Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Barrel Proof 
SERIES: Agents Irish and Whiskey #3
AUTHOR: Layla Reyne
NARRATOR: Tristan James
PUBLISHER: Harlequin Audio
RELEASE DATE: August 7, 2017
LENGTH: 6 hours, 51 minutes
BLURB:
FBI agents Aidan “Irish” Talley and Jameson “Whiskey” Walker can’t get a moment’s peace. Their hunt for the terrorist Renaud seems to be nearing an end until a fire allows him to slip through their fingers – and puts Jamie’s life in danger. When Jamie is nearly killed, Aidan learns how many forms loss can take.
Aidan says “I love you” just moments before learning that Jamie’s been keeping a devastating secret about Aidan’s late husband. How quickly trust and love can go up in flames. When Aidan requests a solo undercover assignment, Jamie hopes Aidan will find a way to forgive him.
But the explosions are far from over. Aidan’s cover lands him in the heart of the terrorist’s conspiracy, and Jamie will have to put his life, his career, and his freedom on the line to save the man who has become his entire world. “Partners always” is a promise he intends to keep.
REVIEW:
Barrel Proof picks up hours after Cask Strength ended – right after Aiden and Jamie finds out that Mel has stolen David’s private plane and heading for South America. Bringing into question where Mel’s loyalty lies – has she been working against them this entire time?
To say that I was happy to have this book ready to go after the last one ended is an understatement. Not a minute had passed before I started listening to this one. I just needed to know what happened next. Both with Mel, but also when Aiden finally learned the truth about his late husband and partner. – Not that I wanted him to shatter, I just wanted him to know the truth – once and for all. To finally be able to heal and truly move forward with his life and letting go of the past. By this you’ve probably realised by now that these books aren’t really standalones, this one in particular. The books build heavily on each other and in this final instalment everything is coming to an end – and everyone might not make it out the other side unscathed.
There’s still some back and forth with the guys, but that still fits – I mean Aiden’s just found out that several of his close friends have lied and kept important things from him. I understand him pulling away and licking his wounds, thinking things through. The love between them is still there, it’s still strong and sure, but it sure dented. Throughout the series both Aiden and Jamie have felt real to me. Neither’s been picture perfect, their relationship has been messy with many ups and downs – just like real life. And just how I love my characters to be.
Barrel Proof is a fast paced and emotional read and it had me at the edge of my seat the entire time. I kept wishing for Tristan James to read faster and faster – I just needed to know what happened next. At the same time I wanted him to take his time so that I could savour the story. Okay, so not really the latter, I can’t handle slow narrators – but always need to speed things up, but you know what I mean.
Tristan James… I feel like I’m running out of new words and ways to describe his narration. He’s a known entity. Reliable and predictable. At least in the meaning that you know what you get when picking up one of his books. He never waivers, but is consistent throughout a series. You never have to wonder if his narration is going to be good or bad – and that in itself is quality.
I’ve loved this entire series and have had a great time listening to these three books.
Highly recommended to anyone loving romantic suspense novels with strong characters and plot.
RATING: 
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