Search
Against All Odds
Rebecka Smith, Wayne Smith and Ulrike Hill
Book
Two strangers live on opposite ends of the world. Discontented, depressed and disillusioned with...
Debbiereadsbook (1087 KP) rated Before You Break (Secrets #1) in Books
Apr 24, 2019
awesome narration of an awesome book!
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted the AUDIO file of this book.
Six years ago, Ellis joined the Specialist Firearms Unit. Wayne was his partner, but Wayne wanted more, much more. Ellis is straight though. When Ellis begins a spiral downwards, and Wayne can no longer keep covering for him, he knows what he needs to do. Question is, will Ellis let Wayne help the way he wants to, the way Ellis NEEDS him to?
Book one of the Secrets series, which is a spin off from the Collars and Cuffs series. I’ve no read ANY of those, so this is brand new to me.
I really REALLY loved this one!
Ellis is, by his own admission, struggling to come to terms with his responsibilities forced on him at an early age, an age when he should have been learning how to be a boy, not a man. Wayne keeps covering for his silly mistakes but it’s getting more and more difficult. After a particularly difficult op, Wayne decides enough is enough and knows what Ellis needs. But Ellis has always portrayed himself as straight, and vanilla and Wayne is neither. Wayne knows Ellis needs to be “taken in hand” to get to the bottom of what’s bothering him, and Wayne is just the man to do it: the ONLY man to do it.
Not all of Ellis’ problems are immediately clear, and it takes time for the full picture to develop and I loved that. You don’t get a massive info dump. Ellis is. . . .difficult . . .when Wayne introduces him to the lifestyle and it is, in some places, rather amusing the conversations Ellis has with himself about what Wayne is doing, WHY he is doing it.
Wayne has loved Ellis since first meeting him 6 years ago, and to have carried that flame for so long was hard on him, but finally getting his hands (quite literally!) on Ellis is a balm to his soul. Ellis is his other half and he needs Ellis to see that.
The story unfolds at a steady pace, with Wayne kinda plodding along with Ellis till ELLIS decides he wants more, and I really did like that. Sometimes, things need to speed along but not so much here and it made for a great listen.
Joel Leslie narrates.
Leslie is, in my humble opinion, a MASTER at accents. These two guys are Londoners, and the accents were spot on. Jarod and Eli pop up, they are the new owners of Secrets and their accents are very different but again, spot on. Leslie does get all the emotions that both Ellis and Wayne are going through, and I cried in some places. I ooohhh-ed and aaahhh-ed and YAY-ed and NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-ed in places, out loud. I don’t do that when I’m reading but when I’m listening I seem to be more vocal with my reactions and I can only assume that’s the skill of the narrator coming across.
I had to giggle a bit though. Mr Leslie is, I think, American, and the man CANNOT say leisurely like we do in the UK. Every other word was spot on, but that one? Nope, not right. But I won’t hold it against him, cos I LOVED this narration!
I already have book 2 lined up, and I hope that Wayne, Ellis, Eli and Jarod pop up along the way. Be great to catch up with them.
5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration
5 stars overall
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Six years ago, Ellis joined the Specialist Firearms Unit. Wayne was his partner, but Wayne wanted more, much more. Ellis is straight though. When Ellis begins a spiral downwards, and Wayne can no longer keep covering for him, he knows what he needs to do. Question is, will Ellis let Wayne help the way he wants to, the way Ellis NEEDS him to?
Book one of the Secrets series, which is a spin off from the Collars and Cuffs series. I’ve no read ANY of those, so this is brand new to me.
I really REALLY loved this one!
Ellis is, by his own admission, struggling to come to terms with his responsibilities forced on him at an early age, an age when he should have been learning how to be a boy, not a man. Wayne keeps covering for his silly mistakes but it’s getting more and more difficult. After a particularly difficult op, Wayne decides enough is enough and knows what Ellis needs. But Ellis has always portrayed himself as straight, and vanilla and Wayne is neither. Wayne knows Ellis needs to be “taken in hand” to get to the bottom of what’s bothering him, and Wayne is just the man to do it: the ONLY man to do it.
Not all of Ellis’ problems are immediately clear, and it takes time for the full picture to develop and I loved that. You don’t get a massive info dump. Ellis is. . . .difficult . . .when Wayne introduces him to the lifestyle and it is, in some places, rather amusing the conversations Ellis has with himself about what Wayne is doing, WHY he is doing it.
Wayne has loved Ellis since first meeting him 6 years ago, and to have carried that flame for so long was hard on him, but finally getting his hands (quite literally!) on Ellis is a balm to his soul. Ellis is his other half and he needs Ellis to see that.
The story unfolds at a steady pace, with Wayne kinda plodding along with Ellis till ELLIS decides he wants more, and I really did like that. Sometimes, things need to speed along but not so much here and it made for a great listen.
Joel Leslie narrates.
Leslie is, in my humble opinion, a MASTER at accents. These two guys are Londoners, and the accents were spot on. Jarod and Eli pop up, they are the new owners of Secrets and their accents are very different but again, spot on. Leslie does get all the emotions that both Ellis and Wayne are going through, and I cried in some places. I ooohhh-ed and aaahhh-ed and YAY-ed and NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-ed in places, out loud. I don’t do that when I’m reading but when I’m listening I seem to be more vocal with my reactions and I can only assume that’s the skill of the narrator coming across.
I had to giggle a bit though. Mr Leslie is, I think, American, and the man CANNOT say leisurely like we do in the UK. Every other word was spot on, but that one? Nope, not right. But I won’t hold it against him, cos I LOVED this narration!
I already have book 2 lined up, and I hope that Wayne, Ellis, Eli and Jarod pop up along the way. Be great to catch up with them.
5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration
5 stars overall
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Williams Plays: 4: Sucker Punch; Category B; Joe Guy; Baby Girl; There's Only One Wayne Matthews: 4
Book
'[Williams's] plays have brought the experience of black urban youth onto the stage' Observer Sucker...
Batman: Nightwalker - DC Icons Book 2
7.0
Rate It
Book
The new, eagerly anticipated BATMAN YA novel is an action-packed thrill ride that could only be...
young adult
Bless The Harts
TV Show Watch
The Harts are a Southern family that is forever struggling to make ends meet. They hope to achieve...
Merissa (11704 KP) rated The Cowboy and the Rascal (Farthingdale Valley #1) in Books
Mar 29, 2023
THE COWBOY AND THE RASCAL is the first book in the Farthingdale Valley series, a spin-off from Farthingdale Ranch. Leland, Maddy, Quint, Jasper, and Ellis all make an appearance, which I loved, but the main story is about Gabe and Blaze. Gabe is Team Lead on Leland's new project and Blaze is a parolee.
Gabe is slow to anger and prepared to accept anyone - if they are prepared to work. Kurt, Wayne, Tom, and Blaze make up his first crew and they're a mixed bag to be sure. I'm not going to say what happens with the others apart from I really hope Wayne has his story told. He intrigued me!
Back to Gabe and Blaze - their relationship is a slow-build but consistent. Gabe has his doubts because of the 'rules and regulations' of who he is and what they're doing, but no doubts about Blaze himself. Nope, it's Blaze who can't see that Gabe wants him for him, that he will ever be good enough for Gabe. Jasper is Gabe's friend and, having been through a similar situation, helps Gabe find the right answers.
I loved being back in Farthingdale, whether it's Ranch or Valley, I really don't care. Gabe and Blaze get a HFN ending so I'm really hoping to see more of them as the series progresses. A brilliant start and one I definitely recommend.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Gabe is slow to anger and prepared to accept anyone - if they are prepared to work. Kurt, Wayne, Tom, and Blaze make up his first crew and they're a mixed bag to be sure. I'm not going to say what happens with the others apart from I really hope Wayne has his story told. He intrigued me!
Back to Gabe and Blaze - their relationship is a slow-build but consistent. Gabe has his doubts because of the 'rules and regulations' of who he is and what they're doing, but no doubts about Blaze himself. Nope, it's Blaze who can't see that Gabe wants him for him, that he will ever be good enough for Gabe. Jasper is Gabe's friend and, having been through a similar situation, helps Gabe find the right answers.
I loved being back in Farthingdale, whether it's Ranch or Valley, I really don't care. Gabe and Blaze get a HFN ending so I'm really hoping to see more of them as the series progresses. A brilliant start and one I definitely recommend.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Unity (The Prophecy #5) in Books
Sep 18, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
169 of 200
Kindle
Unity (The Prophecy book 5)
By Jessica Wayne
The death of one of their own will bring about a war unlike any other.
Beaten down, broken, and battle-scarred, Anastasia isn't sure she has what it takes to keep moving forward. Especially when her enemy has corrupted someone she can't afford to lose.
As hidden truths come to the surface, she sets her sights on the one thing that could bring her power unlike any she's ever seen. The only problem is that power could also destroy her.
New enemies and old friends clash to bring back the light back into one of their own.
But death may be the only way to stop it.
I have really enjoyed this series I loved the first 3 books so much the last 2 were ok. I’m not sure they were really needed but despite this they were ok. Ana and Dekota finally get their happy ending and Vincent gets to redeem himself! The last two chapters and epilogue really give you a hero's win good feel. Hope you al enjoy it!
Kindle
Unity (The Prophecy book 5)
By Jessica Wayne
The death of one of their own will bring about a war unlike any other.
Beaten down, broken, and battle-scarred, Anastasia isn't sure she has what it takes to keep moving forward. Especially when her enemy has corrupted someone she can't afford to lose.
As hidden truths come to the surface, she sets her sights on the one thing that could bring her power unlike any she's ever seen. The only problem is that power could also destroy her.
New enemies and old friends clash to bring back the light back into one of their own.
But death may be the only way to stop it.
I have really enjoyed this series I loved the first 3 books so much the last 2 were ok. I’m not sure they were really needed but despite this they were ok. Ana and Dekota finally get their happy ending and Vincent gets to redeem himself! The last two chapters and epilogue really give you a hero's win good feel. Hope you al enjoy it!
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Batman: Nightwalker - DC Icons Book 2 in Books
May 14, 2018
So I didn't actually realize, back when I reviewed Wonder Woman: Warbringer, that it was the start of a series of origin novels. The second is this one, about Batman, and the next is Catwoman: Soulstealer. (I can't wait for that one, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, and Catwoman have been my three favorite superheroes for ages, even if Catwoman isn't exactly a hero!) After Catwoman's book, we get Superman's book, and that's all that's been announced, so I don't know if there will be any more. Though I hope there will be, because these first two have been excellent!
The name Batman is never actually mentioned in this book; he is Bruce Wayne the entire way through. He does get a suit, towards the end, and starts his career as Batman without really realizing he's doing so. We get a few nods to the Batman mythos - he stops to watch a swarm of bats heading out to hunt, and he mentions the broken grandfather clock that he hasn't fixed yet. But this is a Bruce around his high school graduation, just starting to learn about the kinds of tech that Wayne Tech produces. We do meet a few familiar faces beyond Alfred.
I had a few moments where I wanted to shake both Bruce and the adults around him because NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD DO THAT and if it needed to happen for plot's sake make it more believable! But it was overall pretty good.
There's no need to read this in order, from what I can tell - events in Wonder Woman have no effect on Gotham. Though the Catwoman book is also set in Gotham, so it will be interesting to see if they intertwine at all.
If you like DC Comics, these are definitely worth reading - if you don't, skip them.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
The name Batman is never actually mentioned in this book; he is Bruce Wayne the entire way through. He does get a suit, towards the end, and starts his career as Batman without really realizing he's doing so. We get a few nods to the Batman mythos - he stops to watch a swarm of bats heading out to hunt, and he mentions the broken grandfather clock that he hasn't fixed yet. But this is a Bruce around his high school graduation, just starting to learn about the kinds of tech that Wayne Tech produces. We do meet a few familiar faces beyond Alfred.
I had a few moments where I wanted to shake both Bruce and the adults around him because NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD DO THAT and if it needed to happen for plot's sake make it more believable! But it was overall pretty good.
There's no need to read this in order, from what I can tell - events in Wonder Woman have no effect on Gotham. Though the Catwoman book is also set in Gotham, so it will be interesting to see if they intertwine at all.
If you like DC Comics, these are definitely worth reading - if you don't, skip them.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Baby View Pocket
Games and Lifestyle
App
Welcome to Baby View, a stimulating world of high contrast scenes designed to engage and delight...
The Leftovers
5.3
Rate It
Book
What if — whoosh, right now, with no explanation — a number of us simply vanished? Would some of...