Afterburn & Aftershock

Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Harlequin

By: Sylvia Day

Narrated by: Amy McFadden

Never mix business with pleasure. Never bring politics into the bedroom. In a way I did both when I took Jackson Rutledge as a lover. I can't say I wasn't warned.

Two years later, he was back. Walking into a deal I'd worked hard to close. Under the tutelage of Lei Yeung, one of the sharpest businesswomen in New York, I had picked up a thing or two since Jax walked away. I wasn't the girl he once knew, but he hadn't changed. Unlike the last time we'd drifted into each other's lives, I knew exactly what I was dealing with...and how addictive his touch could be.

The inner circle of glamour, sex, and privilege was Jax's playground - but this time, I knew the rules of the game. In the cutthroat business world, one adage rules all: keep your enemies close and your ex-lovers closer...

©2014 Sylvia Day LLC; Cosmo and Cosmopolitan are registered trademarks of Hearst Communications, Inc. (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

After Shock/After Burn

I loved this book. I had just finished the Crossfire series and needed a Sylvia Day fix. This is a short but good book. It's only about 7 hours long so I was able to finish it rather quickly. It didn't have as much detail as other books I have read but I loved the characters and the story. I wish there would of been more of a history given on there back story or flashbacks of what they went through. Overall I loved the book and would read it again.

what?

Ok, I love Day's books, but this one was weak. The characters were not developed at all. Story goes like this. Girl meats guy in bar, sleeps with guy. Guy meets up with girl on the weekend for 6 weeks then just stops without saying good buy.. 2 years later guy runs into girl again, sleeps with her again, confesses undying love, quits huge carreer for her then asks for marrags after only being reconecter for a few weeks... when they talk, they always fight unless there having sex...
Don't waist 7 hrs of your day on this one.

Needed more

This was a lovely story . I was reminded of Gideon Cross when it came to Jax. All in all it was great I just wished it wasn't so rushed and that the story had more time to develop. I hated the ending just as I did with the Crossfire collection. I believe more could have been done. However, I'm still looking forward to the movie in hopes that it lives up to my expectations.

Good listen

The story kept me interested, there’s a good balance of love scenes, the narrator held the story well with on-point accents & an emotive tone that didn’t drag. Gia was a cool personality, Jacks was a bit irritating at times, supporting characters all lent to the story too.

Love this story

Left me with wanting more the story was so good. I want to know what happens next!

story

nice story..twists and turns..good audio voice.
hope to see characters again. Rossi brothers would be interesting.

Good Listening Book At @ $7.34 Bargain Price

Sylvia returns with the sequel and conclusion to Jax and Gia’s story and it was wonderful. It is a sexy, sassy tale about finding strength in who you are through the people you love. This book was exactly what I wanted and needed in the moment. I was primed and ready for more Jackson Rutledge. It is a must that you listen to AFTERBURN first though, if you haven’t already, as this provides the ending for Jax & Gia.

The one issue that always confused me about Jax & Gia’s relationship was why Jax left Gia the first time. It never made sense to me considering how much Jax wants Gia when they see one another again after all that time. Rest assured, you will get your answer and it’s shockingly simpler than I expected. In fact, I feel like this entire story was really a simple love story – and I mean that in the BEST possible way.

As a quick side note, I need to throw in that it was no surprise that the sex scenes were hot – sexual tension, impatient, needy, all-encompassing. Jax is one sexy beast of a man and I have to admit my heart (and panties) melted every time he said “Gia. Baby.”

If you’ve read Sylvia’s other books, you know that the story line has many layers and things are not always what they seem. As such, sometimes it takes a while to really get the answers you want as the reader. This book is different – it is fun and flirty and shockingly light-hearted. At the core of the story are two people who got a second chance at love and who are finally ready to fight for one another. There aren’t deep dark secrets or crazy exes or any other OMG plot twists. In my opinion, it was a nice change of pace. Sometimes it’s good to read a good ole love story about a strong woman and her sexy, yet equally as strong, man.

If you want sexy and fun, then these two books are must reads! I found myself completely engrossed with Gia and Jax and I was so sad when it ended. I do wish we got a bit more from the Epilogue, but ultimately I was satisfied with this story and glad that all my lingering questions were answered. Now I just have to go back to waiting for more Sylvia Day…

Amy McFadden was good with the delivery of the story

great double feature

it's really good it's a quick listen and great listen for in the car

Fantastic narration!

What made the experience of listening to Afterburn & Aftershock the most enjoyable?

Amy McFadden does an outstanding job, in my opinion. Her narration is more like a performance than a "reading". She is somehow able to convey an amazing breadth of emotions through timbre and pace; I was mesmerized and quickly immersed in the story b/c of her talent. In addition, her voice has an impressive range, which allows the male voices to be believable. I was thoroughly impressed -- after two years of membership and countless listens, this is my first 5-star rating for narration.

What did you like best about this story?

I love Sylvia Day's writing. Although I would categorize her books as "Cheetos for the brain", they are better-written than any other books I've been able to find in this genre. This particular book I found to be somewhat more believable than her others. I especially enjoyed Gia's family dynamic (the "tough love" of her brothers was heartwarming and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny).

Which character – as performed by Amy McFadden – was your favorite?

Denise. Classic.

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

At times it made me laugh, but it's not a "crying" kind of book.

Great Read or Listen

This was one of the best books I have listened to. The story was great and the narrator was amazing! This is totally staying in my library to be listened to again and again.