Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: Friendly Fire
AUTHOR: Cari Z.
NARRATOR: Nick J. Russo
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 8 hours, 5 minutes
RELEASE DATE: August 10, 2017
BLURB:
In a battle of wills, stubbornness could cost you your life.
Elliot McKenzie is the king of reinvention. Five years after losing his job, his lover, and almost going to prison, his self-help program, Charmed Life, is more successful than he’d ever dreamed. He thinks he’s put his sordid past firmly behind him, until he starts receiving cryptic threats, and realizes it might not be as over as he’d hoped.
Security expert Lennox West has been lost since a deadly skirmish in Afghanistan led to his forced retirement from the Army. His PTSD makes helping his ex raise their daughter a challenge. When his ex’s sister asks him to set her boss up with a security system, Lennox isn’t expecting anyone like Elliot McKenzie – a man who captures his attention, and makes him feel relaxed for the first time since leaving the service.
But Elliot is dangerously stubborn. Even as the threats against him escalate, he refuses to involve the police, and Lennox fears that stubbornness could kill him. A battle of wills ensues that brings them closer to each other than either man expected. But if the threats turn real, they might not live long enough to get their future together.
STORY REVIEW:
I am not sure what to say about this audiobook. It was a good thriller, but there was something missing. Something that made it too easy for my mind to wander and for me to keep having to repeat entire chapters. I am not sure if it was the story itself or the narration but I was left feeling like I probably missed a lot because I kept zoning out.
I thought the mystery part of the story was great. It was well thought out and kept me at the edge of my seat. Even when I was certain I knew what was happening and who the bad guy was, I really wasn’t. I kept second guessing myself and in the end I was only partially correct. I felt it was well done.
I enjoyed the romance. It was cute and the men fit well together. It wasn’t super off the charts with tension or emotion, but I got what I needed to feel like these men could make it work.
I would have liked more character history and development though. More digging into Lennox’s PTSD and his past. More information on Elliot’s failed relationship with his family. It just seemed like for all the talk about it, those two topics were never really explored to their fullest. There was a lot of potential for some serious hurt/comfort vibes and some serious relationship growth as the men learned about each other and grew together.
In the end, I think this story is worth the read. I am just not sure audio is the right format.
NARRATION REVIEW:
I am not sure how to review this narration. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t hold my attention. I could appreciate the accents and the way Nick J. Russo took care with each character, but overall this one just fell flat for me.
RATING: 
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