Audiobook Lovin' 2017 Presents: Jessica Clare - Guest Post

Hi Everyone and happy Friday!!
Today we have Author Jessica Clare sharing her Top 10 Audiobooks! We've include the links to each of the her favorites along with several audio clips for you to check out! Once you've viewed and listened, remember to enter the giveaway!

In honor of Audiobook Lovin 2017, I thought I’d throw together my Top 10 Audio series. When I read on the Kindle, I just grab the first thing I find on there (normally romance). When I listen to an audiobook, there’s a whole nexus of things I look for in a ‘perfect’ audio listen. It’s got to have that sweet spot of ‘narrator’ plus ‘story’ plus ‘excitement’. We’ve all had the audiobook that was so monotone that it puts you to sleep instead of listening to it (amirite?) so here are my favorite audio ‘reads’ and ones that I’ve listened to more than once!

Audio Book Review: Billionaire on the Loose by Jessica Clare

Billionaire on the Loose
(Billionaires and Bridesmaids Series, Book 5)
By Jessica Clare
Narrated by Jillian Macie

Blurb: 
Taylor is a genius when it comes to computers, but understanding the opposite sex is beyond her. Because she always fumbles her flirtations, she needs help in finding her Prince Charming. So when her friend, Gretchen, sets her up as a tour guide for a new guy in town, she says yes despite her misgivings. She just doesn't expect Mr. Charming to actually be royalty.

A faction in his country wants him to be king, but Loch has no intention of taking the crown. To keep from being named as the next successor, he hatches a scheme to marry a totally unacceptable American woman. Quirky Taylor seems like the perfect person for the job, until Loch realizes he likes more about her than her ability to keep him off the throne.

When Loch's secret schemes come out, his chance of happiness with Taylor are blown - unless he can find a way to get the nerdy object of his affection to believe she's truly the queen of his heart.

Available for purchase at 

         

Viviana's Review: 

I had been looking forward to release and as soon as the book started I feared this may become a DNF or a low rated.

Taylor, the heroine who is a total nerd and computer geek. From being a tech specialist to role playing in computer games. There is this arch within the story with a manipulative "friend" which is more like a stalker than anything else. She feels this huge level of guilt vs. seeing the manipulation and stalking behavior that it is. Then there are moments where she acknowledges the "obsession" vs. them being friends and "needed". I mean COME ON! How many times does the reader need to see how CRAZY this 'friend' is when he tells her he's going to hurt himself because she didn't answer an email, text, pin on the game or on social media. This is after Taylor telling him several time she is NOT interested in him "in that way". This line of communication between Taylor & the "online friend" occurs over and over throughout the book. She blames this situation and the guild (gaming) for her "lack of time" and "accepting the promotion" and just about everything else for not going "outside and living". Sigh.

Jessica usually writes stronger heroine and though it seems that there was an effort to make Taylor either into or seem as if she was "strong" because she's has a dominant streak in the bedroom and seems to be 'herself' (i.e. nerdy/geeky, klutzy, lack of filter with her thoughts, etc.). However, this fell flat as there are several times when her friends speak to her harshly and down to her and Taylor doesn't stop that or defends herself. Then there was an incident where she felt the need to change shirts due to how others were looking at her. I get having insecurities, but this didn't stand true to what the readers were asked to believe.

Loch may be "next in line" for the throne in Bellissime but it's obvious he is no where near ready to run a country. He's hot (trust me, we get told how hot he is over and over and over and over and over, by Taylor) but is oblivious to how things truly are and comes across as ...naive and a tad absent minded... an example is when he wants to go running and asks "where the running clothes are".... mind you, he just slept over someone else's house (thus he doesn't have his own clothes there) and he seems to EXPECT that there would be stuff he can use.... when he's asked how things are "usual" for him, he flat out says that he opens the closet and the clothes are there. Basically, he comes across as a bit of a spoil brat who can't seem to make himself breakfast.

Let's talk about the "conflict" between the Heroine and the Hero.... SO OVER DONE it's not funny really. I would expect more from Jessica.

So there were several times where I rolled my eyes.... felt like smacking the heroine for several reasons from accepting to help the Hero because he was "bored senseless" and she would be a distraction from the boredom to the point where she enables the "friend" and his stalker behavior. 

Narrator's Review: 

Jillian Macie is overall good/okay. Her British accents are good and she does a few different voices/tones for the female characters, however, the males all sound too similar and not a difference enough in the tones to have readers believe it's a guy. If you can look over that, then its all good. 

Overall, this felt like a filler book and not one that "needed" to be part of the series. I could have totally been okay with THIS storyline being the "novella" and the one that is a "novella" the "Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding (Billionaire Boys Club #6.5)" be a full length book.  Love the idea of this series, but unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me. 

Rating: 1 Star - I didn't like it. 

Disclaimer:

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

Audio Book Review: The Billionaire’s Favorite Mistake by Jessica Clare

The Billionaire's Favorite Mistake
(Billionaires and Bridesmaids, Book 4)
By Jessica Clare
Narrated By Jillian Macie

Blurb: 
A hot one night stand between friends might spark true love in the latest Billionaires and Bridesmaids novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Billionaire Takes a Bride.

Greer has always been there for Asher, but she wishes she could break through her shyness and show how much she truly loves him. But after a steamy, mindless fling at Hunter and Gretchen’s engagement party, Greer finds herself tossed aside and forced to admit that you can’t love someone who doesn’t acknowledge you exist.

It’s a shame he got her pregnant.

After his fiancée betrayed him and tanked his business in one fell swoop, Asher has spent his time trying to rebuild his wealth and forget the past. But he doesn’t understand why Greer blew him off after their night together—until he catches a glimpse of her belly.

Now Asher is willing to do whatever it takes to convince Greer she belongs with him. And he’s very skilled at the art of persuasion.

Available for purchase at

            

Viviana's Review: 
I want to begin this review by saying I've really enjoyed all the previous books in this series and her other Billionaire series. She doesn't follow "traditional" plots and character steroid typical ideas. I was really looking forward to this installment. When I read the blurb, it made me raise an eyebrow because the concept/idea has been done before but I wanted to see how Jessica would spin this overly done trope as she's done in the past....

Unfortunately, "The Billionaire's Favorite Mistake" falls into every trope possible which makes this a disappointing read/listen.

• Heroine loves/wants/lusts after her BFF (Hero)
• Hero sees heroine as only his BFF / sister type
• Heroine believes she needs to "change" in order to be "seen" / acknowledge by Hero
• Hero hitting bottom low due to broken heart
• Heroine decides to proclaim her feelings even though Hero  is drunk (obviously drunk)
• Hero is horny and decides having a quickie in a public area with his BFF is a good idea - unprotected sex to boot
• Heroine goes along with Hero's sexual advances
• Heroine gets mad as the sex isn't what she expected and decide to no longer be friends with Hero
• Weeks later we find out Heroine is pregnant and she decides to cut the Hero out of "Her" baby's life
• Both the Hero and the readers find out Heroine was a virgin
• Hero decides he should have seen Heroine for what she truly was... and decides to woo her. 

And basically it continues to downward spiral with bad plans to get the Heroine to forgive the Hero and the Heroine constantly second guessing his attraction and feelings for her as well as the author trying to make the heroine "behave" in control (i.e. sexual relationship with hero) but it's not convincing.

I hoped it would get better... it never does. I'm not sure why Jessica went the route she did wth the plot and character development (or lack there of).


Narrator's Review: 
Jillian Macie does a good job with her performance. This makes the book bearable.


Overall, I was disappointed with this read and wished things were different because the rest of the series is really good. A fun read! Also, this can be read as a standalone and I can't recommend this particular book. Sigh... fingers crossed the next book will go back to the "norm".

Rating: It Was Ok

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

Audio Book Lovin Presents: Jessica Clare Interview

Hi Everyone! Books-n-Kisses and I are extremely excited to have you be a part of our Audio Book Lovin’ Series! 

Jessica: Hi there! Thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here. ☺

Viviana: Jessica, what do you love/like about audio books?

Jessica: I really love that ‘forces’ you to hear every single word. As a reader, sometimes I get in a hurry and I skim. But when I listen to audio, I hear every single word that the author intended and to me, it feels like a different experience. I love it! Also hearing a guy with a sexy voice deliver his lines helps. ;)


Viviana: Share with us about the beginning of your venture into Audiobooks. What made you decide to take a chance on this platform and go that route?

Jessica: Most of my books have been purchased by either Tantor or Audible. They take control of things, give me a high quality narrator, and I sit back and let them take care of it! As for audio, the reason I went this direction is because my husband is a massive audio devotee. He would much rather have a story read to him than read it on paper. He’s turned me on to audio, as well!


Viviana: What involvement do you have in getting your novels turned into audiobooks? 

Jessica: Most of it happens behind the scenes, but I get a say in some of the narrative choices. I honestly try to stay out of things for my own books, because I get ‘stuck’ on the words. If I listen to the book, I want to rewrite entire swaths of it and that isn’t conducive to things. All I hear is what I did wrong, so I listen long enough to make sure the narrator has captured things how I want them to be read, and then I bail out!


Viviana: What was the process like, to find the perfect narrator for your books? (Note: if you were not part of selecting the narrator, we can skip this one :) )

Jessica: I don’t like to bounce around for narration. All of my billionaires have been done by the fabulous Jillian Macie, and she’s perfect because she’s got that snappy, quick voice. For my young adult fantasy, The Scarecrow King, I went through some of my YA audiobooks. I was blown away by Cassandra Morris’s performance in Kelley Armstrong’s Darkest Powers trilogy, so I asked Audible to please ‘get me someone like Cassandra Morris’. They did me one better AND THEY GOT ME CASSANDRA MORRIS. I squeed for days!

I’ve also released my own audio books on ACX (the self-publishing arm). For those, I put my books up for auditions. I thought I’d get maybe five. I got over a hundred! It was so daunting, because they were all really fantastic, but I went with Hollis McCarthy (who is also a stage actor) because she did such a fabulous job with capturing the characters. I loved that she had a different ‘voice’ for each character and no one sounded the same.


Viviana: Has the performance of the narrators changed the way you see or hear your characters?

Jessica: Not really! Mostly because I’m all “Oh god, why did I pick that word!!” and so then I can’t listen any further. Authors really are our own worst enemies.


Viviana: What’s next for you? 

Jessica: I am currently writing DIRTY MONEY, an over-the-top, super sexy billionaire romance. It’s a little more ‘in your face’ than the Billionaires and Bridesmaids and I’m kind of loving it!


Viviana: When you’re not writing… what do you do for fun? 

Jessica: Nap? I do feel like I’m always writing lately, thanks to deadlines! But when this book gets turned in, I’m going to sit down with a few pints of ice cream and mainline Orange is the New Black season 4!


Viviana:  For anyone who has not listened to an audiobook before.  What would you tell them to try to convince them to listen?

Jessica: I would say to listen to samples! Find narrators that you enjoy listening to and shop their backlist. Also, you can change the speed that someone is reading to you on several apps, so if you find the narration too slow, speed it up! But otherwise, give it a shot. Audio is awesome to listen to in the car, or at night when you don’t want to wake your hubby up with your Kindle light.

In addition, try different kinds of books with audio! Sometimes a book feels too ‘dry’ to be an easy read, but it’s an entirely different experience on audio. I wasn’t all that interested in ‘The Help’ but the audio was fantastic. Ditto the Amelia Peabody mystery series. I found them super dry to read text-wise, but they were a joy to listen to in audio.

Viviana: Thank you Jessica, for hanging out with us today!! 

Jessica: Thank you so much for having me! Audio on, people!!

We hope you enjoyed the interview! Please check out the audio clips below and check out the awesome giveaways! 

Purchase at Amazon | Audible | Tantor



Purchase at Amazon | Audible | Tantor

About The Author

Jessica Clare is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author who writes under three different names. As Jill Myles, she writes a little bit of everything, from sexy, comedic urban fantasy to zombie fairy tales. As Jessica Clare, she writes erotic contemporary romance.
She also has a third pen name (because why stop at two?). As Jessica Sims, she writes fun, sexy shifter paranormals. She lives in Texas with her husband, cats, and too many dust-bunnies. Jill spends her time writing, reading, writing, playing video games, and doing even more writing.



You can find Jessica at

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Audible
Tantor

Let us know what you think by leaving a comment!  Oh! Don't forget to enter the giveaways!

Author's Giveaway

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Now, go visit Kelly!!!

Audio Book Review: Last Hope by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick

Last Hope
(Hitman Series, #4)
by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick
Narrators: Kasha Kensington and Iggy Toma

Blurb:
Mendoza: I grew up in the slums and lost everything I loved to poverty, illness, and death. I had only one skill to leverage myself out of my circumstances-violence. Being hired out as a mercenary hitman brought me money and built an empire. My next job: steal secret information that could bring down world governments, find my target, and destroy it. But then, I meet her.

Ava: When my best friend, Rose, is kidnapped, I have no choice but to take a job as a mule for a pair of criminals intent on selling top secret information to the highest bidder. I should have known that bad luck tends to cling, because the plane I'm on goes down. That I survived a crash-landing was a miracle. And so was being rescued by sexy mercenary Rafe Mendoza. The thing is, he wants the information that I need to free Rose. I can't let him have it, but I need his help. Rose is depending on me, and I won't let her down.

Available for purchase at 

           

Viviana's Review: 

I must start this review stating that I have enjoyed this series.  Granted, at times, the heroines could be a tad bit “too naive” for their own good.  However, overall, the series is a good one.  Great alpha males that are determined and know what they want and go after it.  They also happen to be “heroes” in one way or another.  Oh and they are HOT!!!  With Last Hope being the last book in the series, I must say that all good things must come to an end.  Also, it’s good to end things vs. drag the series on and on.

  

However, I was eternally grateful to have been listening to this book instead of reading it.  I think I would have thrown the book across the room if I was reading it instead of listening.  Why?  OMG if Rafe (hero) went googoo gaga over Ava (heroine) one more time…  The problem was that it wasn’t a moment or two… it was overly repetitive and you wanted to yell at the book and Rafe “Alright already, we get it!  She’s gorgeous!  You want her and you think you can’t have her!”  Again, Rafe’s pining over Ava was just way too overly done!  Way too repetitive.  Thank you Iggy for narrating!  I understand the character’s backstory and I could see and know the why but at 35 years old I just couldn’t see it.  His behavior was that more of a 15 year old instead of a 35 year old.  I get that this is a story, but there has to be some sense of realism and his reaction/behavior toward her/for her wasn’t believable.

Speaking of Rafe’s backstory, I had issues believing he believed part of what occurred when he was a teenager.  Again I understand inexperience but at the age of 35 he hadn’t learned the truth?  It was just too unbelievable.

If the story would have been taken down a notch or two, it would have worked so much better!  The story concept was good.  The idea of a hitman saving a woman who is currently being used as a mule for information… it works.  For this series it works.

Overall it was okay.  Again, the concept of the story is a good one.  The writing was over the top unfortunately and there were too many unbelievable moments/parts of the story.  

Narrators: They both made reading this book bearable.  They did a great job with the voices.  Love Iggy!  Could listen to him for hours.

 Rating: 2.5 - It was okay

Disclaimer:

I received a complimentary copy of this book from PENGUIN GROUP Berkley, NAL / Signet in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

The 12 Books of Christmas Giveaway

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Three Kings Day, Kwanzaa, Omisoka, or Yule, I wanted to say THANK YOU for your continued support and to spread some joy this holiday season I thought lets have a giveaway!!!!

To enter all you have to do is tell us what your one wish is this holiday season in the comments below and fill out the Rafflecopter widget! 

Giveaway

12 Paperback books from mixed authors and genres! 

SIGNED COPY OF

The Lost (Sin Hunters #3)
by Caridad Piñeiro 

SIGNED COPY OF

Tainted By Temptation
by Katy Madison 

SIGNED COPY OF

One Week (HaleStorm #1)
by Elisabeth Staab

SIGNED COPY OF

For Her Pleasure
by Maya Banks

SIGNED COPY OF

Crushed Seraphim (Seraphim #1)
by Debra Anastasia

Cat's Lair (Leopard People #7)
by Christine Feehan

What a Goddess Wants (Forgotten Goddesses #1)
by Stephanie Julian

Last Kiss (Hitman #3)
by Jessica Clare  and Jen Frederick

The Inn at Ocean's Edge (Sunset Cove #1)
by Colleen Coble

The Masseuse (The Body Works Trilogy #1)

by Sierra Kincade

His Mistress (Self-Made Men #1)
by Monica Burns
NOTE: This is an ARC (uncorrected proof w/ the old cover)

No Turning Back (Kathleen Turner #1)
by Tiffany Snow

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Giveaway TERMS & CONDITIONS. 

Giveaway Open to Domestic (US) ONLY Entries. 

Winner has 48hrs to reply to email notification. If the winner does not reply within that time frame, a new winner will be selected. 

By entering this giveaway, you attest you read, reviewed and understand the TERMS & CONDITIONS. 

Book Review: Last Hope by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick

Last Hope
(Hitman Series, #4)
by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick

Blurb:
Mendoza: I grew up in the slums and lost everything I loved to poverty, illness, and death. I had only one skill to leverage myself out of my circumstances—violence. Being hired out as a mercenary hitman brought me money and built an empire. But all that I've fought for is in jeopardy. My next job: Steal secret information that could bring down world governments. Find my target. Destroy it. But then, I meet her.

Ava: Karma hates me. When my best friend Rose is kidnapped, I have no choice but to take a job as a mule for a pair of criminals intent on selling top-secret information to the highest bidder. I should have known that bad luck tends to cling, because the plane I'm on goes down. That I survived a crash-landing was a miracle. And so was being rescued by Rafe Mendoza—hot, sexy, dangerous. The thing is, he wants the information that I need to free Rose. I can't let him have it, but I need his help. And I need to fight this crazy attraction for this mercenary with hungry eyes. Rose is depending on me, and I won't let her down, no matter how appealing Rafe is.

Available for purchase at 

           

 Paul's Review:

This last book in the Hitman series is quite an adventure.  Ava, the female protagonist, is forced to work for some very bad people who have kidnapped her best friend Rose.  These evil people are threatening to kill Rose if Ava does not follow their every command, and Ava will do anything it takes to save her friend’s life.

Ava’s every move is being watched by Rose’s kidnappers, but she is also being surveilled by mercenaries who are former U.S. Army soldiers.  Their leader Rafael “Rafe” Mendoza is instantly smitten by Ava.  Mendoza and his mercenaries are trying to get their hands on the same information that Ava is being forced to try to sell to the highest bidders all around the world.

Mendoza is a severely broken man being the product of the rape of his mother among other issues, and his troubles only multiply (in his eyes) when he has to achieve his goal of obtaining his information and keep safe the woman whose beauty and allure make thinking clearly impossible, much less achieving a very dangerous goal.  Mendoza, while quickly falling in love with Ava, struggles to keep her at arm’s length most of the book.  Rafe Mendoza feels his dark secret makes him unworthy of such a beautiful woman and a threat to her very life at the same time.

It is said that love conquers all things, and once Mendoza saves Ana she shows him just how true this statement is.  Ava helps Rafe fight and destroy his inner demons, and while they lived through some harrowing experiences they each lose their best friend in the process.

The action is awesome in this book; you can’t put it down.  The sex scenes are amazing and plentiful, and you are spared no detail.  Most of the characters are instantly liked - for me, all but Rose (Ava’s kidnapped best friend) as she is portrayed as naive to the point of “you’ve got to be kidding me, right?”

Speaking of characters, Mendoza is the not-so-proud owner of a twelve (yes, twelve) inch penis; he had a very bad experience trying to have sex with a girlfriend 35 years ago when she bled profusely and died two days later.  To make matters worse, the girl’s brothers told Rafe she died because he tried to have sex with her and they beat him within an inch of his life and mutilated his groin.  Add this to the fact that Rafe has been told by his mother since birth that he is evil and his huge penis is proof of it, and well…  Rafe truly believes he is cursed and kills anyone he loves.
Ava is so awed by the size of his penis that she calls it “Godzilla”.  Now, as a man reading this book I can’t help but think the odds of having a penis that big are very low, but it could happen.  Good for him I say.  Must be rough.  We regular, normal, mere mortals deal with slightly less.  And it’s funny, too - you would think he would be so happy to be so endowed, just as many think tall people (like me) must be so happy to be so tall.  Not the case.

I really enjoyed this book, and I hope there will be more to come.  I think it is so cool the way things ended up.

Rating: 4.5 Stars - I REALLY LOVED IT

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the PENGUIN GROUP Berkley, NAL via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.