Audiobook Series Review: Heated Beat Series by Garrett Leigh, Performed by Dan Calley

13 November of 2020 by ButtonsMom2003

Heated Beat Series By Garrett Leigh, Performed by Dan Calley

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Release Dates: My Mate Jack-August 20, 2020 (audio); August 4, 2019 (eBook)
Lucky Man-August 28, 2020 (audio); August 5, 2018 (eBook)

Publisher: Fox Love Press

Series: Heated Beat, Book 1 and 2

Length: My Mate Jack-128 pages/3 hrs; Lucky Man-166 pages/4 hrs, 11 mins

Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design

Synopsis

My Mate Jack:
Will Barter’s been in love with his best mate Jack for as long as he can remember. They’ve shared everything: love, life, laughs, even Will’s first kiss. But Jack’s straight, and Will’s long-buried infatuation means nothing until their last summer together draws to a close.

Then one night, everything changes, but with Will bound for university in Leeds, and Jack for his dream DJ job in Ibiza, there’s no time to explore their blurred lines. Before long all that’s left are secrets, lies, and misunderstandings.

In the months that follow, anger and hurt overshadow fifteen years of friendship, and Will must dig deep to remember Jack is his mate… his
best mate, and nothing matters more than that, right?

Lucky Man:
For a diehard music fan, a dirty, smoky gig is Vice Squad Detective Danny Jones’s idea of heaven. While watching one of the most popular bands in Northern England, the sight of gorgeous rock star Finn McGovern changes his life forever.

Beneath the tattoos and leather jacket, Finn is kind and sweet, but when he confesses a dark secret to Danny, it tests their fledgling bond. Danny digs deep to accept Finn, but before long, a terrifying trail of death threatens to tear them apart before they’ve even got started.

A monster is killing prostitutes on Danny’s patch, and when a dead girl turns up too close to home, Danny discovers a heartbreaking link between the girl and his bright new life with Finn, a life he’ll do anything to protect.

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

Great stories; great narration!

My Mate Jack and Lucky Man are set in the same world but each can be read as a standalone story with no problem.

My Mate Jack:
Angsty goodness and friends-to-lovers (which is one of my favorite romance tropes). I’m a sucker for stories where the gay guy falls for the (supposedly) straight guy who turns out to be not so straight. Will has crushed big time on Jack even though he knows that Jack is straight. At least that’s what he thought until things changed one summer.

Will and Jack remain friends but are separated for years due to Jack’s job and Will’s schooling. When they are reunited it takes a lot to undo the misunderstandings that have been left unresolved for too many years.

As usual, Dan Calley did a great job with his performance of this story. His voice was perfect for the characters. This relatively short audiobook held my attention from beginning to end and I thought it was a great listen.

Lucky Man:
This book got to me in so many ways. Danny and Finn hit it off right away but Finn has a secret that he’s afraid will drive Danny away. As they become closer, he knows that he has to tell Danny. The reaction he gets isn’t quite what he expected.

Danny is under a lot of stress with his job; he has to find out who is killing the prostitutes. His job begins to impact his relationship with Finn and they have things they must work through to get to their HEA.

I really loved this story. Garrett Leigh always handles books with mental illness in them with the perfect blend of reality and respectfulness and Lucky Man was no exception. Dan Calley turned in another fine audio performance. I really enjoy listening to his voice acting.

Story: ♥♥♥♥♥

Narration: ♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Scorcher

Heated Beat Series

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥

About Author

Garrett Leigh

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer.

Garrett’s debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with renowned LGBTQA+ photographer Dan Burgess.

Author Links