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planning on buying the entire series in audio

Revisado: 10-19-23

Beloved by the Boss, book 2 in the Morelli Family series, keeps the action from the first book going. The changes in Luca and Finch's lives at the end of the book were huge. Beloved by the Boss is the fallout of those changes. Luca's classical education encouraged by Tino bears fruit. Finch deals with the truth about his mother's death. Each individual member of the Morelli Family has decisions to make that have lethal consequences.

I enjoyed Beloved by the Boss as much as I enjoyed Married to the Mobster. Having read or listened to the entire series, I can honestly say all the books are series are 5-star reads. Although I have purchased all the Kindle books, I am planning to purchase all the audiobooks as they are released.

The audiobook was fantastic. The voices fit the characters. Michael Ferraiuolo does a tremendous job. His voice and accents are wonderful. I am planning on buying the entire audio series.

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Luce and Finch

Revisado: 10-19-23

Oh my gosh! I love this book. I picked up Married to the Monster through Kindle Unlimited and ultimately bought it. I was looking for an entertaining read. It was that and more. The book kept me turning pages. It made me care about the characters and kept the mystery under wraps until the end. I finished it and preordered the next one. I bought the entire series. Finch and Luca are two of the best characters I have read. The book was a mafia story with suspense and mystery. It was also a romance with men from different worlds who were more alike than they knew.

The audiobook was fantastic. The voices fit the characters. Michael Ferraiuolo does a fantastic job. His voice and accents are wonderful. I am planning on buying the entire audio series.

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what being human really means

Revisado: 08-27-23

I chose A Mountain in the Sea from Netgalley because the blurb mentioned octopuses/octopi. I have been fascinated by octopi for years. Their intelligence and problem-solving capabilities are concepts I have surprised have not been mined in fiction more. Marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen is researching the octopi which seem to have language and culture. Many chapters begin with quotes from a book she wrote called How Oceans Think. The quotes from the book are interesting. I would read it if it was published. The author Ray Nayler presents the information in a way that I can understand. This information enriches the book.

The story takes place in our future when there have been massive upheavals in the geopolitical sphere, and wars that caused environmental catastrophes in addition to killing large portions of the population. The main part of the book is about Dr. Ha and the two who are on the island with her. One is a woman who has been enhanced so she is as much a machine as a human. The other is an android whose perfection scared the population to the point where there were riots and social unrest. Now they are hidden on this island to help Dr. Ha with her research.

There are several other strands that weave through the story and eventually meet in Dr. Ha’s story. Eunice Wong does an incredible job narrating. Each main character has a distinct voice. The narration is always clear even when describing actions like battles. I do not possess the words to describe how incredible and wonderful this book is. I have listened to it three times already. I am discovering new gems each time I listen.

I have truly enjoyed this book. It took my imagination to new places and definitely new situations. It also made me think about what being human really means.
@raynayler @Netgalley @EuniceWongActor

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I struggled with the book.

Revisado: 07-11-23

I did not have the same reaction to Witch King by Martha Wells as the majority of readers. I want to state that is solely on me and not on the author. I am sure it is a wonderful book but it is one I will need to reread or relisten (I purchased the audiobook) several more times. What I found so difficult were keeping the names of places and people in mind as I read. I flipped back to the Dramatis Personae several times in each chapter. I also struggled with the positions the various characters held. I purchased the Audible version. Often books with unfamiliar names are much easier in audio. Unfortunately, the audio did not work its magic for me. I think if I could have kept those things present as I read, it would have been a better book. Again, this is on me not Martha Wells.

I received an advanced review copy from Netgalley. After reading it and listen to the audio book, I wrote an honest review.

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Not really worth 10 hrs of my life

Revisado: 07-04-23

The voice talent in The Sound at the End was wonderful. I recognized a few voices from Impact Winter. The story though, the story was really not good. It was a closed room mystery although the room was a base in the Arctic. There were so many red herrings, unreliable narrators, and sound distortions that the reveal at the end was exciting because the book was over.

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Kirt Grave's voice creates a masterful narration

Revisado: 04-01-23

Hearing Kirk Graves's narration of Anubis was wonderful. Hearing Nox, Luca, and Dante again was like listening to an old friend after an absence. His distinct voices for NoX, Luca, Dr. Reese Dante, and Mrs. Laura Phillips are joined by new characters like Jonathan, Seung, and Isaiah. Kirt Grave's voice creates a masterful narration, the uncertainty, and fear of Dr. Dante, the power of the Anubis, the love between Luca and Nox, Isaiah's zealotry, and Jonathan's righteousness. It is a joy to lose myself in Adrienne Wilder's story brought to life by Kirt Graves.

​For almost two years I sung the praises of Nox. In a year where I read or listened to 511 books in total, Nox easily outshone the others. I wanted more, as people tend to do when they love something. When that more arrived, it was glorious. Anubis is a worthy successor to Nox.

The world-building in Anubis is complex and very good. It opens up a world that Nox only hinted at. The reader finds out what the Anubis truly is and how it fits in the world of the Varu.

Adrienne Wilder is one of my favorite authors. His ideas are intriguing. The language and descriptions paint such detailed pictures in my mind. For example: "The wolf appeared from nothing beside Isaiah. The lack of light and night vision of the Anubis didn’t strip away its gold coloration. Stars glittered in its coat, and nebulas filled its blue eyes." That description stopped me in my tracks the first time I read it. Wolves are beautiful animals but imagine one made of stars with swirling nebulas in its eyes. It is beyond beautiful.

Characters that I loved from Nox had significant growth and depth in Anubis. Luca and Nox are still my all-time favorite couple. The concept of loving someone so much you are willing to die to protect them is something I think everyone yearns for. Dr. Reese Dante is in the center of the action this time. His motivation is simple: “I’m not brave. I’m paying penance. There’s a difference.” He is also one of my favorite characters because he is such a good man. Watching him grow into a fuller character was wonderful.

The action is well written. It is easy to follow. I could easily discern what was happening to who. The big battle scene is exciting and helps push the story forward. It is not just fighting for fighting's sake.

Adrienne Wilder has promised there is more to come. I am ready to preorder the next book as soon as it is available. Go on a journey with Luca, Nox, and Dr. Dante. Explore this world. New friends and foes, not necessarily signaling who is what at first, are waiting.
​
I received an advance review copy from Tantor Media. I listened to Anubis and wrote an honest review. I also bought a copy through Audible.

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Lovely romance

Revisado: 10-14-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Have mercy was a lovely romance but at times it made me so mad. The main characters Kerry and Julian are both men dealing with damage. Julian has serious PTSD from dealing with tours of duty in the army. A year after discharge and still, at loose ends, he accepts an invitation to go to his cousin's ranch in Wyoming to help with a building project. He's lived in New York City all his life but visited Wyoming several times as a child.

Kerry is a man who did the right things for the wrong reasons. He bowed to his family's demand that their ranch is the center of his life. Although he knew in high school that he was most probably gay, he hid himself because he did not want to disappoint his family. He married his high school sweetheart and they had one child Ainsley. When Kerry's wife Sienna found out he was gay, it was not a smooth, happy coming out. It was followed immediately by his family shutting him out. And then his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Through all of this and continuing throughout the story, he has carried such a burden of guilt. That burden affects him just as much as Julian's PTSD affects him.

I enjoyed the characters. I enjoyed the setting. The story was lovely. It was a gentle reaching of two men for each other and recognizing in each other the damage. What I did not like and what made me so mad was the pressure that was put on Kerry that even though he came out he still needed to keep quiet. He still needed to not date anybody. He still needed to make his family's ranch and now his and Sienna's farm the center of everything. The pressure on him to carry the burden of guilt and anger from everybody else. I just wanted to go slap his family upside the head.

Nick Russo did a nice job narrating. He has distinct voices for Kerry and Julian. I was somewhat surprised that Julian did not have a definite accent coming from New York. Other than that the voices were all very good and easy to understand. I received a copy of Have Mercy from Audible because I won a contest on Facebook run by the author. I listened to the book and then wrote an honest review. I am going to look for more from Christina Lee since I really enjoyed this story.

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excellent narration

Revisado: 09-28-22

The story is set in Germany during the end of the war. The villagers are afraid of the approaching Americans and Russians. Some have admitted that the war is lost. and some still believe the propaganda from Berlin. Add into this another master of bullying and you have the recipe for disaster. The narration was excellent I really enjoyed listening to him. The only disappointment in the story is that I think the part that's in the author's note could have been more pronounced in the story.

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illustrates how important it is for relationships

Revisado: 09-13-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Review of audiobook
King's Ex-Cons
By: Ki Brightly, M.D. Gregory
Narrated by: Andrew Ladd
Series: The Kings of Men MC
Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 09-07-22

King's Ex-Cons is the ninth book in The Kings of Men MC series by Ki Brighty and M.D. Gregory. It focuses on the relationship between Charley Hughes and Colton “Scar” Hebb, characters introduced in the 3rd book of the series. They met while in prison and formed a relationship.

After several years, cracks have appeared but Scar seems oblivious. Scar is very comfortable, comfortable enough that he does not truly listen to Charley anymore. When Charley raises a problem, Scar tries to use sex to distract Charley and not, as in never, discuss what is bothering Charley. It works until the issue Charley wants to talk about is sex. The authors do an excellent job of showing what a relationship looks like when one partner takes the other for granted.

The narrator, Andrew Ladd, really gave me problems. His voices for Charley and Scar are good. His secondary characters, not so much. Scar's mom and McKenzie a good examples of this. The narrator's sound effects took me out of the story. Around 5 mins into chapter 7, there is a kissing scene and the sound effects are unsexy, at least to me.

I really like the story because it illustrates how important it is for relationships to be open to communication as well as balanced in power. I will try another narration by Andrew Ladd as it may have just been this book that threw me off.

I received a copy of King's Ex-Cons from the author. I wrote an honest review.

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Great conclusion to a very enjoyable series

Revisado: 08-09-22

The Sins of the Cities series started with the story of Clem and Rollie, two men who the English society have disdained and yet were more decent than the nobility in the story. The mystery central to the series begins Clem's half-brother, an Earl, pulling Clem into a lethal situation. The next book in the series centers on Nathaniel and Justin as they work to help protect Clem and solve the mystery. The last book in the series centers on the missing heir, Pen. Pen is genderfluid. The discussion of gender between Pen and Mark, who is pan, is very interesting. It helped me to understand what genderfluid means. Whether or not Pen accepts his place as an earl or not, whether he is forced into a traditionally masculine role or continues to be happy with the many facets of himself, and whether or not Pen can forgive Mark or not, are all answered in this story. Matthew Lloyd Davies does a fantastic job narrating the book as he had with the entire series. The variety of accents he handles is amazing. I enjoy listening to the books he narrates.

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