Must Love Demons by Meghan Maslow (audiobook) – Narrated by Darcy Stark

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

You’d think being magically tethered to the hottest warden in all Verona wouldn’t be a hardship. You’d be wrong. Incubus Nico Azertiran has his dream job as a cherub-in-training. It’s the perfect position for a lust demon who’s more interested in happily-ever-afters than one-night stands. Or it would be, if he didn’t keep screwing it up. When a new cherub gadget misfires, Nico is left trussed to Verona’s most eligible warden, the incredibly grumpy, Sir Flame.Flambeau Illume has a job to do. Someone’s murdering Verona’s rich and famous, and Sir Flame’s hot on the killer’s trail . . . until he has the misfortune to get magically lassoed to the most infuriating incubus he’s ever had the displeasure to meet. Except, maybe Nico isn’t so terribly awful. But how can he solve his case and keep Nico safe at the same time? Especially when the sweet demon seems to have a bullseye on his back. Together they need to solve the crime, stay alive, and—if their luck changes—maybe even fall in love. Easy, right?

Rating: Narration – A; Content – B+

Confession time. I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I began listening to Must Love Demons – I picked it principally because of Darcy Stark, whose narration in Eden Winter’s Diversion series has so impressed me that I’ll take any opportunity to listen to him! The synopsis promised a grumpy/sunshine romance between an incredibly sweet demon and an incredibly grouchy warden (investigator), with a bit of mystery and magic along the way – and I’m pleased to report that the audiobook delivered exactly that; a fun and sexy love story, a mystery that is intriguing but which doesn’t overshadow the romance and a pair of well-drawn, chalk-and-cheese protagonists who are perfect for each other. Oh – and the narration was awesome, too.

Incubus Nico Azertiran was kicked out of his Legion because his magic doesn’t work the way an incubus’ magic is supposed to – instead of spells that create lust and sexual desire, his magic causes people to fall in love with their soulmates. Luckily for him, he’s managed to land a job as a cherub-in-training, learning how to fire cupid’s arrow (literally) – but he’s not doing so well and keeps screwing up. It’s not entirely his fault though – a seven-foot incubus having to using bows and arrows designed for creatures half his size is bound to be awkward.

You can read the rest of this review at AudioGals.

Diversion (Diversion #1) by Eden Winters (audiobook) – Narrated by Darcy Stark

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

There are good guys, bad guys, and then there’s Lucky.

Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter flaunts his past like a badge of honor. He speaks his mind, doesn’t play nice, and flirts with disaster while working off his sentence with the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. If he can keep out of trouble a while longer he’ll be a free man – after he trains his replacement.

Textbook-quoting, by-the-book Bo Schollenberger is everything Lucky isn’t. Lucky slurps coffee; Bo lives caffeine free. Lucky worships bacon; Bo eats tofu. Lucky trusts no one; Bo calls suspects by their first names. Yet when the chips are down on their shared case of breaking up a drug diversion ring, they may have more in common than they believe.

Two men. Close quarters. Friction results in heat. But Lucky scoffs at partnerships, no matter how thrilling the roller-coaster. Bo has two months to break down Lucky’s defenses…and seconds are ticking by.

Rating: Narration – A-; Content – A-

Another deep-dive into the Audible library of-the-as-yet-unlistened-to produced the box set of the first three books in Eden Winters’ Diversion series (there are nine books in all, available individually or in three sets of three) – aptly entitled, Diversion. It’s a well-plotted, fast-paced tale of romantic suspense featuring two complex, damaged leads; it’s funny, sexy and full of terrific banter (so it’s basically my catnip!) and I was hooked in pretty quickly by both the intriguing premise and by Darcy Stark’s excellent narration. All in all, my reaction when I finished listening was “Why the hell did I wait so long???”

As the story opens we meet Richmond E. Lucklighter – Lucky (don’t ever call him Ritchie!) – as he plans the theft of a delivery truck due to depart from a warehouse facility in Raleigh. It’s clear he really knows what he’s doing; it’s also clear he’s cantankerous, sharp-tongued, prickly and intolerant – in other words (and his own) a “card-carrying asshole”. Lucky’s careful and clever planning means he gets away with the theft of three-point-five million dollars’ worth of pharmaceutical products – a serious blow to the company who owns it, Regency Pharma Inc.

You can read the rest of this review at AudioGals.