much he was in love with him from the first time Liam says Thompson rescued him after William died. I wanted nothing more than Thompson to be happy but the UST between these two was killing me. Goodness, yeah thank goodness for love triangles and men that make Liam wake up and take notice of what is right in front of him.

And yet I get Liam. There is no time stamp on grief and how long it takes one to get over losing a loved one. Though we never get details of how William died, one can deduct it was in the line of duty since Thompson is a cop and that's how he knew William. You don't need to know much about William in this story other than he brought Liam and Thompson together and how much they both feel his loss.

New to me narrator Kale Williams did an amazing job bringing the story to life. Each character was distinctive even down to the odd accent that had my weird brain thinking of an Eddie Izzard skit about a voice box being stuck on demonstration. Williams gave the story the intensity, intimacy and mystery it needed to fly off the page and straight to my ears making my day at work doing a boring report so very worth it.

I love UST and it was given in major doses in this. Yeah. The tension and heat coming off of Thompson was stunning and once Liam opens his eyes, he got all petty and jealous which was so much fun to see.

The mystery of the serial killer with the clues left and then the twist that comes about was done well. It amped the story up another level and kept me on my toes. The killer was cryptic with his messages and while it was awful to see the murders or the murdered showing Liam what they wanted him to see, it was necessary. I only have two minor things that made me pause while reading. One was the reasoning of the murders. It was weird since none of the clues alluded to the pagan holiday but again, small niggle that didn't take away from the story at all. The other was Thompson’s name. I get law enforcement and military use last names or even shortened last names instead of someone’s given name. My father was named William but called Robbie because his last name was Robertson. But… Thompson never becomes Kimball even after the men are intimate. I guess I was waiting for that moment, for Liam to drop the formality and use Thompson’s name. But again, nothing that took away from the story, just something my brain latched on to.

I am so happy that this is a series and that book two is already out. Though I listened to this one, I am not sure I can wait for the audio to get more of Liam and Thompson.

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