Reviewed by Stephen K.
TITLE: Finding Ky
SERIES: Custos Securities # 4
AUTHOR: Luna David
NARRATOR: Tristan James
PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio
LENGTH: 12 hours and 50 minutes
RELEASE DATE: November 23rd , 2021
BLURB:
Partners in every sense of the word, Sawyer and Jackson have been a unit since they were young teenagers. Growing up together in the same foster home, they learned they could depend only on each other. But when Kyler – a boy barely half their age – arrived heartbroken and scared, the young men took him under their wings, vowing to take care of him and protect him.
But then an unimaginable nightmare tears their world apart, separating Sawyer and Jackson from Kyler. Doing their best to keep their vow, even after disaster strikes, Sawyer and Jackson try to ensure Kyler is safe as he grows up without them.
Kyler always thought running from his past was his only option, until his past catches up with him in the form of Sawyer and Jackson. He finally realizes, maybe the only way forward is to go back to the past. But in doing so, the three of them find themselves embroiled in a family vendetta that spans decades, threatening to upend their world once again.
Will Sawyer and Jackson finally be able to fulfill their promise to keep Kyler safe – while proving they accept and love him for who he is – or will the odds always be stacked against them?
REVIEW:
The text version of this was reviewed by Kat back on June 9th so I’ll try to limit my recap of this and concentrate on the Audiobook version
That said, a few remarks in order. This tale is told in third person with alternating points of view by chapter. The first chapter from the POV of Kylar dumps us directly in a story already in progress. I’m not sure whether that’s due to this being the 4th book a series or not. My guess is that it doesn’t impact the clarity of the story but I might be missing out on some of the “feels” that comes with reunions with old and familiar characters from earlier books. Kylar starts this tale about as vulnerable as one can be. He’s naked in a shower, and apparently on the run from unspecified gunmen that are looking to kill him.
The story jumps ahead a few years and we’re now looking at things from the POV of Sawyer, a security force employee with the special ability to feel danger toward those that are of concern to him. When he gets a flash of Kylar after two years of radio silence, he heads off to Oregon to find the young man and bring him back.
Both Sawyer and Jackson who were older foster bothers of 14 year old Ky. That is right up until their foster mom “supplies” Ky to a pedophile cousin of hers (for a profit). Though the two older boys try to intervene and do to some extent they’re too late to save Ky from most of the trauma. Jackson gets severely injured (flat-lining at one point) and the boys get separated with Ky believing Jackson dead and Sawyer hating him.
And from there the plot gets far-fetched. This is an M/M/M tale where the title character is gender fluid. Yet, he’s also the heir apparent to a New Jersey Mafia family. There is an awful lot going on here and a lot of discussion about it. The dangers were painted as being so significant that the somewhat lengthy sex scenes felt a bit like interruptions to the story.
That the author could maintain any sense of credulity with all these plot elements in play attests to her ability. In some ways this one touches all the bases. Fans of danger and crime centered stories will find it appealing. Those looking for a story with a realistically drawn gender fluid character will like it. Fans of sweet tough guys, and M/M/M couples will like it as well. There’s even a little something for those that like things a bit kinkier. Given all that, I’d have rated the text version of this a strong 3 ½ and possibly a 4. I’ve got mixed feelings about this one. There’s a lot of good stuff here, but then so many of the plot elements never really fulfilled their early promise.
But this is supposed to be a review of the audio-book version.
With well over 150 Audible titles to his credit, Tristan James does a adequate job with the narration here. The prose is clear and reasonably well paced. However, there are some rough spots where it’s clear that a another practice run through the material would have made the prose more fluid.
Often where one pauses matters. – There’s an old rhubarb that there’s a big difference in saying “A woman; without her, man is nothing.” and saying “A woman without her man, is nothing.”
That applies here. One example directly from the text “…while the dog’s mouth opened in, what could only be a huge grin” seemed stilted. Only after hearing it, does one realize that it should have been read “…while the dog’s mouth opened, in what could only be a huge grin.” The proper placement of these minor pauses make all the difference.
The first feels like someone reading to us, and the second, like a storyteller recounting a tale. Narrators are artists painting a picture with their words and sometimes the most minor mistake can effect the outcome.
This is a challenge that few narrators consistently get perfect. A few misses are always to be expected. But I would have expected that a veteran narrator like Tristan James could have pulled it off better than he did here. Perhaps with a bit more work…
Also, know that James is one of those narrators that leans toward being a narrator rather than a voice actor. His characters do sound different but their vocal qualities are almost always understated. So much so that it’s sometimes hard to tell who’s speaking. On the upside, he doesn’t try to emulate women’s voices (and miss) by adopting that falsetto that I find so annoying.
Here the lack of voice acting is not a show-stopper. Various chapters are presented from the viewpoints of Kylar, and Sawyer, and Jackson by turn. Each chapter is clearly labeled as to who is speaking. And yet, in the best audio books, the tale takes on another dimension when voiced by the right narrator. Here the overall effect is something of a wash, some aspects are better than they’d be in print, but almost as many are worse.
I’d rate this audiobook a solid 3 ½ hearts. Unfortunately, the performance doesn’t elevate it into a 4 or higher as I’d initially hoped it might.
RATING: 
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