Dyeing to be Loved

Savage-ly Pleasing

Joel Leslie excels at performing smart, sassy and unique characters, and his take on Josh is a masterpiece.

Dyeing to Be Loved is the first book in a series, with an emphasis on developed, nuanced characters and expectations-defying plotting, and Joel Leslie handles this complex book with exceptional skill and emotion. He becomes the characters.

Personal favorites are Josh, and the parrot, Savage. His take on Gabe is as solid as the character, and the explosive chemistry between the two MCs come across loud and clear in the performance.

The book is a must-read for realistic but unique characters, engaging plots, and a dynamic relationship that is anything but predictable. The book is enjoyable, with a subtle thread of tension and malice that thrills when people starting dying, and well, dyeing.

*Having the prequel short story added to this edition was deeply appreciated.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Outstanding Audio Performance and Knockout Story!

5 Stars across the board! Not only was this an amazing story with amazing characters, but the audio performance was out of this world. WHY did nobody tell me about this book sooner?

I can't believe it took me so long to get started on this series. I've had this book on my radar for some time now, but I kept putting it off because my reading list is so long. I finally had the chance to get my hands on the audiobook and I couldn't pass it up.

At first, I really didn't like Gabe. He was a judgemental smartass and I thought I was going to have a serious problem trying to connect with him thoughout this book. He says some things to/about Josh that start them off on the wrong foot and they took off dancing with four left feet. No matter how much Gabe tried to apologize and set things right, Josh just wasn't having it.

Josh was my favorite of the two MC's, and my favorite Aimee Nicole Walker character overall as well. He was sweet and sassy, not afraid to tell it like he sees it, and faaarrr too fabulous to put up with Gabe's judgemental ass. Everytime a Josh chapter started I knew I was in for a good laugh. His character was hilarious, fierce, sweet, and strong all at the same time.

Despite taking their sweet old time getting together, the romance between Josh and Gabe was worth every excruciating second of waiting. They were a perfect fit together emotionally and physically, and oh boy did they burn it up in the bedroom. I was not expecting this level of sizzle from Walker, but this book was haawwwtt.

And lets give a round of applause for Joel Leslie!! When I decided to read this book, I had no idea that Joel Leslie was the narrator. I've listened to one of his previous audio narrations (Devotion by Grace R. Duncan) and I was a little on-the-fence about the narration. I felt like Leslie exaggerated the characters a lot more than was necessary, but this book was absolutely perfect. From little old ladies with a southern accent to sassy and feminine Josh Roman and the dark and sexy Gabe Wyatt, Leslie killed it! This book is probably the best audio performance I've had the privelege of listening to yet.

This was hands-down an amazing audiobook! The story was great, the characters were amazing, I loved the romance and the heat, it was a perfect narration. Couldn't ask for more. Can't wait to read the rest of this series!!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Love the narration!

**Cliffhanger Alert**

All in all I liked it a lot, especially that it's from both Jazz and Gabe's POV. I'm especially glad the edition I picked up on Amazon, and the audiobook, included the original prequel story because without it felt like I was missing something big, and having the prequel, Fatal Reaction, makes all the difference in the world.

What also made a huge difference was Joel Leslie's narration. He makes it so that the emotion jumps off the page. It's very easy to follow along between the different characters with distinctive character voices, and it seems so effortless the way he's able to really punch up the storyline. Joel has the enviable ability to immerse himself and become the characters giving them passion and personality.

Three things I disliked: The time and scene jumps, Jazz's maddening hot/cold routine (which thankfully warms up by the end), and the cliffhanger. However, they are in no way stacked against the things I liked, or the narration I loved. I'm definitely grabbing book two!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great Performance!

What did you love best about Dyeing to be Loved?

I loved the book. I love Joel Leslie. I loved Joel Leslie performing the book.

Which character – as performed by Joel Leslie – was your favorite?

Josh, but I love Josh anyway. His portrayal of Savage was hilarious.

Any additional comments?

Joel Leslie is one of my favorite narrators. I can't wait for the rest of this series to arrive on Audible.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great series with an amazing narrator

This book has it all. It’s hot, sweet, tender, a bit angsty and there is a nice who dunit mystery tied throughout the whole book. Joel Leslie knocks the narration out of the park like always!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great start to a new series

I really enjoyed this story. I loved Josh and Gabe. Yes Josh was mean a lot of the time but he went through a lot and it was understandable as he wanted to keep his heart walled off. I can’t wait to watch them grow as a couple.

I so loved the fact that this came out on audio - Joel Leslie was perfect! Sometimes audio books are even better than reading them as you don't always get the right inflections.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Love it

this book was one of the best I have listen to it too in a long time it was funny and sad and has really good sex

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazing Performance!

Let me start this review by saying that I attempted to read Unscripted Love (UL) a couple months ago which is a spin-off of the Curl Up and Dye series. I was assured UL can be read as a standalone but in the first chapter I was so confused I stopped reading. I was undecided about listening to this book until I saw the name of the vocal performer.

I honestly don’t know what else I can say about Joel Leslie that I haven’t said in other reviews. He’s simply perfect. I don’t know how he keeps all the voices straight for all the characters but he does…and I can tell which characters are speaking because EVERY voice is distinct and unique. I’d love to watch him record a book because I bet it’s amazing to see.
I don’t know if I would have enjoyed this book as much if I didn’t listen to it…Mr. Leslie definitely made it worth listening to.

The story is cute…a little campy at times, a little predictable at others. Josh was frustrating with his hot/cold behavior with Gabe and Gabe was more patient than I would have been. When all their BS was stripped away they were good together. They have amazing sexual chemistry. Josh brings out the fun side of Gabe and Gabe is good at letting Josh be himself and loving him as he is.

I liked most of the supporting cast. I like that the prequel was included but didn’t like that some scenes were repeated in book 1.

As for continuing the series and revisiting the spin-off…I’m unsure. I think I would definitely listen to the next book if Mr. Leslie is the vocal performer again. I’m glad it’s on KU in case I do decide to read the rest of the series. I guess only time will tell.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Perfect start to the series!

Josh is a successful stylist and owner of the Curl Up and Dye salon in the small town of Blissville in Ohio and Gabe is a police detective that moved from Florida following his now ex and thinking the small town would be more peaceful than the big city. From the moment Josh and Gabe meet, sparks fly and not in a good way, as one of Gabe's comments is blown out of proportion by Josh, whose fiery temper makes it almost impossible for the handsome detective to apologize. Even when a murderer seems to have set his sights on Josh, and Gabe comes to his rescue, Josh refuses to let him in, even if he can't deny his growing attraction for Gabe.

One thing is sure, there's never a dull moment in Blissville!

I won't spoil it for you further than this, because you need to either read this book or listen to the audio, but this series is absolutely brilliant! The covers are breathtaking, the complex crime storylines will keep you guessing and turning the pages and the love story between Gabe and Josh will have you sighing and wishing for more. These two are definitely hot, hot, HOT together and Aimee Nicole Walker shows us she's a master at creating very sexy scenes that almost threatened to set my kindle on fire. Never mind that the dialogue, both between Gabe and Josh and with the rest of the cast was amazing!

Joel Leslie did a fabulous job bringing Gabe and Josh (and Savage!) to life! I knew he would deliver a great Josh and he did, but my favorite voice out of the two main characters was Gabe, in this case. Joel's performance was great, giving the different scenes the emotion they called for and each character a distinctive voice. His tone is quite nice and pleasant and I think he was a perfect choice to narrate this particular book/series.

The audiobook is funny, engaging, fast-paced and character-driven, definitely one that I will listen to again!

Rating: 5 Stars!!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

An entertaining read!

Overall: 4.5
Narrator: 4.5
Story: 4
Listening Length: 8 hours and 49 minutes

I've read this entire series on ebook and I am totally in love with Josh and Gabe. It was great to revisit the beginning where it all started. Joel Leslie did a great job narrating this story. I love how he gave Josh that sass that you just can't help but love. He gave all the characters a voice and personality of their own. I think he did a great job delivering the story.

The story itself was just as entertaining. I'll stick to my previous review of the ebook where I just didn't care for the mystery aspect of the story. That still stands as it just didn't work for me but I enjoyed the build up between Josh and Gabe.

Aimee Nicole Walker choose a great narrator to portray her characters and I enjoyed the audiobook version more than the ebook because Joel Leslie just did a fantastic job and it was entertaining listening to it all play out.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful