Reformed gangster Luis falls hard for his boss. When friendship turns to love, it’s up to Paolo to convince him second chances are worth the pain.
Luis Pope is back on the street after a six-year stretch in prison, but life on the outside seems just out of reach, especially when the whole neighborhood knows his face for all the wrong reasons.
Paolo’s temper makes it hard to keep staff, and he knows Luis’ rep all too well. But his nonno believes in redemption, and Luis isn’t the tough guy Paolo remembers. Prison has left its mark, inside and out, and all the kindness in the world can’t fix the three inch scar on Luis’s skull.
And it can’t keep ghosts locked up. Luis is the best worker Paolo’s ever had, and Luis is happier than he’s ever been. But his old life doesn’t want to stay in the past. Trouble comes to call, and when it makes him an offer he can’t refuse, keeping Paolo safe hurts the most.
Redemption is an angsty, stand-alone M/M romance novel, with second chances, found family, friends-to-lovers, and buckets of hurt/comfort themed loveliness.
Audible
Amazon – Kindle Unlimited
I read this book and really enjoyed it. As I really enjoy all of Garrett Leigh‘s work. This is my first audiobook by this author. As as much as I really enjoyed the story, the audio was a little above okay for me.
Now, I am picky. If you’ve read my reviews before you know this. I stopped another audiobook less than 5 minutes in because I HATED the voice they gave the main character. This was almost the opposite. There was almost no difference between the characters and how they were read.
I am not expecting an Oscar worthy performance. But there was almost no difference at all between the inflection and accent of Luis and Paolo. In fact, even the narrative was basically the same.
Several secondary characters, like Paolo’s grandfather, had distinctive accents. But he was Italian so he spoke with an Italian accent. Luis’ brother had a bit of a different accent that almost sounded Jamaican to me.
The cadence of the narrator’s speech was very even toned. But Paolo is a hot headed Italian. And the narrator never raises his voice or gives it any inflection. Same with Luis when he was fighting with his brother. Even hot sex scenes were all spoken with the same tone.
Overall, as a story-it is great. The narration is fine. But it definitely did not immerse me in their world and stories like I had hoped.
Story (read original review here): 4 pieces of eye candy
Narration: 3.5 Pieces of Eye Candy
