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  • All Kidding Aside

  • Magical Mates, Book 1
  • By: Macy Blake
  • Narrated by: Michael Dean
  • Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (49 ratings)
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All Kidding Aside cover art

All Kidding Aside

By: Macy Blake
Narrated by: Michael Dean
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Summary

Building houses for a pack of orphans might lead one griffin to find his heart’s home. 

Victor Eastaughffe knows three things for a fact: 

He does not have a mate. 

He does not like children. 

His duty is to his griffin clan. 

When Victor meets Orsen Riggs, a scruffy bear shifter, and little Gus, an orphaned red panda cub, his orderly, structured world becomes messy and chaotic. All the things he once held true suddenly don’t make sense. 

Asked to help the Smith pack navigate the difficult world of shifter politics, Victor realizes he might not know himself as well as he thought. Magic is in the air, and it’s making him long for things he never wanted before. But duty comes before all else, even at a price Victor no longer wants to pay.

©2020 Macy Blake (P)2020 Macy Blake

What listeners say about All Kidding Aside

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great start to a new series. I loved it.


Where do I start? The characters are well developed with great personalities, Victor, and you can imagine him all prime and proper until he meets Orsen Riggs.

The dynamic between the two shifters is great, and I love the stuffiness of Victor and the down-to-earth scruffiness of Riggs.

Then you add these poor orphans and all the other side characters. You then have a great story.

OH, and some hot sex. Not sure if I mentioned that. Would I recommend it? That would be a yes... Lol
I already downloaded book/audio two, which is ready to listen to.

The narration was on point, but Michael Dean never disappoints me. I did, however, speed up to 1.25 on Audible, which is my norm.

All Kidding Aside
Magical Mates, Book 1
By: Macy Blake
Narrated by: Michael Dean
Series: Magical Mates Series, Book 1
Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins

❤❤❤❤❤ Overall
🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 Narration
📚📚📚📚📚 Story
Read at 1.25 speed on Audible

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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All Kidding Aside - thoroughly enjoyed

I wasn't sure what to expect, going into this listen. I've heard good things about Macy Blake and love Michael Dean’s narration, so I figured, ”why not?” I am so glad I did. I was afraid it wouldn't have the intended or full impact, seeing as I haven't read/listened to the previous books, but fortunately, that wasn't the case. There were moments I knew there was so much more depth. However, it was never anything essential to the story. I laughed, I sighed, I was saddened, and awed - all the makings of a great post read/listen experience. I recommend. I’ll be checking out the rest of the series, and the author will be joining my list of tbl authors. As always, Dean gives a flawless narration.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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No joke, this is an amazing audiobook

So I saw Michael Dean was narrating this and also saw that the book got good reviews, so I jumped on this without knowing anything about the book, or the connected series, or even the author. It was a gamble that paid off, though, because it is a terrific audiobook. I will admit that in the beginning, I was a bit confused about the relationships between the various people - and there are a lot - and also all the types of characters: alpha shifters and their mates, the Chosen One, Hellhounds, vampires, Pegasus, pixies, Goddesses, and of course, griffins of which one of our MCs, Victor, is one. The events of prior series are in the background here and they are explained to the degree that we need it to be for this story, but it takes a while for the pieces to fall into place. Magic and mates are the primary focus here, hence the name of the series.

Despite not having any context going in and a bit of a learning curve, I absolutely loved this book. It’s an opposites attract romance between emotionally reserved, hyper-organized and always in control Victor, a griffin, and a messy, big-hearted bear shifter, Riggs, who is brought in by the pack alpha to oversee the building of cottages for the children in the alpha’s care. Riggs and Victor fall for each other almost instantly, neither understanding why until it is revealed that they are mates. (That’s not a spoiler; read the series name.) The story follows Victor and Riggs’ handling of that revelation and the desire for a family with an adorable red panda cub shifter/baby, Gus. Wrapped around this beautiful, emotional journey is a great story arc concerning the alpha pack and the children. The writing is clever, intricate and packs an emotional punch. The story had everything you’d want - romance, hot sex, drama, suspense, hurt/comfort, angst, a fantastic cast of characters and two loveable MCs … and the aforementioned adorable Gus. 🐼 Michael Dean, as usual, did a great job in narrating. His pace on this book felt a little slower than typical for him, but I really didn’t mind because I didn’t want the story to end. I will definitely be going back to read/listen to the prior series and am looking forward to the next installment in this Magical Mates series.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The voices❤️

Michael’s voices for each character in this book are amazing, different and lightly different lilts so you can clearly understand who is talking. From Puteri’s voice to little Gus the voices fit the characters. This audio gives another dynamic to an already amazing book.

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Loved the story, enjoyed the narration :)

I'm in love with this world! Victor and Riggs are so good together and add in cute little Gus😄 Interesting story, nice to catch up a little with Sawyer and co. Lots of humour, heat. Really good addition to the Chosen One world and as the start of it's own new world!

Michael Dean is a joy to listen to, and with this story he shows why he's a great choice. He had great voices for Victor, Riggs and the other characters. I especially loved how he portrayed Gus. Great story, great audio - what's not to love?

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Bird en Bear are chosen.

I really enjoyed reading this story when it appeared as a follow up/ continuation of 'The Chosen one' series. I am not gonna tell more beside the fact that all the kids are so cute.
The narration by Mr. Dean is excellent and is really lively. II was pleasantly surprised to discover that Ms. Blake has an audiobook out.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Sweet and tender

This story was set and tender. The characters were interesting and fun. Little gus was the perfect addition to make the story even more endearing.

I adored the plot, simplistic yet perfect.

Michael dean is a talented man with an impeccable voice. He makes a secy scene so much better with his grunts and growls.

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  • Overall
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Wonderful audiobok

I love this story so so much. It is full of love, upside downs and finding things you never knew you needed or wanted.

I loved both Riggs and Victor and their journey is not an easy one but the end is so rewarding.

Michael Dean did such an amazing job at bringing them all to life. Especially sweet Gus and I can't wait for the next Audiobooks

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Fantastic series

I can highly recommend the whole Chosen universe series. One just falls in love with the characters and it is wonderful how their stories intertwine with each others.

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amazing

this is so much fun.. it was funny and made me laugh and smile.. it was wonderfully narrated with a lot of laughter and love. i absolutely adore this series and cannot wait for more.

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