Narrated by Kaleo Griffith
Featuring a cross between the TV series Sex in the City and Alias, Seduction Game is one thrilling spy adventure filled with an overlay of spicy hot passion. And with a last name like Bradshaw, it’s hard not to recognize the similarities between the designer-loving heroine who also happens to work as a journalist, and Carrie Bradshaw of Sex in the City. But perhaps what I enjoyed the most about this fast-paced, action-heavy romance, particularly after the story had a chance to play out a bit, was that the shallow image that this heroine gives off is just that – a facade covering up an intelligence that even her best friends are unaware of. Adding to the allure of this story is the talented narration of Kaleo Griffith, a narrator with the ability to create a multitude of spot-on voices.
For those of you wondering if this 7th book in the I-Team series can be read as a stand-alone, the answer is yes. This is actually my first listen of the entire series, and I was able to follow both the suspense and romance angles of this story. All that said, it is clear that some familiarity with the prior stories would also be helpful, as the main characters from prior books continue to play a part in the suspense. You also get the sense that both the hero and heroine have at least been introduced in prior books.
CIA officer Nick Andris still hasn’t recovered from losing the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with in a CIA mission gone awry. He knew it was against the rules, but couldn’t help falling in love with her. Now he is left with nothing but the memory of how it all went so inexplicably wrong. The only answer is that he must seek revenge on the bad guy (a Georgian arms smuggler) who killed her.
When he is sent on a mission that leads him back to the Georgian arms smuggler, he knows the time has come to avenge his former lover’s death. However, what he doesn’t count on is one sexy woman, Holly Elise Bradshaw, being caught in the cross-hairs. Holly is dating the arms dealer, and the CIA believes she may be involved in his operations, but Nick just doesn’t see it.
Tasked with the mission to eliminate her, he has a very difficult decision to make, as he has never ignored orders before. But the closer he gets to Holly, the clearer it becomes that all is not what it seems. Moreover, as things escalate, they both find themselves on the run together and the one thing neither can deny is their mutual attraction. But will that attraction lead to a HEA or get one of them or both killed in the end?
This was my first experience with Kaleo Griffith and I absolutely loved his male characters. Mr. Griffith’s ability to create different intonations for each one of the many male characters absolutely blew me away. Adept at all kinds of accents (from Georgian Russian accents to US southern accents) and all ages (from young to old), Mr. Griffith rendered an A+ performance when it came to the males.
His female impersonations are for the most part authentic too. The one area that did give me a pause, however, was his characterization of the heroine. While admittedly she was purposely trying to portray herself as a bit of an airhead, I just found her to be so over the top that she almost sounded like a male in drag. Strangely, I liked his portrayal of the other females in the book as they were not so overdone and therefore to me sounded more like genuine women. And yet, I can totally see that Mr. Griffith’s enactment of Holly’s parts were in sync with the way that Ms. Clare wrote her character, so perhaps this is just a matter of personal preference. I also believe that this impression is unique to this book, given the heroine’s particular role, and not necessarily something I would expect to find in other books narrated by Mr. Griffith, so I would gladly explore more of his titles in the future. For anyone considering listening to Seduction Game, however, I do suggest that before you buy the audiobook, you sound sample the narration first to make sure that it is to your liking.
All in all, I was quite impressed with Seduction Game, my first experience with both Ms. Clare’s and Mr. Griffith’s titles. I will definitely be looking to add to my experience with this author narrator duo in the near future.
[section label=’Audiobook Information’ anchor=’Audiobook Information’]
BJ
AUDIOBOOK INFORMATION
TITLE: Seduction Game
AUTHOR: Pamela Clare
NARRATED BY: Kaleo Griffith
GENRE: Romantic Suspense
STEAM FACTOR: Glad I had my earbuds in
REVIEWER: BJ [button type=’link’ link=’http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017OA75QU/?tag=audiogalsnet-20′ size=’btn-lg’ variation=’btn-default’ target=’blank’]Buy Seduction Game by Pamela Clare on Amazon[/button]
