Terrific Story & Narration🎧 Gripping & Intense!

Piper Stone delivers another powerful dark romance novel, this story is a stand-alone sequel to “Given”, it set in the same world where a secret society, the “Sacred Sect”, continues to rule and hold the power over many, including politicians. Some of their old ways were supposed to be let go but a power play is in the works again and Christian Cappodano helps set another plan in motion. That plan includes an arranged marriage between his brother Matteo and Winter O’Brien, a tradition of the sect, a council member’s daughter is promised to the son of another when they are young. A marriage made for a power play rather than love. Neither Matteo or Winter are thrilled but Matteo knows the workings for the council and the sect and the repressions if the marriage does not happen. Winter was never in the loop, so she has no clue or does she, either way she wants no part of it and tries to run but Matteo catches her every time. I loved these two together, Matteo a domineering alpha does not scare Winter who has no problem staying up for herself. There is definitely chemistry between them, she needed to realize they were both on the same side and it was all for her own good. This fast paced story is cleverly plotted with plenty of drama, angst, twists and turns, betrayals, thrilling and suspenseful moments, heartfelt and emotional moments and some hot loving and romance. Piper Stone, thank you for another entertaining and thrilling ride.

🎧📚🎧 And for the fabulous narration, Thomas Locklear is a talented narrator and versatile voice artist. He continues to bring these characters to life, giving each their own distinct voice making it easy to follow along and tell who is who. He is amazing at covering both the male and female roles. He does an awesome job portraying the characters, grasping each persona and playing the role with perfection. He sets the perfect tone for the story, captures all the character’s emotions and projects them into his performance. He is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another awesome listen!

5 people found this helpful

dark, intense

Piper Stone. What can I say? Her stories are full of mystery, lies, betrayal, steamy hot sex. And this one definitely does not disappoint. It's action packed with twists and turns.
This story is dark, clouded with bribery, a secret sect, political deals and an unwanted arranged marriage.
Thomas Locklear is a phenomenal talented voice performer. Not just a narrator. A performer of epic proportions. His portryal of Winter is sexy, sultry, soft. I was looking for a 2nd narrator for her voice. Nope, It's all Thomas. And his voice of Matteo is just wow! He just oozes confidence and sex. I was gifted this audio and offered my honest review.

2 people found this helpful

Not a fan....can't understand the reviews....

Not a fan....can't understand the reviews....I came back to read them again, thinking they were written for another story,

I found the narrator's 'whispered' voice for Winter to be distracting, his voice for Mateo kept reminding me of Sylvester Stallone in Rocky. Winter's instant lust for a man she has never spoken to and only saw as a silhouette in the shadows calls into question her intelligence. Her body "betraying" her to the man who had just beaten her and was in the process of raping her confirmed that she was pathetic. By chapter 6 I was playing the book at 1.5x speed and Winter was getting aroused by being publicly stripped and strapped....I returned the book for a credit by chapter 7.

I assume the reviews are well intended and accurate, not the product of the employees of the publisher. That said, Thomas Locklear's narration, at least in this book, is not stellar. The female lead is 'feisty and independent' but only because the author tells us that frequently. Winter behaves like a sheltered princess who is not too bright and is ruled by her libido.

Perhaps the last 10 chapters pull the story out of the muck....I can't say.

Pretty good

This book. Was pretty good . I think there was a bit too much sex. And at times it just seems like he was abusing her. The narrator did a great job.

Arranged Marriage

I have listened to other books by Ms. Stone and enjoyed them. I can't believe I saying this, but it bothers me when sex scenes are too much, or not necessary. This is how I felt about this book. I liked the characters of Matteo and Winter, although they needed more depth. The storyline was good.

Mr. Lochlear's voice for a lady is feminine , which is surprising given his normal is deep baritone. He voiced an Irish accent quite well. Same with differing New York and New Jersey accents.

Of course it was great!

Of course it was great! Piper. wrote it and Thomas narrated it! And I love mafia stories!!!!!

Taken

I will admit I was a little skeptical in the beginning but the story won me over, it was a good book and would listen again!

awesome read

the book was very intriguing the plot went well together. It kept you guess what was going to happen next. Can't wait for another book by this writer

Everything to Play For

This is one of those stories where it's hard to know who is good and who isn't, who you can trust and who you can't. The storyline is intriguing and once started compulsive listening. The characters are so well-drawn and have such depth as they try to come to terms with what fate has decided is their future.

It's a story about a secret society, a society with great power which isn't always used wisely. This story deals with an arranged marriage between Matteo Cappodano and Winter O’Brien one which Winter tries to flee from but unbeknownst to her, there is no escape. Matteo is a strong and dominant man and he's not willing to let her go. This marriage may have been arranged but once he caught his first sight of Winter he knew she was going to be his no matter what he had to do to keep her safe, even if it means bringing the Sacred Sect Down

The story does have lots of heavy sex and spankings so if that offends you don't listen but the story is so much more than the sex it's intriguing, exciting and does lead to a HEA.

The narration by Thomas Locklear is wonderfully done, his talent is incredible his performance brings each character to life it's hard to realise that all of these distinctive and different voices come from one man!

Hot Hot Hot

Piper Stone has written another sizzling story about the Mafia way of life where marriages are prearranged and not based on love. Matteo is a strong alpha dedicated to his family and keeping their secrets. We also find out that he is understanding, compassionate, and loving. I love Winter's spirit, intelligence, and drive. I enjoyed how they interacted together. It was fascinating how Piper developed their love. This is a fast paced story that I hated to put down. There is danger, betrayal, scheming, and steamy erotic love scenes.

When you listen to Thomas Locklear narrate this story you'll think that you are listening to a duet narration. He is a master storyteller. He gives the characters their own distinctive voices and Matteo has a deep sexy voice that will melt you.I highly recommend this Audible book for your listening pleasure.