Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Wake Up Married Serial 1-3
SERIES: Will & Patrick #1-3
AUTHOR: Leta Blake & Alice Griffiths
NARRATOR: John Solo
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2019
LENGTH: 11 hours, 34 minutes
BLURB:
Episode 1: Will & Patrick Wake Up Married
After a drunken night of hot sex in Vegas, strangers Will Patterson and Dr. Patrick McCloud wake up married. A quickie divorce is the most obvious way out – unless you’re the heir of a staunchly Catholic mafia boss with a draconian position on the sanctity of marriage. Throw their simmering attraction into the mix and all bets are off!
Episode 2: Will & Patrick Meet the Family
Meeting the family is challenging for every new couple. But for Will and Patrick, the awkward family moments only grow more hilarious – and painful – when they must hide the truth of their predicament from the people they care about most. Throw in the sexual tension flaring between them and you’ve got a recipe for madcap laughs and surprisingly heartwarming feels.
Episode 3: Will & Patrick Do the Holidays
A couple’s first holiday season is always a special time. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve are magical when you’re in love. Too bad Will and Patrick’s marriage is a sham and they’re only faking their affection for each other. Or are they? Sparks fly in this episode of the Wake Up Married serial. Will the sexual tension between Will and Patrick finally explode in a needy night of passion? Or will they continue to deny their feelings?
REVIEW:
What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas……
So what does happen when you’re drunk in Las Vegas? Let’s see…. either you found yourself in a casino gambling away all of your money. Or you made use of one of the many chapels and got married and have some very enthusiastic sex to celebrate the union. Then you woke up in the morning only to realise that the person next to you isn’t only a stranger but also your husband. At least that happened to Will Patterson and Patrick McCloud. Due to the previously mentioned enthusiastic and all night celebration, an annulment is not viable and a divorce is tricky to say the least – especially since a very catholic mafia boss who don’t’ believe in divorce for his family is holding the purse strings. (And yes, that part is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds).Then you add in alcohol addiction and an on and off again boyfriend and this tale is full of drama and it’s messier than a two-year old eating spaghetti.
We follow Will and Patrick from that moment when they wake up in a hotel in Vegas and realise they were married and then tried to rectify that. Then there is meeting with Will’s family and the town’s people, convincing everyone that theirs is a love match. All at the same time as recruiting a select few of Will’s family to see how they can dissolve the marriage. Add in an alcohol addiction and a truly beyond awful (and mentally abusive) ex-boyfriend and things are never dull in this town. Oh, and I forgot to mafia mention the henchmen sent to spy on the newlyweds to make sure things were in order.
Will Patterson is troubled I guess you might say. He probably won’t agree with you but still. His ex-boyfriend Ryan mentally abused and gaslighted him for years. Making him believe that he wasn’t worth anything and everything was his fault etc etc. Let me give you an example of how “thoughtful” he was: when breaking up with Will this time around he did it over the phone, knowing that Will (a recovering alcoholic) was in a bar in Vegas. Very nice of him wouldn’t you say? And as far as his alcohol addiction goes, I don’t know if I believe in it beyond a convenient plot device. I’m far from an expert in addiction and knows everyone reacts differently, but beyond a call or text to his sponsor his addiction was very superficial, no cravings or need for it what so ever – despite falling off the proverbial wagon in Vegas.
I was not and probably am still not all that fond of Patrick, forgive me doctor McCloud. He was an ass of ginormous proportions. Always putting everyone down for not being smart enough, rich enough and everything his prejudice mind could think of. He had two saving graces though; mostly he never did that out of spite or malice, he’s just so unfamiliar with others feelings and never really took the time to learn basic social skills. Secondly underneath (way, way down) he hides a big and generous heart that only a very select few gets to see. I like seeing how slowly (very slowly) Patrick changes, opens up and becomes more caring of others and not only about himself or his work. He still has a long way to go, but I celebrate each step forward.
As strangely as it sounds I did enjoy listening to this book – or books if you will. It’s flawed sure, but I do like and enjoy the potential. It also contains much more drama than I normally would like, and don’t get me started on the whole mafia plot line. But I must have been in the right mood for this story as I did have a good time listening to it.
This wasn’t my favourite narration by John Solo. Mainly because it felt like he was trying to oversell it. You know like those commercial voices trying to convince you to buy stuff you don’t really need. Solo felt like that – especially with his interpretation of Patrick and his douchedness. But guess what – I really disliked him to begin with and his narration didn’t exactly make things better, it just became too much. As far as the rest goes I really enjoyed it with good pacing and enunciation. His interpretation of Will was really good and meshed better with his personality.
Will and Patrick’s story isn’t over yet, in truth it’s only just begun and I’m looking forward to see what else will happen to these guys.
RATING: 
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