Reviewed by Paul

TITLE: Owning Corey  

AUTHOR: Maris Black

NARRATOR: JF Harding

PUBLISHER: new BIG media

LENGTH: 312 pages (8 hours audiobook)      

BLURB:

When introverted doctor Ben Hardy’s high maintenance girlfriend wants to introduce a little more kink into their love life, he doesn’t expect it to come in the form of the hunky EMT who just moved to Blackwood. Ben’s not gay, but DAMN! He can definitely see why all the women turn to mush when the new guy’s around. Baby blue eyes, flirtatious smile, body of an underwear model… The prospect of being naked in the same room with him is horrifying. So why the hell is Ben actually considering it? Corey Butler desperately needs to leave his shady past behind, and the microscopic town of Blackwood is just the place to do it. No drama, no danger, no sleeping under bridges… What he doesn’t need is a huge crush on someone who’s completely out of his league. When Dr. Hardy’s gorgeous girlfriend propositions him for a threesome, he knows the smart thing would be to say no. Of course it would. But then Corey’s never been known for making smart decisions.

REVIEW:

The reader is immediately taken into the world of Ben Hardy, a successful chief-of-staff at a small town’s hospital. Ben’s got a high maintenance girlfriend and he’s definitely NOT gay. But his girlfriend is trying to lure him into a kinky session with another man. At a party she finds just the man she needs: Corey. And this is where the story starts, but Maris Black is taken her time to build the tension brilliantly. But the reader wants to see how close Ben and Corey will be together. Luckily Black is an m/m writer, so we know all will be fine in the end. But the twist and turns she takes to get there keep the reader engaged. The first time Ben and Corey are involved in a ménage a trois their orgasms coincide, and Ben’s attention is fully focused on Corey, and this worries him. Why is that tension there? Is there more…..? Throughout the book Black releases more information about Coreys background, totally believable and very fitting to his previous behavior. It makes the reader understand why Corey is living the life he’s living. But even Ben has got his share of secrets. And without revealing the full storyline, I can tell you that it will surprise you. I loved the way the author keeps the reader enthralled and by well-timed release of more information keeps this story well-flowing and coherent. A special hooray for the way Black writes the sex-scenes: Hot and mesmerizing, even the m/m/f scenes are like I imagine them to be.

NARRATION:

A good narrator can make a book. In this case JF Harding didn’t just make it—he owned it! His fluent delivery and smooth timbre drew me into the story. But he is a master in acting the actors and giving them their own voice.

As the book is told first person from both MC’s, he not only managed to give Ben and Corey (and the rest of the supporting characters) a recognizable tone, he also interpreted their characters brilliantly, but of course a lot of that comes from being given great material to voice in the first place. If the writing’s not good to begin with, then not even the best actor in the world can give it life! But I loved his take on Ben, who was exactly as I imagined him. His interpretation of Corey was so sexy. Every time he spoke I got a little excited. Mind you a deep, slightly raspy accent does me in every time and his is delicious! In the sex-scenes he reaches a level of hotness that was just to much to bear, listening to this in public. My excitement was just to confronting 😉

One thing I don’t like is when a male narrator tries to make himself sound like a woman, but fails miserably because he just ends up sounding like Minnie Mouse on helium. It’s never going to be perfect when one sex tries to voice the other but I’ve got to say JF Harding did a good job with the women’s voices…by just subtly lightening the tone of his voice he put them over very nicely indeed. Never over exaggerating but accenting with ease when needed. Corey’s, smoke induced, gravelly voiced Aunt Denise being a great example of that.

I’ll definitely be looking out for more m/m audiobooks from J.F.Harding in the future…..I’m drooling thinking about it!

RATING Story:

RATING Narration:

BUY LINKS: 

Audible

Amazon

Amazon UK