Series Saturday Audiobook Review: The Player by Kresley Cole

Series:	Game Maker #3
Pub. Date:	June 22, 2016
Publisher:	Valkyrie Press
Narrator:	Kimberly Alexis
Length:	8 hrs 11 min

I got hooked on this series when The Professional originally came out as a serial. Kresley Cole knows how to write a good broody bad boy hero. I picked up the second two books of the series in audio because I wanted to hear those delicious Russian accents... and Kimberly Alexis was able to pull those off splendidly. 

Audiobook Review: Reaper by A. Zavarelli

Series:	Boston Underworld #2
Pub. Date:	July 22, 2016
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Narrator:	Tracy Marks
Length:	8 hrs 42 min
Source:	Author/Audible

It's been a while since I've read a mafia romance... and this one intrigued me because the author said the audiobook was accent-heavy. I love accents in my audiobooks, so I jumped on the chance to review. It's also my first read by A. Zavarelli, and I have to say that I am a fan. I will definitely check out the rest of this series now.

Series Saturday Audiobook Review: The Master by Kresley Cole

The Master
by Kresley Cole
Series:  The Game Maker #2
Pub. Date:  Feb. 17, 2015
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrator:  Kimberly Alexis
Length:  11 hrs 14 min
Format:  Audiobook
Source:  Audible


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

A need colder than Siberian winter meets an attitude hotter than the Florida sun in #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole’s sultry new Game Maker novel.

Everyone fears the Master...

Rich, irresistible politician/Mafya boss Maksimilian Sevastyan prefers tall, obedient blondes to fulfill his... complicated desires. That is, until the icy Russian encounters a disobedient brunette whose exquisite little body threatens his legendary restraint.

Except her.

Catarina Marín was a well-off young wife until her world fell apart. Now she’s hiding out, forced to start working as an escort in Miami. Her very first client is beyond gorgeous, but when he tells her what he plans to do to her, Cat almost walks out of the door.

If pleasure is a game, play to win.

After their mind-blowing encounter burns out of control, the lovers crave more. If they escape the deadly threats surrounding them, can Maksim overcome his past—to offer Cat his future? Only then will she tempt him with what he really wants: her, all tied up with a bow.

I have been meaning to continue w/ this series for quite some time as I absolutely loved The Professional and Aleksei. It's been so long that I didn't remember quite how steamy the first book was!

Cat Marin is on the run from her con man husband, Edward. Hiding out in Miami and cleaning houses for money, she is convinced to give the escort business a try when her friend Ivana has a bad reaction to botox and needs a stand in. This brings Cat to the penthouse of The Master.

Maksimilian Sevastyan is a billionaire politician bratva boss. He is also a hobbyist - a hobby which includes ordering up thin/blonde/Russian escorts for some impersonal BDSM play. When he ordered Ivana, he definitely was not expecting a 5'2 curvy Cuban mamasita.

At this point, the story pretty much devolves into sex over substance and remains that way for about 2/3 of the book. The plot conflicts during this part were mainly spats between Maksim and Cat... though some of the arguments and behavior did elicit some chuckles from me. Arguments aside, this part of the book was very VERY H.O.T.

Then the last part of the book speeds back up with the suspense involving Cat's husband. This part of the action and suspense was excellent and kept me listening quite late in the night. I was quite emotionally invested in Cat's character... which surprised me because I usually don't care for escorts as heroines.

I give the audio performance 3 stars. The accents were off for me at times, particularly during intimate scenes when Cat's voice devolved into a caricature of a high-pitched hispanic timbre. I think this book would have been performed better with dual narrators... particularly Iggy Toma, who does a wonderful Russian accent.

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The Game Maker

Audiobook Review: Last Breath by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick

Last Breath 
by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick
Series:  Hitman #2
Pub. Date:  April 7, 2015
Publisher:  Tantor Audio
Narrator:  Iggy Toma, Kasha Kensington
Length:  10 hrs 33 min
Format:  Audiobook
Source:  Library / Hoopla


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

From the bestselling authors of Last Hit comes the next in the steamy series that explores the exquisite power of our darkest passions . . .

Regan : I never really knew what misery was until the day I was kidnapped and sold for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Two months later, I’m at a brothel in Rio when I meet Daniel Hays. He says he’s here to save me, but can I trust him? All I know of him are his sarcastic retorts and his tendency to solve every dispute with his gun. He’s also the only safe thing in my world, and I know it’s wrong to fall in love with him, but I can’t seem to help myself. He says he’ll protect me until his last breath, but I don’t know if I should believe him or even if I can.

Daniel: For the last eighteen months, one goal has dictated every action I’ve taken. I’ve left the Army, turned paid hit man, and befriended criminals all across the globe to find my kidnapped sister. In every brothel I raid and every human trafficking truck I stop, I hope the next face I find is my sister’s. In a hidden brothel in Rio, I find Regan Porter, bruised but not broken, and still sane despite her weeks in captivity. I should leave her behind or send her home, because the last thing either of us needs right now is to get involved. But with every passing minute, I find I’m less able to let her go.

Last Breath picks up pretty much where Last Hit left. Regan has been sold in a sex trafficking ring and is stuck in a sleazy bordello with a bleak outlook. Get your tissues for this part of the book because you will need them. I don't advocate trying to listen to the audiobook while you are doing your makeup in the morning (as I did) because it was a ridiculous effort.

We met Daniel in Last Hit as a bad boy acquaintance of Nikolai. We learn in this book that Daniel is not really so much of a bad boy. He is ex-military and searching for his sister who was kidnapped from Cancun, and has rescued countless other girls from the sex trade along the way.

I liked both of these characters, but I didn't have quite as strong of a connection as I would have liked, despite the emotional beginning. I think that it was because of the instalove that occurred and I just couldn't wrap my brain around the sexytime happening so soon after her forced participation in the sex trade. That being said, I still really enjoyed the story, particularly the suspense aspect with the search for Naomi, running from and going up against Mr. Freeze and his thugs, and Mendoza's odd little community. 

Iggy Toma and Kasha Kensington narrate this whole series, and I raved about Iggy in book one. He did a fine job here as well narrating Daniel, but I really missed his Russian accent from Last Hit. That's why I am stoked that Naomi and Vasily will be getting a book and can't wait to listen to that one!

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Hitman Series

Audiobook Review: Last Hit by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick

Last Hit 
by Jessica Clare, Jen Frederick
Series:  Hitman #1
Pub. Date:  March 17, 2015
Publisher:  Tantor Audio
Narrator:  Iggy Toma, Kasha Kensington
Length:  11 hrs 33 min
Format:  Audiobook
Source:  Library / Hoopla


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Nikolai:
I have been a contract killer since I was a boy. For years I savored the fear caused by my name, the trembling at the sight of my tattoos. The stars on my knees, the marks on my fingers, the dagger in my neck, all bespoke of danger. If you saw my eyes, it was the last vision you’d have. I have ever been the hunter, never the prey. With her, I am the mark and I am ready to lie down and let her capture me. Opening my small scarred heart to her brings out my enemies. I will carry out one last hit, but if they hurt her, I will bring the world down around their ears. 

Daisy: 

I’ve been sheltered from the outside world all my life. Homeschooled and farm-raised, I’m so naive that my best friend calls me Pollyanna. I like to believe the best in people. Nikolai is part of this new life, and he’s terrifying to me. Not because his eyes are cold or my friend warns me away from him, but because he’s the only man that has ever seen the real me beneath the awkwardness. With him, my heart is at risk..and also, my life.

So I just picked up this audiobook from my library via Hoopla. I have read it before, but I want to finish the series so I needed to re-read as a refresher. And let me tell you, I enjoyed this book SO much more this time around all because of Iggy Toma, the absolutely yummy Russian-accented male narrator. He absolutely brought Nikolai's character to life and made even the most crude words titillating in that short, clipped Russian accent. The first time I read the book, I thought the dialogue was a bit choppy... but I realize that it's not really. It's just written to go along with this accent. It worked so much better for me in audio. There is a female narrator, Kasha Kensington, and she did a fine job. But I just loved Iggy mucho mas! I raved about Iggy to Deanna and convinced her to pick up this series in audio as well. You should all do it, do it now.

So this is the story of Daisy and Nikolai. I consider it more Nikolai's story as he just seemed to play a stronger role in the story (or this could be my fixation on that Russian accent). Nikolai is Ukranian and was taken into the Bratva as a young boy. He has been trained as a hitman, and carried on in that role after he left the Bratva at 15 years old. When Nikolai sees Daisy, he immediately recognizes her innocence and purity and thinks he is not worthy of her.

Daisy has demons of her own, namely growing up in a home with an agoraphobic father after her mother was murdered. At 21 years old, Daisy can no longer live under the extreme control of her father and makes a run for it. Running from a farm to the city was an eye-opening experience for Daisy... she was sheltered to the point of only reading the classics and watching children's television programs. Even the historical romances she covertly read at the library were not enough to prepare her meeting the stoic and broody Nikolai.

Usually uber-naive heroines get on my nerves, but I didn't mind Daisy. Her innocence was somewhat endearing, and she didn't whine or complain about her situation. She met every new experience with awe and wonder, but it wasn't so over the top that it made your teeth ache. Nikolai was what you would expect of a hitman, sober and unemotional. Though he had horrible self-esteem, sometimes it was endearing and sometimes it was a little annoying. You usually see more confidence with Mafia heroes. But Nikolai absolutely worshiped Daisy and it was nice to see how he took care of her.

If you are a fan of audiobooks while you are driving or puttering around the house, this is a great series in audio format. 

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Hitman Series