Audiobook Review: Overruled by Emma Chase, Narrated by Jason Carpenter and Charlotte Penfield

I usually start with the review of the book/story first but Jason Carpenter and Charlotte Penfield were so fantastic that their narrations were really fun and made the story that much more enjoyable. 

Carpenter really understood Stanton Shaw’s character. From the beginning of the story where he is finding himself as a new father/law-school student/ boyfriend away from the mother of his baby. Carpenter’s southern drawl was perfect and his quips added to the funny dialogue. 

Charlotte also really understood Sofia Santos. Penfield brought out Sofia’s funny, smart and sexy side. 

Usually a story like this would get on my nerves because Stanton really takes a very long time to figure out that although he always assumed Jenny the mother of his daughter-Presley would be his end game. When she received an invitation for her wedding his world starts to spin. Desperate to convince Jenny that they belong together, he asks his friend with benefits/ co-worker, Sofia for help. 

Sofia is very like Stanton. They are both tough and talented attorneys. They are completely compatible. They have a very mutual understanding. They enjoy their physical relationship and both are content with it. Sofia has found that her feelings for Stanton have changed but she remains committed to showing Stanton the she is his friend, even if it means helping Stanton win back Jenny. Stanton’s obsession with winning back Jenny got very old but the other aspects of the story helped keep me engaged in the story. 

My complaints: Stanton and Sofia, to me, seemed to lack chemistry even though they are very intimate all the time. I wanted Sofia to ruffle more feathers. The great benefits of this story: The secondary characters were fantastic. They really enriched the story and added to the development of the main characters. The southernisms were endearing and sweet. Another aspect of this story that I really enjoyed is that Chase didn’t include any unnecessary drama with Jenny and her fiancée nor Sofia and Jenny. They were very mature and authentic characters. This was such an enjoyable listen and the narrators were fantastic!

**Audiobook Provided by Publisher**

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Audiobook Review: No In Between by Lisa Renee Jones, Narrated by Grace Grant and Jason Carpenter

I have a couple of confessions to make. First, I saw this book on Goodreads and it had such great reviews I jumped at the chance to hear it on audio. I had no idea what I was getting into. Also, I didn’t realize that the series started with three previous books, which I have not heard or read. Another confession, I could not stop listening!

When the story begins, Sarah and Mark are on a plane returning from Paris. They are obviously in love and are coming back from some dramatic event. Obviously, it makes more sense to read all the books in a series first but I think in a way it kept me more intrigued. I kept thinking, what happened? Who are they talking about? For anyone that doesn’t know the back story, Sarah finds a diary that belongs to Rebecca. In this diary she describes an erotic, pleasure clubs and dominant/submissive lifestyle. Sarah becomes intrigued with Rebecca and wants to find out what happened to her. In the process she starts to live Rebecca’s life and starts to work in an art gallery, owned by Mark and she also meets Chris-a famous artist. This apparently happened in the previous books.

A couple of things are clear. First, the mystery surrounding Rebecca’s death continues. There were not too many answers found in this book. Although there is a montage of characters from the previous book, it also becomes clear that in the mist of the storyline, this book is really just a bridge for the other books.

While I was listening to Chris and Sarah’s relationship I keep thinking it was just another 50 Shades of Grey type book. Although in some aspects it is, in other aspects it really stood out. Sarah and Chris are still working on their relationship. They are fully committed to each other but still have insecurities. I found this a little surprising since this is the fourth book in the series. Also, another aspect that stood out is that Chris’ past seems to still affect his relationship with Sarah and even though she wants to accept and love him, she still has some doubts. Sarah and Chris participate in the dominant/submissive lifestyle. Chris seems to still struggle with some aspects of his needs with his relationship.

In the mist of Chris and Sarah is Mark. He is the owner of the art gallery and he seemed to have wanted a type of relationship with Sarah. The author introduces another character that seems to be Mark’s love interest in future books. I was intrigued by Mark and I can’t wait to read more about him. Besides all these characters there is still questions surrounding Rebecca. Chris and Sarah are suspects in another girl’s death as well. There is yet another storyline with the police and detectives and also characters from previous books that want to harm Chris, Sarah and possibly even Mark.

Last confession, I was so intrigued and captivated by the characters. Hearing the book was almost addictive. I was constantly wanting to know more, understand more, and find out more. Needless to say this is a series I will be reading. I think that the author must drag out the story lines but the characters that she keeps introducing are interesting. I’m looking forward to reading about Mark and Crystal in the upcoming books!

The narrator was very good. I think at times she portrays Sarah as confident and other times as uncertain and scared, which is an accurate characterization. I will forewarn that this is a series that will grab your attention!

**Audiobook provided by Simon and Schuster**

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Audiobook Review: Rogue by Katy Evans, Narrated by Jason Carpenter and Shayna Thibodeaux

I was somewhat hesitant to start Rogue by Katy Evan if I am being honest. While I really loved Real, I struggled a bit with Remy and Mine. Don't get me wrong I love Brooke and Remy, but I felt like with Remy and Mine they weren't as good as Real, and I found them to be repetitive. I was really interested in Melanie though. I loved her as Brooke's friend, and I couldn't wait to get to know her better. I think that Katy Evans did a great job with Rogue and I really loved Greyson and Melanie. I was really excited that this book had both a male and female narrator and I felt like that really brought this story to life. Before listening to Rogue, I had no experience with either Jason Carpenter or Shayna Thibodeaux. But I would definitely love to listen to more from Jason Carpenter! He could not have done a better job with Greyson, and he absolutely made this story for me.

Melanie has always wanted to fall in love and get married. Ever since Brooke found Remy, she has been wishing that she had her own Remy. When she meets Greyson and he helps save her car from the rain, they both feel a connection unlike anything they have ever felt before. Melanie knows that Greyson could be more than just another guy, and for the first time she begins to picture her future with him rather than just with generalities. But Melanie only sees what Greyson allows her to, and has no idea about his secret life. She has no idea who he really is, or what his real job entails. Melanie looks forward to the times when they are together, and Greyson does his best to make up for all the time that he has to be away from her. But when Melanie finds out about who he really is, things get complicated and dangerous quickly. Greyson would do anything to make Melanie his forever and to protect her from his world. But will it be enough to keep her safe and make her his for always?

I really loved Greyson. He was so complicated and mysterious, but he was completely driven. He was determined to do his job with the end game of finishing and finally getting the information on his mother that he had been waiting for since he was a boy. He was so drawn to Melanie, and he knew that things with her would never be easy. He wanted to protect her and care for her, but he also knew that no one could find out or she could be used against him. You could really tell that he would do anything for her, and that his feelings for her were so real and intense. I thought that Melanie was great as well. She was strong and feisty, but she was also more vulnerable than she let on. I loved that she was private and kept things to herself because she was capable, and she wanted to do it on her own. She could have easily taken from others or had her friends bail her out, but she was as determined as Greyson was in her own way. I loved the banter between Greyson and Melanie, and I really enjoyed that they kept each other on their toes. They were a great match and a lot of that was because they both pushed the other and challenged each other while also being there for one another and offering them the support that they needed. I really thought that they had off the charts chemistry though and that these two were beyond hot! They really had the steamy stuff down, and I loved every bit of it.

As far as my rating goes, it was sort of hard for me to pick an exact amount because of everything I had to take into consideration. I would definitely say this book was between a 4 and 5 star rating based on story alone. I loved the story and the characters, and I thought that the writing itself was great. If I were to rate this story based on Jason Carpenter's narration this would absolutely be a 5 star rating. He was fantastic! I loved the emotion in his voice and how he brought Greyson to life with ease. His voice was easy to listen to, and I think I would listen to him read pretty much anything. He drew me into the story and really held my attention. I loved his portions of this book and I never wanted them to end. I hated having to wait to return to his narration and preferred his narration by far. But if I was to rate this book based on Shayna Thibodeaux's narration, the rating would be much lower and probably be only a 2 or 3 star rating. I didn't like her voice at all, and I thought that she was irritating for almost all of her parts. I felt like she was emotionless and never really could get used to her voice. I thought that I would warm up to her over the course of this book, but it just never happened. It really felt like someone was sitting in front of me just reading something and it wasn't able to hold my interest like with Jason's parts. If it wasn't for the story itself and Jason, I think I would have given up because of her parts. This audiobook would have been so much better if Jason Carpenter had been the narrator for the entire story. I will say that after listening to Rogue, I can't wait for more from Katy Evans and I want to go listen to everything that Jason Carpenter has done. Even though I didn't care for Shayna Thibodeaux's narration, I really think that this audiobook is worth it for Jason's performance as well as the story itself.

**Audiobook provided by Tantor**

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