Audiobook Review: Sweet Cheeks by K. Bromberg, Read by Sebastian York and Andi Arndt

Source: Purchased the Kindle ebook and audiobook on Audible.
Publisher: JKB Publishing, LLC
Release Date: November 14, 2016
Number of Pages: 347 (ebook)


Description from Goodreads:

An all new second chance love story by the New York Times Bestselling author of the beloved Driven series.

It all started with the invitation. To my ex-fiance’s new wedding.

I should have ignored it.Thrown it away. Set it afire. But I didn’t. I replied.

With a plus one.

And then my assistant accidentally mailed it.

Enter Hayes Whitley. Mega-movie star. The man who has captured the hearts of millions. But I gave him mine years ago. He was my first love. He was my everything. Right until he up and left to chase his dreams without so much as a simple goodbye.

When he showed up out of the blue ten years later, I should have known to steer clear. I should have rejected his offer to take me to my ex’s wedding. I should have never let him kiss me.

But I didn’t.

And now we’re left wondering if the pieces of the life we once shared still fit together somehow. First loves are hard to forget. The question is, do we want to forget? Or do we risk the chance and see what happens next?

Gah!!! I absolutely loved SWEET CHEEKS!!!

This was my first time with both Andi Arndt and Sebastian York as audio readers and with reading a book by K. Bromberg, and I will definitely be enjoying both audios and books from all three of them in the future! I really, really loved this audio! Seriously! I can't praise it enough! :D

SWEET CHEEKS was an absolutely adorable story about rekindled romance, and the name is incredibly fitting! The story was sweet, sexy, and most definitely cheeky and funny, too! I loved the characters, the plot and all of the banter and the little extra touches (like the social media posts) were so well done! This book had me hooked right away and I was constantly laughing, gasping and smiling throughout the entire thing!

The story itself is superb! I'm always a fan of second-chance romances, and I definitely love stories involving hunky high school sweethearts who become super duper famous movie star...I mean what's not to love, especially when the character is as divine as Hayes was! Not only was he an amazing actor and a real dreamboat, he was also one of the sweetest heroes that I've encountered in quite a while! He'd definitely made mistakes in his past, but he did an amazing job making up for all that he'd done. And Saylor! I adored her!!! She was smart, funny, confident (with a tiny bit of insecurity that made her super easy to relate to), and just all around amazing! I really admired her character, and loved getting to know her! 

Both Andi Arndt and Sebastian York gave fantastic performances, too! I'm pretty picky when it comes to audio readers so I usually listen to samples of each audio before I start it and I wasn't quite sold on either reader from the sample, but I did think they sounded interesting. I decided to give this audio a chance, and once it started, I was completely sold! I'm so glad that I bought this audiobook and I definitely now see the appeal of Sebastian York! His voice is PERFECT for audio and he did an amazing job as Hayes! So sexy and earnest...loved him! And Andi was amazing, too! She delivered Saylor's sassy lines perfectly and I really loved her performance! I think I still would've loved SWEET CHEEKS in paper or ebook, but I really loved the added dimension that Sebastian and Andi brought to both characters—they captured them wonderfully and really brought them to life!

If you're looking for a great second chance romance and want to also experience a wonderful audio experience, I highly recommend this one! I thought SWEET CHEEKS was amazing and look forward to listening to it again and again! :D

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Ahhh, just thinking about this book is enough to get me all giddy all over again!!
What a sweet romance!!

What do you think?
Does SWEET CHEEKS sound like a book you'd enjoy?

Audiobook Review: A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness & Read by Jason Isaacs

Source: Received a sample copy through my work, Thomas Allen & Son, the Canadian Distributor for Brilliance Audio. All opinions are my own.
Publisher: Candlewick on Brilliance Audio
Release Date: September 27, 2016


Description from Goodreads:

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming....

This monster, though, is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.

Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final story idea of Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Darkly mischievous and painfully funny, A Monster Calls is an extraordinarily moving novel about coming to terms with loss from two of our finest writers for young adults.

“Compelling...powerful and impressive.” —Philip Pullman, author of the award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy

“Exceptional...this is storytelling as it should be—harrowing, lyrical, and transcendent.” —Meg Rosoff, author of the Printz Award–winning novel How I Live Now

“Brilliant and elegant, with all the thrills and ambition you would expect from the author of the Chaos Walking trilogy.” —Frank Cottrell Boyce, award-winning author of Millions and Cosmic

“Haunting, lyrical, powerful, and true. Patrick Ness has crafted a masterful story about grief and loss, love and hope that lingers in the heart like a ghost.” —Libba Bray, author of the Printz Award-winning novel Going Bovine

I have to preface this by saying that I've already read A MONSTER CALLS, and absolutely adored it. It's an extremely emotion read, and while it absolutely guts you, it's also breathtakingly beautiful and real. I consider A MONSTER CALLS to be one of the most profound stories I've ever read, and I know that it's one that I'll return to year after year, and no matter how many times I read it, it'll never ever get old.

Now that you know I already love this story, I have to let you know that I like to go back and listen to audio versions of books that I love so that I can get to experience them in a whole new way. When it comes to listening to an audiobook of a book you've already enjoyed, there's always the risk that the reader won't manage to convey the story as effectively as it comes across on paper, but that definitely wasn't an issue here at all. Jason Isaacs did an absolutely AMAZING job reading A MONSTER CALLS! He managed to flawlessly capture each and every one of the characters. His intonation was amazing, and I thought that this recording was perfection. Absolute perfection!

For new readers to A MONSTER CALLS who enjoy audiobooks, I wholeheartedly recommend this recording, and for readers who've already read and loved the book, you should definitely give this audiobook a shot the next time you decide to do a reread. You really won't regret it!

Not only is A MONSTER CALLS an amazing story (seriously, even if you don't listen to the audio...go read the book!), but this audio is a fantastic adaptation of the story, and it's made me love it all over again!

Who else loves A MONSTER CALLS?
 
And is anyone else a fan of going back and listening to an audiobook version of their favourite stories? If you are, which one has been your favourite to do that with?

I think A MONSTER CALLS or THE SCORPIO RACES are currently tied as my favourites to do this with...both are AMAZING!!!

Luck on the Line (On the Verge #1) by Zoraida Córdova (Audiobook narrated by Annie Greene)

Source: Received an Audible code from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher: Audible Studios
Release Date: Already Released!
Format: Audible Audio


Description from Goodreads:

Despite her name, Lucky Pierce has always felt a little cursed. Refusing to settle for less or settle down, she changes jobs as often as she changes boyfriends. When her celebrity chef mother challenges her to finish something, Lucky agrees to help her launch Boston's next hot restaurant, The Star. Even if it means working with the infuriating, egotistical, and undeniably sexy head chef.

James loves being known as Boston's hottest bad boy in the kitchen, but if he wants to build a reputation as a serious chef, he has to make this restaurant work and keep his scandalous past out of the headlines. Getting involved with his boss' spoiled, sharp-tongued daughter is definitely not on the menu. As the launch of The Star looms and the tension and chemistry heat up in the kitchen, they're going to need more than a little luck to keep everything from boiling over.

This review is a long time coming. :P

I'm a huge fan of Zoraida Córdova's writing, and I was SUPER excited to read Luck on the Line! It definitely didn't disappoint! It's a fabulous start to a wonderful series, and it also happens to be the first book that I'd ever really listened to on audiobook!

I was pretty much an audiobook newbie when I first listened to Luck on the Line, and it was a fantastic book to start with! The narrator, Annie Greene, was absolutely amazing, and I loved her narration so much! It really added to the story. I think I would have loved Luck on the Line even if I'd read it instead of listened to it as an audiobook, but I definitely really enjoyed the audio. Most of all, I love that this audiobook kind of spurred my love for audiobooks! If you're looking for a great contemporary romance as an audiobook, this one would be perfect!

As to the story itself, I loved every second of it! I loved Lucky and I love, love, loved how her relationship with James developed! They're both extremely dynamic and strong characters so any moment they were together was interesting, and exciting! Their banter, their chemistry...everything between them was absolutely WONDERFUL!

This book not only cemented my growing love of audiobooks, but it also showed me that I totally love Zoraida's writing and characters no matter what genre she writes them in. Her characters and stories are vibrant, fun, and so addictive!

Overall, I loved Luck on the Line! It was a fantastic story with amazing characters, and it was also an absolutely exceptional audiobook experience! I highly recommend it in both print and on audiobook, especially to contemporary romance fans! Added bonus for any romance fans who love cooking and cooking shows since Luck on the Line also has a celebrity chef type thing going on! ;)

What do you think?
Does Luck on the Line sound like something you'd like to read?
And how do you feel about audiobooks?

All About Audiobooks!

I have to admit that before I started listening to audiobooks, I was reluctant. I'd listened to one audiobook in the past, and it was a horrible experience. I didn't like the story and I didn't like the reader at all, but I was asked if I wanted to review an audiobook of one of my favourite author's books, so I listened to a sample, I liked what I heard, and I decided to go for it! And I'm so glad that I did! That was months ago now, and I've been hooked ever since!

I plan to start reviewing the audiobooks I listen to, but today I just wanted to let you know how easy it is to listen to them! :D There are several sites that require memberships, where you purchase credits, like Audible. But there are also a lot of other options that allow you access to audiobooks through your library, or even give you free access if they're out of the public domain.

Here are some of my favourite options for audiobooks:

• AUDIBLE

  • I've found other websites where you purchase audibooks, but so far Audible is my favourite!!! Each credit costs you $14.95, and you can use one credit to purchase most audiobooks, but if the audiobook costs less than that, you can also select to just purchase it, instead of using your credits. There are daily deals, and sales every once in a while, too. But, the best part for me for Audible is that it uses whispersync with Amazon.com, so if you already own an ebook from Amazon, and there is an audiobook, you can purchase the audiobook at a discounted rate, too.

• LIBRIVOX

  • Librivox is a completely free site where volunteers record audiobooks that can be downloaded or listened to online. These recordings aren't always as good of quality as the ones you purchase, but they're still really great.

• OVERDRIVE

  • This is by far my favourite resource for listening to audiobooks! Your library has to have a membership with overdrive to use the service, but if they have one, you can borrow audiobooks and ebooks, and you can load them onto your devices. I've been using my iPhone and I love it! :D

• HOOPLA

  • Just like Overdrive requires your library's membership, so does Hoopla. Hoopla has movies and even more, too, so that's pretty great. Their selection isn't quite as big as Overdrive's, but they still have some awesome titles! :D

• SCRIBD

  • Scribd used to be more of a place to share excerpts and PDFs, but over the last year or so they started to become a service where you can read ebooks, and listen to audibooks, too. I haven't started using it yet, but my mom has, and she's hooked!

What do you think?

Are you a fan of audiobooks, or are you reluctant to try them like I was?

For audio fans, what's your favourite way to listen to them?

And, do you have any favourite books or audio readers?