...Bookfanatic

...that is, if we’re not counting the one, I listened to the other day. Since this is the second book in a series I wanted to start at the beginning of the series so I took the time to listen to ‘Nothing Special’, the first story in this series and I came away with two solid take-aways from this experience the first one being that while you could read or listen to book #2 without benefit of book #1, I would honestly discourage doing this. I think starting at the beginning gives some background and a feeling for some of the secondary characters in this story that you wouldn’t get as clear of a picture of, if you started with ‘Embracing His Syn’ and my other take-away is Aiden Snow, the narrator for both of the audio books. Mr. Snow has done a hella’ good job with the voices for these books and for that he gets a sold 4 stars from me.

For the most part the men in these stories are big tough, strong alpha males and he gives them what for me are voices that help to reinforce the visuals of ‘big, strong alpha males’ without having the voices become so over the top that rather than enhance the image the author is creating could give it a comedic overtone.

While the first book in the series dealt with Cashel Godfrey (you can call him ‘God’) and his partner Leonidis ‘Leo’ Day (you can call him ‘Leo’ but most people called him ‘Day’) these two men are very much present in this story as well. Sometimes maybe a touch too present, but the central focus in ‘Embracing His Syn’ is the relationship between the newest addition to the Atlanta Narcotics Task Force…Sergeant Corbin ‘Syn’ Sydney (and yes, most people call him ‘Syn’) and one sexy tattooed bartender Furious Barkley (and yes, most people call him ‘Furi’).

I’m just going to take a sentence or two to address what for me was ‘the elephant in the room’ and that’s the names…especially God, Syn & Furi…I know, I know they’re suppose to be all tough and cool and maybe it’s just me so let’s just say “it’s me and be done with it” but for whatever reason it just felt like everyone was trying too hard with the tough guy nicknames.

Ok, so on to more important things like the actual story. ‘Embracing His Syn’ is one of those stories that you enjoy just for the sake of enjoying a hot and steamy romance with a little action...ok, maybe more than a little.

I found Syn and Furi to be an intriguing match…Syn who’s never really been in a relationship with Furi a man who’s not only fresh out of a relationship but an abusive one no less. While Syn initially seems reluctant to get involved with someone much less another man, he’s also not willing to just walk away from the attraction that he feels to Furi, just as Furi initially is reluctant to give Syn a chance. He also seems to find the inner strength to be willing to take a chance and while at times we’re shown a side of Furi that tells the tale of someone who’s been a victim we also see the side of him that shows a strong individual who may have been a victim at one time but who’s equally determined not to be the victim anymore.

No matter how good or bad a story might be one of the things I enjoy the most is the challenge of finding those moments when a character faces the choice of ‘how far, is too far? And have they reached it yet?’ Often the answers aren’t clear cut, nor are they always obvious and as the story progresses Syn repeatedly faces this question when it comes to Furi’s safety.

There’s a lot that can happen between the covers of a book that will entertain and delight me but if it happens in the real world not only would I be surprised but you’d probably find me giving it a big ‘oh hell no!’. Frequently stories like ‘Embracing His Syn’ tend to deviate from what most of us can safely assume will happen in the real world, when it comes to how the ‘good guys’ operate. It’s pretty much a given that the bad guys (criminals) aren’t going to follow the rules because like it or not rules weren’t made for the criminal element…I mean honestly if they followed the rules, they wouldn’t be criminals …would they? It’s a fine line and in a couple of instances while I know in the real world I would have been appalled if Syn had crossed that line here within the confines of a book I also found myself thinking…’I can’t say that I’d blame him if he did.’ Ironically just like it sometimes happens in real life…it’s thanks to people in his life who matter most to him and to whom he truly matters that Syn sees how far is too far before he takes those final steps that would take him from enforcing the law to breaking it.

The audio book ‘Embracing His Syn’ is  a well narrated, sexy, action-filled story about hot men in law enforcement keeping their city safe and finding love along the way and while this one didn’t garner 5 stars from me it was an intriguing story that offered 11+ hours of listening entertainment.

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An audiobook of ‘Embracing His Syn’ was graciously provided courtesy of ‘Signal Boost Promotions’ in exchange for an honest review.