Audio Review ~ Exquisite Trouble ~ Ann Mayburn

Exquisite Trouble by Ann Mayburn
Iron Horse MC #1
Narrated by: Andy E. Ross, Stephanie Wyles
Release Date: February 23, 2015 (audio), July 15, 2014 (ebook)
Genre: Adult, Erotic Romance, Contemporary Romance
Source: Audible
Rating: 2 Bookworms
Challenges: #COYER Summer 2015, Erotic Romance Reading Challenge 2015
Goodreads ~ Audible

Synopsis
Before I met Smoke I'd never been kissed, really kissed, by a man, let alone a biker sex god bent on taking my virginity and my heart.

I got dragged into the deadly world of the Iron Horse MC by my crazy twin sister who is engaged to the club's President and even crazier mom who only cares about herself. Smoke has been assigned by the club to keep me safe even though he's everything that I should be afraid of. He's the kind of man who lives by his own rules and does whatever he wants whenever he wants, but he treats me like I'm something rare and precious, not a socially dysfunctional basket case who has no idea how to love, but needs him more than her next breath.

Not that my feelings matter, because if we don't find my mother soon, the only thing I'll have to be worried about is who is going to kill me first.

This book is hard for me to rate because I listened to it and although the male narrator did nothing for me, I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed the story any better had I read it. The main tension of the story is that the heroine's mom stole from the MC as well as some other bad people and while the MC is looking for her, the bad peeps are looking for the heroine and her sister. The MC is protecting the heroine because her sister is engaged to the MC President.

Now, while there are some interesting elements to the story - like the heroine, Swan, being raised in a survivalist compound - the story was mostly filled with the Swan and Smoke having sex. There's nothing wrong with that per se. Y'all know I like my steam. But I like a good story to go with my steam. In fact, I prefer it. And this story could have been good but there were many, many inconsistencies in the plot. And - yeah, it focused on the sex.

So if you're a fan of erotic romance and don't mind a flimsy story as long as the smexy is good, then this may be the read for you. I want more substance in my reads and although I enjoyed the female narrator's voice, the male's annoyed me. So this was a no-go for me.

Audio Review ~ Revelation ~ Randi Cooley Wilson

Revelation by Randi Cooley Wilson
The Revelation Series #1
Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
Release Date: January 5, 2016 (audio)
Genre: New Adult, Paranormal Romance
Source: Tantor Media audio CD, for review in exchange for an honest opinion
Rating: 2 Bookworms
Challenges: #2016NewRelease, #COYER B2B
Goodreads

Synopsis
Eve Collins starts her freshman year at college blissfully unaware that one revelation will challenge everything she's believed to be true about her family, life, and future, and right in the midst of it all is Asher St. Michael. Mysterious and aloof, Asher is appointed to protect Eve at all costs. Bound by his oath of loyalty to mankind, loving her is forbidden. Dark and enigmatic, Gage Gallagher may be even more dangerous to Eve than the demonic army that hunts her. Caught in the middle of a centuries-old war, Eve must choose sides knowing that the wrong choice will cost more than just her life. Can Asher and Eve fulfill their destinies, or will their love destroy everything?

This is rather a hard review for me to write. I requested Revelation for review in audio because the synopsis intrigued me and the book had gotten great reviews. Unfortunately, it didn't work all that well for me. I'm going to break it down into what worked and what didn't work for ease in disseminating my thoughts and feelings. Here goes...

Worked (sort of)

• The premise - I'm a fan of angel vs demon, heaven vs hell stories. That one girl was the key in the upcoming battle - the one who might save the world - I was intrigued to say the least
• The worldbuilding - I enjoyed the ways in which Cooley Wilson used archangels, demons, fae, and GARGOYLES to inhabit the story and I liked the abilities being explored. In some ways they were familiar, but in others she made them unique.

Didn't Work

• The writing - I appreciate detail and I adore words but this was a cacophony of description. A smirk is a smirk - no further description needed. If a character is responding snarkily, the dialog should be sufficient in conveying that - I don't need to be told.
• The MC's inner dialog - mostly her inner exclamations got irritating
• The reasons behind the forbidden romance didn't make sense to me. If you feel strongly for someone, doesn't that increase your desire to keep them safe?
• The narrator - she couldn't hold an accent. I was never quite sure who was speaking because of this. It was distracting and took me right out of the story.
• The MC behaved immaturely quite often. I understood she was only 18 but she went from seeming relatively mature to having a tantrum and that was distracting.
• Inconsistencies - along with the inconsistent behavior of the heroine, the hero was also inconsistent (I can't stay away...I *must* stay away), drinking but the characters are only 18...

I think this may be a case where I'd have enjoyed the story a little more had I read it rather than listened. I think the flaws were magnified in audio. I'm not sure I'll continue the series. But again, this book has many rave reviews so while it didn't work for me, it might work for you.

My TBR List Review ~ Wrong Number, Right Guy ~ Elle Casey

My To-Be Read List is a meme hosted by Michelle @Because Reading. I think it's a fabulous idea because it gets y'all in the game and it helps me knock off some of the many, many books on my TBR list. You're more than welcome to join in the fun! I've included the basic rules below but you can click on the graphic above to hop over to Michelle's site where you can find all the details. 

Here's how it works:
On the first Saturday of each month, I will make a post with three books from my TBR List (these books can be already on your ereader or bookshelf OR books you might want to purchase) and add your link on the linky that will be provided on Michelle's post. Y'ALL will help me choose which book I will read next. The following Saturday, I will announce which book won. Then the last Saturday of the month, I'll post my review.

Fun, right?!?

***

Wrong Number, Right Guy by Elle Casey
The Bourbon Street Boys #1
Narrated by: Emily Foster
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, Suspense
Source: Audible credit
Rating: 3 Bookworms
Challenges: #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
When a mysterious text message summons May Wexler to a biker bar in downtown New Orleans, she knows something is very wrong. Her sister has sent out an SOS, but when May gets there, she's nowhere to be found and May is the one in trouble--she's wearing pink espadrilles, she's got a Chihuahua in her purse, and she's in the middle of a shootout.

After tall, muscular Ozzie comes to her rescue, May has no choice to but follow him to safety. At the headquarters of his private security firm, the Bourbon Street Boys, she finds a refuge for the night--and the offer of a job. But it's not long before a gun-toting stalker isn't the only complication in May's life: the more time she spends with Ozzie, the less she can deny that they've got some serious chemistry. A wrong number got her into this mess...Will it also get her the right guy?

Wrong Number, Right Guy was a meh read for me. There were moments that were funny, a few that were suspenseful, but mostly I just kept wondering when it was going to get somewhere.

May meets Ozzy when he mistakenly texts her and she mistakenly thinks the texts are from her sister - who must be drunk texting on her new phone. Their meeting puts May in danger so Ozzy steps in to protect her and eventually gives her a job at his security company, in surveillance since she's a photographer. May begins working with Ozzy's team - getting trained as well as acquainted with them, while they're trying to locate and determine the threat level of the person who might be after May. There is a complication though - May and Ozzy are attracted to one another.

The story spends a lot of time doing a lot of build up - so much telling rather than showing. Teaching May the skills she'll need for her new job, May talking to and spending time with her sister and her sister's kids, May making friends with everyone - even the romance takes forever. Now I like a slow-build romance but this was ridiculous. (Nothing happens til ~chapter 44 of 52 chapters!) May is 29 and seems very naive and acts immaturely, although she can use a taser and a single stick advantageously. Her use of silly words and phrases drove me batty - "I've got to stop being such a weiner!" And despite the fact that there's a big cast of characters and we do spend quite a bit of time with them, we don't get to know them all that well. I like Ozzy and May's sister, Jenny, but I felt like I didn't really connect with anyone that well. 

Okay, that's a lot of bashing. And there were parts I liked. I liked May's relationship with her sister. They were very close and very supportive of one another. There were moments of laugh-out-loud humor, like when May first uses her taser on a member of Ozzy's team. I liked May's and Ozzy's dogs, Felix - a chihuahua mix, and Sahara - a large mix-breed. I liked Ozzy. He seems somewhat socially awkward - he doesn't really know how to talk to May at first. He's very protective and loyal and once he gets comfortable around May, he's pretty funny. I think I'd like the rest of the cast as well if I'd gotten more details about them.

As for the narrator, I didn't mind her voice per se, but she didn't have much range. She didn't do the voices of the different characters that well, and there were quite a few. She also didn't read with enough inflection to move the story along or evoke the necessary emotions from a scene.

I do wonder if I'd have enjoyed this more if I'd read it. I'm not sure. It got so many great reviews though - so I'm thinking this is a case of 'it's me, not the book'. At any rate, I do have another novel from Ms. Casey - which I'll *read*, and then let y'all know my consensus on her writing (my opinion anyway). But Wrong Number, Right Guy wasn't for me.