Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted the audio version of this book. I came across this pair of authors when asked to read the Owatonna U Hockey series. THIS series is before that series, and so I know some of what happens here ahead of time. Tennant is the youngest brother of three, and they are all hockey players. Tennant wants to do his own thing, so bucks against what his brothers want him to do and joins the Harrisburg Railers. Jared is one of the coaches to the team and Ten’s big brother’s best friend. Jared also pushes all of Ten’s buttons and is 9 years his senior. Jared can’t touch Ten, can he? For the most part, I did enjoy this book. Like I said, I knew there was a happy ever after and I knew what would happen to Jared’s son, Ryker (book one, Owatonna U Hockey, who is 17 here) so it was more a matter of HOW they got there, rather than if. I liked that Jared made Ten wait, and that boy did struggle in the beginning with that, but once he saw WHY Jared wanted to make him wait, he saw, he really did, the beauty of that. Both Jared and Ten have a say, in the first person. Each voice is distinctive enough to know who is speaking if left mid chapter, but I have something to say about the narration in a little bit. I would have liked more conflict, I think! Ten is in the closet and NO one knows, not even his parents. Coming out to Jared changes things for Jared, cos he thought Ten straight. The conflict I think I wanted was with the team, and the aftermath of his coming out and what that meant to ten and Jared. There is SOME fall out, with the team’s bosses and what they do after, but when Ten was musing over things I was expecting MORE, you know?? Sean Crisden narrates. I have listened to his work a couple of times before, and I think I prefer his work when only a single character has a voice. Here’s why. Doing two voices alternately has to be difficult. Ten is far younger than Jared and has a higher voice that I had no trouble with. Switching then to Jared’s voice, which is low and deep? HIS voice is the one I struggled with. Crisden dips his voice when Jared is thinking, and is emotional, and I struggled, with my dodgy hearing to keep up. I missed some of Jared’s musings because of that. There was also some long drawn out, detailed descriptions of hockey matches and I kinda tuned out at those points. Had I been reading, I would have skipped ahead, but you can’t do that when listening. Sorry, but great details about sports is really not my thing, even if stories about the sports players is. 4 solid stars for the book 3.5 for the narration Rounded up to 4 stars overall **same worded review will appear elsewhere**

I was gifted my copy of this book. Dashiell saves Billy from an attack and then is offered a job as his driver. Dashiell wants to say no, but one look at Billy and Dashiell knows he can't. When the full picture becomes clear to Dashiell, and he grows closer to Billy, they begin to think that maybe, just maybe they can get away. But there is more at stake than just Dashiell and Billy, and the noose grows ever tighter around Billy. Can they really be free? So! This is the first book I've listened to by AE Ryecart (although I do have signed copies of The Barista Boys books!) and this was one hell of a ride! I *try* to seperate the narration from the story and write two bits of a review, but when a book is first person, multi point of view, I find it so much harder! So, not gonna! Dan Calley narrates this book and this is the first of his work I've managed to finish (totally another story, quite literally!) and I bloody loved the way he tells Dashiell and Billy's story! Calley get over every single feeling that Ryecart writes, and in such a way, I HAD to stay up late to finish it! Dashiell has an immediate attraction to Billy, but knows he can't have him, not while Billy is so tied to the situation, but they can't keep away from each other. Calley gets over the whole range of emotions that Dashiell, and indeed Billy, go through when dealing with the situation, and how they can be together, while figuring it all out! I loved that Dashiell's need to look after Billy, to feed him, soothe him, all those sorts of things, come out of nowhere for Dashiell. They really do hit him upside the head! Billy? Oh, I felt, deeply, for Billy, I realy did. He knows he can never be free, not while he has responsibilites to take of, but he can hope, right?? You do feel it, deep in your soul, when Billy stops hoping, and it made me cry! The way it all goes down comes out of left field, I thought I had more book left, it totally took me by surprise! Oh, I KNEW it was coming, but still. There is another character here who is not all he sems, and his book is next, I so wanna listen to that too! Be warned though, this book is dark, with reference to abuse that is described in some detail, but not every detail, if that makes sense. And the situation Billy is mixed up in has hints to underground activities. Some readers may have triggers. BUT for me?? 5 star read 5 star narration **same worded review will appear elsewhere**

I lovefinding new to me authors, and narrators and Ms Albert and Mr Stevens are bothnew to me! Zach ishiding himself, from his fellow SEALs, his family but most of all his hidingfrom himself. Moving off base seems to be the best solution but then his worstnightmare needs a place to stay and Zach can’t say no to Pike, and Pike’s cats.So, he grits his teeth and bares it. Pike, however, is gritting his teeth foran entirely different reason. He has a massive crush on Zach but can’t let Zachknow. The two men call an uneasy truce to do up the house, but neither can stayaway from the other for long. That stayingaway lasts only so long and it really was a joy to behold to watch Zach andPike get closer, and begin their friends with benefits thing, but it was alsopainful. Both men knew they shouldn’t do this, and it messed with everyone’s head,mine included! Zach is verymuch in the closet, and Pike is not. That alone causes Zach to have kittensabout every.single.little.thing! Everything, near the beginning, caused Zach topanic, but watching the man fall, watching him come out of himself and thatcloset, watching him fall in love with Pike?? Twas a beautiful thing!I loved thatit was ZACH who made the decision to do something about their situation, andPike did not push Zach, even though he really wanted to.Much of thatbeauty though, is in the delivery, and Tyler Stevens narrates. This is thefirst of his work I have come across and I need more, lots more! I loved thenarration, as much as the story itself! Stevens wasable to wrench so much emotion, particularly for Zach, into his narration, itwas almost listening to your best friend pour their heart out to you.The voicesfor Zach and Pike are very different, getting the point across about the manydifferences between the two men. ALL the voices are distinctive enough for meto not have any trouble with multi person conversations. Stevens reading voiceis deep and clear and very VERY easy to listen to.Someinteresting characters in the book, Ryan and Josiah (apologies if that’s nothow you spell, I’ve not seen it written down!) do they have a book?? Would LOVEto read or listen to their story! And Apollo. That man is sad, it’s too soon,but maybe, just maybe. . . .and OH!! His book is next! I just looked!I have booktwo to listen to next, but that is by a different narrator so it will be interestingto see how Apollo’s voice carries from one narrator to the next. 5 stars forthe book5 stars forthe narration5 starsoverall**sameworded review will appear elsewhere**

Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book. Mav is. . . .broken, and thinks fixing things is downing a bottle of Jack. Crashing on his sister's sofa isn't doing him or her any favours. When Jamie calls him out to do something for her, Mav really has to dig deep to get out of his stupor. Meeting the new client, however, does wonders. Deacon needs some help. After a scandal last year left him penniless, he can't afford to pay for the protection he needs. someone is out to get him, and the bodies keep piling up. Mav needs to up his game, and when the threat comes to a 2 year old child, Deacon's niece, both Mav and Deacon know they would do anything to keep her safe, even if it means Mav breaks Deacon's heart. I am, personally, not in a good place. Not a BAD place, just not doing so well and my reading is suffering. I said I would read this before the poop hit the fan, and I was concerned I would not be able to give this book my full attention, or worse, not be able to finish it at all. BUT!!! I bloody LOVED this book! Mav is, by his own admission, one drink short of becoming an alcoholic. His sister takes him in, and he's drowning his sorrows every night. Losing his career, and his leg, after a helicopter was bombed while he was the pilot has soured Mav to life and he just wants to be left alone. His sister, Jamie, ain't having none of it! She ropes him into talking to a possible new client, while she attends another job for her private investigations business. Deacon, lead singer of a boy band who was spectacularly disgraced last, is the client. A reporter twisted some truths, and Deacon's life came crashing down around his ears. He lost custody of his niece. Now, no one believes him, that someone is following him. When things escalate to a break in at his flat, and said reporter turns up dead, the police start to take notice. All the while, as Deacon continues to fall, Mav holds him up, keeps him close. I loved that things crept up on Deacon and Mav, the feelings they begin to have for each other. It's not that thunderbolt and lightning thing: more a sweeping rain storm that starts off as drizzle then increases in it's intensity til neither Mav nor Deacon can deny it any longer. Loved that, after the initial shock of seeing Mav's face, Deacon is like: okay, scars make you, YOU. Mav is concerned about the other scars, the ones on his leg and residual and again, Deacon is not at all bothered. It makes Mav see that maybe, just maybe, they can make it work. I must admit, I had an inkling who might be doing what they were doing to Deacon, very early on. Something they said set off bells and it was great being able to watch it all unfold. I have no idea WHAT this person said, I really don't, but something they said went ding ding ding and when Mav puts the pieces together, oh my! That man's alpha-protect-whats0mine instinct went into massive overdrive! Loved that, when it all went down, Mav and Deacon both knew, with just a look, that they might not come out of this alive. LOVED that the baddie gets a voice! Mav and Deacon's story carries some difficult topics: drug abuse, alcohol abuse, PTSD, murder (in some detail from the baddie!) All difficult topics, but very well written, and the research shows. I was particularly impressed with the research into Mav's accident, his injuries and what he went through after losing his leg. That doesn't always come across in a way a lay person such as myself can fully comprehend, but Ms Sue nailed it here! This book may well have been the one to kick start my ability to write a coherent review, or at least I think it makes sense! 5 full and shiny stars! Michael Pauley narrates. Having READ this book previously, what I was particularly looking for was the baddie’s voice. When I read it, something they said made my brain go ding, ding, fire alarm in the head, ding and I KNEW that this person was the baddie. HERE, in audio, I wanted to see if I could pick up just WHAT they said to make all the alarms go. And I got . . . nothing. The voice gave nothing away! Pauley NAILED that, he really did! So, while I was glad I didn’t get what they said to set me off, I’m also a little miffed

This is book 4 in the Protectors series, but you don’t need to have read/listened to the other three before this one. Also there is some crossover with the Barrettis series by the same author and I am reading that series and listening to this one, all out of the order the author recommends. Spoilers, is all. Mav stops an attack on Eli in the hospital stairwell and is immediately drawn to the much younger man. He tries to stay away, he really does, but he keeps coming back to check on Eli, but he doesn’t want to get too close, because everyone leaves Mav. Everyone. Eli has other ideas, but he doesn’t want Mav to know about his past. He did some terrible things. When those things come back to affect his younger brothers, Eli knows, he KNOWS all will come out, and Mav will walk away. I’ve been listening to this series, rather than reading it and I struggle to split the narration from the book, like I try to do when writing my reviews for audio books. Also, here? This is not the same narrator as the first three books and I wondered how that would come across, how the VOICES, more importantly, would come across. Had I listened to these back to back, I might have noticed some difference in the voices of previous characters, but I didn’t, either back to back them nor notice the difference in the voices, so I really cannot fault the voices of PREVIOUS characters. What I DID struggle with, at first anyway, was Mav’s voice. I don’t think he actually says a word in any of the other books, although he is mentioned. It’s LOW, so very low it dipped in places outside of my hearing range. Which is odd, cos usually it’s the HIGHER pitch voices I lose. But this is a problem I seem to have with Pauley. The dipping of the voices. And since this is written in the first person, there is no reading voice, as such. It’s either Eli, or Mav, with the other voices breaking it up. So struggled a bit, quite a bit at the beginning. It DOES get better, maybe I grew used to Mav, maybe I grew used to Pauley again, after a while. I don’t know, but it did get better. I cannot fault the story line though! SO much pain carried by both men, for so very different reasons, and Pauley does get that across well, the pain these men have. 5 stars for the book 4 stars for the narration (but it was very nearly 3!) 4.5 stars overall **same worded review will appear elsewhere**