Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: Illuminate the Shadows
SERIES: (Shatterproof Bond #2)
AUTHOR: Isobel Starling
NARRATOR: Gary Furlong
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 4 hours, 56 minutes
RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2017
BLURB:
The thrilling, funny sequel to As You Wish.
“A Scotsman and an Englishman fall in love…after the most amazing week of his life, at Dunloch Castle on the banks of Loch Ness, in Scotland. The charming, mysterious Samuel Aiken has turned Declan Ramsay’s life upside down. Declan has experienced a remarkable change. He has come to terms with the fact he is bisexual, and he has fallen head-over-heels in love with his boss’s son Sam.
However, falling for his boss’s son was never going to be an easy path to happiness, mainly because the boss in question is multi-millionaire property tycoon and former MI5 operative, Sir James Aiken.
Sir James is repulsed by his son’s homosexuality, and so discovering that his employee Declan Ramsay – the man he installed to run his luxury property rental empire – is in a relationship with Sam, does not go down well.
The lovers cannot hide from the looming presence of Sir James Aiken for long! Soon enough James makes his move, and Declan finds out what he will have to endure to stay with Sam, and what he will have to give to feel worthy of Sam’s love.”
STORY REVIEW:
I reviewed this in ebook format for my previous blog back when it was originally released and I have to say I still agree with most of what I said then. The biggest change was that the audio narration really brought out the fun and the tension and the sadness and the confusion and honestly, just took this book to a whole new level. I really enjoyed my listening experience.
So with that, here is a basic rehash of my previous review edited to include my new observations from my second time with these men.
I am enjoying this series! I love that it will continue and will focus on Declan and Sam, because there is still so much I need to know about both men and there is so much more for them to learn about each other! This relationship is in early stages and with all the external stressor being thrown at the men, it will be interesting to see what the future holds and how these men hold up together.
A.L.L. is a fascinatingly harsh company and it was entertaining to learn about this world from the eyes of someone on the outside being absorbed in. Usually, we see counterintelligence from the eyes of established operatives so it is presented as sexy and mysterious and thrilling. This story was not like that at all as it exposed the seedier and more morally ambiguous side of how things are done. I enjoyed that different viewpoint and I enjoyed feeling like I was learning right along with Declan. I am glad Sam didn’t just share allllll the gory details. Learning as I went made this one so much more interactive.
I loved Declan and Sam together! They were still so HOT and serious, but also playful and loving. Their story was a great balance of humor and darkness and it was really entertaining to see the way the author presented their growth and forward movement.
Be warned that the story left a lot of loose ends much like a TV series. While this episode is done, not everything was perfectly wrapped up. I am hopeful that these thing circle back in the next book and that this overall series arc turns out to be as fantastic as it could be.
I am hooked on this series. I like Sam and Declan and I want to know more about them and their journies with A.L.L. Everything is setup well for their lives to continue to be fun and yet have darker and more suspenseful moments. Bring on book 3!
NARRATION REVIEW:
I maintain that Gary Furlong is the perfect choice for narrator of this series. He nails the accents and the emotions and OMG I think he really brings out the best in these stories.
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