His Hearth

By: Mary Calmes

Narrated by: Andrew Schwartz

Length: 2 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Julian Nash should be excited: he’s just earned a huge promotion at work and is going out to celebrate. But his happiness fades when he discovers his date cheating on him an hour before. Suddenly alone when everyone knows he’s supposed to have a plus one, Julian is set for a long night until longtime acquaintance Ryan Dean bails him out of the embarrassing situation. During dinner, they discover they have more than just friendship between them: there is mutual admiration and heated attraction. But getting to know Ryan better - and finding a place in his life - will bring Julian frightening surprises and paranormal danger he never expected or dreamed existed.

©2010 Mary Calmes (P)2012 Mary Calmes

Great series

I have listened to this whole series and also read the books and enjoyed them immensely. Well worth your time and a credit.

Worst narrator I've ever encountered so far.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend the ebook or paperback, sure. The audiobook? No.
The story was,interesting and had likable characters. I don't want to spoil the twist, but if you've watched some Japanese anime - namely something like Mirage of Blaze or Yami no Matsuei, then this would probably be something you'd enjoy.

I don't recommend the audiobook because the narrator was atrocious. I only got it because it was discounted when I purchased the ebook (now I know why!). He read the story with ZERO emotion, no distinction between character voices, barreled through punctuation (seriously, I was imagining commas, semi colons, periods all lying on the ground like road kill), barely took a breath between words, and just had this really unpleasant accent (sounded like a mix of New York/New Jersey with Boston mixed in - whatever it was it grated on my nerves). Also, there was this really weird thing where the recording seemed to fluctuate in volume. In some parts seemed to fade out which was annoying. And the audio didn't sound as clear as others I've listened to. Just bad production quality all around.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Julian. I have a thing for somewhat nerdy characters with inner alphas. And I thought he handled the 'revelation' pretty well. Also, hard not to like a character who watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Show, not the movie).

What didn’t you like about Andrew Schwartz’s performance?

Everything. No seriously, there was no saving grace with this performance. If you need an example of how not no narrate a book, this is it.

Was His Hearth worth the listening time?

I'd have to say no. I now have to read the ebook version to wipe the memory of this audio from my brain.

Any additional comments?

Re-do this with a different narrator and I'd be more than happy to buy it again.

Love Mary Calmes!

I really enjoy this author. Her characters are well developed, relatable, and loveable.
I liked the narrators voice but often felt like he was speed reading, trying to get done really fast. Sometimes it took me a second to realize which character was speaking because he didn't pause and the main characters had the same voice. It wasn't bad... I've definitely heard worse but I enjoyed the story anyway.
Next book I come across with this narrator though....I think I'd consider the Kindle version.

Not a good production

The audio falls short and it sucked. Background noise, people chatting on the background. I don't know where this was recorded but it wasn't somewhere soundproofed or a studio.

As far as the story goes, I need to confess that I'm doing a relisten to all my audiobooks for the sake of reviewing them. So stories that I loved when I was a newbie in M/M romance don't look the same after 10 years in the genre.

And this is one of those cases. When it comes to Mary Calmes (to whom I'm enthralled since I can't seem to be able to resist her books) if you have read one of her stories or series, frankly you have read them all. She has a certain formula for her characters and their worlds that she never seems to break. So yes I loved Julian and Ryan and all the secondary characters when I first read this series but now, it all seem so familiar and done over and over again.

NICE

This is my first read of the warder series and it was a good story, short, action, drama, a good guy saving the city from demons but still wanted and needed a true love to make him a home ground him so he wouldn't lose himself to hell

Good book, bad narrator, but at least it isn’t AI

I like this series, and this first one is my favorite. However, the narrator sped through it. I actually dropped the speed down for clarity. Also, it needed more treble, but the Audible app doesn’t have EQ.
Also, he didn’t even try to differentiate voices, regardless of gender. There were only a couple of mispronunciations, GLARINGLY, including the author’s name. That’s just lazy.

C’mon, Andrew, even I differentiate people when I read to my kids!!!

Needs more detail

I was wondering how the story would end and it did. Huh... It read like a fleshed-out outline instead of a polished story. More detail would have been appreciated. There was very little world-building but lots of I don't sleep with guys quickly as they tip over into bed. The cast of characters was much larger than such a short book warranted. Many were unnecessary and they became a chore to keep track of. The reader was OK, I'm a little spoiled by modern audiobooks. He read the book, rather than perform it.

Worst narrator ever

And god knows I heard my share of audiobooks, this makes me wonder if I was too harsh on some of them. This one sounds like a nervous college jock. There are portions when you hear background noises, people chatting; maybe he was recording in his dorm room.

The story was fun. A bit on the cheesy side: as most Mary's books everyone is so beautiful, and everyone wants the MCs.
BTW this is the first book in the series, I don't know why the sequence is messed up.

Almost too short to establish good ground

Being the first book in a PNR series and a short novel, it was hard for the story to fully develop without rushing through. The characters are very likable and the world created is interesting, but I think it would have been paced better if the story was longer. The first 3/4 of the book focused on introducing the main characters and setting up their relationship. By the time you get to the overarching plot of the story, there is only 1/4 of the book left and by then things need to move so quick that is was unbelievable, rushed, and thrown in without regard.

Oh the narration!

The story line was good. The narration not so. too fast, and the inflections of each character was non existent. I heard and listen to many books and this was one of the few where narration hurt the story.