Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Diversion 
SERIES: Diversion #1
AUTHOR: Eden Winters
NARRATOR: Darcy Stark
PUBLISHER: Rocky Ridge Books
RELEASE DATE: October 12, 2018
LENGTH: 8 hours, 22 minutes
BLURB:
There are good guys, bad guys, and then there’s Lucky.
Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter flaunts his past like a badge of honor. He speaks his mind, doesn’t play nice, and flirts with disaster while working off his sentence with the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. If he can keep out of trouble a while longer he’ll be a free man–after he trains his replacement.
Textbook-quoting, by the book Bo Schollenberger is everything Lucky isn’t. Lucky slurps coffee, Bo lives caffeine free. Lucky worships bacon, Bo eats tofu. Lucky trusts no one, Bo calls suspects by first name. Yet when the chips are down on their shared case of breaking up a drug diversion ring, they may have more in common than they believe.
Two men. Close quarters. Friction results in heat. But Lucky scoffs at partnerships, no matter how thrilling the roller-coaster. Bo has two months to break down Lucky’s defenses… and seconds are ticking by.
REVIEW:
I read this book last year and I remember that it wasn’t this kind of wow read. I wasn’t quite sold on it or the characters. I also remember that I felt like it had a lot of potential, that there was something there worth exploring. And I was right, the series got better the more books I read, and by now. I *think* that I’ve read all of them (going off to double check) … and yes I have, and now I love this series. So when asked if I would like to review the audiobook of Diversion I was eager to do so. Lucky for me (pun not intended) I only had to wait a couple of weeks for it to be released.
Diversion starts off running, with former drug trafficker Lucky stealing a truck of pharmaceuticals right under the company’s nose – and he takes great pleasure doing it too. But what better way to expose weaknesses in the system than employing the expert who used to exploit them? At least that was what the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau thought when they offered Lucky a job within the bureau as a way to work off his prison sentence. Now with only weeks away from freedom, Lucky is partnered up with a textbook-quoting and by the book Bo Schollenberger, the man who will take his place for one last case.
The men are as different as fire and ice, and to say that there’s friction between them is an understatement. And it doesn’t help their working relationship that Lucky is more than a little obnoxious – a trait he’s proud of and does everything he can to cultivate. He lives for annoying the ever-loving shit out of everyone, and does so every chance he gets. He didn’t really count on Bo being equally stubborn and the first one that ever really gave as good as he got. The physical part between them was easy, kind of instant, but the emotional part took some time and it still need some work by the end of the book – but hey there are many more books to go.
Both Lucky and Bo have shady pasts. Pasts that lead them to the bureau working off a sentence. They are for sure no angels or paint a rosy coloured and perfect picture. They both have issues both current ones and ones from the past. They’ve been dented and a bit chewed on in the past and they have the scars to show for it. It added to the kind of gritty and raw feel that this book had – in a very good way.
There was one issue for me with this book, these characters. They are supposed to be just under 40 years old, but they sure don’t act or feel like it. When listening or reading, they feel more like in their early twenties, so at times things don’t quite set right in my mind. I do feel that this bothered me a lot more when reading, compared to listening to Stark’s narration, so hat off for that – well, if I had a hat that is.
I really enjoyed Darcy Stark’s narration of this book. I loved that he had different voices for the different characters. But more than that, he added emotions to his narration and the story. To me that bring the story to another level like nothing else can. It’s the thing that grips you and holds you captive from beginning to end. And I sure was hooked for the hours I listened to this book.
I know that this is only the beginning for Lucky and Bo’s adventures and there’s a lot more trouble to be had in the future. I for one can’t wait for this insane ride to really take off.
RATING: 
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