The Bluff (audio review)

Title: The Bluff (AUDIO review)

Series: Graham Brothers #2

Author: Emma St. Clair

Narrators: Meg Sylvan & Aaron Shedlock

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Humor

Publisher: Audible

Source: author provided

My review:

After recently being able to listen to The Buy-In on audio, I was SUPER psyched to listen to The Bluff.

While The Bluff could be read as a standalone novel, I HIGHLY recommend reading The Buy-In first. I reviewed the paperback version of The Bluff last year, so I will try to stick to just the audio experience in this review.

When I started listening to this book, one of my first thoughts was, "poor James, he doesn't stand a chance." Aaron Shedlock was perfect for James' voice. You could hear the grump in his voice! He portrayed the right mood and tone for the book.

This is one of my favorite stand-out lines in both versions of the book. I laughed out loud when I read and heard it. You can picture James' face when Winnie says this!

You're the living embodiment of a fictional bad boy, ready to steal hearts and make ovaries explode.

For the most part, I enjoyed Meg Sylvan for Winnie and the other female voices. There are two exceptions. Her Winnie voice in some of the more intense scenes came across as more whinny than what seemed portrayed when I read the book and way more screechy. I had to set it aside during those times and take a break from her voice. The second exception is Val's voice. I hated her voice for Val. Val sounded somewhat like a smoker, and the voice sounded masculine. It annoyed me every time I heard it. Thankfully, Val is not a huge character in this book. 

While I love this story, (5 stars) I preferred reading it to the audio. For The Buy-In both versions were fantastic. This one is still very good, but the few things I mentioned above kept it from being a fantastic listening experience.

Thank you to the author for providing an audio ARC of the book. I was not required to provide a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

★★★★/5

Synopsis: 

I won't be winning any employee of the year awards. But only because my boss is the grumpy boss to end all grumpy bosses. Did I mention he doesn't trust me to do my job?

Challenge accepted.

Not only am I going to help James launch a successful brewery, but I'm going to find out what makes him tick ... and what makes him go boom.

All this has nothing to do with the fact that the man is unbearably, unfairly, unignorably (is that a word?) attractive. Or that he lost his mom when he was young, same as me.

The more he pushes me away, the more I'm pulled into his orbit. It's a battle of stubborn wills, and I don't plan to concede anytime soon.

Except the more time I spend around James Graham, the more I start to lose the one thing I refuse to give to any man ... my heart.

The Bluff is an enemies to lovers, grumpy boss rom-com set in the fictional small town of Sheet Cake Texas. You'll find plenty of laughs and sizzling chemistry in this closed door romantic comedy. It's the second in a series, but can be read as a standalone.