Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Craft Brew 
SERIES: Trouble Brewing #2
AUTHOR: Layla Reyne
NARRATOR: Tristan James
PUBLISHER: Harlequin Audio
RELEASE DATE: October 8, 2018
LENGTH: 7 hours, 50 minutes
BLURB:
Assistant US attorney Dominic Price is staring down the barrel of his father’s debts. The bull’s-eye on his back makes him a threat to everyone he cares about, so when his lover wants to go public with their relationship, he bolts. Not because he isn’t in love—he can’t stomach the thought of putting Cam in danger.
Kidnap and rescue expert Cameron Byrne is determined to figure out what trouble Nic is running from, but devastating news from home brings him back to Boston and to the cold case that has haunted his family for two decades. Shoving aside his pride, he calls Nic for help.
Together they search for answers, navigating the minefield of Cam’s past. But when they get too close to the truth, Cam must use every skill in his arsenal to save the man he loves…before it’s too late.
REVIEW:
I liked this book more than the first one. There was just something about it that had me hooked from the first minute, and keep me in the book with an iron grip. I had a really tough time putting it down and enter RL again, and I was just wishing to get back to the story again to find out what happened next.
Craft Brew feels more personal than the first book. It starts with Cam promising his ill mother to once and for all finding out what happened to his sister two decades ago when she vanished without a trace. In a desperate attempt to fulfil his mother’s wishes he enlists Nic for help, something that might just have some of his tenuous walls crumbling.
Digging up the past is harder than he ever thought possible and he meets resistance at every turn – even from his own family. Emotions run high and the stakes are even higher, but I think that’s what makes this book so great. It is jammed pack with feelings, it’s messy and wonderful. The characters and their reactions feel genuine, it’s not all hearts and flowers. Sure there’s a lot of love, but there is also a lot of hurt, past and present. It was all handled just beautifully. In a way that makes you believe in the characters, they just feel real.
Tristan James is not one of my favourite narrators. But he does narrate some of my favourite books, or my most anticipated ones. So he’s kind of like that one relative you don’t really like. The one’s that is always at gatherings, the one you have to hang out with if you want to spend time with the rest of the family. Tolerated for the greater good. James is mostly like that for me. His deliverance is mostly monotone and kind of flat, it lacks emotion and connection to the story and characters. To me that’s what makes a great narrator, being able to add that emotion, the range of voices.
For the most part we never get that emotion with James. He is brilliant with accents and has a very nice voice, but it also ends there. But this is also kind of okay, because I expect it going into one of his books, it’s never news or a surprise to me. It’s a known factor and I went into this book with my eyes wide open. Here’s the kicker though, this time around James held my attention from the get go. I was present, I was connected, I was there. A rarity for me, but one I was happy to discover.
This series keeps getting better and so far Craft Brew is my favourite in the series and I just can’t wait to see what happens next. The story is far from over and Nic and Cam haven’t quite reached their happily ever after just yet.
Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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