A BJ Audiobook Review: Romanus by Mary Calmes and Narrated by Greg Tremblay

Rating:   3 out of 5 stars

Stopping to offer help one sultry summer night, Mason James is unprepared for the change that this simple act of kindness will bring. After giving an old man a ride home, Mason discovers a new, magical, and even dangerous world he cannot hope to understand. But he also finds Luc Toussaint and is intoxicated at first sight… and even the secret Luc protects won’t be enough to keep Mason away from the truth of his heritage and their love.

Interesting and different paranormal element in this novel that kept me guessing and quite a bit confused for quite some time before it’s revealed. There were things about the beginning that stumped me a bit as to why Mason, a firefighter, was so clueless, but it was explained away by him having worked a recent double shift as a firefighter and so I just went with it.

I won’t mention what Romanus means in this review in case it will spoil finding out naturally inside of the story as I did, because it’s pretty cool. I enjoyed the mythology of the story but to be honest, I found it confusing and unclear. It was hard for me to put together and understand the culture of these creatures even when it was explained. I think this may have been for a few reasons, first off that it was all from Mason’s POV. Also the short length of the story didn’t allow for much time to explore, there was a lot of info packed into such a short space. It also made it feel that the story was a bit rushed and telly, and the plot lacked depth.

The romance element I would call something of the fated-mate insta-love variety, despite the fact that Mason does ask for time to get to know him later… but only after he’d pretty much committed to him for life. There was a particularly steamy outdoor scene that I enjoyed quite a bit, but overall I didn’t feel the emotion between the characters. Nor did either of them draw me in enough to make me care for them. There were so many things that I wanted more about, that I wish we had been shown or that I wish had been explained better. I see that there is a second book coming, so perhaps that will happen in book two.

Greg Tremblay’s voice is always easy to listen to, and it drew me into the story even through the times when I was quite unclear on what the heck was really going on.

The cover by Reese Dante is intriguing although it’s hard to read at the smaller online size.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Audible | iTunes

Book Details: 

Audible Audio, 2 pages, 1 hr 57 mins
Published May 24th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press, LLC (first published June 1st 2010)
ASINB01G2J1EF2
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesRomanus #1, Midsummer’s Nightmare settingKentucky (United States)