Note: While this is Book 2 in the series, it works fine as a stand alone novel.

I really enjoyed Book 1 in this series and Book 2 is just as good, or even a smidge better. Emily and Boone have a solid friendship that serves as a great base for their developing romance. That makes them a great team for this adventure! It’s really the mystery and adventure that keeps me interested in these books. The setting is exotic and lush, a unique place for murder, deceit, and occasional mayhem. All around, it’s a great combo that had me listening to this story in one long go. I didn’t want to put it down!

Boone does seem to be developing a special ability, a kind of spidey sense when it comes to the bad guys. At first, this was believable because all of us take in more info than we’re a aware of and that can lead to hunches. However, later in the story it becomes more a plot crutch to keep things moving along. Boone is interesting enough on his own that he doesn’t need any quasi-mystical abilities. That’s a really tiny complaint for a story that kept me so thoroughly entertained.

Emily’s sense of humor is a bit like my own and I loved how she used it to keep her own spirits up during the direst moments. That scene where she’s singing Old MacDonald Had A Farm was great. Emily is a great character because she’s not some insta-warrior nor is she a maiden in distress. She’s practical and fights when she has to but isn’t above getting an assist from Boone when the situation warrants it.

There’s some new characters introduced (which makes sense since they switched islands from Book 1). This includes a woman who wants a sparring partner and Boone can keep up. At first I was worried that the author was setting up a love triangle, but thankfully that isn’t so. Yay! It’s really good because I like the addition of this new character and appreciate the useful things she taught Emily.

All around, it was a fast-paced bit of action goodness. Looking forward to the next book! 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Nick Sullivan narrates his own book and he does a really good job of it. Emily still sounds more Australian than English at times but not as much as she did in Book 1. But I’m fine picturing her as Australian. Sullivan has unique voices for all the characters and he does a variety of Caribbean accents as the story dictates. His female voices are believable. All around, it’s a really good performance. There are no technical issues with the recording. 4.75/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Nick Sullivan. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. ( )