Welcome to the February 2018 Audio Book of the Month Poll!
Here are all our Audio Reviews rated 4.5 & 5 hearts and up from the previous month, in no particular order. Please vote for your favorites. As with all of our Polls, you can vote for as many as you want, but you only get one visit, so make it count!
The top two will go through to the Audio of the Year Poll!
POLL SCHEDULE:
This poll will remain open until at least 6PM, Amsterdam time next week. The actual closing time will vary depending on blog staff schedules…
For the Living by L.A. Witt (Author) & Charlie David (Narrator)
Reviewed by Christian (Brianna)
TITLE: For the Living
AUTHOR: L.A. Witt
NARRATOR: Charlie David
PUBLISHER: Lori Witt
LENGTH: 8 hrs and 4 mins
RELEASE DATE: 10/26/2015
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For the last year, Jay Warren has struggled to find the nerve to tell his wife he’s gay. Every time he gets the chance, though, he freezes up. He’s ashamed of hiding it all this time, he doesn’t want to hurt her, and the guilt has been almost unbearable.
When his wife dies suddenly, Jay’s conscience threatens to eat him alive.
Funeral director Scott Lawson deals with the bereaved every day, and he’s all too familiar with the inside of the closet. He offers Jay some much-needed compassion and understanding, and from that connection comes a friendship that quickly – perhaps too quickly – turns into something more.
But are grief, guilt, and loneliness the only things tying them together? Or, will Scott get fed up with being used as an emotional crutch before Jay realizes what he has?
A Destiny of Dragons (Tales from Verania #2) by TJ Klune (Author) & Michael Lesley (Narrator)
Reviewed by Christine
TITLE: A Destiny of Dragons
SERIES: Tales from Verania #2
AUTHOR: TJ Klune
NARRATOR: Michael Lesley
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 16 hours, 40 minutes
RELEASE DATE: November 17, 2017
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Sequel to The Lightning-Struck Heart
Once upon a time, the wizard’s apprentice, Sam of Wilds, got his happily ever after in the arms of his cornerstone, Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart. A year has passed, and while Sam’s been captured five or six more times since then, things are pretty great. His parents are happy, Gary and Tiggy still eat sass for breakfast, Randall is somehow alive despite being older than the gods, the King rules with a gentle hand, Kevin the dragon is as gross as ever, Morgan sighs a lot, Ryan continues to be dashing and immaculate, and Sam is close to convincing Prince Justin they will be best friends forever. Life is good.
Until it’s not.
Because Vadoma, the leader of the gypsy clan and Sam’s grandmother, has come to the City of Lockes with a dire prophecy written in the stars: a man of shadows is rising and will consume the world unless Sam faces his destiny and gathers the five dragons of Verania at his side.
And she brings along her second-in-command, a man named Ruv. Ruv, who Vadoma says is Sam’s true cornerstone.
Point of No Return (Turning Point #1) by N.R. Walker (Author) & Sean Crisden (Narrator)
Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: Point of No Return
SERIES: Turning Point #1
AUTHOR: N.R. Walker
NARRATOR: Sean Crisden
PUBLISHER: Love Lane Books
LENGTH: 4 hours, 38 minutes
RELEASE DATE: January 18, 2018
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Book one in the Turning Point series.
Matthew Elliot is one of LA’s best detectives. He’s been labeled the golden boy of the Fab Four: a team of four detectives who’ve closed down drug-rings all over the city. He’s smart, tough and exceptionally good at his job. He’s also a closeted gay man.
Enter Kira Takeo Franco, the new boxing coach at the gym. Matthew can’t deny his immediate attraction to the man his fellow cops know as Frankie. But in allowing himself to fall in love with a man known to his colleagues, Matthew risks outing them both.
Matt and Kira work to keep their relationship and private lives hidden from Matt’s very public life, fearing it would be detrimental to their careers. But it’s not the other cops who Matthew should be worried about finding out his deepest, darkest secret…. It’s the bad guys.
Third edition – has new cover and has been re-edited, though no new content has been added.
Game Point by M.J. O’Shea (author) and Kenneth Obi (Narrator)
Reviewed by Louisa
TITLE: Game Point 
SERIES: Dreamspun Desires
AUTHOR: M.J. O’Shea
NARRATOR: Kenneth Obi
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 4 Hours 31 Mins
RELEASE DATE: December 19, 2017
BLURB:
Game, set… match made in heaven.
Spoiled socialite Quinn Valenzuela has no interest in sports or his family’s huge sporting goods empire, Sparta Athletics. So when Quinn learns his grandfather has died and he’s in control of the corporation, no one is more surprised than Quinn himself.
Dedicated COO Porter Davis has little time and less patience for brats like Quinn who have never done a day’s work, but circumstances leave him with little choice. Quinn claims he’s ready to leave partying behind and grow up, but it’ll take more than words to earn Porter’s respect. As it turns out, they can work—and play—together after all. A friends with benefits arrangement makes sense for the two busy men, but are they too different for it to ever develop into more? Not if Quinn can convince Porter he has his head in the game.
How to Howl at the Moon (Howl at the Moon #1) by Eli Easton (Author) & Matthew Shaw (Narrator)
Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: How to Howl at the Moon
SERIES: Howl at the Moon #1
AUTHOR: Eli Easton
NARRATOR: Matthew Shaw
PUBLISHER: Pinkerton Road
RELEASE DATE: March 19, 2015
LENGTH: 5 hours 52 minutes
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Sheriff Lance Beaufort is not going to let trouble into his town, no sir. Tucked away in the California mountains, Mad Creek has secrets to keep, like the fact that half the town consists of “quickened” – dogs who have gained the ability to become human. Descended on both sides from Border Collies, Lance is as alert a guardian as they come.
Tim Weston is looking for a safe haven. After learning that his boss patented all of Tim’s work on vegetable hybrids in his own name, Tim quit his old job. A client offers him use of her cabin in Mad Creek, and Tim sees a chance for a new start. But the shy gardener has a way of fumbling and sounding like a liar around strangers, particularly gorgeous alpha men like Sheriff Beaufort.
Lance’s hackles are definitely raised by the lanky young stranger. He’s concerned about marijuana growers moving into Mad Creek, and he’s not satisfied with the boy’s story. Lance decides a bit of undercover work is called for. When Tim hits a beautiful black collie with his car and adopts the dog, its love at first sight for both Tim and Lance’s inner dog. Pretending to be a pet is about to get Sheriff Beaufort in very hot water.
How to Walk Like a Man (Howl at the Moon #2) by Eli Easton (Author) & Matthew Shaw (Narrator)
Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: How to Walk Like a Man
SERIES: Howl at the Moon #2
AUTHOR: Eli Easton
NARRATOR: Matthew Shaw
PUBLISHER: Pinkerton Road
RELEASE DATE: February 17, 2016
LENGTH: 7 hours 53 minutes
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Deputy Roman Charsguard survived Afghanistan where he lost his best friend – his K-9 handler James. Roman was a military dog until two years ago when he developed the ability to shift into a human. It’s not easy to learn how to be a man. He found a place to live in Mad Creek, a haven for the secret world of dog shifters. Finding a reason to live has been harder. That is, until a certain human walks into the Mad Creek Sheriff’s office and starts making trouble.
Matt Barclay has the worst luck. First he was shot in a SWAT drug raid, then he was sent as DEA investigator to Mad Creek, a little town in the California Mountains. Matt’s job is to keep a lookout for illegal drug farms, but nobody in the town wants him there. And then there’s Roman, Matt’s erstwhile baby-sitter. He’s the hottest guy Matt’s ever seen, even if he is a bit peculiar. If this job doesn’t kill Matt, sexual frustration just might.
The town is counting on Roman to prevent Matt from learning about dog shifters, Matt’s counting on Roman to be his work partner and tell him the truth, and Roman’s trying to navigate love, sex, and a whole lot of messy human emotions. Who knew it was so complicated to walk like a man?
Wolfsong (Green Creek #1) by T.J. Klune (Author) & Kirt Graves (Narrator)
Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Wolfsong
SERIES: Green Creek #1
AUTHOR: T.J. Klune
NARRATOR: Kirt Graves
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
RELEASE DATE: October 5, 2016
LENGTH: 18 hours 40 minutes
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Ox was 12 when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.
Ox was 16 when he met the boy on the road, the boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane.
Ox was 17 when he found out the boy’s secret, and it painted the world around him in colors of red and orange and violet.
Ox was 23 when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his blood red eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces.
It’s been three years since that fateful day and the boy is back. Except now he’s a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.
By Fairy Means or Foul (Starfig Investigations #1) by Meghan Maslow (Author) & Greg Boudreaux (Narrator)
Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: By Fairy Means or Foul
SERIES: Starfig Investigations #1
AUTHOR: Meghan Maslow
NARRATOR: Greg Boudreaux
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 8 hours, 16 minutes
RELEASE DATE: October 12, 2017
BLURB:
The last thing half-dragon, half-fairy private investigator Twig Starfig wants to do is retrieve a stolen enchanted horn from a treacherous fae, but there’s no denying the dazzlingly gorgeous unicorn who asks Twig to do just that. Literally, no denying, because compelling the reluctant detective is all part of a unicorn’s seductive magic.
To add to his woes, Twig is saddled with the unicorn’s cheeky indentured servant, Quinn Broomsparkle. Dragons are supposed to want to eat humans, but Twig’s half-dragon side only wants to gobble up Quinn in a more personal way. Making matters worse, it’s obvious the smokin’ hot but untrustworthy sidekick is hiding something. Something big. And not what’s in his trousers. In the PI business, that means trouble with a capital Q.
Throw in gads of zombies, a creepy ghost pirate ship, a malfunctioning magic carpet, and Twig’s overbearing fairy father’s demands to live up to the illustrious Starfig name. Naturally, an old but abiding enemy chooses this time to resurface, too. Those inconveniences Twig can handle. The realization he’s falling for a human who isn’t free to return his affections and whose life may hang on the success of his latest case?
Not so much.
Spun! (The Shamwell Tales #4) by J.L. Merrow (Author) & Mark Steadman (Narrator)
Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Spun!
SERIES: The Shamwell Tales #4
AUTHOR: J.L. Merrow
NARRATOR: Mark Steadman
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 7 hours 44 minutes
RELEASE DATE: November 29, 2017
BLURB:
With friends like these . . .
An ill-advised encounter at the office party leaves David Greenlake jobless and homeless in one heady weekend. But he quickly begs work from his ex-boss and takes a room in Shamwell with easygoing postman Rory Deamer. David doesn’t mean to flirt with the recently divorced Rory—just like he doesn’t consciously decide to breathe. After all, Rory’s far too nice for him. And far too straight.
Rory finds his new lodger surprisingly fun to be with, and what’s more, David is a hit with Rory’s troubled children. But while Rory’s world may have turned upside down in the last few years, there’s one thing he’s sure of: he’s straight as a die. So he can’t be falling for David . . . can he?
Their friends and family think they know all the answers, and David’s office party hookup has his own plans for romance. Rory and David need to make up their minds and take a stand for what they really want—or their love could be over before it’s even begun.