AUDIOBOOK REVIEW TOUR
PROS & CONS 1 AND 2
Five men. Five chances for Redemption. One thing’s for sure, they’re no angels.
Book Title: Pros & Cons of Vengeance
Author: A. E. Wasp
Publisher: Tantor
Narrator: Tor Thom & Alexandre Steele
Release Date: April 2019
Genre: M/M Romantic suspense/romantic comedy
Trope/s: Bodyguard. Leverage meets Charlie’s Angels but more gay
Themes: Vengeance
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 8 hours 54 minutes
*It is a standalone story.
There’s nothing like being blackmailed by a dead man to really bring a group of cons together. And what a group we are: a hacker, a thief, a con artist, a thug, and a Federal agent with an axe to grind. The deal is simple, we do the jobs and Charlie’s lawyer wipes the slate clean for each of us, one at a time.
Since job number one calls for some muscle, it looks like I’m up first. I’m Steele Alvarez, ex-Special Forces Close Protection Specialist (aka, a bodyguard for some not so nice guys).
After learning what the job is — taking down a seemingly untouchable senator with a penchant for beating up young male prostitutes — I’m in. No questions. A bullet ought to do the trick.
Then I met Senator Harlan’s latest victim: Breck Pfeiffer, the gorgeous hooker with a heart of gold and the soul of a fighter. One look at him and I’m gone. That kid laid me out harder than any punch ever did. I’ll do anything to protect Breck, even kill for him. But Breck doesn’t want the senator dead, he wants vengeance.
If we’re going to find a way to bring down the slimebag and get the blackest mark on my record erased, I’m going to need all the help I can get.
Like it or not, we’re all in this together.
I'm also going to be reviewing book two, so be sure to keep scrolling to find that review. I've read a couple of other books from A.E. Wasp, and while I liked them well enough, Pros and Cons of Vengeance and Pros and Cons of Deception were in another league. I loved them so much more. Continue reading for my reviews.
Story: 4.5 stars
The story was intriguing, unique, well thought out, and brought together an interesting cast of characters that seem more like misfits and opposites than men who can work on a team. And we can't forget about Miranda or Josie. When we first really meet Steele he is trying to flirt with Ridge, only it's his identical twin brother he winds up falling for. I laughed at that, but Breck isn't going to make it easy for him.
The story focuses on revenge and retribution, on taking down the scum of the earth. I'm not going to sit here and tell you what happens or how it happens or if they succeed, but thoroughly enjoyed listening to this merry band of misfits come together for a common cause, to discover that they may have more in common than just a blackmail scheme. My only gripe is that the story was rushed in several parts. I think a few more things, while not so much needed to be flushed out, we needed to see certain things develop a little more. And no, I'm not against lust at first sight or instalove. I believe in it and have watched it happen in real life to a lot of family members. But sometimes it seemed like we were flying by the seat of our pants and on a rollercoaster flying down the hills and whipping around the turns. A little more time and development would have helped. 4 stars.
Narration: 3.5 stars
There were two narrators for this book, and I'm going to review each of them. Tor Thom & Alexandre Steele
Tor Thom has a deep, swoon-worthy voice that I think was perfect for Steel...and less perfect for everyone else. Carson has a British accent, and it was non-existent in the narration at the beginning. Breck and Ridge were given deep gravelly voices by Tor and then smooth tenors with Alexandre. I get they are two different narrators and they will do their character voices differently, but I would have liked to see a little more flow between the two voices. In addition, there was a lot of pauses that sounded like they were in the wrong place in the beginning. By the end, the flow was better, albeit the voices still needed some work.
Alexandre Steele has a smooth voice that seems to have a huge range. He did a variety of voices with ease and could shift from one character to the next. My issue with him was sometimes it seemed as if the emotions were all the same sounding. I wish there was a little more dynamic.
Maybe they are trying to figure out the characters and weren't sure of them in this book? I don't know. I can tell you that the narration is so much better in book 2. 3.5 stars for narration.
Overall: 4 stars
Good book with talented narrators. I don't mean to make it sound as if I didn't enjoy the audiobook, I did, and the more I got into it, the better it got. I highly recommend the book and give it an overall of 4 stars. Scroll down to see my review of book 2: Pros and Cons of Deception.
Author: A. E. Wasp
Publisher: Tantor
Narrator: Tor Thom & Alexandre Steele
Release Date: June 2019
Genre: M/M Romantic suspense/romantic comedy
Trope/s: Fake boyfriends. Leverage meets Charlie’s Angels but more gay
Themes: Justice
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 8 hours 13 minutes
It is a standalone story but it helps to read the first one.
There's nothing like being blackmailed by a dead man to really bring a group of cons together. The deal is simple, we do the jobs and Charlie's lawyer wipes the slate clean for each of us, one at a time.
Job number two lands right in my lap. I'm Bond. Wesley Bond. (I can't resist saying it that way. Blame my dad, if you can find him.) You could call me a hacker. I redistribute wealth - moving it from rich slimebags to poorer but infinitely more deserving people - and make a tidy profit as I do. My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to bring down some modern-day slave traders.
With the life of the one person in this world I love on the line, I can't afford any screw-ups or distractions. Unfortunately, my biggest distraction is my biggest asset - Danny Monroe. Danny is a leftover complication from our first job. He's a smart, funny, gorgeous ex-prostitute, who can't seem to keep his clothes on. I can't seem to keep my mouth shut around him. But I need a fake boyfriend, and Danny is the only option.
We don't know who the bad guy is; we have no idea how to prove anything. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to need all the help I can get. Like it or not, we're all in this together.
This book was even better than book one, and the audio seems to have found a better stride.
Story: 4.5 stars
Book two, Pros and Cons of Deception, stays with the same group of characters. Having completed one job, it's onto the next, and this time Danny and Wes are up. The chemistry is off the charts, and yet, Wes keeps trying to fight it. Not only that, but we find he is an expert at opening his mouth and inserting his foot as well as computers. Poor Danny.
I think the team is getting closer, trusting more, and the story is a better pace than the first. It's not rushed in parts like the first one was, but sometimes I do want to hit Wes and tell him to just go for it. On the island, the mystery is even bigger, and there are other characters you need to keep your eye on. I did love this story and give it 4.5 stars. I love the concept and the plot of the entire series, and I can't wait to read more to see where this goes.
Narration: 4 stars
Tor Thom & Alexandre Steele do a lot better job with book two, and I was able to slip into the story a lot faster.
Tor Thom seemed to play with the characters a little more and brought them to life in a way he didn't do in book one. I think he was still trying to figure out a couple of the "voices", but he pretty much has it at the end. It flows more with Alexandre's voices, and it doesn't sound as if we have two different sets of characters from two different narrators.
Alexandre Steele also got his flow better. The difference in emotions was there and he breathed life into the characters. It felt like he figured out the characters a little more. There were a few times when I got confused because the voices all sounded the same, but it passes quickly.
Narration is 4 stars. It's like they were finally working together instead of against each other in this book. I really enjoyed the way they brought the characters to life and narrated this book. 4 stars!
Overall: 4.5 stars
Overall, the story was better, the rush I felt in book one practically disappeared in this book, and the narration was so much better. I can't wait to see where this series goes. It's a good one that will leave you on the edge of your seat and wondering what will happen next. 4.5 stars!
A dreamer and an idealist, Amy writes about people finding connection in a world that can seem lonely and magic in a world that can seem all too mundane. She invites readers into her characters’ lives and worlds when they are their most vulnerable, their most human, living with the same hopes and fears we all have. An avid traveler who has lived in big cities and small towns in four different continents, Amy has found that time and distance are no barriers to love. She invites her readers to reach out and share how her characters have touched their lives or how the found families they have gathered around them have shaped their worlds.
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