Review: Heart of Gold

Heart of Gold by J.A. Cipriano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a fun listen! I guess I’m just a sucker for stories where the “hero” is an average guy who, due to circumstances beyond his control, rises above his pay grade in life, to do awesome things.

Frank Butcher, works for a package delivery service and his last stop of the day is a clinic he frequents on his route. His world is turned upside down after an attack on the clinic by a group of zealots. Dr. Gabriella Perez saves Frank’s life by throwing him to the ground just as a fireball sails past them and when Gabriella tells Frank to scram, he does the exact opposite, which surprises even Frank and when he finds out that the life of Gabriella’s kid is in danger, Frank, yes he's sweet on the doctor, decides that he’s all in.

This audiobook has absolutely everything I enjoy in SciFi/Horror, it’s action packed, filled with humorous one-liners, gory, violent and has monsters and zombies! Come on what more could you ask for?

Joe Hempel is the narrator of this fantastic little audiobook which clocks in at just over five hours and he is an absolutely perfect fit for this type of book. Seriously, the writers couldn’t have done any better than choosing this reader. He’s a true storyteller and lifts what is a very good book to a great one.

This audiobook was given to me to me at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review, thanks, Audiobook Boom!


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Review: King's

King's by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mia Turner goes to Mexico in search of her brother who’s gone missing while on an archaeological dig, she’s barely closed the door to her hotel room, when a knock at the door produces two strange men who tell her in no uncertain terms to leave Mexico immediately or die and don’t even think about coming back. How rude!

As a last resort, she implores King to help her find out what happened to her brother and King is all too willing to help… for a price. Yep, the title says it all, King wants to own Mia Turner, lock stock and barrel. King is callous and uncaring as he effectively cuts Mia off from everything, demanding that she quit her job and just wait in his office, soon she out of money, her apartment and adding insult to injury, she is still brotherless. When Mia is just about to break under the pressure, King finally summons her to Mexico, umm… maybe Mia left out some important details about her previous visit to Mexico and maybe King will find he has a heart and that Mia’s not the only one getting owned.

I enjoyed this story so much, but I have to warn you this is a trilogy, so expect the dread cliffhanger and while some serious sparks fly between King and Mia there is no consummation of their relationship in this book. I found the story so engaging I didn’t miss it.

This was the first audiobook that I’ve listened to by the narrator, Helen Wick and I thought she did a wonderful job, the character voices were well defined and I had no problem discerning which person was speaking. The sound quality was excellent as well.



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Review: Sparrow

Sparrow by L.J. Shen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sparrow Raynes has known of Troy Brennan practically her whole life, yet their worlds have never, ever intersected, until, out of the blue, Troy kidnaps Sparrow and forces her to marry him.

The pair forge an uneasy alliance of sorts, with Troy continuing to live his life as he did before they married and while his character is completely amoral and brutally violent, he never forces himself upon Sparrow, and that’s just about his only redeeming quality.

Slowly and unwittingly, even to Sparrow, she starts to worm her way into his heart, by just being herself and having her own internal sense of morality, like not touching any of his ill-gotten money, a stance that she never waivers from, but she’s not preachy about it, she lets her actions speak for her proving the old adage true, that actions speak louder than words.

LJ Shen’s Sparrow is one of the best dark romances I’ve listened to this year, if you’re sensitive to, graphic violence and explicit sexual content, you might want to skip this book, hell you’ll probably want to stay away from LJ Shen period because she doesn’t sugar coat anything.

Can we talk about the enigma that is Michael Pauley? I have been critical of his narrating in the past, so imagine my pleasant surprise when he delivered a five-star performance and that’s saying something, because he had to do it all with a Southie dialect, and I think he did an amazing job! He was engaging and conveyed emotion and energy in this fully voiced performance. Kudos to both LJ Shen and Michael Pauley!


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Review: The Hero

The Hero by Donna Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Natalie Dixon has a meeting in Dallas with Oren Loughman the father of Owen Loughman, the man she fell in love with years and broke her heart when he ended things when they graduated high school. Now working for the Russian embassy an innocuous question from Oren about Ragnarok opens up a Pandora’s box,

Owen heads home to Dallas after being gone for six years when he arrives at his Uncle and Aunt’s house and finds them murdered. Owen and his two brothers believe their father’s dangerous missions in espionage are somehow to blame for the murders, just like the death of their mother years before.

Fate brings Natalie and Owen back together after 14 years and puts Natalie in the cross hairs of danger, the very reason he broke things off with her all those years ago.

Buckle up, this mystery/thriller roller coaster ride will leave you breathless, this audiobook never lets up, murder, mortal hand to hand combat, kidnapping, espionage, scorching hot sex, and three patriotic alpha brothers, what more can a girl ask for? The Hero, nicely wraps up Owen and Natalie’s story arc, but it’s just the beginning of the Loughman family saga, I’m excited to hear what happens next with Owen’s two brothers who have some serious daddy issues to solve.

Carly Robin narrates and she does a good job voicing all of the characters in this book, she expertly expresses the emotions of the scenes, without being over the top, the audio production of this book is of the highest quality.

This audiobook was gifted to me exchange for an unbiased review!

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