The narration – This is the twenty-first book by Joel Leslie that I have listened to, but only the fourth that I have reviewed for Rainbow Gold Reviews. I’d have to say I’m a fan of his narration. His range of voices is beyond most narrators. It seems that every character, main and secondary, have their own sound and can be distinguished from one another. He does well with emoting and inflecting the right amount of sexiness when needed. I definitely recommend audiobooks with his narrations.
The story – In the first book of this series, there was some controversy over it and I had been uneasy about listening to it. It proved to be better than I thought, but I was excited to listen and review the sequel without that dark cloud hanging over it.
Troy and Larson were two characters that I can’t love completely. They are different from each other in a lot of ways, but both of them have inflated egos that make them unattractive to me. They are both stubborn, too, and they butt heads often. Sometimes they come off a bit misogynistic. Yes, I find myself frustrated at them as individual characters. But. As a couple, I actually do love them. I think their argumentative natures and ability to jump to the wrong conclusions and act like children attract them to each other. Even as they fight in this book with each other, both are willing to defend the other from hurtful outside forces. They won me over as a duo for sure.
In this book, Larson and Troy do go through some changes. A past love shakes up their confidence a bit. A successful book release leads to bigger opportunities for one of them. Troy’s reviews play less of a role in this story which doesn’t have a clear cut sub-plot. It’s more just a story about their lives after their big confrontation in the first book. I loved the secondary character of Ida who is caring, sometimes interfering, and really funny. Another neighbor Thelma also provides some comedy. Ida’s cat and Thelma’s dog have short extras at the end of the story that are hilarious. Larson’s mom and her companion really round out the story creating a family and support system for Larson and Troy along with their neighbors.
Although my review is on the shorter side, it doesn’t reflect on my feelings for the book. I enjoyed this book more than the first one, and my insides melted as Troy and Larson grew closer. There are sweet moments and sexy, smokin’ times in this book. I would definitely recommend this book and this series.
9/10 Pots of Gold (90% Recommended) – Compares to 4.5/5 Stars
A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.