Conviction by Corinne Michaels 

Narrated by Andi Arndt and Sebastian York

NOTE: Book 1 must be read before Conviction. The review below contains spoilers for Book 1. If you have not yet listened to Conviction, please see the AudioGals review.

The second part to the Consolation Duet proves to bring new impossible choices to its characters providing plenty more angst and heart-breaking decisions that will keep new adult romance enthusiasts entertained. But be forewarned, the conclusion is a little unconventional as it involves an inadvertent love triangle. Of course there are underlying facts that will eventually leave you satisfied of a just conclusion and the direction of the HEA in the end, but be prepared for some turbulence along the way.

Conviction starts up where Consolation leaves off. Our heroine, Natalie, has just found out that her husband (Aaron) – who she believed had died while on a mission in a security civilian job – is still alive. Adding further difficulty to the situation is that the man that she has been longing to see, and the one she believes she has fallen in love with (Liam) – is one of the Navy SEAL team members who delivers Aaron to Natalie.

Liam, a man of unquestionable loyalty, who lives his life under a code of honor that permeates every aspect of his life, doesn’t know what to do under this terrible set of facts. Everyone, including himself, thought that his best friend Aaron was dead. Now he must either leave Natalie, who he is in love with and who he has promised to protect and stand by, or his best friend. Adding further complexity to this unfathomable set of facts, is that Natalie’s young daughter – who has only ever known Liam as her father –  has no idea that Aaron is her real biological father. Can there possibly be any way to resolve this unintentionally tangled web? Who truly deserves to share Natalie’s HEA?

On the narration front, the narrators from Consolation, Andi Arndt and Sebastian York, return to finish this story and deliver a mostly solid performance. Once again Ms. Arndt and Mr. York perform their narration in the typical New Adult, contemporary romance style, with Ms. Arndt performing the chapters from Natalie’s perspective and Mr. York, the other ones.

What adds a further level of difficulty that was not existent in the prior book, and why I felt that I had to lower the narration grade a bit for this book, is the fact that this book has two main male characters (while the first only has one). This additional wrinkle undoubtedly adds a whole other level of difficulty to this narration to ensure that each voicing has its own unique sound. And, unfortunately, in the case of both narrators, I had some difficulty telling Liam and Aaron apart based solely on the narrators’ characterizations, making it necessary to rely on dialogue tags more than I prefer.

Nonetheless both Ms. Arndt and Mr. York have soothing voices that I enjoy listening to, and their experience shows in the overall performance leading to a general fluid feeling to their performances. Moreover, they both do a good job of pacing their delivery to heighten the effect of the scenes and convey the mood of the character being portrayed.

So while the narration grade is a little lower than I normally am accustomed to giving these narrators, I’m confident that this is attributable to the unique circumstances of this story and am looking forward to Ms. Arndt’s and Mr. York’s future narrations.

All in all, I enjoyed Conviction. I must admit that I was somewhat dubious at the possibility for a successful resolution given the cliffhanger ending in Consolation. In the end, however, I believe Corinne Michaels nailed it by finding perhaps the only potential resolution to a series of unfortunate – and yet equally karma-filled – events.

BJ

Narration: Andi Ardnt B-/ Sebastian York B-

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence Rating: Minimal

Genre: Contemporary Romance - New Adult

Publisher: Corinne Michaels

Conviction was provided to AudioGals for a review.