Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Most Wanted

SERIES:  Wrecked: Guardians, Book 3

AUTHOR:  Kelly Fox

NARRATOR:  Zane Daniels

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  5 hours and 55 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  January 7, 2022

BLURB:

Thane.

Letting him go was the biggest mistake of my life. Giving me a second chance might be the biggest mistake of his. I’d spent a year as Ronan’s friend-with-benefits, convincing myself that he could never feel the way I felt. I was floored when those three little words flew out of his mouth. So, I ran and have regretted that decision every day for the last five years. Now, fate has led him back to me and to the Guardians, the merry band of mercenaries who have become my family. Our last several missions have gone sideways, and Ronan is convinced that he needs to go back into the field to understand what our team is dealing with. He’s putting himself in harm’s way, and we can’t keep our hands off each other. God help me if anything happens to him.

Ronan.

I can’t think of anything more dangerous than giving my heart to a man who’s already destroyed it. Then again, I might not have much say in the matter. My life’s been upended, and the only place that’s safe is with Thane and the Guardians. It doesn’t take us long to figure out that our passion burns just as hot as it always did. Undeniable. Unstoppable. I can’t keep my hands off him, but I can’t go back to being his friend with benefits. And, I have no clue how to trust him. Thing is…if we could learn to trust each other, I might actually have something to offer this team of morally flexible do-gooders.

REVIEW:

Kelly Fox’s fantabulous audiobook series Wrecked: Guardians continues with the third book, Most Wanted, narrated by the outstanding Zane Daniels.  It’s another exciting, entertaining, escapade-filled, romantic adventure that checks all the boxes, particularly on the audio side with Mr. Daniels’ excellent, enticing, engaging vocal performance.  His resonant baritone commands attention, and he hooks you from word one and doesn’t let go until “The End”.

Don’t attempt to listen to Most Wanted without partaking in the previous books first, though, especially book two, Full Contact.  Most Wanted begins where Full Contact ends, and without the context of the earlier stories, you will likely be utterly confused.

Luckily, it’s no hardship to listen to Mr. Daniels spin out Ms. Fox’s previous Wrecked: Guardians series stories as they provide exceptional entertainment from top to bottom. Each book contains a well-balanced combination of steam, humor, romance, action, and adventure.  You’d also be hard-pressed to find a better narrator.  Mr. Daniels throws himself into his vocal performances for these audiobooks.  It’s full-on vocal theater.  He’s committed to the storyline, invested in his characters, incisive in his interpretation of the text, and successful in pulling us into his thrall.

The audiobook for book two, Full Contact, made my “Best of 2021” list.  There, Ms. Fox uses a winning formula that includes the action/romance/humor/steam/Zane Daniels’ voice combination mentioned above, and adds a few additional elements to the mix.  These include a strong found family element in the group of gorgeous men who make up the Guardians, their family (in particular Anders and Odd’s sexually liberated and completely hysterical parents), and a couple (Omar and Anders) with off-the-charts, crackling chemistry.  That product is hard to replicate, but Most Wanted tries admirably and succeeds, for the most part.

Most Wanted focuses on Thane and Ronan.  These two men have a friends-with-benefits history that was hinted at in Full Contact.  We get the backstory right out of the gate here, and it’s … complicated.  Fast forward five years.  Ms. Fox shows us Ronan dealing with the fallout from his involuntary defection from the U.S. Marshals and adjusting to his new role on a very illegal, under-the-radar, “vigilante” organization.  He’s also reconnecting with Thane, the man he still loves despite their brutal breakup five years before. 

Thane, for his part, is dealing with his horrible father, issues with his BFF and head of the Guardians, DB, and grappling with his feelings for Ronan and guilt over how he left him all those years before.  Ms. Fox also depicts some interesting events concerning Anders and Odd’s parents, Sam (who was introduced in the last book), and she introduces a new character as well.  Surprisingly, a good amount of page real estate is devoted to groundwork for DB and Odd’s story in the next book, Deep Impact.  

Most Wanted clearly has grand ambitions because that is a lot of ground to cover.  Unfortunately, there isn’t enough time or space within the confines of this story arc to sufficiently develop all of it. Thane and Ronan’s relationship gets short shrift as a result.  They’re shown to have a palpable, strong connection, and Ms. Fox develops them as a plausible couple.  But their chemistry never reaches “Omar and Anders”- level heat, although admittedly, that’s a high bar.  (Indeed, Omar and Anders’ “coupley” moments in Most Wanted are some of the best parts of the book.)  Thane and Ronan’s steamy scenes are undoubtedly hot and their HEA well deserved, but more time to delve into their personalities, their history, their hang-ups, and hesitations would have augmented the story arc concerning their relationship.  

That being said, Ms. Fox skillfully creates the narrative using her witty, often wry humor, and sharply written dialogue.  It gives Mr. Daniels some terrific source material to work from as he takes up the mic and sinks into storytelling mode.  Indeed, Mr. Daniels provides an exciting, engaging vocal portrayal of Thane and Ronan, as well as the rest of the Guardians crew.  He obviously understands the characters and their motivations and, more precisely, how they’d think and act in any given situation.  

We hear this translated through Mr. Daniels’ wide range of intonations, pitch changes, and dynamics.  He astutely assigns the right one to any given situation, providing a nuanced, emotionally engaged performance.  The pitch and tone that he chooses for these men fit with their description, their demeanor, and their attitude.  For example, Thane has a deep, growly, bearish voice totally spot-on to his personality.  Ronan has a bit more complexity.  He sounds a bit “twinky”, but it’s tempered by the undercurrent of strength we hear in the confident tone that Mr. Daniels underlines in his voice when Ronan is in professional mode, operating his element.  The result of all of this thoughtful work is astoundingly authentic and absolutely addictive.

Most Wanted, while not perfect, is perfectly enjoyable and superbly performed by Mr. Daniels.  I’d listen to him read the phone book, so an audiobook of a Kelly Fox-penned romance featuring a found family of some fabulous guys, an endearing couple falling in love all over again, all told through Mr. Daniels’ voice, makes Most Wanted an audiobook purchase no-brainer.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

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