Daniel M.

Perfect story for the holidays

Revisado: 12-14-24

If you enjoy holiday stories, MM romance, well developed characters, and happily ever afters, then you would be doing yourself a disservice if you don't pick up this book. I listen to holiday stories through the month of December. Christmas Kitsch is the best of those that I've listened to this year. The characters are all so real. Most of them are lovable. Even the ones you want to dislike (because what they do hits just a bit too close to your own childhood, or just because they are acting horribly) are still so well written and believable. There was one point where I thought, "Oliver is getting a bit over the top.", but then I thought about the times I'd spent with with my Hispanic friends and their families. Those memories let me re-frame what was happening in the story, and I just started laughing at his antics. I think my favorite character was Rex. That was a bit of a surprise. Do yourself a favor. Get this book! As for me, I'm off to search Amy Lane's web page in hopes that she has more stories with these great characters she's created.

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An interesting little story

Revisado: 12-08-24

I like to listen to MM holiday stories leading up to Christmas to get me in the mood for the season. It is one of the few times I acquire new books without putting much thought into the purchase. Imagine my surprise, and subsequent excitement, when I heard that this book was narrated with a computer generated AI voice rather than a person. This excitement was short lived.

On the plus side, it really is a very pleasant, even sexy perhaps, voice. That's the most redeeming quality. I never realized how much I depended on the change in a narrator's tone or inflection to help me follow along with the story. This is especially important during scenes with a lot of dialog. I found it very hard to keep up with who was talking, and had to replay several parts just to make sure I had the gist of it. There were other audio anomalies with the volume. At the beginning of some chapters, the volume would be very low. I don't think that is the fault of the virtual voice. Seems more like shoddy editing.

The other distracting thing about this story was the many errors. One minute Mark is described as a soprano. Later, he's a tenor. The characters see an arctic fox. Then, the animal is called a snow leopard twice before becoming an arctic fox again. I don't know if that is also poor editing, or if it is the result of AI misinterpretation like when I ask a generative AI to produce an image of a handsome man sitting in front of a fire, and I get a pair of legs with two misshapen torsos jutting out from the waist like some type of conjoined twins. I'm going to believe it was editing. I think the virtual voice just reads the text it is given.

All in all, this is a happy little read. The characters are lovable. The town used for the story setting is sweet and would make a wonderful backdrop to other stories if it hasn't already been used for that purpose. The writing reminded me of a YA style story. Nothing wrong with that...just something to keep in mind if you are a reader that doesn't like that writing style. For a holiday romance, the writing style worked just fine.

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The most porn-like “romance” I’ve ever experienced

Revisado: 10-27-24

This book is not what I’d call a romance, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone. It does hold the distinction of being one of the very few times I’ve thought about asking for a refund before I’d even finished chapter 2. I was that turned off, that quickly, but I decided to trudge on in the hope that my feelings would change. They did not.

The narration is excellent. The descriptions of the werewolves and their transformation are a neat take on the genre. The writing itself is very good. I just don’t care for the content and lack of story outside of the sex scenes. Listening to this book felt exactly like watching an adult film with too short transitions between very long, detailed sex scenes. Due to the skill of the author, at least these character’s “acting” outside of the sex scenes was much better than you get in an adult film. It really is well written from a technical standpoint. The content just isn’t for me and the story didn’t draw me to any character to the point that I felt connected.

So, if you like your novels very heavy on the sex scenes, very light on the romance, and you’re into BDSM, then you’ll probably have a very different reaction to the book. I just happen to prefer a lot more emotional bonding between my characters without feeling like the interludes between sex scenes are just there as a vehicle to get the reader to the next sex scene.

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A very difficult listen

Revisado: 10-05-22

I read and listen to a lot of books and frequently enjoy books geared for younger audiences just as much as books with more mature story lines. I think I'd have had a problem with this book even as a teenager. As an adult, it was bad. There have only been two books in my entire life that I haven't finished. This book almost became the third. There were definitely times when I thought if I hear "frack", "Lord and Taylor", or that list again, it will be the end of my time with this book. Instead, I would just walk away from it for days at a time. Thanks to the skip forward button, I was able to solve the issue of hearing Jay's Gay Agenda, or any other list, read repeatedly, and I powered through to the end today. The book was just awkward and really unrealistic. For example, Mr. Lord and Taylor fashionista is going to shoot down every costume idea thrown at him, but fashioning a huge butt cheek (that looks like a nipple-less breast) is the idea he thinks is a winning costume design??? Perhaps the author was trying to capture the awkwardness of being a teenager. If so, the goal was achieved. Repeating that list over and over and over was just exhausting though. I'm sure someone out there will read this book and love it. All I can say is that I most certainly did not.

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So good

Revisado: 06-22-22

The third book in this series that gives us a glimpse into the lives of this adorable little friend group is, IMO, the best one yet. Mason didn't really do much for me in the first two books. I didn't hate him, but I didn't feel anything for him. He was just kinda meh. When he was given his own book, what I thought was meh turned into OMG. Don't even get me started on Diego. I've already put my friends on alert to find me a guy like him. This is a wonderfully happy little book with an amazing narrator who has a sexy purr to his voice. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it if you enjoy gay romance.

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Redeemed

Revisado: 06-22-22

After the first book in the series, I wrote one of the worst reviews I've ever left on Audible. If you are looking at that review and trying to decide about the series, I'm happy to confess that this book is light years better than the first one. My problems with the voices of some of the characters were still problems. Fortunately, this was Tim's story. Those voices that made me want to run my nails down a chalkboard just to get the sound out of my ears were restricted to just a few chapters. Just as before, this isn't an attack on Mr. Free's talent. Every character had a unique voice. Emotion came through easily. The story though...that was the crowning jewel here. Seeing the events of the first book from Tim's perspective was perfect. Gaps from the first book were filled in. The story that felt unfinished in the first book was exquisitely finished in this one. Immediately after listening, I went back and listened to the last section of the book again just because I liked it that much.

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Disappointed

Revisado: 06-08-22

I know the language and sex scenes in this book gear it for an older crowd, but without those elements, this could have easily been written for 10-13 y/o's. There is just something about the writing style that lacks maturity. I also found it hard to care for Ben, the main character. Even into college he was still throwing childish temper tantrums, and the other characters just let him with little to no consequences. Allison, Tim, and Jace were much more likeable characters. Can't say I was a fan of the narrator either and that is a complex feeling. He did a wonderful job of creating unique voices for the characters, but his representation of Ben only added to the dislike I felt towards Ben. I did not care for that voice. Considering this was Ben's story, the writing style, Ben's childishness, and that voice made for a long slog. I had a strong urge to just give up pre-Tim and smaller urges to abandon the book several times after they broke up. My distaste for not finishing books is the only thing that got me through.

I purchased the first 3 books without listening to any of them because I knew it was a set that wove the stories of the different characters to tell the story from various viewpoints. I generally love series like that. If I could go back and listen to the first one before buying the others, I can't say that I would have purchased them. Since I have, here's hoping that the others in the series don't share the same shortcomings I found in this one.

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Really glad I stuck with this one

Revisado: 05-28-22

I'm not a fan of most surprises because, like the main character, Oscar, I typically need to rehearse things in my head before I feel comfortable doing them with people in real life. Mine is not as severe, but most definitely relatable. This book surprised me...in a good way though. I almost stopped reading it because the depictions of Oscar's thought processes were a bit too close for comfort. Luckily, I stuck with it.

Just like with the first book in the series, Kris Ripper creates characters you can't help but fall in love with for all of their quirky awkwardness. If you are on the fence about reading it, or have started it and find yourself questioning that decision, I can say that sticking with it is the right move even if it is just for Jack's confession to Oscar that comes in somewhere in the last 30 minutes of the book. It is probably the hottest quote I've hear in a book in several years. Gomez Pugh's delivery makes it even better. Having finished it, I'm going to have to say I actually liked it better than the first book, and I was not expecting that to be the case.

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Predictable and boring

Revisado: 10-04-17

I couldn’t wait for this book to be over. There were a couple of times I almost gave up on it. It’s just another “Oh, you think you know what happened in history? You’re wrong. I did that.” book. The immortal is a drunk who hangs out with naked female pixies and a naked ifrit that apparently has a constant erection. It was chapter 16 before I even became mildly interested in the book. I was still able to predict everything that happened from chapter 16 to the end.

Another thing that irked me was the narrator’s voice. The main character is supposed to be 32. While the narrator did a fabulous job, he sounds like he’s closer to 65 than 32. I couldn’t reconcile that voice with what the character was supposed to be so I never got that sense of immersion that I enjoy.

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Give me some tomatoes to throw

Revisado: 11-11-15

Would you try another book from Kim Harrison and/or Gigi Bermingham?

I'm enjoying Kim Harrison's books more than I thought I would and have been powering through them. I'll definitely buy more from her. I will go on record though as saying if Gigi Bermingham is ever the narrator of a book I want on Audible, I'll go by it in print and read it myself no matter who wrote it.

What other book might you compare The Outlaw Demon Wails to and why?

The series is fun and touches on the supernatural in a similar fashion to the Nightside series about John Taylor. I like that. It completely lacks the irritating writing style of the author from the other series. I totally love that!

How could the performance have been better?

This was the first book in the series with a new narrator. She is possibly the worst narrator I've ever heard in my entire life. Words are mispronounced all through the book.
Spelling in a phonetic fashion here folks:
Lay-lines become Lee-lines
Pa-scary becomes pis-carrie
Ma-ne-us becomes minnie-us
Ta-cata becomes TA-KA-TA
I can't even begin to recreate what it sounds like when she says Al's full name.

I should probably warn you that there is cheesy music playing at parts in the book and at other parts she says the chapter name. I don't know what is up with that. As if all of this weren't bad enough, Jenx and Madalena are voiced as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. No lying. Go listen to an old Mickey Mouse cartoon, and you have her inspiration for the voice.

Did The Outlaw Demon Wails inspire you to do anything?

Yes, I was inspired to never buy a book with Gigi Bermingham as the narrator again.

Any additional comments?

The story is just as good as the others. All of the reviewers aren't just being dramatic. It really is hard to get through this one. If stuff like this bothers you, actually read this one and come back to the series in the next book with the original narrator.

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