Jacob by Jacquelyn Frank

Audiobook narrated by Xe Sands

If you’ve ever read a paranormal romance starring Ye Olde Fated Mates, you already know what’s on the checklist. Let’s just get this part out of the way.

Hero: A demon (the good kind) living in demon central compound with his warrior brothers protecting humankind against the supernatural forces of evil. Jacob is The Enforcer, tasked with preventing consorting (of the hooking up kind) between humans and demons because simply horrible, apocalyptic things will happen if such a mating occurs. I was never really sure why, but what’s important here is that Jacob is an A+ paranormal hero with all the bells and whistles.

Heroine: Isabella (aka Bella, aka Little Flower) is a bit hard to take, but a familiar denizen of Romanceland. She’s kittenish, pixieish, feisty, fearless and with maddening frequency bites her bottom lip. Oh, and she’s a virgin librarian who has no idea what a hottie she is. Sound familiar?

But enough of that because it’s all about the narration! Xe Sands takes material that I wish were more worthy of her talent and turns in a bravura performance. Bella sounds like the feisty kitten-turned-warrior she’s intended to be, but who cares when Jacob is a smoldering hunka hunka burnin’ love? Jacob and his demon posse (future heroes!) all have distinct voices and different accents, evidence of Sands’ impressive preparation. There were moments when I thought I was listening to multi-cast production. Yes, Xe Sands is that good and I’m so glad I discovered her.

If you can silence your inner literary critic (hey, it’s a demon romance), there’s a stellar performance and a boatload of fun to be found in this audiobook. I’m going to listen to it again and I’ll be tempted to buy anything narrated by Xe Sands.

I loved it! Xe Sands is so a BLUE MOON. And thanks to Jacquelyn Frank for a delectable book.