She had been the first thing he thought of on waking and the last thing before sleeping, and all the hours in between.
Sandra Owens
Jack of Hearts
Format:
Audiobook. Available as ebook + audio on Kindle Unlimited.
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Alex Gentry doesn’t scare easily. Working as an undercover FBI agent in the biker bar he and his brothers co-own, he hangs with deadly criminals in order to gather information. Danger is just part of the family business. But one thing has him terrified: his attraction to Madison Parker.
Madison is the cousin of Ramon Alonzo, son and second in command to a notorious drug lord Alex is trying to bust. Alex has befriended Ramon as part of his cover, and Madison has unknowingly become his informant. Falling for her could risk this case—and both their lives.
All Madison wants is to get her new bookstore business off the ground, and for her creepy cousin Ramon—to whom she’s unfortunately indebted—to leave her alone. If she could only stop fantasizing about his mysterious new friend, Alex…
As the Alonzo cartel investigation heats up, so does their relationship. But will the secrets they’re keeping tear them apart—or get them both killed?
Point of view:
3rd Person. Alternating POVs, not always clearly defined.
Rellim’s Thoughts:
This one took a little bit to really get going, but once it did – I enjoyed it. It’s a nice mix of romance, suspense, and action. It’s heavier on the romance/relationship aspect – but still enough FBI undercover investigation to keep things moving.
I like Alex & Madison. We get to really know them individually and as a couple. (though, this may have been what contributed to what felt like a slow start.) Madison’s roommate, Lauren, and Alex’s brothers, Court & Nate, as well as other FBI agents are introduced. Enough to contribute to the plot as well as be intrigued about their role in future books. While this book had it’s own story arc and romance plot focused on Alex & Mad, this is also kicking off a series arc (big reveal in the epilogue!) that I’m looking forward to.
This is 3rd person, but there’s a lot of 1st person dialogue. The perspective changes between Alex & Madison – unfortunately, it’s not always clearly defined and it tripped me up a few times. This was compounded by the fact that a few times the wrong narrator was speaking during the opposite POV. (ie. York narrating when it was obviously Madison’s perspective/thoughts.)
It’s still an enjoyable series that I’ve listened to more than once.
Narration:
I’m a huge fan of both Amy McFadden & Sebastian York. McFadden did a great job here with all the various voices, perspectives, and emotions. I struggled a little with York’s narration in this one. There wasn’t a lot of differentiating between male speaking voices. Alex & Nate sounded exactly alike, as did Rand (though he didn’t speak much). There was also an action scene where he didn’t sound any more excited than he did in regular conversation.
Trigger Warnings (possible spoilers):
There’s some shoot outs, gun shot wounds, peril, and other action/mystery topics. Madison’s cousin is physically and sexually aggressive toward her. In flashbacks, Alex’s father is physically abusive. Death/disappearance of parents.
About the author:
Sandra lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Most days, you can find her with her fingers on a keyboard, her mind in the world of her imagination. It’s a land where romance and happy endings exist, a land where anything is possible.
A few highlights of Sandra’s life she fondly recalls are jumping out of a plane, flying upside down in a stunt plane, and riding her Harley in the mountains of Southern California and along the coast of Maine.
Although those events in her life were great fun, nothing compares to the joy and satisfaction she gets from writing her stories.
You can connect with Sandra Owens here:
About the narrator:
From Amy McFadden’s website: Hi! This part is all about me. Just me. It feels weird to write a bunch of stuff about myself but I don’t like pictures of me so I’ll have to use words instead.
I live in Michigan with my fiancé, Joe Anderson. He makes me laugh so much I never have to do situps. Truthfully, I probably wouldn’t do situps anyway, but hey, it’s still a nice bonus to our love.
I’m an actress now, and I used to be a 2nd grade teacher. I loved that part of my life, but after doing it for a bunch of years, I was ready to move on to the next version of me. They’re not really very different versions-teachers and actresses both reach out and engage people through stories. I’m NOT a morning person, but waking up to tell stories makes mornings better-than-tolerable.
I love books and the Muppets and smart people and kind people (not necessarily in that order) and sleeping and chocolate and coffee and writers and learning and Oreo cookies and a bunch of other stuff-but I’m starting to make myself gag on all this love.
I hate a bunch of stuff, too, but who cares about that junk? It’s probably the same stuff you hate, so I won’t bore you. Except I REALLY hate listening to people eat bananas.
You can connect with Amy McFadden here:
My Favorite Quotes
She had been the first thing he thought of on waking and the last thing before sleeping, and all the hours in between. – Jack of Hearts @SandyOwens1 #DualNarration by @amymcnarrator & Sebastian York #RomanticSuspense #Mystery #FBI
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Holy sweet Mother Mary, her man was jaw-dropping badass. – Jack of Hearts @SandyOwens1 #DualNarration by @amymcnarrator & Sebastian York #RomanticSuspense #Mystery #FBI
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Rellim Reads 