Great characters, mesmerising story!

As a struggling actor, waiter, and reluctant escort, Dean is used to keeping others in the dark about the different parts of his life. When he meets Justin, a handsome but disfigured ex-military veteran, he finds he’s not the only one keeping secrets. This was a powerful, well-written, and tantalising story with strong characterisation and I loved every moment of it. The scenes where Dean was physically kept in the dark and struggled with his feelings and lack of control were a perfect metaphor for the rest of his life. Superb! 🎧 David Walker provided a lovely understated narration that never got in the way of the mesmerising story.

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Heartwarming & Beautiful 💖💖

Absolutely Loved it amazing book by H. L. Day and David Walker is a new narrator for me but he was brilliant at bringing Justin & Dean to life poor Justin I felt for him the pain and heartache he's been through and still going through due to his scars from his time in army the only way to date is through a agency he meets Dean in the dark to hide himself away. But when he meets Dean were he works at the restaurant and realises who he is that's when things change him and Dean go on a special journey. 💖💖

When secrets tear you apart

This is another audio I’ve had on my shelf for a while and I’m like, why did I not listen to this??? I loved it. I simply loved it. The premise is simple – an escort is offered a job for a quirky client. No touching, Must be in the dark. And he’s tempted to say no, but of course he won’t. It’s double money and he’s just doing what he’s done with other men. Plus his life is pretty boring these days – working as a waiter and going on plenty of auditions. Lots of auditions, but no offers. Extra cash? Perfect.

Except things don’t go as planned. Although no words are exchanged, he senses there’s more to this john. Although he’s not allowed to touch, he gets touched. And those touches go straight to his soul. But there’s no future in a relationship with someone who won’t leave the darkness.

Right?

Then he meets a beautiful but damaged man. A man who is judged solely by his scars, and not the heroic acts that led to them. A man who’s been burned by other men who have fragile egos. Who believe what is on the outside is what really matters. But Dean sees past the outer to the inner. He gets Justin in a way few men have. They make a real connection. Except Dean keeps going to see his mystery client in the dark. With all these secrets, things are bound to come to a head. I’ll admit I did see the wreck coming, but it didn’t lessen the impact. I wanted these men to have their happy ending. I got that, thank God.

Okay, a couple of quick notes – the story is told entirely from Dean’s point of view and that worked for me. Justin remained just tantalizingly mysterious. And Dean’s roommate Georgia was brilliant. Her humour, her forthrightness, her honesty. She just hit all the right notes of how a best mate should be.

Finally I’ll mention David Walker. He did a fantastic job narrating the story, and I enjoyed his performance. I will say I found the whispering disconcerting, but it worked well with the storyline. I definitely plan to pick up more H.L. Day books.

What a surprise

This has become my favourite book of the last 12 months. Very well written. The narrator is new to me, and he’s absolutely perfect for this story.

Wow!

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I was expecting a bit of smut (not knocking that, I'm a big fan) but it was so much more developed! I hadn't expected to be on the edge of my seat with tension in some parts, heartbroken in others and so elated with it in general - especially at the end. Really natural and engaging storytelling without cringey over the top drama for the sake of drama. Everything felt right. The main character is a well-meaning but realistically flawed character I really warmed to and I appreciated the equally realistic guarded Justin who slowly let us warm to him as Dean does. He is also equally flawed in his decisions sometimes but incredibly engaging. All I can say is definitely one of my favourites and definitely would listen to again. I also don't know what it is but as a Brit I find it hard to get into stories with British narrators (maybe I'm offput by the sound of my own accent) but this narrator was so natural, his accents and different characters were subtly different and not cringey at all. The steamy scenes were very steamy! I can't wait to listen to more stories from him. A really engaging voice that brought this lovely story to life. If I could give 10 stars to both author and narrator I would!

Good narration and good story

I was surprised how much I liked this book. The story was good (except the room-mate-straight-bestie was so annoying). The story is not too long and not too short, just right!
The narrator was new to me, but I loved his voice and accent.

Secrets always comes out.

I really enjoyed this story between Dean and Justin.

The narrator David Walker did great with all of the voices.

The author H. L. Day is new to me and I’m looking forward to listen/read more from her.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Hot and sweet at the same time

I loved this story about part-time escort Dean and his mystery client. Dean leads a busy life and doesn’t really date, but when he meets Justin he falls for him, despite the scarring that Justin places much more importance on than Dean does. We get the whole story from Dean’s point of view, but some things are apparent to the reader/listener before Dean catches on. Dean was a bit immature towards the end, but I perceived him as quite young and a bit inexperienced, despite his job, so it didn’t really bother me.

David Walker’s narration was flawless, I enjoyed all his voices, but especially the one he did for Tom, it was just wonderful.

Kept in the Dark

Kept in the Dark by H.L. Day
Narrated by David Walker

This is the first book I have read/listened to by H.L. Day and I have to say that I really love her writing style. This book had me hooked from the very start. Dean and Justin’s story was complicated and messy just like life usually is. This one put me through an emotional roller coaster but I loved every minute of it.

This is also the first time I have listen to a narration by David Walker. It was really good and I look forward to listening to more from him.

Love it!

OMG I loved listening to this! When I first got this, I didn't know it would be a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast and took me awhile to figure it out since I find the Beast a beauty too ^^"

Anyway, the story never let me down, I didn't find any boring moments, it was flowing right to me, always something important happening even though it was a long book.

Of course, I don't think this book is for everyone. Dean is an escort and he take jobs that involves s*x too, he meets a man who has specific instructions: don't turn on the lights, no touching. Meanwhile, Dean meets a scarred face man and they start a relationship. You see, Dean doesn't leave his escort job because of this. So, there is lying by omission and straight out lies for both parts. (there is no cheating, you will understand when reading)

But I think the resolution of these issues was done very nice and believable, I was afraid it would be sugar coated and the problems would magically be solved. Fortunately, that's not what happen, they really did talk about their problems and the HEA was amazing!

The narrator is really good. Took me awhile to get used to his voice and his accent, but once I did it went well. The pace was spot one and I could differentiate all the characters (including Georgia) even though the changes was not so drastic. Also he made a very good jov impersonating the beast whispers!

I was given this audiobook by the author and no review was expected for me, but I gave my honest opinion anyway! :)