Beth Bolden

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️
Performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is the second in the Portland Evergreens series and can easily be read as a standalone.
Malcolm is someone who plans and schedules his life to the letter. Elliott is the exact opposite of him. He takes everything as it comes, is carefree and very impulsive. He also has an open attitude to life, whereas Malcolm is still a virgin.
No wonder they are constantly arguing. They both play on the same ice hockey team and when the coach assigns Malcolm to tutor Elliott, they spend more time together. And that was great to see. How Malcolm loosens up a bit, how Elliott sees more behind Malcolm than it initially seems.
They both feel attracted to each other and they also make clear progress on the ice, which doesn't go unnoticed.
I thought the development of the two main protagonists was wonderful and the way their relationship gradually changed was well done by the author. Things get exciting again when Elliott, despite all his hard work off the ice, has to worry about his place in the team.
I found Malcolm and Elliott likeable and the two of them couldn't help but get the odd bit of relationship advice. It was nice to see them both overcome their fears and reservations and to see them both work out that a relationship can work.
Darcy Stark narrated the story and he brought the characters to life with his pleasant voice. He captured the personalities and their emotions very well and he read the story in an entertaining way.

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Beth Bolden has created a great series with the Piranhas series that has gotten better with each installment and in my opinion, the last book was the best.
I haven't seen much of Kenyon, who is the subject of this book, in the previous volumes. No wonder, because in addition to playing football, he is involved in a charitable organization.
Kenyon meets Julian in a bar and things get heated. But Kenyon doesn't know that Julian is a sports reporter and Julian doesn't recognize Kenyon. This comes as a shock the next day, but the two can't keep their hands off each other.
They are well aware of the risk they are taking. And the more they meet, the more it feels like a relationship, but the two are very good at fooling both themselves and each other.
Julian and Kenyon couldn't be more different. Their childhoods were very opposite and now they are on opposite sides, but they share a love of football.
Once you get to know Julian better, you understand him, but it takes a while and it was very frustrating.
I really liked Kenyon, he's likeable and the chemistry between them is palpable. But sometimes I would have liked to shake them both because they didn't see what was right in front of them.
The story was told in an entertaining way, it got emotional at times and I sometimes wanted to give Julian a hug. The ending was wonderful, I loved it. But I regret that this series has now come to an end. I was very happy to see beloved characters from the previous volumes here again.

As always, Darcy Stark did a fantastic job reading the audiobook. I loved the voices he chose for the male protagonists. I didn't quite like the choice of voice for Julian's boss, but that wasn't too bad as his performance was very entertaining and a pleasure to listen to.

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(⭐️) 4,5
Performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I only discovered the Kitchen Gods series with this box, which contains four books and I can highly recommend this box! The series is wonderfully written by the author and if you enjoy culinary stories with all the trimmings, then you've come to the right place. Each book is about different protagonists.
There's Miles, the pastry chef, who has a falling out with his producer Evan over a cooking show, as the two of them are an explosive mix. Then there's Wyatt, who quits his job to take a better-paid job with baseball player Ryan so that he can pay for his grandmother's nursing home. In the next book, Xander meets Damon. One has inherited land, the other wants to open a restaurant on a farm. I liked the last book best. It was about Bastian Aquino and his chef Kian, who we have already met in the course of the series and who is very determined. It was really emotional here. I thought the series got better with each book and Bastian and Kian were the crowning finale.
The series was entertaining and there is something for everyone: hurt/comfort, rich/not so rich, age difference, boss/employee. The protagonists were all likeable, even if it took me a little longer to understand the reason for one or two of the characters' behavior.

Wyatt Baker entertained me for over 35 hours. I liked his voice and his entertaining narration. I could also have listened to him for much longer. He found the right voice for each protagonist and he did a great job of conveying both the mood and the emotions. Wow, what a brilliant narration! Wyatt Baker was simply fantastic and I couldn't have imagined a better narrator for this series!