Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: In-laws vs. Outlaws
SERIES: Hitman vs. Hitman
AUTHORS: Cari Z & L.A. Witt
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 3 hours and 4 minutes
RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2024
BLURB:
Really, guys? Seriously?
A fifth book after we said you were getting a standalone?
Oh, and now you want a wedding. Because you’ve made it through four books and—
You know what? Fine. But we’re not going easy on you.
Bet you wish you’d just gone to Vegas don’t you, August and Ricardo?
In-laws vs. Outlaws is the final—so help us, it really is the final—book in the Hitman vs. Hitman series.
REVIEW:
NOTE: this is the fifth book in a series and honestly you will probably be lost if you haven’t read/listened to them in order.
When we last left our intrepid heroes, they were engaged and planning a wedding. Well the wedding has arrived! August and Ricardo are in Spain with Ricardo’s family. Then August’s parents with whom he has a VERY strained relationship show up. His sister Elodie and her husband have decided to not travel with the parents and August is very unhappy about that. There is now no buffer between him and the somewhat estranged parents. When August picks them up at the airport, well, things do NOT get off to a very good start. They have not all been in the same place in years. And right away the nitpicking starts. All of the sudden, August’s parents want to take over the entire wedding – changing the venue, the food, etc. Needless to say August is far from happy about this.
Things go from bad to worse when August family offends Ricardo’s entire extended family at a party thrown in their honor at Ricardo’s parents home. August’s parent behave very badly and woof! Things get UGLY. Then Ricardo’s ex-wife arrives and sets off another family squabble. Poor Ricardo and August just wanted this to be a nice wedding with close friends and family and now it’s become a circus! Will they even make it to the altar? There is a future to plan here!
OMG! I’m so sad this series is over, but I have loved every minute of August and Ricardo’s journey. This fun and emotional final installment brings together the family and friends that we’ve met over the series for one more final get together before Ricardo and August ride off into the sunset together 😉 Or something like that. In keeping with their lives together so far, things don’t go smoothly. With this many personalities and the events of their pasts, there is clearly baggage here and that has to be addressed. I appreciated how the authors resolved some outstanding issues here in a believable way. And I just love the relationship between these two – perfectly complete 😀
What to say about Michael Ferraiuolo’s narration? Perfect! Lots of past characters who up here and it’s never a question as to who is speaking. I loved his haughty performance of August’s parents and their realization that they can’t treat August as a child anymore. The edges soften appropriately with the story. There is not much OTT in this one – just real feelings and real conflict and some fun moments with Ricardo’s family and their friends especially. Just a great conclusion to what has been a favorite audio series. Bravo and Brava to the authors and narrator on a fitting conclusion to this arc. Highly recommended.
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