Friday, August 17, 2018

Color of You by C.S. Poe Audiobook Review


Bowen Merlin— yes, that’s his real name—accepts a position in the quaint town of Lancaster, New Hampshire, as the high school band director. He leaves New York City for the snowy countryside of New England just in time for the holidays. With class, homework, after-school activities, and a surprise Christmas concert to plan and rehearse, Bowen is plenty busy. And since he’s never had much luck with romance, factoring in time to find Mr. Right isn’t a priority…

Until he meets the proprietor of Snowy Ridge Apple Orchard, Felix Hansen. Suddenly, true love seems like a possibility for the first time in Bowen’s life. The two are a perfect match and fill the skipped beats of each other’s hearts. But as wonderful as Felix seems, he’s harboring scars that could end their budding relationship when someone in town goes to great lengths to sabotage their careers.

If Bowen is to survive the holidays, he’ll need to lean on old friends and new, convince Felix he’s worth any hardship, and prove they can come out of the catastrophe stronger if they do so together.

Audiobook Details
Length: 6 hrs, 37 mins
Narrator: Greg Boudreaux

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela☆☆☆☆☆
I am so glad I didn’t get a chance to read Color of You when it released last year because as much as I would have enjoyed it – and I know I would have – I cannot imagine not getting to enjoy it for the first time via Greg Boudreaux’s narration. I spent most of the book just grinning like a loon and when I wasn’t smiling, it was when I wasn’t supposed to be because I was too busy being ticked off or heartbroken. Seriously, my face actually aches a little from spending the last 6.5 hours smiling so much.

It’s not often that an author will open a book with such a spectacular display of clumsiness by a main character, and the author not only went there, but Poe did it well. I couldn’t help but fall a little bit in love with Bowen from the very first scene and that feeling only got stronger as the story went on. The main reason I didn’t have the same reaction for Felix is because I had to wait to get to know him as Bowen did – and that was a lot of fun. With that said, I think I started falling for him with the way he accepted Bowen’s invitation to drinks. That single scene communicated so much about Felix and was a sad but important red flag to Bowen that he not only had to proceed with caution, but he needed to do so very, very slowly. And even though I knew Poe would be injecting some kind of conflict in the story and even though I knew something was coming, I was wholly unprepared for what happened and teared up a bit at that one-two punch in the gut. Yikes! Actually, that was a triple punch in the gut, but fortunately the author made sure everyone got their just desserts – both the good kind and the not-so-good kind. I’m not sure which chapter I enjoyed the best at the end – the concert or the epilogue – because they were both perfect endings.

Although I haven’t been able to read or listen to as many of Poe’s novels as I’d like, I did have the pleasure of reading Joy. Suffice it say that I did a bit of a double take when the tattooed cook first cameoed in Color of You, rewound the audiobook a little to make sure I heard what I thought I heard, and then paused it so I could cue up Joy to confirm my suspicion that I’d already visited Lancaster, NH once before. To say I was delighted to spend a little time with Silas and Gideon would be putting it mildly because it was awesome to catch up with the guys to see that their relationship had continued to progress quite nicely. And no, you don’t need to read Joy before reading Color of You, but if you enjoy it, I’d definitely recommend picking up a copy of Joy too. And before I forget, yet again, I adored Felix’s son, Alan. He’s the kind of kid I was in school – kind of quiet, kind of shy, yet someone who flourished with a confidence boost from an unexpected quarter (in his case, Bowen). This feeling of connectedness to Alan was cemented when Felix tells Bowen that he “lucked out on the teenager lottery” because my mom said something very similar about both my sister and me several times during our teen years. Yeah, it’s not often I connect to a teenage character these days, but I definitely felt some serious camaraderie for Alan.

I rarely pass up a chance to listen to Greg Boudreaux’s narration because he’s my favorite narrator. So I may be a bit biased when it comes to reviews, but is it really a bias if the man is so talented that I get lost in the world he creates via an author’s words? To be honest, Boudreaux is one of the reasons I was finally able to begin listening to M/F romances on audio because he does such a good job creating voices for female characters that he paved the way for me to expand my listening tastes. While this is something I may have mentioned before in another review, it bears repeating because Color of You has a rather large cast of female characters and Boudreaux shines at crafting individualized voices for them. Considering that Bowen is a high school band teacher, the narrator has to create a LOT of voices for both teenage and adult characters and between his talent and the way Poe sets up the scenes, I don’t recall ever being confused as to which character was speaking when. Even though the book is a holiday romance set at Christmas, I suspect I will be listening to Color of You repeatedly before the next holiday rolls around thanks to Poe’s words and Boudreaux’s performance. And I sincerely hope that Lancaster, NH calls to Poe again soon because I’ve enjoyed spending time there and would love to see what else the author has in store for its residents.



C.S. POE is an author of gay mystery, romance, and paranormal books.

She is a reluctant mover and has called many places home in her lifetime. C.S. has lived in New York City, Key West, and Ibaraki, Japan, to name a few. She misses the cleanliness, convenience, and limited-edition gachapon of Japan, but she was never very good at riding bikes to get around.

She has an affinity for all things cute and colorful and a major weakness for toys. C.S. is an avid fan of coffee, reading, and cats. She’s rescued three cats, including one found in a drain pipe in Japan who flew back to the States with her. Zak, Milo, and Kasper do their best on a daily basis to sidetrack her from work.

Connect with C.S.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads



Trained in vocal and stage performance, Greg Tremblay brings a passion for storytelling to every aspect of his life and work.

Critically-recognized and listener-beloved, Greg’s work has been praised by Audiofile Magazine’s “Earphone” award, numerous blogs, and is the recipient of the Goodreads Reader’s Choice award for Best Narrator – 2016 in M/M Romance.

Greg also maintains a curated collection of uniquely and delightfully spicy boudoir treats branded under the “Greg Boudreaux” narration name.

Connect with Greg

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Google+  ~  Instagram


https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free audiobook copy of Color of You by C.S. Poe, narrated by Greg Boudreaux to listen to and review.

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