Abby Craden’s performance pushed this story to a superlative level

Every time a new book by EJ Noyes comes out, I drop everything to read it. Since her debut novel, I’ve always loved every one of her books. What’s better than a book by EJ Noyes? An audiobook of her book narrated by Abby Craden. I’ve said this before and I never tire of saying it, the EJ Noyes/Abby Craden artistic partnership is a match in lesfic heaven.

Avery Weston is a Federal Air Marshal who’s nursing a broken heart over her celebrity ex-girlfriend. All the effort she made to try to get over her vanishes when Elise Hayes, said famous ex, seats next to her on a plane. After an on-flight incident with a stalker, Elise asks Avery for a place to stay. Sharing space with her gorgeous ex shouldn’t be a problem at all, should it?

This is a second chance romance with a crime thriller thrown into the mix which is a novelty for this author. I found that I enjoyed the thriller as much as the romance. The story starts with a great action scene and, after that, I found myself reading the rest of the book waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ms. Noyes gives some chilling hints of what was to come that gave me the creeps. I won’t say more than Ms. Noyes delivered with a bang.

I found that the thriller was well balanced with the romance giving readers a respite, getting them comfortable in its coziness until the inevitable thriller comes back to haunt them. The romance has all the characteristics of Noyes’s. Superb chemistry, intense feelings, hot intimacy. Especially in the first sex scene, Noyes got perfectly that feeling of making love with someone after a long breakup: the mixture of new and old, of foreign and familiar. It communicated the strong emotions and internal turmoil of the characters perfectly.

I had to laugh and praise the author for the Easter egg that she left for readers to discover. I’m sure that her fans will be able to find it and if not, there’s even a bigger hint near the end. Ms. Noyes even took the opportunity to laugh at herself. Perfect.

I really liked the book when I read it last year but for some reason, I didn’t grab the audiobook straight away, which now in hindsight I realize that it was a mistake. Abby Craden’s performance is superb and she outdid herself here, something that it’s hard to phantom as Ms. Craden is usually magnificent in all her performances. The changes of pace and tone between action and intimacy, the performance of feelings and emotions, the different voices for the characters, everything is fantastic. Even the scenes between Avery and her best friend are priceless. When I think that Ms. Craden cannot surprise me with her talent anymore, she does it again. This performance pushed the story to a superlative level. Very recommended if you like your romance with a side of action. 5 stars.

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins