★★★★★ 5
OBSESSED with this start to the series + incredible narration!
Format: Audiobook
5⭐️ 3🌶️ 5🎧
Publisher: Podium
Narrators: June Deborahae, Vincent Skye, Ace Bentley
Narration type: multicast, dual style
Writing perspective: first person, multi POV
Standard length: 9:28
Listening speed: 1.9x
Tropes: why choose, sports, new adult/college, forced proximity, found family, one bed, disability, MH + neurodivergent rep
📖 I have always been a why choose lover and this is def going to be a new fav series, I can tell already! I absolutely LOVE Abby’s writing! Joey is such a great FMC — she is strong, but has a past that has pain, making her a complex and layered character with some mystery. The guys are amazing as well — they are all different and react in such varying ways to Joey showing up on the scene! If you are going in expecting a full on dark romance with kidnapping vibes, this is not it. This is definitely a romance with darker themes, but these guys treat their girl well, though they may be misguided at times (cough, Decker, cough 🤣). One of my absolute fav things about this book is the incredible representation — two of the guys deal with chronic pain (RA + lupus), another is on the spectrum, and Joey has anxiety that can lead to panic attacks and more severe issues. As someone who deals with chronic pain (an autoimmune arthritis in the RA family) I love to see characters like me in books! I have no doubt by the end of the series I am going to love all the guys equally, but right now I am falling HARD for Kylian (who doesn’t love stats daddy?!) and Locke is firmly in second place. Decker and Kendrick have some work to do, but I’m sure this is all according to Abby’s master plan. And wowwww that cliffy was a painful one! I’ll be starting book 2 in T-minus 3 seconds!
🎧 This audio was phenomenal! All three narrators did an incredible job — the casting was absolutely on point!! June deBorahae narrated the majority of the book as most is from Joey’s POV and she was magnificent. Her transition from narrator internal voice to dialogue was always very clear, as were her transitions in dialogue between all characters which was an impressive feat with the number of characters she had going on. She truly blew me away as Joey though. The emotion she showed was incredible — going from tough and ready to go head to head with anyone, to exceedingly compassionate and kind, to anxious and sucked into memories of the past.
Vincent Skye voiced Decker, Locke, and Kylian and did a great job with all of them. Each was voiced in a way that was fitting for their character and personality. I especially love the way he portrayed Kylian.
And last but not least, Ace Bentley narrated the part of Kendrick to perfection. His portrayal was so fitting for his tough and grumpy ways. While Kendrick only had one POV chapter in this book, Abby tells me we can expect more from Ace as Kendrick in the next one!!
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Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2024
