I wish it had been a single narrator.

Any additional comments?

*Whispersync*

This is a romance about two young men who have been raised in a religious cult striking out on their own after one is thrown out (Josh) and one runs away (Caleb).

I've owned this book since it was published as "In Front of God and Everyone", when I bought it after actually reading "It's Never Over" first. But I put it off because....the whole cult thing made me skittish.

The story is actually far less angsty than I thought it would be. It's low angst, sweet, sexy as hell, and, with the exception of one boneheaded moment from Caleb towards the end, a pretty smooth sail to a lovely HEA.

As for the narration...for half of it I wasn't a fan. Allow me to explain. I was hoping because there are two narrators that this would be a "duet" narration. Where each narrator takes certain characters and only voices those characters throughout.

Alas, no. Though this was less muddled than some of the dual narrations I've listened to where the narrators trade off by chapter POV, this was different because there are four Parts or "Gospels" according to Josh or Caleb and each narrator voices the entire Part, with all its chapters, of the book.

(So, I could be wrong but I think) Teddy Hamilton voices the parts of the book from Josh's perspective, and Dake Bliss voices the parts from Caleb's perspective.

I LOVED Teddy's narration. It was smooth, he does great character voices, has great pacing, and is a genuine pleasure to listen to.

I was not so much a fan of Dake's performance. He was stilted, his pacing was off, and his character voices sounded stiff, and sometimes even robotic.

I'm not going to lie, it was jarring for me to go through 38% of the story with Teddy's smooth tones in my ear, to suddenly be listening to different actor playing *the same* parts, and not nearly as well.

Frankly, it lessened my enjoyment of the audiobook.

I just wish if an author, or publisher, cannot afford true "duet" narration that they would just stick to a single narrator.

If Teddy Hamilton had been the single narrator for this - I would be giving 4, possibly 4.5 stars...but having to consider in Dake's performance and this goes down to 2.5 to 3 stars.

27 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Sweet, sweet love

This story was so sweet and so refreshing. It's fairly low on the angst scale but at the same time, so emotional that I cried through most of it. Polygamist colonies are something I know a lot about and that could be the reason for such emotion. I literally could not push pause and ended up cancelling some plans today because I just had to listen to the whole thing.

Teddy Hamilton is a staple in the narration world and I mostly enjoyed his performance, but there was audible swallows that should have been edited out. Dake Bliss is where the wheels fell off for me. Not only was his age and voice sound not appropriate but I didn't enjoy his performance either. There were constant long pauses that didn't make sense to me and it felt like he was telling a story, not narrating. It was completely opposite of Teddy's narration style and I didn't enjoy it at all. If you only listen to audiobooks, then don't skip it because of this... this story is worth hearing! But if you read as well, might be a good one to read.

17 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Hello World

I have come to love the writing of Sarina Bowen. Her words have a magic that takes me to another place and time. Her words can also be difficult as she deals with subjects that are often not discussed in "polite company". This series tackles human rights in the form of gay rights, the abuse of women and the hypocrisy of religion. She does not preach in dealing with these subjects she simply tells the story in all it's beauty and it's ugliness. Josh and Caleb may be my favorite characters though it is hard to choose because I fall for every single one she writes. They are gentle spirits who become men in a sheltered backwards community of religious who abuse the word of God in their every action, once again just the facts. They have clung to each other all their lives and due to a crisis they find themselves on the run. It is wonderful to watch them come alive together in a world that is so foreign to them yet so much more welcome than the compound of their youth. They are surrounded by loving friends and an adopted family of their choosing who help to smooth their way along a bumpy road. Without giving away the story let me say I got my HEA. I listened to this on audiobook narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Dake Bliss. Both are excellent voice actors and I try to listen to all their work. But, let me just tell you that Teddy Hamilton takes it one step beyond excellent. He embodies a gentleness of spirit in so many of his characters and Josh is no exception. Hamilton finds every nuance of confusion, vulnerability, innocence, love and light in this young man. I am eagerly looking forward to more of this series by this author and these narrators and the characters they bring to life. A hearty thank you to them all.

4 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Surprisingly great read

I am not usually into reading M/M romance books. Saying that, this is so not what I suspected at all. It was heart wrenchingly sad, funny, romantic, poignant. It just pulled at my heart and opened my eyes. The story line couldn't be any better. The characters were so real they just pulled you in. I loved every second of this book. Recommend highly.

4 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

These two will Rock your world!

Just when you think Sarina couldn't write any better..... She hits us with Josh and Caleb. This thing socked me in the heart and left me sliding down the wall a few times. Josh and Caleb are amazing people and so is Maggie and her family. I can't even imagine, as many tribulations as I've had in my life, to have been raised in a cult as these two had. These two are beautiful BUT BELIEVABLE and so is their extended family. I had to download the next book right away. The Audible as well. Nothing makes the commute better! I have both kindle and Audible of all of Sarina and Sarina and Elle's books together. The Audible versions are an amazing compliment to the written as these two authors know how to pick narrators as well - crucial. (I just listened to this for the 2nd time! Dake and Teddy Rock this! Keep them coming Sarina - I'm going to start the next book in the Series NOW!

4 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Loved this story so much!

This is a great heartfelt story. Such a different plot than anything I have read before so I really appreciated that.
I could feel the love that Caleb and Josh felt for each other, their fear for what others may think and their courage to overcome.
I loved Teddy Hamilton’s narration.
The other narrator sounded a little monotone or perhaps to much like he was just reading. He had good moments where he would come out of that but then went right back in.
I was ify about giving 5 stars bc of that but I loved the story so much that it still deserved an overall 5 stars!
I’d love for the author to write another book about this group of people. Perhaps Meriam? (Although I’d love it about Josh and Caleb as well) but they could go back to the compound and try to rescue some others! And then take down the bad guys who need to go to prison.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Top favorite of 2017!

What made the experience of listening to Goodbye Paradise the most enjoyable?

The story, the characters, the narrators, EVERYTHING!

What did you like best about this story?

I loved every single thing about this story. It was so unique and touching. The characters are so endearing. You really can't help but love it all!

What about Teddy Hamilton and Dake Bliss ’s performance did you like?

They completely brought the characters of Joshua and Caleb to life- they both did such a wonderful job of portraying them. Josh's vulnerability really shown through with Teddy's narration, and Dake was able to bring out both Caleb's strengths and his own vulnerabilities.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book brought out so many reactions in me! I cried so much, I laughed, I swooned. It was probably a bad idea to listen to some of it on my commute from work because of the tears!

Any additional comments?

This is one of the most unique books I've ever read, and the audio book couldn't have been more perfect. If you're onthe fence about this one, don't be- jump right in, you will not regret it!

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

5 Goodbye Paradise Stars

Wow….

This book is amazing it made me feel so many wonderful things, hope being the biggest.
Josh and Caleb’s story isn’t easy but I loved how easily the story was told. If you read any of Sarina’s other books then you know about the religious cult in one of the books. Well Josh and Caleb come from that place.

I loved that both of them used to look out for each other. And Josh having feelings for his best friend in secret I thought oh dear this is going to be predictable but it really wasn’t at all.

It’s just a great story of how these two trusted in one another and then in friends along the way.

I just had this feeling after about the 3rd chapter that this book was going to make my heart happy and it did that and so much more.

Teddy and Drake do a fantastic job with this narration. The tone and inflection they both put in to their performances made it so much more. Great Audiobook, Fantastic Story.

*You don't have to like my review but its 100% my opinion, and I am allowed to have it.*

9 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

I really tried to finish but could not.

I really tried to finish the audible version of this book. I truly liked the story but Dake as a narrator was horrible. He did not distinguish between characters voices and it just sounded like the same person for every character. His narration truly made me stop listening.
Teddy should have done the whole book alone. He was amazing and the distinction between each voice was prevalent. I hate that I could not finish because of one narrator.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Great MM Series

I was excited to read another male/male series by Bowen after having enjoyed HIM so much. That book can get it. Overall, Goodbye Paradise was a good read and I’d go back to it again sometime. There was character development and a real bond between Josh and Caleb. I also appreciated watching their relationship change and grow. Sex scenes had great descriptions and were plentiful.

Issues:
My biggest issue was having to listen to Dake Bliss narrate. IT WAS SO BAD. Lacked emotion, did a bad job of changing voices, and there was no continuity if Hamilton had given a character an accent or twang. I felt bad Teddy Hamilton was paired with this guy! Bliss was truly unemotional and dry. I also felt that the whole story could have come from Josh’s viewpoint as I found him the more compelling counterpart.

Second issue came from the ending confrontation that almost kept Caleb and Josh apart. Without giving anything away I will say...it was a stupid plot device. Really and truly a dumb story choice. I was literally rolling my eyes and waiting for it to end. It wasn’t in line with Caleb’s character or previous choices. I just wish authors wouldn’t see this conflict as a necessary “fake out twist” in romance plots. We know the characters will end up together!

1 personne a trouvé cela utile