Reviewed by Roberta
TITLE: Put a Ring On It
SERIES: Ready or Knot, Book 1
NARRATOR: Michael Stellman
AUTHOR: K. A. Mitchell
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 6 Hrs & 26 Mins
Release Date: December 31st, 2015
BLURB:
Kieran Delaney-Schwartz – adoptee, underachiever, and self-professed-slacker IT guy – lives his under-the-radar life by the motto: Don’t try, don’t fail. His adopted siblings are all overachievers, thanks to his driven, liberal parents, but Kieran has elected to avoid disappointing anyone by not getting their hopes up. He’s coasting through his early 20s when he’s hit head-on by Theo. The successful decade-older Broadway producer sweeps him off his feet for a whirlwind of 13 months that are pretty sweet, until it all comes screeching to a halt on Valentine’s Day, with an unexpected proposal via an NYC Times Square flash mob.
Now everyone wants in on the wedding, except the grooms….
REVIEW:
So, this book really just brought out all of my pet peeves. The non-communication, the “I’m not worthy of this person”, the Meddlesome friends, etc…the book just made me angry and so damn frustrated.
Kieran…well let me say that at the beginning of this book…I couldn’t stand him. I found him whining and pretty annoying. As we got further along in the story…I found him less annoying and more of a person. I felt like I finally got some insight into his character. I’m still unsure why he has this “don’t try, don’t fail” motto. I find that he’s really into his own head a lot and that may be some of what drives him to be so withdrawn. Kieran was adopted when he was 15 months old and he’s got this really great family. There is love and acceptance and they just want him to be happy. What they think that would make him happy and what Kieran wants knows that will make him happy are two different things. But I saw some solid growth
Theo…well, I’m still not sure of what drives him to have everything “perfect”. It may have something to do with his family…but I’m still reserving judgment on that. Theo was a really good guy who really seemed to love Kieran. He wants to spend the rest of his life with him and yet…he really doesn’t know Kieran. I felt that Theo is really a sweet guy who wants to have that person to love and who loves him back. I also feel that because of his family’s treatment of him, he hides behind a façade to keep people from seeing the real him. Theo has much more to offer people than the perfectionist and the person to make them laugh/smile. He’s got such a good heart and he really means well. I think that we got to see more of him towards the ending of the book.
Now, the secondary characters…I really liked Kieran’s parents. They were really just nice people who loved their children. Now, Theo’s friends…I get the setup for the other books in the series, however…I really didn’t feel the love among them. I have to say that for me…they were there to add some drama to the story and yet, I felt that they were really out of place. I really tried to see past the annoyance of Gideon “helping” Kieran…but really…I just found his friends annoying and not very helpful to either the characters or the story.
Overall, I have to say that mostly while listening to this audiobook…there was absolute frustration, annoyance and then…some semblance of ok, this is getting better, finally. When Theo and Kieran actually talked and spoke their truths at the end…that’s when I felt this story came somewhat together. The way it ended was really abrupt and that irked me some as I wanted some sort of resolution that I could get down with and I kinda got it. Sorta. I’ve not read many books my K. A. Mitchell before and I just think that this one wasn’t for me. I really liked the premise, but I felt as if the execution wasn’t what I thought it would be.
Narration:
Now, I’ve listened to a couple of Michael’s books and I have to say that I really do like his work. The way he makes each character come ‘ALIVE” is without a doubt. Michael’s characters are always on point and you are never confused as to who is “speaking”. Each character comes to you fully fleshed out not only voice wise, but the way he speaks. I will say that that the one thing that ALWAYS gets me at the beginning of Michael’s narrations is that it sounds like he’s talking in a tunnel. I don’t know if it goes away or if you just get used to it, but that always takes me a moment or three to get used to that sound.
Overall, Michael Stellman does an AMAZING job and he really made listening to this audiobook worthwhile. Michael has become a narrator to listen to.
RATING: 
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