Auctioned

Auctioned Series, Book 1

By: Cara Dee

Narrated by: Alex Kydd

Gray Nolan's biggest problem in life was the torch he carried for his closeted coach. He was just another happy-go-lucky dude, a college student and hockey player, when his ordinary existence was interrupted, and he became a human trafficking statistic.

He and seven other young men were taken aboard a luxurious yacht, where they were to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Gray was beaten, shattered, and almost defeated by the time his buyer stepped out of the shadows in a swirl of his own cigarette smoke.

He was Gray's new owner.

Darius Quinn had vowed never again to find himself in a situation like this. His days as a private military contractor were over. No more missions, no more risks, no more personal attachments. Yet, here he was, after weeks of searching, face-to-face with his broken prize.

It was time to get the knucklehead back to his family. Quick and easy was Darius's plan. Then everything went sideways.

Contains mature themes.

©2018 Cara Dee (P)2019 Tantor

Heartbroken!

The plot is flawless and you could actually feel the pain that the boys were going through. The scene where Milo was discontinued will forever be embedded in my heart and mind. I really loved the book.

a dark but realistic and great story

it was a great story, wasn't sure in the beginning if I was going to like the dark themes or how the writer would handle them, but everything was handled very carefully and still in a realistic way, but also not depressing. there are some explicit dark scenes that can be upsetting for the reader, but I didnt feel like it was written for shock value, it was necessary to tell the complex emotional story of a victim of human trafficking. besides the dark moments, there are also plenty moments with positive emotions

as for the narration, I liked it, I did have to get used to the raspy voice and intonation of the reader in the beginning, but it fits the emotion of the story



for the people that come to the reviews to know if they'd be able to handle the darker themes (maybe small spoilers ahead):


- it's a story about human trafficking, so yes, there is sexual violence in the story, but everything is off screen or non explicit (character comes in afterwards/ remembers a vague flash of the past/ hears someone talking about it etc)
- in replacement of explicit sexual violence to still capture the horrific situations of the characters, there is a bit of physical violence/ torture, again not written in a shock value way, but to make you feel the emotions of the characters
- the romance/sex of the main characters in the story is consential between both parties, there are some grey moments between them, but again mostly off screen and handled very respectfully by the writer
- there are side character deaths
- overall, its a story with a dark plot, but it focuses mostly on the emotional aspect of it and it concludes a relatively satisfying ending (not game of thrones type ending where all the misery was for nothing and leaves the reader depressed)

New Favorite Series

I admit I was hesitant about this book due to the dark nature of the subject matter. I'm sooooo glad I took the chance. I was hooked within minutes and only became more enthralled as I continued to listen. I can't wait to see the rest of the series on Audible.

I like the story

This is a story you don’t read everyday. This is definitely a slow burn. I’m actually wanting to go straight into book two but I can’t. This isn’t your average trafficking story. It’s real. So please go over them triggers.

Teases with potential never reached

The reader, Alex Kydd, is a terrible choice got this story. He sounds like he’s from the mean streets of Brooklyn in a story about an overly emotional, naive kid from the suburbs. This story is really only Part 1 and ends just as things might finally get interesting. But I’ll never find out because I won’t listen to another book read by Alex Kydd.

Horrible narration

Could they not have gotten someone better to narrate?

I was hoping for a charged story but it fell flat. This could have been so much better.

Love

I love everything about this story and am so frustrated that the entire series hasn't been released on Audible! I struggle sitting down to read because of my adhd ... I want to try though with the others because this story is so amazing! but if i could tell some important person that can make it possible id tell them, please please please have them narrated!🤗😘

Dark in a Not Entertaining Way

As many reviewers have noted this is indeed a dark tale, but not the kind of dark you normally find in any sort of romance. In this story it is not the main characters that are dark and gritty it is the antagonists torturing (literally) the main characters. It is not a device to allow the main characters to meet. It is the entire story. The two main characters do get to know each other and are pushed together through horror but there is no real chance for real feelings as they are "performing" under the watchful eye of the vile characters that are physically and/or mentally abusing them.

Being uncomfortable with abuse serving as entertainment I kept waiting for that part of the story to end to get to the part where the characters and I could maybe not feel good but at least better and that doesn't happen. There is no HFN and definitely not an HEA just sort of a slow close to a chapter with portense of bad things to come if you dare to continue the series.

Having said all of that, the story is well written, well paced with defined characters. Blessedly, the story is not weighed down by any inner monologuing and was well edited.

As for the narration, another reviewer's use of the word glacial is spot on. In fact, the speech is so slow I believe it has to be production that slowed it down (maybe for a longer story?) as nobody naturally talks that slow. The narration is more than tolerable if you just speed it up through the app. I listened at 1.15 and found it sounded much more like natural speech and the narrator does have some range in character differentiation. I did not find his narration as bad as other reviewers proclaimed but again that could be because I use the speed up remedy.

loved it

loved how the narrator brought this book to life. cant wait for the next book of this series to be live to listen to

Absolutely enthralled.

Oh man. This book is messed up. Definitely check your triggers because the subject matter in this book could be very hard to read for many people. That being said, holy wow what a whirl wind. This book was quite sad, terrifying, and disgusting. The depictions of human depravity are hard to read. It is also absolutely riveting, and gives you something to root for. Though this is a dark read, there is still a sense of hope throughout the novel that keeps the reader engaged. Darius and Grey have now cemented themselves in my heart forever. I cannot wait to find out what happens next! There is so much that happens here that the romance takes a back seat, but it’s still there.

The audio was well done! The only times I struggled were when there were flash backs in the story, and it made it very hard to keep up with what was real and what was not. I wish that was handled a bit differently to make it more clear, but perhaps the confusion was intentional.