ANNOUNCEMENT: Audio Book Lovin' 2017

We are so excited to share this announcement with you all! As you may know, June is Audio Book Month and we'll be celebrating all month long with fabulous Authors and Narrators!!! This will be our 3rd annual event, which is hosted by both Books-n-Kisses and myself, Viviana, Enchantress of Books. The main home will be hosted at the Audio Book Lovin' 2017 page. 

If you haven't already, make sure to follow our social media platforms as we'll be sharing lots of fun info and maybe even some extra goodies (hint hint... did you get the HINT)! We'll be using the hash tag #AudioBookLovin. You can visit our websites to find us via all of our social media platforms, but I've linked our Facebook Pages to our buttons below! 

    

Now, for the announcement!

We are so happy to share with you today, the 

Audio Book Lovin' 2017 Line-Up

Authors

Annabeth Albert

Aprilynne Pike

Dannika Dark

Donna Grant

Gabra Zackman

Heather Killough-Walden

Heidi Cullinan

Jill Myles/Jessica Clare

Joanna Wylde

Julie Ann Walker

Katie Reus

Kendra Elliot

Kevin Hearne

Kristen Ashley

Lara Adrian

Lauren Blakely

Lia Davis 

Lori Foster

Molly Harper

Nina Bocci

Pamela Palmer

Rebecca Zanetti

Robyn Peterman

Santino Hassell

Sasha Summers

Sylvain Reynard

Tara Lain

Narrators

Alexander Cendese

Amanda Roconi

Andi Arndt

Angela Dawe

Antony Ferguson

Iggy Toma

Johanna Parker

Karen White

Lorelei King

Luke Daniels

Nelson Hobbs

Noah Michael Levine

Nicole Poole

Piper Goodeve

Roger Wayne

Sean Crisden

Sebastian York

Special Guest

Liz Berry

Taria A. Reed

Participating Audio Publishers

Audible

Brilliance Audio

Dreamspinner Press

Harlequin Audio

Macmillan Audio

Simon and Schuster

Tantor

We have LOTS of exciting things that we're still finalizing and more authors and narrators to join, so more to come!!!

Audio Book Review: The Golden Dynasty by Kristen Ashley

The Golden Dynasty 
(Fantasyland Series, #2)
by Kristen Ashley
Narrated By: Tillie Hooper

Blurb: 
Circe Quinn goes to sleep at home and wakes up in a corral filled with women wearing sacrificial virgin attire - and she is one of them. She soon finds out that she's not having a wild dream; she's living a frightening nightmare where she's been transported to a barren land populated by a primitive people, and in short order she's installed very unwillingly on a white throne of horns as their queen.

Dax Lahn is the king of Suh Tunak, the Horde of the nation of Korwahk, and with one look at Circe he knows she will be his bride, and together they will start The Golden Dynasty of legend.

Circe and Lahn are separated by language, culture, and the small fact she's from a parallel universe and has no idea how she got there or how to get home. But facing challenge after challenge, Circe finds her footing as queen of the brutal Korwahk Horde and wife to its king; then she makes friends; then she finds herself falling in love with this primitive land, its people, and especially their savage leader.

Available for purchase at 

           

Viviana's Review: 

I fell for this series with book #1, Wildest Dreams and continued to fall deeper into the world Kristen has created as well as the characters. Currently, you could read "The Golden Dynasty" without having read "Wildest Dream", as they do read as a standalone. HOWEVER, there is something to be said about reading it as a series. You have a better understanding of what's going on with regards to the "time traveling" and though we didn't meet Circe and Dax in book one, they were mentioned in passing but there was enough info in that short moment that it sparks the curiosity. I believe all the characters will be entwined some how, so while you may read them on their own, I think you'll fall for the entire series.

When I first learned that there would be a "language barrier" I immediately thought how this was going to be pulled off in a book (with written pages) vs. how we see it on shows or movies. I think there will always be times when we go "blaheehehs" when we're reading something and we have no clue how to pronounce or if its in a different language. Think "Klingon" (Star Trek) or the "Dothraki" from Game of Thrones.... hearing it on your tv is significantly different than reading it. On the page, I was concerned there would be a lag or duplication of conversations due to "interpreters". I LOVED the audio book because the narrator ROCKED not only the language but how the transition between characters and the languages took place!

The story had a great pace. The relationship was a bit of a slow burn and not at the same time. It totally worked. The secondary characters added volumes to the story and you ended up wanting to learn more about them. The blurb gives you an idea of what Circe is in stored for yet there is so much more than meets the eye. Kristen, the author, does a phenomenal job with showing you the world Circe is thrown into and that "different" from what you know or are accustom to, doesn't mean it's "bad". This story includes that underlining lesson of being "open minded" to a different way of being/living and that what you may deem as "savage" or "primitive" may be "normal" and "advance" or "that's the way it is" to someone else.

OH, it must be said.... IF you liked/loved the story line/relationship of Daenerys (Khaleesi) and Drogo from Game of Thrones, you like/love this book. There are some similar elements.

Narrator Review:

Tillie continues to rock! She provides the listener with a great performance that enhances the experience. She provides different tones and voices to each character and the narration. Tillie makes you believe she is fluent in the language of the Horde.

Over all, I highly recommend this book and the series! Its a great example of world building and character development. 

Disclaimer:

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Audible in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

Audio Book Lovin' Presents: Spotlight on Joanna Wylde

Hi Everyone! Books-n-Kisses and I wanted to share with you some awesome motorcycle men for you to read! I've read and listened to BOTH series (will learn more in a bit) and I can't wait for the next books! 

Upcoming Release

Reaper's Fire

 (The Reapers Motorcycle Club, Bk #6)

by Joanna Wylde

Blurb:

New York Times bestselling author Joanna Wylde returns to the “wild and raw”* world of the Reapers MC with the story of Gage and Tinker…

The club comes first.

I’ve lived by those words my whole life—assumed I’d die by them, too, and I never had a problem with that. My Reaper brothers took my back and I took theirs and it was enough. Then I met her. Tinker Garrett. She’s beautiful, she’s loyal, and she works so damned hard it scares me sometimes . . . She deserves a good man—one better than me. I can’t take her yet because the club still needs me. There’s another woman, another job, another fight just ahead.

Now she’ll learn I’ve been lying to her all along. None of it’s real. Not my name, not my job, not even the clothes I wear. She thinks I’m nice. She pretends we’re just friends, that I’ve still got a soul . . . Mine’s been dead for years. Now I’m on fire for this woman, and a man can only burn for so long before he destroys everything around him.

I’m coming for you, Tinker.

Soon.

Release Date:

August 9, 2016

Available for pre-order at

 Amazon | Kindle | iBooks | Nook 

The Reapers Motorcycle Club Series

Reaper's Fall 
(Reapers MC #5)
by Joanna Wylde

Blurb: 
He never meant to hurt her.

Levi “Painter” Brooks was nothing before he joined the Reapers motorcycle club. The day he patched in, they became his brothers and his life. All they asked in return was a strong arm and unconditional loyalty—a loyalty that’s tested when he’s caught and sentenced to prison for a crime committed on their behalf.

Melanie Tucker may have had a rough start, but along the way she’s learned to fight for her future. She’s escaped from hell and started a new life, yet every night she dreams of a biker whose touch she can’t forget. It all started out so innocently—just a series of letters to a lonely man in prison. Friendly. Harmless. Safe.

Now Painter Brooks is coming home… and Melanie’s about to learn that there’s no room for innocence in the Reapers MC.

Purchase at Amazon | Audible | Kindle | iBooks | Nook

The Silver Valley Series

Silver Bastard 
(Silver Valley #1)
by Joanna Wylde

Blurb: 
Fourteen months. For fourteen months, Puck Redhouse sat in a cell and kept his mouth shut, protecting the Silver Bastards MC from their enemies. Then he was free and it was time for his reward--full membership in the club, along with a party to celebrate. That's when he saw Becca Jones for the first time and set everything in motion. Before the night ended he'd violated his parole and stolen her away from everything she knew.

Five years. It was five years ago that Puck destroyed Becca and saved her all in one night. She's been terrified of him ever since, but she's even more terrified of the monsters he still protects her from... But Becca refuses to let fear control her. She's living her life and moving forward, until she gets a phone call from the past she can't ignore. She has to go back, and there's only one man she can trust to go with her--the ex-con biker who rescued her once before.

Puck will help her again, but this time it'll be on his terms. No more lies, no more tears, and no more holding back what he really wants...

Purchase at Amazon | Audible | Kindle | iBooks | Nook

Joanna Wylde is the secret identity of an international library spy who has travelled the world in search of exactly the right book to read. Despite her endless efforts, she’s still seeking the Ultimate Story — a story so powerful, so incredible that time itself stops while it’s being read, kittens spontaneously spring forth from rainbows, and unicorns bow their heads in praise. Joanna’s hobbies include manatee wrestling (six time north Idaho champion), arguing about the pros/cons of the Oxford comma and refusing to accept that Chicago style should trump AP. You can learn more about Joanna and her work at www.joannawylde.net








You can find Joanna at

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Audible

Tantor

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Now, go visit Kelly!!!

Audio Book Lovin' Presents: Interview with Tiffany Reisz

Hi Everyone!

Books-n-Kisses and I are excited to share with you our interview with Author Tiffany Reisz! We had a fabulous time and we hope you enjoy it as well! 

The Bourbon Thief

Tiffany Reisz

Narrated by Kim Staunton

Release Date: 06-28-16

Blurb: 

Betrayal, revenge, and a family scandal that bore a 150-year-old mystery.

When Cooper McQueen wakes up from a night with a beautiful stranger, it's to discover he's been robbed. The only item stolen: a million-dollar bottle of bourbon. The thief, a mysterious woman named Paris, claims the bottle is rightfully hers. After all, the label itself says it's property of the Maddox family, who owned and operated Red Thread Bourbon distillery since the last days of the Civil War, until the company went out of business for reasons no one knows...no one except Paris.

In the small hours of a Louisville morning, Paris unspools the lurid tale of Tamara Maddox, heiress to the distillery that became an empire. Theirs is a legacy of wealth and power but also of lies, secrets, and sins of omission. Why Paris wants the bottle of Red Thread remains a secret until the truth of her identity is at last revealed, and the century-old vengeance Tamara vowed against her family can finally be completed.

Pre-order at 

Amazon  | Audible

The Saint
(The Original Sinners - The White Years)
by Tiffany Reisz

Narrated by Elizabeth Hart 

Blurb: 

Rebellious, green-eyed Eleanor never met a rule she didn't want to break. Sick of her mother's zealotry and the confines of Catholic school, she declares that she'll never go to church again. But her first glimpse of beautiful, magnetic Father Marcus Stearns - Søren to her and only her - and his lust-worthy Italian motorcycle is an epiphany. Eleanor is consumed, yet even she knows that being in love with a priest can't be right. But when one desperate mistake nearly costs Eleanor everything, it is Søren who steps in to save her. When she vows to repay him with complete obedience, a whole world opens before her as he reveals to her his deepest secrets. Danger can be managed - pain, welcomed. Everything is about to begin. Contains mature themes.

Available for purchase at 

Amazon  | Audible | Tantor

Her Halloween Treat

(Men at Work)

by Tiffany Reisz

Pre-Order at 

Amazon

About The Author

Tiffany Reisz is the author of the highly acclaimed series The Original Sinners. Her first novel, The Siren, won the RT Book Reviews Editor's Choice Award for Best Erotic Romance of 2012. Slightly shameless, Tiffany dropped out of a conservative Southern seminary in order to pursue a career as a writer. This move, while possibly putting her eternal salvation in peril, has worked out better than she anticipated. She lives in Oregon with her husband, author Andrew Shaffer.

You can find Tiffany at

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Audible

Author's Giveaway


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Now, go visit Kelly!!!

Audio Book Review: Knight by Kristen Ashley

Knight 

(The Unfinished Heroes Series Book 1)

By Kristen Ashley 

Narrated by Savannah Richards

Blurb:

Anya Gage has learned that to get anything good in life, you have to work for it. She has no expectations, no dreams. Then she finds herself at a party where she doesn’t want to be, and she meets Knight. Knight Sebring knows who he is, what he wants, and what he likes. And he gets it. But he never expected something as sweet as Anya Gage to wander into his bedroom during a party he did not expect to be having to borrow his phone. Knight tries to leave Anya to the life she deserves, with white picket fences and a man who watches football on Sundays - good, normal, and clean. But when Anya comes to his nightclub and finds herself in a situation, he knows someone has to look after her. He can’t fight it anymore and decides that someone will be him. Knight teaches Anya that just as with the bad, in life you should also expect the good. And he teaches her this by giving it to her. But Knight has a dark past, and just as he desires Anya for exactly who she is, he fears that when she finds out exactly the man he has become and always intends to be, she’ll leave him for good, normal, and clean.

Available for purchase at 

            

Viviana's Review:
I had originally read and reviewed KNIGHT back in September 14, 2012 and you can read my full review HERE.  This book was gift that came with instructions and I loved it then and LOVED it now. I re-read my review to see what if anything in my opinion has changed in the years from reading it to listening to it as well. Overall, the review remains the same! Loved it then, love it now! Something that has changed is that I have read a hell of a lot more books then I had when I first read KNIGHT back in 2012. So there were a few things that towards the end of the book I was like "enough already w/ the 'omgods' " Definitely an overused phrase. I must have passed over that section when reading but you can't do that when listening to an audio book. Still a GREAT book/story! 

As for the narrator... she ROCKED IT! She absolutely NAILED 'Knight'. Reading the character Knight was YUMMY but hearing it was even better! LOVED IT! She did a great job in narrating the story! It was like having a conversation with a dear friend. Conversational but yet not over bearing. I didn't want to put it down. I have officially looked her up to see what else she narrates and added the books to my list.

Below is an audio clip for you to check out! 

 

Rating: 5 Stars - Perfections

Disclaimer: 
We received a complimentary copy of the audio book from the Audible Studios, in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

Audio Book Lovin' Presents: Joanna Wylde and Giveaway

Kelly, from Books-n-Kisses and I would like to welcome Author Joanna Wylde to our Audio Book Lovin series! 

Thanks so much for inviting me to participate in the Audio Book Lovin’ June event! I was trying to think about something interesting to share here, and came up blank. (What can I say – my life isn’t very interesting, LOL) Then I remembered that my readers are much smarter than me (true story) so I asked some of them to share their questions about the audio books. I figured if they wanted to hear the answers, your readers might, too. Here’s what they asked:

Susan: I LOVE audio books!!! I've always wondered, as the writer, how much say do you get in who reads/performs it?

Joanna: It really depends on who produces the books. For Reaper’s Property, I had no say at all. With the next three books, I was given a chance to review the covers to make sure they weren’t offensive to MC readers, but never had a vote on the narrators. My latest book, Silver Bastard, was done directly through Penguin. This was an amazing experience, because  the producer, Janet Stark, contacted me directly to ask about the characters and get a feel for who they were. Then she sent me a series of links to narrators she thought might be good. She was incredibly responsive to my opinions and I loved it. I selected the Silver Bastard narrators with her guidance.  

Nicole: Did you ever get uncomfortable when writing a sexual scene?

Joanna: Not unless I think about people reading it. Then I get really embarrassed and inhibited… I play a little mental game with myself, where I pretend that nobody is ever going to read my work. That makes it easier to just write what comes out, regardless of how twisted it may be. Thinking about people listening is the kiss of death for me when it comes to writing about sex!

Lisa: Have you ever been in the car, listening to an audio book, and get so caught up you drive by where you're going?

Joanna: Yes. My husband and I both like the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, and they have great narration. I missed my turn off to Auburn once on a road trip across Washington state. (Sooo worth it)

Melissa: Do you have any specifications/tips about the story for the narrators to make their reading flow better?

Joanna: Janet asked me about the pronunciation of several words and locations for Silver Bastard, but beyond that I’m definitely out of my depth with the audio. In many ways, the audio book of a novel is a completely different art form, I think. It’s a performance, and I don’t even like to speak in public. I can’t imagine I’d have anything to offer the narrators ;)

Jennifer: Did hearing the emotion and passion in the story change how you felt about certain characters?

Joanna: I always feel guilty admitting this, but I can’t listen to my own books on audio. It’s just too strange for me… I adore other people’s audio books but for some reason hearing my words out loud makes me uncomfortable. I think maybe it’s facing the reality that what started out at private thoughts and musings are so incredibly public. With a written book, you can sort of pretend that nobody is really seeing how weird your brain is, but when you hear it out loud, you can’t pretend. I much prefer listening to the narrators on other peoples’ books, LOL.

Thanks again for having me :) 

Jo

Thank you again Joanna for being part of the series and for coming up with a great post that included your readers!!  Check out the audio clip below and remember to enter the giveaways as well! 

Purchase at Amazon | Audible 

About The Author

Joanna Wylde is the secret identity of an international library spy who has travelled the world in search of exactly the right book to read. Despite her endless efforts, she’s still seeking the Ultimate Story — a story so powerful, so incredible that time itself stops while it’s being read, kittens spontaneously spring forth from rainbows, and unicorns bow their heads in praise. Joanna’s hobbies include manatee wrestling (six time north Idaho champion), arguing about the pros/cons of the Oxford comma and refusing to accept that Chicago style should trump AP. You can learn more about Joanna and her work at www.joannawylde.net

You can find Joanna at

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Audible | Tantor

Author's Giveaway

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