Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Maelstrom

SERIES: Whyborne & Griffin #7

AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk

NARRATOR: Julian G. Simmons

PUBLISHER: Widdershins Press

RELEASE DATE: February 22, 2016

LENGTH: 7 hours, 55 minutes

BLURB:

Between his father’s sudden—and rather suspicious—generosity, and his own rash promise to help Christine plan her wedding, Percival Endicott Whyborne has quite enough to worry about. But when the donation of a mysterious codex to the Ladysmith Museum draws the attention of a murderous cult, Whyborne finds himself in a race against time to unlock its secrets first.

Griffin has a case of his own: the disappearance of an historic map, which quickly escalates to murder. Someone is sacrificing men in dark rituals—and all the clues lead back to the museum.

With their friends Christine and Iskander, Whyborne and Griffin must discover the cult’s true goal before it’s too late. For dark forces are afoot at the very heart of the museum, and they want more than Whyborne’s codex.

They want his life.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Hoarfrost

SERIES: Whyborne & Griffin #6

AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk

NARRATOR: Julian G. Simmons

PUBLISHER: Widdershins Press

RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2015

LENGTH: 8 hours, 30 minutes

BLURB:

Sorcerer Percival Endicott Whyborne and his husband Griffin Flaherty have enjoyed an unprecedented stretch of peace and quiet. Unfortunately, the calm is shattered by the arrival of a package from Griffin’s brother Jack, who has uncovered a strange artifact while digging for gold in Alaska. The discovery of a previously unknown civilization could revive the career of their friend Dr. Christine Putnam—or it might kill them all, if the hints of dark sorcery surrounding the find are true.

With Christine and her fiancé Iskander, Whyborne and Griffin must journey to the farthest reaches of the arctic to stop an ancient evil from claiming the life of Griffin’s brother. But in the rough mining camp of Hoarfrost, secrets fly as thickly as the snow, and Whyborne isn’t the only sorcerer drawn by the rumors of magic. Amidst a wilderness of ice and stone, Griffin must either face his greatest fear—or lose everyone he loves.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Redemption

SERIES: Diversion #5

AUTHOR: Eden Winters

NARRATOR: Darcy Stark

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2019

LENGTH: 8 hours, 41 minutes

BLURB:

Living is the easy part.

Agent Lucky Lucklighter and his partner escaped Mexico alive, only to plunge into bureaucratic fallout from their mission. Hell, maybe Lucky should have stayed south of the border. Especially when the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau places Bo into rehab, and Lucky’s facing both therapy and an inquiry into a fatal shooting.

Watching over his shoulder for a vengeful drug lord or a cartel don calling in favors leaves his scarcely able to imagine a future for them as agents, or as lovers.

Bo Schollenberger once had a vision for their life together, but he’s bowed by the weight of his undercover work. Lucky’s hanging on by his deeply chewed fingernails, clinging to hope by making Bo’s dream of a home into reality. The last thing he needs is a phone call from a dangerous man who knows too much, summoning him back to Mexico for “An early Christmas present”.

Not when the SNB brass asks tough questions like “How well do you really know your partner?”

Reviewed by Roberta

TITLE: Diamond In The Rough

SERIES: Four Kings Security, Book 4

AUTHOR: Charlie Cochet

NARRATOR: Greg Boudreaux

PUBLISHER: Self Publish

LENGTH: 7 hrs and 23 mins

RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2019

BLURB:

When the cards are stacked against you, the Kings will even the odds.

For Ward “King” Kingston the role of protector, forged by fire and tragedy, is one he takes seriously. When King is asked to safeguard the son of a four-star general and friend, he is pulled back into the world of government black ops on a mission that raises painful memories from his past. The moment King meets Leo, amid the chaos of a lockdown at a secret black site, it’s clear he’s never faced a challenge like this – one that will test his unwavering sense of control.

Leopold de Loughrey is a misunderstood genius whose anxiety and insecurities are sent into overdrive when he is forcefully recruited to work on a top-secret project. Terrified of what his role as “invaluable asset” means, Leo’s stress leads to disappearances, arguments, and blowups that threaten the project and Leo’s future. King’s arrival is a calm in the storm for Leo and his frenetic thoughts.

King and Leo couldn’t be more different, yet as they navigate the dangers of a secret multi-agency operation and face unknown threats, their differences could be what saves them. Neither man believes a happily ever after is in the cards, but their hearts might just prove them wrong…if they can survive a deadly betrayal.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Honeymoon for one

AUTHOR: Keira Andrews

NARRATOR: Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio

RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019

LENGTH: 9 hours 33 minutes

BLURB:

The wedding is off, but the love story is just beginning.

Betrayed the night before his wedding by the supposed boy of his dreams, Ethan Robinson escapes the devastating fallout by going on his honeymoon alone to the other side of the world. Hard of hearing and still struggling with the repercussions of being late-deafened, traveling by himself leaves him feeling painfully isolated with his raw, broken heart.

Clay Kelly never expected to be starting life over in his forties. He got hitched young, but now his wife has divorced him and remarried, his kids are grown, and he’s left his rural Outback town. In a new career driving a tour bus on Australia’s East Coast, Clay reckons he’s happy enough. He enjoys his cricket, a few beers, and a quiet life. If he’s a bit lonely, it’s not the end of the world.

Clay befriends Ethan, hoping he can cheer up the sad-eyed young man, and a crush on an unattainable straight guy is exactly the safe distraction Ethan needs. Yet as the days pass and their connection grows, long-repressed desires surface in Clay, and they are shocked to discover romance sparking. Clay is the sexy, rugged man of Ethan’s dreams, and as the clock counts down on their time together, neither wants this honeymoon to end.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out

SERIES: The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks #2

AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon

NARRATOR: Michael Pauley

PUBLISHER: Just Joshin

RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2019

LENGTH: 4 hours, 57 minutes

BLURB:

To live and draw in LA

Now living in Los Angeles with former Navy SEAL Nick Reno, artist Perry Foster comes to the rescue of elderly and eccentric Horace Daly, the legendary film star of such horror classics as Why Won’t You Die, My Darling?

Horace owns the famous but now run-down Hollywood hotel Angels Rest, rumored to be haunted. But as far as Perry can tell, the scariest thing about Angels Rest is the cast of crazy tenants – one of whom seems determined to bring down the final curtain on Horace and anyone else who gets in the way.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks

SERIES: The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks #1

AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon

NARRATOR: Max Miller

PUBLISHER: Just Joshin

RELEASE DATE: December 11, 2012

LENGTH: 6 hours 40 minutes

BLURB:

His romantic weekend in ruins, shy 20-something artist Perry Foster learns that things can always get worse when he returns home from San Francisco to find a dead body in his bathtub. A dead body in a very ugly sportscoat – and matching socks. The dead man is a stranger to Perry, but that’s not much of a comfort; how did a strange dead man get in a locked flat at the isolated Alton Estate in the wilds of the ‘Northeast Kingdom’ of Vermont? Perry turns to help from ‘tall, dark and hostile’ former navy SEAL Nick Reno – but is Reno all that he seems?

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: How to Be a Normal Person

SERIES: How to Be #1

AUTHOR: TJ Klune

NARRATOR: Derrick McClain

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2016

LENGTH: 11 hours, 7 minutes

BLURB:

Gustavo Tiberius is not normal. He knows this. Everyone in his small town of Abby, Oregon, knows this. He reads encyclopedias every night before bed. He has a pet ferret called Harry S. Truman. He owns a video rental store that no one goes to. His closest friends are a lady named Lottie with drag queen hair and a trio of elderly Vespa riders known as the We Three Queens.

Gus is not normal. And he’s fine with that. All he wants is to be left alone.

Until Casey, an asexual stoner hipster and the newest employee at Lottie’s Lattes, enters his life. For some reason, Casey thinks Gus is the greatest thing ever. And maybe Gus is starting to think the same thing about Casey, even if Casey is obsessive about Instagramming his food.

But Gus isn’t normal and Casey deserves someone who can be. Suddenly wanting to be that someone, Gus steps out of his comfort zone and plans to become the most normal person ever.

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Necropolis

SERIES: Whyborne & Griffin #4

AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk

NARRATOR: Julian G. Simmons

PUBLISHER: Widdershins Press

RELEASE DATE: June 19, 2014

LENGTH: 7 hours, 58 minutes

BLURB:

Introverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has spent the last few months watching his lover, Griffin Flaherty, come to terms with the rejection of his adoptive family. So when an urgent telegram from Christine summons them to Egypt, Whyborne is reluctant to risk the fragile peace they’ve established. Until, that is, a man who seems as much animal as human tries to murder Whyborne in the museum.

Amidst the ancient ruins of the pharaohs, they must join Christine and face betrayal, murder, and a legendary sorceress risen from the dead. In the forge of the desert heat, the trio will either face their fears and stand together—or shatter the bonds between them forever.