Audiobook Review: Wrapped Up in Chains by Cindy Sutherland

Devon West is a professional Dom who runs his own club, doesn’t believe in romance, and has never been in a long-term relationship. All this changes when he rescues Chase Mackenzie.

Chase is a runaway who has been kept as a slave since he was sixteen. Now twenty-three, he’s still innocent and sweet despite being severely abused and left behind by his Dom.

When Devon finds out that the man who held Chase hostage is the same man who hurt him terribly when he started learning about the sub/Dom lifestyle, he knows he has to keep Chase safe.

Spoiled rich boy and sociopath James Kingston is obsessed with Devon. He’s convinced Devon would be his perfect sub and Devon only thinks he’s a Dom because he needs proper discipline. Losing Chase to Devon is like rubbing salt in the wound, and he’s determined to get them both under his thumb. This time, Chase may need to rescue Devon.

Listening Length: 8 hrs 39 min
Narrator: John Anthony Davis

Well I went into this thinking I’d get a good BDSM story but instead got a good comfort story, am I complaining? Not at all! This was steady and peaceful, not at all what I was expecting and it was quite lovely. The audio however…. wasn’t bad….but I’ve definitely had better.

Chase has been a slave in the guise of a sub for the past seven years to a particularly sadistic and psychopathic ‘dom’. One night he’s left in Devon’s BDSM club and beaten badly in public. Devon, of course comes to the rescue and takes him under his wing while Chase has a chance to heal.

I was waiting… just waiting for the BDSM fixes all spiel, but it didn’t come at all here! In fact BDSM played a very minor role in the overall story here. We see more of Devon comforting Chase and falling more in love with him as Chase comes more out of his shell.

For me the romance between Chase and Devon lacked a little. I mean the comfort was great, like I’ve mentioned, but their love and connection felt to sudden to be able to suck me in the way I like.

Now this audio wasn’t bad. The voices were nice and normal and Devon's voice was pretty darn sexy but there was a significant lack of emotion, which could have contributed to my lack of connection to the couple. Obviously there are some beautiful moments in this story and I could sense some lines were meant to be delivered on a sob, or in a manner that tugged at the old heart strings, but they just weren’t.

While I did enjoy this story, I just can’t give a rating much more than average when I don’t feel a connection between the MC’s. Especially in a hurt/comfort book, where the connection is 80% of the story. Honestly I would probably recommend reading this in comparison to listening to it, but I still did enjoy it.

Review: Spirit by John Inman Audiobook, narrated by John Anthony Davis

Jason Day, brilliant designer of video games, is not only a confirmed bachelor, but he’s as gay as a maypole. One wouldn’t think being saddled with his precocious four-year-old nephew for four weeks would be enough to throw him off-kilter.

Wrong. Timmy, Jason’s nephew, is a true handful.

But just when Timmy and Uncle Jason begin to bond, and Jason feels he’s getting a grip on this babysitting business once and for all, he’s thrown for a loop by a couple of visitors—one from Tucson, the other from beyond the grave. 

I’m sorry. Say what?

Toss a murder, a hot young stud, an unexpected love affair, and a spooky-ass ghost with a weird sense of humor into Jason’s summer plans, and you’ve got the makings for one hell of a ride.
Cover Artist: Reese Dante
Narrator: John Anthony Davis
Length: 6 hours and 47 minutes

4 1/2 hearts for the story

3 1/2 for the narration

I originally read, reviewed and LOVED Spirit by John Inman back in May of 2014

Spirit by John Inman, May 5, 2014 Review

And everything I felt the first time around was reaffirmed in the audio version. From, my like of Jason and Timmy right away, to my distrust of Sally, then my delicious hatred of Jack and most importantly my huge crush on Sam. 

This was the first time I listened to any book narrated by John Anthony Davis and I really liked his voice and tone for this story, and especially for Jason and Timmy. He has a deliberate way of speaking and he pulls off Jason’s dry sense of humor and snark perfectly. Plus, he read Timmy so well. Having a kid as a main character, and Timmy has a huge role in Spirit, can make or break a story. Timmy helps make this story as good as it is and John Anthony Davis does him justice. The banter between Jason and Timmy is my second favorite thing about Spirit, next to anything having to do with Sam of course. 

My only niggles with the narration had to do with a few mispronunciations that got by editing. It wasn’t anything to major and I can easily let a few go by in a long narration, but a few too many snuck through for me. For instance instead of “rivulets of sweat” I heard “revolts of sweat”. It wasn’t enough to drag me out of the story, but enough to notice. A little extra careful editing would have cleaned those up. 

The scenes with The Spirit were balanced well, they weren’t overdone and had just the right level of creepiness and edge to keep me hooked. Listening to Sam speak of his missing brother Paul broke my heart all over again. But, Sam had Jason and I loved listening to the evolution of their relationship. When the sexy times came along I was completely smitten with them both, even more so than in the beginning. 

The ending was awesome! More creepiness and tension with a foreboding feeling that permeated the whole scene. They were solving the mystery of The Spirit and while they both KNEW what was coming it didn’t make it any easier. The epilogue rounded out the story and made me terribly happy. 

The story overall is still a favorite of mine and while I did have those few editing/production issues, overall I enjoyed the narration of the story. I would definitely listen to John Anthony Davis read to me some more.

Visit Dreamspinner Press for more information on Spirit and links to get your copy.

**a copy of this audiobook was provided for an honest review**