Sins & Needles Audiobook

By: Karina Halle

Narrated by: Veronica Den

Published by: Hachette Audio 01/14/2014

Hot

The Artist Trilogy # 1

8 hrs and 48 mins

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Sins & Needles Audiobook Sample

My thoughts

Sins & Needles Audiobook is the first installment in the sexy and thrilling trilogy by Karina Halle.

I originally read this book (in one sitting) back in 2013. I loved the edgy and unconventional feel of the story and its characters, so I was very excited to revisit this on audio.
These are not your usual romance characters, oh no!  There is no  fantasizing about how the good and honorable alpha male will conquer the day and sweep the heroine of her feet, oh no! There will be none of that. Instead, Ms. Halle gives us a story with a heroine that’s a con artist (grifter), a Mexican drug lord, and a tattoo/geek artist that will have your head and your heart spinning as well as questioning your stand on what you believed a good person to be.

Alley Watts is on the run from her ex-boyfriend Javier, a dangerous Mexican drug lord that is not about to forget that after all, what he thought was just an innocent and  beautiful girl, not only left him, but stole some of his precious property. And who knows? Maybe a little of his black heart…He will never rest until he gets her back.

In her own words, Alley takes us back and forth between the present and the past, where we will take glimpses at the events that shaped her personality and her character traits.

Trying to find refuge after a few failed cons, Alley heads back to her hometown to stay with her uncle, (the only member of her family that has never failed her). While, in town, she runs into a childhood friend that will prove her ultimate challenge. The quiet, insecure, and awkward childhood friend is now a beautiful  male, and a successful  tattoo artist  that hardly resembles the kid she knew.

Despite her instant attraction to Camden (the now super sexy tattoo artist) Alley’s nature takes over, and when she gets caught red-handed trying to take advantage of her old friend, her fate will be on Camden’s hands.

Now, Alley must ask herself, whom can she trust? Is Camden McQueen as good-natured as he appears to be, or is Camden the ultimate con artist?

This is the stuff that thriller movies are made of. I loved this hellish dark ride!  There’s nothing spectacular about the world; they live here and now, but the thrill comes from the characters and their complexity and the dark path they’ve chosen. These are not good people, yet I  loved these dysfunctional characters that ultimately remind us that nobody is perfect and that sometimes the most beautiful flowers are found in (to put it nicely) the desert.

If you haven’t yet try Karina Halle’s novels, I highly recommend them.
She’s an excellent   author that knows how to push your limits. A note a caution, this is not for the prude, and not because the sex is explicit, but because what’s explicit is the real nature of some human beings.

My feelings about Alley changed from page to page, I love Camden….And for now I hate Javier.
One thing is for sure! You’ll have a heartfelt opinion about them when you’re done.

You can find more reviews HERE.

The Author

Karina Halle

Sins & Needles Audiobook Narration

by

Veronica Den

Since I have already read the book, my criticism will be a bit more harsh. It’s always hard to measure up to our inner-voices.

This is my first experience with Veronica Den’s work, and I have to say that it took me more than a few chapters to feel comfortable with Ms. Den’s interpretation.

At first I felt  she was making the end of each sentence a little too hard and final, there for making the overall  reading sound a little choppy and it lacked the smoothens I’ve come to appreciate from some seasoned readers; nevertheless, once I speed up the narration to 1.5, I found myself once again engrossed in the story.

I did enjoy the job she did with the dialog. I liked how the emotions were portrayed. She did a good job with the male voices; Although, I’d loved a bit more menacing tone for Javier, and one that reflected more his personality.

With that said, Ms. Den had plenty of different tones and voices for the characters, I never felt confused.

My overall rating for her performance is B-. It was good, I think my expectations were very hard to match. They always are whenever I loved reading the book.

All in all, I really enjoyed re-visiting the novel, but I have to say, I loved it when I read it.