By Sea

Supernatural Renegades, Book 1

By: Carly Fall

Narrated by: Gordon Palagi

While fighting the war on drugs in Latin America, marine Brody Teller was involved in an accident that left him with a supernatural power: a deep connection to the sea and the ability to control it.

When the mysterious Joe Smith approaches him with an incredible job offer, Brody thinks it's too good to be true. His life-saving need and his desire to be near the ocean while earning a living are rolled into one perfect job.

Rayna Lopez lives a quiet life as she tries to climb her way up the CIA ladder, always in fear the government will learn of her family lineage. When her father asks for help getting her famous and belligerent half sister out of trouble, Rayna reluctantly agrees to travel with her. They board a yacht where they will be protected.

Brody and Rayna realize they've met before, and despite a significant lack of trust between them they face an attraction neither can deny. As they fight to keep Rayna's sister alive, lies are revealed, and secrets are told. They must both learn to trust each other and, if they live through their voyage, figure out what to do about their whirlwind romance.

©2014 Carly Fall (P)2015 Carly Fall

Very good start to the series :D

4 stars

This was a very good story. I liked both Brody and Rayna and couldn't help but want them to get together. Their story was very good and kept me engaged until the end. This is the first story I've read by this author and I liked it well enough that I'm likely to try more of her work in the future.

Rayna is a CIA agent who's currently desk-bound but is trying hard to prove herself to her boss so she cane move into field work. Rayna's father is the head of a drug empire and she's had to keep her relationship with him secret in order to get and keep her job with the CIA. Rayna also has a half sister (who's a rising pop star) who she loves but finds trying at times.

Brody is an ex-marine who's had a rough time of it. He's always loved the sea since he grew up with a father that ran a fishing boat. When Brody was on a mission in the marines, things went to hell and Brody got changed somehow, suddenly having an affinity for the sea and even having some control over it. He found himself ejected from the military, deposited in a crap half-life and threatened with death if he tried to investigate or contact anyone about what happened to him.

Rayna's first chance at field work ends up being a babysitting duty. Her boss asks her to go to check on Brody and make sure he's keeping his head down and not doing stuff he shouldn't. Rayna kind of got thrown in the deep end because Brody's previous "visits" usually started with him waking up with a gun to his head and threats about compliance or death. So when Rayna shows up, Brody is understandably rude to her and just wants her out of his face. Rayna thinks Brody is very rude but she also sees the bad position that Brody is in and the pain and sadness he deals with after getting screwed over by his own government. Once she leaves they don't ever expect to see each other again but they both feel the lingering attraction that was beneath the animosity of their first meeting.

Rayna goes back to her desk job but soon gets a call from her father who asks her to help protect her sister. Rayna is reluctant to take the time off (thinking it'll hinder her efforts to get noticed at work) but eventually agrees. Their father sets up a private security firm to protect them on a yacht until he can deal with the threat but what Rayna doesn't know is that the captain of the yacht is Brody. Brody had disappeared and no one knew where he'd gone and when he and Rayna see each other again for the first time, the animosity flairs. Brody thinks she's there for him and it takes some time and effort for Rayna to convince him she's not. Once they agree to a truce, the hidden attraction spikes between them and soon they're having trouble keeping their hands off each other. They manage to deal with the threats to their safety but there's still the difficulty of how they can be together. Thankfully, they manage to figure that out and Brody and Rayna end the story starting their HEA together.

This was a very enjoyable story. I liked both Rayna and Brody as MCs and couldn't help but root for them to get together. I liked the story very much and was a bit sorry to see it end. I'd recommend this story. :)

Short and sweet

I liked the story; I just wanted to understand more of what happened to Brody and his men! Rayna somehow got a job without her past coming out, was a little far fetched but I do like the premise of a supernatural renegades, and the romance was swift to spark.

Brooding Hero

This story started out a little dark with the heaviness surrounding Brody Teller. His life is connected to the sea now due to a government experiment gone wrong. He is approached by Joe Smith with an offer that may bring some meaning back into his life. No one knows who this Joe Smith really is, but he is a man of means with an odd talent for giving the supernatural renegades exactly what they need.
When Rayna Lopez and her sister join Brody things start to get very interesting and we find that there are secrets the women are holding that bring even more trouble to his doorstep.
I liked the intrigue and suspense in this book. I liked the chemistry between Rayna and Brody and her no-nonsense attitude. It went well with her CIA badge.
Gordon Palagi's narration was great. His voices were clear and distinctive.

Different Take on Supernatural Romance

By Sea is a relatively short (under 8 hours) paranormal/supernatural romance with a bit of action, intrigue and drama. Brody is a marine who unknowingly underwent an experimental enhancement that gave him a supernatural ability. He wakes to find that he has been discharged, isolated and abandoned by the government who "created" the new him, except for the threatening check-ins to make sure he is keeping his trap shut and living quietly. On the brink of homelessness, he is made an offer to use his newly-acquired connection to the sea to captain a ship for a high-end and exclusive security service run by a secretive man with the resources to hide him from the feds. Enter hot CIA agent, Reyna... I like that both Brody and Rayna are strong-willed, smart people with good survival skills but who also struggle with normal, everyday problems, as well as those that are not so normal. I feel like this could have been 5 stars if it were fleshed out just a bit more and we got a little more info/detail, but I liked the overall storyline. I'm rooting for the remaining soldiers to find their HEA's and am anxious to hear what happens next. I thought this might end in a mini cliffhanger, but thankfully, the author was kind and gave us good resolution. (THANK YOU!!) This was my first Carly Fall book, but it will not be my last.

Gordon Palagi does a great job with voices and overall feel for the material. His performance is the very best kind, in that it just sucked me in to the point where I was inside the story, experiencing it, and totally forgot about being in the garden, listening to headphones and needing to make mental notes of what to put in the review. No weird cadence, mispronunciations or those dreaded swallowing sounds we all have had the misfortune to hear. He did nothing that distracted me from the story, and since I am a super picky chick, that is pretty rare. I'll definitely be looking for more audiobooks that he narrates.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an unbiased review. The number of stars I award in the 5-star rating system is based on where I believe this audiobook rates with other audiobooks of the same type, length and general feel-- not where it rates in comparison to all audiobooks of all time.

By The Sea's Review, Of course@!@

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading anything that involves Marines and the CIA... and romance and action. The main male character, Brody Teller, of the story is a Marine with interesting powers. The main female character, Rayna Lopez, is doing her best to work her way up through the ranks of the CIA with her own struggles.

The two meet end up on a yacht in order to save Rayana's half sister and father; once on the yacht, they realize that they have met before... and have a history together. Trust is a big issue...

I like the trials and tribulations the two face, and face together.
I also like how Gordon Palagi reads the book -it just seems fitting for the book and the characters themselves.

What was one of the most memorable moments of By Sea?

One of the most memorable moments is when Brody interacts with young Charles on the beach. It gives a sense of the man Brody could be when he is willing to open up to someone.

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

No. I'm sure that I will again, however.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Romance. Action.

Any additional comments?

By the Sea is a great book, and it's one that I would highly recommend to anyone who likes a marine and a CIA in action.

Quick, Easy Listen

Any additional comments?

Enjoyable but predictable.

Quick, easy, enjoyable listen with a nice mixture of mystery, romance, action and suspense. With a dash of paranormal.

Brody and Reyna are both immediately likable.
Really like that this book did not end in a cliffhanger and there was a HEA for Brody and Reyna.

My one big problem with the story is, why would the military conduct experiment's on a group of soldiers and then kick them to the curb after they were successful? Since this is the first book in the series I'm sure we will find out in time.

This is the first time I have listened to a book narrated by Gordon Palagi. He has a nice pleasant voice that is easy on your ears. Nice even pace not rushed. Female voices were great, not an irritating high voice that happens with a lot of male narrators. The lower tone of Brody's voice…..just plain sexy. Great job.

This is my first book by Carly Fall but it will not be my last. Just looked up her other books and her Six Saviors series sounds interesting as well.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Intriguing Military Romance

The cover really caught my attention. It was a laid back read and the story kept me interested.

Brody was a marine and after an "accident" he was discharged and given a new life with the government breathing down his neck. No freedom to go back to his old life or look for his old fellow soldiers.

Rayna is a CIA agent that is sent to check on Brody. Although, she knows nothing about him. He is extremely rude to her and she cuts her visit short.

After her visit, she finds out he mysteriously disappear. Rayna has no clue where he is but fate brings them back together when they least expect it.

The narrator did a great job and the story was engaging but there were some important unanswered questions in this book. I'm not sure why the government would experiment on him then put him aside and treat him so bad.

This audiobook was provided free of charge in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion.

good start to a new series

I liked this story. I thought the tested on soldiers got a RAW DEAL from the government and it was never explained WHY they were cut loose and put on such a short leash. Maybe in other books we'll get those answers. Loved the couple together and their stolen moments were HOT.

story - 3
narrator 3.5

Could have been better

Great story idea but it took 3/4 of the book for him to use his power and it was only once. He seemed afraid and so passive about it all. I'm bummed I was hoping for more...