Verified purchase July 2018 Usually I don't go for college aged characters, but Matt and Trevor both have old heads on their young shoulders, for very different reasons. Yes Matt comes from money, but there are strings attached. Yes Trevor has suffered after being rejected by his family, but he is pulling himself upwards now. I loved how things develop between these two! Not just how they initally get together, but how things move along between them, physically as well as emotionally. This is the first of Blair's work I've listened to, indeed, read so I would like to read or listen to more now! Greg Boudreaux narrates and the man is a MASTER at his craft! His voices for everyone are easily indentifiable when listening to multi person conversations. The reading voice Boudreaux uses is deep and even and there were no dips or bits I missed when Matt or Trevor got emotional or were thinking (a common theme, trust me!) 4 stars for the book 5 for the narration (cos, you know, Greg!) **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**

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**

(Verified purchase, Sept 12 2018) This is book 8 in the Lavender Shores series, and you don't NEED to have read the others before this one. I would, however, probably recommend that you read book 6, The Glasshouse. You'll get a better picture of what Will suffered, and it gives a hint to this book! Will was left at the altar in font of a multi million viewing audience. Andre's wife passed away. Together, they get themselves through a really tough period. But it's not until Will decides to run clear across the world, does Andre realise what Will means to him, and just how much his heart would break, if he lost him. For me? The weakest of the series, and I've no idea why! And you KNOW how much that pains me!! I loved the other books, all 4 and 5 stars reads, and I really was looking forward to this one, especially after that hint in book 6, and I really don't know why in falls flat *insert wailing* It's well told, from both Will and Andre's point of view, in the first person, just like the rest. It's extremely well written and well delivered and I saw no spelling or editing errors to spoil my reading. And I DID read it in one sitting, just like the rest! It has very early (internal) professions of love, from both guys, and I don't usually like that but its quite some time before they SAY the words. It's a bit more . . . whats the word . . . lovey dovey . . . hearts and flowers . . . . .type of thing, than the rest, or at least I thought so? Maybe that's it?? **insert more wailing** I just don't know WHY this one didn't hit the spot, and for that I'm sorry. But still a nice read and a good addition to the series. 3 good solid stars **same worded review will appear elsewhere**

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book. Imagine meeting your best friend for coffee and telling her something that happened ten years before, something that could possibly cost you her friendship. Because, at it's most basic, that's what this is : two old friends, best friends, meeting for coffee and Ava has to tell Paige something that happened ten years ago, when they were estranged, something that she NEEDS to say, but knows that Paige might not, hell, she WON'T like it, but she needs to know. At it's most complex?? It's the story of a woman who falls in love with an abusive partner and her fight to get out and away from that partner. The abuse is not physical, it's emotional, it's mental, it is total in it's destruction of Ava of old. It is total in cutting Ava off from everything and everyone she knows. It reduces her to a woman who, while maybe at the back of her mind knows that what is happening to her is not right, this marriage is not how it should be, she cannot be anything else but his wife. She knows no one will want her, because James tells her so. But Ava finds a friend at work who is not letting her wallow, is not letting go, and Jacob helps Ava. And Ava has been dreaming about Jacob, which is what prompted this coffee shop meeting, and it all coming tumbling out of Ava. It is beautifully written, painful reading though. While not told in great detail, there is some reference to Ava's abuse, to what James did, what he made her do. I had to keep putting it down, it made me cry in many places. It's not very long, but because I had to keep putting it down, it took me all day to read the 67 pages here. But so beautifully written! Cutting extremely close to home on two fronts. Because someone close to me went through what Ava did, but her abuse was physical, as well as mental. I watched her cutting us off, one by one, those closest to her first, and then spreading out, just as his tentacles spread out. And there was nothing we could do to stop it. We tried, oh Lord we tried, but she was in love. We had to wait til she came to the same conclusion, and wait for her to act on her own. She did. It just took a bit of time. And because I know Ava, because I AM Paige. Finding out a wonderful day spent in amazing company last October was the inspiration for this book made me cry. Made me feel incredibly proud to be part of this book, made me feel incredibly proud of Ms Sheppard. I cannot express, not really, how much this book affected me. But you should know that... IT IS AMAZING! 5 full and shiny stars **same worded review will appear elsewhere**