Heartscape

Vino & Veritas Series

By: Garrett Leigh

Narrated by: Dan Calley, Michael Dean

I'm not the obvious choice to run Burlington's coolest wine bar - quiet, brooding, clueless about tannin content, and always one wrong turn away from another downward spiral.

But no one seems to mind that I'm a wreck. Besides me. I just focus on getting through each shift until the night a beautiful stranger appears, looking as lost and damaged as I feel.

When a mutual friend calls in a favor, the sexy newcomer winds up crashing on my couch. I don't know if it's his melodic Cornish accent, or his ocean blue eyes, or the rock-hard body with the mysterious scars, but I get the feeling whatever happened to him runs far deeper than those wounds.

Having Jax in my home makes my chest warm. Makes me shiver. Makes me want more. But I've got a pile of baggage and I don't want to be a burden on anyone let alone a man who seems to have enough demons of his own.

Our chemistry is off the charts. His arms feel like home. The last thing I want is to screw this up. Is it wrong to hope we can heal each other? Or will one of us die trying?

Contains mature themes.

©2020 Garrett Leigh (P)2021 Tantor

stole my heart

as soon as I read the ebook I knew I needed the audio. their hard fought battle stole my heart. amazing audio performance.

enjoyable

I thought the story was good and I like the premise and the characters. unfortunately for me the narration performance was flawed because of the Cornish and Irish accents that didn't match. most people might not have known but to me they were very different depending on who was reading what portion of the novel.

Enjoyable story

Good story, well written. the narration definitely brought this one to life. perfect duo!! very entertaining and enjoyable story.

The narration is brilliant!

Michael Dean is such a great narrator and brings this character to life. Loved both the narrators and the story is light and wonderful.

Trama Bond

Jax's voice is sending me! I want to hug Tanner so much. I'm invested in Vino & Veritas, and hoping this series continues to get better and better. On to book 3!

Love

Great story and the narration was a full step up from the previous book. I’m excited to find a new narrator in Dan Calley. Loved this one.

Great story. Great narration.

Garrett Leigh has the amazing ability to intertwine the lives of two characters in a way that convinces me that they will be inseparable forever regardless of how their relationship evolves. I appreciate Garrett Leigh's writing for that experience alone. The fact that the story doesn't unfold exactly the way I expected is a nice bonus.

The narration is also wonderful. I enjoy Michael Dean's performance, and I would happily listen to Dan Calley narrate my old physics book. Probably would have done better in that class if he had.

This was a lovely story about overcoming personal turmoil to build a relationship with someone. If you need an emotional pick-me-up this is a good book to listen too.

Love the angst in this romance!

The love story between Jax and Tanner is so hot. It’s that insta love I enjoy but with that extra angst from their own demons as well as that surprising emergency at the end. I do love a good suspenseful moment that forces the two lovers that much closer to their HEA. Definitely a must read!

For the love of God, stop the duo narrations!

I am being very generous with the four star overall - Michael Dean's incredibly disappointing narration really takes the book down a notch. There are so many Tantor produced titles where I think they are staffed by some of the most inept people in the business. Who on earth thought it was ok to have Dean offer an uninspired Irish-esque accent for Jax that sounds nothing like Dan Calley's Cornwall accent. Dean couldn't even remain consistent with the terrible accent - so why do it? Calley navigates a series of American dialects that are consistent, even though odd for the character's geographic locations. I think that comes down to production. An example is the character of Molly who Calley gives an old school country and western twang, only to find out she is from Ohio. I have had the misfortune of spending a lot of time in Ohio, from Cleveland to Cincinnati to Columbus to Lima and I can't say I've encountered that accent.

Then there are the Michael Dean-isms that are on full display. His overexcited delivery of sex scenes, the odd pinched, flat tone he trots out for a lot of female characters. While not as over the top as the mother in Firecracker, that delivery is fully on display. The oddly gruff tone of Tanner's brother Gabi that sounds very put on, think of a child pretending to be a lion in a school play. However, those things are not the problem. Had he been the only narrator, the flimsy Irish accent wouldn't have been so distracting as there would be nothing to compare it to. Either could have been the sole narrator and make the listening experience so much better. While I prefer Dan Calley's vocal delivery, I wasn't that invested in the who, only that it was just one.

The story itself is probably the best of the V&V titles I have listened to. Leigh offers some of her standard dark magic, and lets these two find their way on their own. I absolutely love that Tanner is cagey in his conversations, but he never lies to Jax and Jax knows it. When Tanner tries to hold back, or shade the truth, Jax can tell immediately and calls him on, sometimes with just a look. For those who can't stand misunderstandings, you're in luck! Their story moves incrementally, in a very believable way for the battle scars they are both carrying. That said, there is some very classic Leigh here as the story comes together. If you've read enough of her books, you always feel bad for someone's shoes at some point. If you know, you know.

Warnings of the mismatched narration noted, this is a solid effort from Leigh and one that I absolutely recommend. That said, feel free to channel a bit of displeasure towards Tantor for perpetuating this very unnecessary practice of dual narration.

Troubled Past

You start the story with seeing just the surface of both the MC. But as they get to know each other we get to know them and the things in their past that shape who they are now. They slowly build a relationship with each other. There a few moments of drama but it gives you chance to see the characters grow. Overall a very enjoyable story and great addition to this series. I listened to the audio and enjoyed it very much.