Stranded with Desire

Dreamspun Desires

De: Vivien Dean, Rick R. Reed

Narrado por: Johnny Mack

When their plane crashed, their desire took flight.

CEO Maine Braxton and his invaluable assistant, Colby, don't realize they share a deep secret: they're in love - with each other. That secret may have never come to light but for a terrifying plane crash in the Cascade Mountains that changes everything.

In a struggle for survival, the two men brave bears, storms, and a life-threatening flood to make it out of the wilderness alive. The proximity to death makes them realize the importance of love over propriety. Confessions emerge. Passions ignite. They escape the wilds renewed and openly in love.

When they return to civilization, though, forces are already plotting to snuff out their short-lived romance and ruin everything both have worked so hard to achieve.

©2016 Vivien Dean, Rick R Reed (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press

5 stars = I freaking LOVED this audiobook!!!

I received a free copy of this audiobook to listen and review for Wicked Reads.

Stranded with Desire has a bit more of an edge to it than the previous Dreamspun Desires books I’ve either read or listened to. Then again, when the main characters nearly die in a plane crash and then have to survive the wilderness, even if only for a day or two, it shouldn’t have surprised me. What did surprise me was that the authors didn’t go straight to the happily ever after once Colby and Maine were rescued. Nor did they make Maine’s decision as to whether or not it was time for him to come out of the closet, an easy one. As much as I enjoy the sweet fairytale style storyline I often encounter in Dreamspun Desires books, I thoroughly enjoyed the heightened level of anticipation and suspense as Maine has to figure out what he wants his future to look like, all while thwarting an unexpected hostile takeover of his position as CEO.

Airplane crashes. Bears. Mudslides. Near drownings. Corporate coups. Romance. Stranded with Desire has it all and despite what looks like an overwhelming list of plot points, Dean and Reed kept the story from feeling contrived or forced. Within only a few pages, a history is established between Colby and Maine, through how well they work together, that makes their inevitable romance feel right – even if Colby had no idea that his boss was gay. Colby might have been a professional actor, but Maine was a consummate actor in that no one in his life – not his parents, not his brother, not his fiancée, not even his personal assistant – suspected he was gay, let alone knew it. Because of that, Colby’s confusion and hesitation when Maine reveals his secret is palpable. While traipsing through the wilderness didn’t allow for much exploration of their feelings (which helped add to the realism of the story), the men did have their moments of concern and affection for one another break through. Even though the survival portion of Stranded with Desire was tense, the true action didn’t take place until after the rescue, once they returned to Braxton Enterprises and discovered that games were afoot that threatened both Maine and Colby’s future.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook edition of Stranded with Desire. For me, the authors hit just the right balance of conflicts, with each being believable in the situation in which they unfolded. I loved the work relationship that Colby and Maine had and how Colby didn’t come off as the love-struck secretary, but instead as the extremely competent personal assistant who channeled his personal feelings for his boss to make him an even better assistant who could anticipate what Maine would need in any given situation. This made the surge of chemistry between them believable, and Johnny Mack does an excellent job in conveying it and the tension between the two. This is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Mack’s narration and hope to have to chance to listen to more of his work as I found his ability to increase the tension in a scene – in varying degrees – to be very impressive. The distinction between character voices was wonderful and I had no problem discerning who was speaking at the time or whose thoughts were being conveyed. The combination of Dean and Reed’s writing with Mack’s narrative performance made Stranded with Desire an audiobook I will enjoy repeatedly.

Lots of secrets

Would you listen to Stranded with Desire again? Why?

Probably not. It was good but just not One that stuck with me that much.

What other book might you compare Stranded with Desire to and why?

I would compare it to most in this line. Good stories with stereotypical tropes. You can always count on a good fluffy romance with this line.

Have you listened to any of Johnny Mack’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No This is my first.

If you could take any character from Stranded with Desire out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Maine. I would like to see why he hid all these years and how he felt about who did the mystery and why they did it. I would also like to ask him more about his and Colby's future.

Any additional comments?

Stranded with Desire is a good story with the Boss/ Coworker trope, survival trope and a touch of mystery. Its all pretty stereotypical and easy to figure out but that is what this line is, just a fun, fluffy romance easy to read and enjoy line. In other words with this line, you know what you are getting. I love Rick R Reed ad Vivien Dean so you also know the story is well written and enjoyable as well.

Maine is running the company his brother wants to run. Maine is off o a business trip with his personal assistant when he is called to come back a little early and not tell anyone. The weather is bad but the pilot says they can make the flight, yet there is an issue and the plane crashes. Maie and Colby survive but are stranded alone in the mountains and have to find their way home. They also find that thier secret fantasies are harder to hide.

Johnny Mack's narration was good. The voices clear and pacing good as well.

If you like Boss/Coworker, coming out, mystery suspense, a light romance with an HEA you will like this

Everyone's a hero and the narration is great!

Poor Colby. He’s been in love, and not hiding it well, with his boss – almost from the start. Because he’s engaged to be married to a woman, Colby thinks it’s a safe assumption to deem Maine unattainable because he’s straight and his boss.

Meanwhile, Maine, who recognizes the need he sees in Colby’s eyes because it’s mirrored in his own, fears coming out because of his position in society and the company he runs.

When the two are forced into intimate closeness when their plane crashes in the Olympic Mountains, their mutual desire can’t be hidden any more.

**

Just as those “sweet” romances we’ve read in the past, this has very little heat and a predictable story arc – but it’s very well done. Colby is hopelessly pining, but Maine is a swoon-worthy suitor. Maine’s “main” failing is his ridiculous belief that he can’t be out when we don’t really have a good reason he should hide.

Even at the end, after the big reveal, I wasn’t sure why he was hiding.

However, this was a terribly sweet story and almost all the people in it were heroes (with one notable exception) so there were almost no bad feelings to be had. A very enjoyable way to pass a few hours!

4 of 5 stars

Audio

Johnny Mack is a new-to-me narrator and he did a great job! He didn’t give anyone any specific accents or try too hard to make the feminine voices sound like women, but it was always easy to know who was speaking. His voice is easy to listen to and he has a great sense of timing and voice modulation. There were a couple of sound errors where it was obvious he had re-recorded some words at a different volume, but they were few and far between.

I really enjoyed listening to this and highly recommend it.

4.75 of 5 stars

Overall 4.5 of 5 stars

Tepid

Tepid characters. Tepid story. Tepid narration. It wasn't terrible; it was just plain ole blah.