control audioStory Rating: 4.75 stars
Audio Rating: 4.75 stars

Narrator: Greg Tremblay
Length: 7 hours, 44 minutes

Audiobook Buy Links: Amazon/Audible | iBooks
Book Buy Links:  Amazon | iBooks


So this audio review is going to be a bit different from normal because I read Control last year. I absolutely loved it and it is one of my favorite shifter stories and a favorite of mine from both Calmes and Cardeno C.  I adore Vi and Robert, love the creative world building and the nontraditional shifters, and find the story sexy and romantic.  But since I read it not that long ago, it seemed silly to review the story again a second time, as I didn’t expect much to have changed.  So rather than cover both the book and the audio here, I am going to refer you all to my review of the ebook version instead, and use this space to focus on the audio side of things.

I had heard wonderful things about the narrator Greg Tremblay.  He narrates Rhys Ford’s Cole McGinnis series, and I have heard nothing but rave after rave for his narration. So when I saw that he was doing the audio for this book, I jumped at the chance to review it.

I am thrilled to say Tremblay totally lived up to his great reputation and was a completely fabulous narrator.  He does so many things well here. First off, Vi and Robert’s voices are just perfect.  They totally capture the personalities of the two men.  Robert is deep and rumbling and steady, totally befitting his big solid bear.  And Vi is at times strong, and at others a little anxious and high strung, again perfectly complementing his personality. Their voices are distinct and I had no problem telling who was speaking, even without dialog tags.  The narration really plays off the dynamic of the two men really well, capturing the banter, the differences in their personality, and the sexual heat between them. One thing I particularly loved is that as the POV shifts between chapters, the background narration also shifts to match the POV character. So when we are in Robert’s head, we get Robert’s voice narrating as well.  This is the first time I have heard that style and I really loved it as it immersed us in the two characters.

The other side characters voices are also excellent.  Tremblay does a particularly good job with Lou, Vi’s second in command.  I find women’s voices are often a weak spot for male narrators, and Lou sounds female without sounding fake.  I loved the accent on Vi’s father, as well as the accented pronunciations for the various titles of ket members.

One thing I found particularly interesting is the way Tremblay narrates Vi. We can really hear his insecurities and anxiousness come out in his voice.  The narration really gave me a different insight into Vi than I had from reading the book. There I found him more confident and brash, and Tremblay portrays him with definitely more vulnerability.  I liked it quite a lot and found it fitting with the character.  I loved that listening gave me a different perspective than I had when reading.

So clearly you can tell I loved this one.  I adored it as an ebook and I thought it was fabulous in audio form. I will definitely seek out more audiobooks from Tremblay, and would highly recommend Control in either format.

A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.

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