Jay Hogan

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(⭐️) 4,5

Performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Nick Fisher and Madigan Church are back, and I was very excited to see how things would continue for them. Before reading this book, I highly recommend reading volume 1 of the Fisher & Church series, “The Meaning of You,” as the story picks up right where that one left off.

Nick is still reeling from the past and what they accidentally uncovered, and Madigan has become his rock.

The first part of the story focuses on their relationship. It's incredibly complicated, which I could understand as a reader. And their communication is just as complicated at times. I would have loved to shake them both and then lock them in a room where they could talk things out.

But apart from their relationship, they can't forget the young man they initially freed, only to return him to the wrong people. And so, with the help of Mad's assistant Gazza, our amateur detectives set out to find Lee, because they are determined to help him. The two have a strong sense of justice and a plan they are pursuing. From here on, it gets super exciting, because of course not everything goes as planned, and I was rooting for the two of them and hoping that everything would turn out well.

But apart from their relationship, they cannot forget the young man they initially freed, only to return him to the wrong people. And so, with the help of Mads' assistant Gazza, our amateur detectives set out to find Lee, because they are determined to help him. The two have a strong sense of justice and a plan they are pursuing. From here on, it gets super exciting, because of course not everything goes as planned, and I was rooting for the two of them and hoping that everything would turn out well.

As I said, the story was different than I expected at first, but still good. Very entertaining, with lots of suspense and even more emotion. A big plus for me was the age of the protagonists: 50+, which I found very refreshing.

I listened to the audiobook, and Gary Furlong did an incredibly good job, bringing this exciting story to life perfectly with the distinctive voices of Nick and Mads. It's a pleasure to listen to him. I can highly recommend this series, especially to audiobook lovers!

I'm now eagerly awaiting the next volume with Nick and Mads!  

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

The Meaning of You is the first book in the Fisher & Church series. I love the author's books and I love Romantic Suspense books, so this one was a must-have book for me.
I can't say exactly what I was expecting, but I can say that I got way more than I expected.
The writing style is wonderful. The prologue was intense and from then on I was hooked. I was thrilled that the prologue was told from Davis' point of view.
However, the first part of the story is less about a crime story and more about a man, Nick, who is dealt a bad fate when his husband has an accident and who subsequently struggles with trauma.
I absolutely loved the fact that the protagonists were already in their fifties. I haven't read that often before, but I love it when the protagonists are a bit older - after all, you don't stay young forever.
Nick meets Madigan, the two get on well and meet up more or less often. I don't know which of the two I like better. Nick, who loved his husband deeply, or Madigan, the quiet book nerd who knows how to set boundaries and who is there for Nick and is absolutely good for his soul. Both characters are fantastically and deeply described.
The romance is slow, slow burn, but guys, in the absolute best way. The first kiss comes pretty late, but it totally worked. Nick had time to grieve and you can feel the tension slowly building between Nick and Madigan.
From the halfway point, it gets really exciting when Nick discovers that his husband must have been keeping secrets from him. He tries to understand Davis' behavior and together with Madigan they try to unravel the mystery.
It was an exciting second half. Exciting in the sense that I can't put the book down because I really want to know what happens next. In addition to the suspense, there is also a lot of action towards the end. I was very involved!
The author has written a very emotional book that captivated me from start to finish. The structure of the story is unusual, but in my opinion very well done. The story has fantastic secondary characters. The ending is a HFN and there is still a lot I want to know so I am eagerly awaiting volume two.

Gary Furlong did a brilliant job narrating the audiobook. He has a pleasant voice, I was able to distinguish the characters well and he has a terrific reading pace. He captured the moods well and brought the story to life. He took an already great story to the next level with his performance. Highly recommended!

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

The Geography of Happiness is the fourth and final book in the MacKenzie Country series and now Spencer finally gets his story.
He meets Terry from Painted Bay. Some will already know Terry, I haven't read the Painted Bay series yet but will do so soon. Terry is at Miller Station with his daughter Hannah when they have their first encounter with Spencer. I already knew Spencer, he's loving, friendly, likeable and he's a handsome vet. Plus, he himself is amazed at his reaction to meeting Terry for the first time. The chemistry is definitely there, but when it comes to the two of them, it's a slow burn romance. This is partly due to the distance between their homes, but it's also due to Terry's relationship as a father to his daughter Hannah, who has special needs. Terry is very protective when it comes to his daughter and this relationship takes up quite a lot of space, so Terry and Spencer's relationship almost gets a bit of a raw deal. 

Of course I was happy to see the other couples in the series again, the author did a good job. In general, I think the author's writing style is wonderful.
The story is entertaining and emotional. The landscape and the scenes are superbly described and I think it's almost a bit of a pity that this is the last volume in the series.

I've been looking forward to this audiobook and I have to say that Gary Furlong's performance was once again absolutely fantastic! He gave each character a fitting voice and I was able to tell them all apart very well. Gary Furlong's narration was very lively and entertaining, so it was a pleasure to listen to the story of Spencer, Terry and Hannah.
I highly recommend the entire MacKenzie Country series!