Word Play

By: Amalie Silver

Narrated by: Joel Froomkin

Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Smut sells.

Michael Rourke learned this the hard way.

Struggling to make ends meet as a mystery writer, he sold his soul - and his pride - as he pedaled sex and lust writing under the pen name Christoph Strong.

No one knew he was the one behind the steamy stories on the best sellers lists. And he planned to keep it that way.

Until he met her.

Monica Singer, an infamous blogger, is keen to discover the truth of his secret identity.

During a chance meeting at a book convention, Michael and Monica form an instant connection. And soon, an industry rivalry becomes something else entirely.

But as Michael starts to let his guard down, he doesn't realize that the person he's learning to trust may be hiding secrets of her own.

Secrets that could ultimately destroy everything.

©2014 Amy Queau (P)2016 Amy Queau

LOVED IT!!

I thought this book was hilarious. It's a sexy, sassy romantic comedy.
Imagine a Matthew Mcconaughey/Kate Hudson romantic comedy about two competing writers of erotica. It has a real throwback feel to screwball comedies but with a very, very sexy modern approach. The characters are really great and the writing is engaging and very funny. The sex scenes have great humor to them as well, which I really enjoyed. It also takes a lot of loving digs at the publishing industry which I thought were fun.

The narration is excellent - particularly considering that he is sustaining large sections as a female. But his approach is light and not cliched or distracting. He has a great sense of timing and really brings out the humor in the book.

It's one of my favorite recent reads... it's really sexy, very funny and has a real Janet Evanovich flair but with a more steamy approach.

Be warned - the prologue is kind of a takeout - it jumps head long into hardcore erotica but that's only sort of a gag opening (it's one of the books that the characters are writing). Wait until the main narrative kicks-in and you'll be totally hooked. This would make a great movie - I kept seeing Chris Pratt as the lead.

Anyway - loved it. Looking forward to more from this author.

Great Story! Amazing Narration!

What a surprisingly great story and performance. It was a good mix of humor, romance, and funny witty dialogue. I had fun listening too this one, and the narration was flawless! Joel did a great job on all the different characters. I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommend this one!

HOLY COW! GREAT NARRATION, JOEL!

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook through Audiobook Boom at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review.

How have I never heard Joel Froomkin's narration before? I swear, there were times I wanted to stop the book and look up it's creators because I couldn't believe there wasn't a female narrator involved. He did a freakin' awesome job.

The story was fun and refreshing. At times, I wanted to strangle Lauren, though. She kept digging herself in deeper. LOL. The plot was a step up from the typical "man with rippling muscles" impressing a "perfect 10" woman. I hate that insta-love thing and thankfully, this listen didn't have it. This was a love story founded on mutual interests and talents (not that he wasn't hot) with a lot of entertaining twists thrown in.

TWO THUMBS UP!!

Fantastic

Love everything about this story. The plot, narration, banter, subject matter. Every person in the book community can relate to Monica's Musings.

The story between Lauren and Michael is written so well. Many times I wanted to say come on y'all. lol But the build up to the end was well done.

Joel Froomkin is possiy one of the most talented narrators on the planet. My god. What he could do with 7-8 characters was nothing short of amazing. I have never enjoyed a man performing a female POV in my life until I listened to this book.

I hope Amalie writes more books and I'm off to download more Joel!

Filled with laughter and romance, perfect combo!

What made the experience of listening to Word Play the most enjoyable?

The story was filled with lots of humorous moments, and equal parts romance. Had a great time watching the story line unfold with twists and turns, not to mention a very enjoyable epilogue. I found myself listening during any free moment I had, whether at work, commuting in the car, or at home.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Word Play?

The beginning starts off steamy, and I almost jumped our poor delivery guy at work, lol.

What about Joel Froomkin’s performance did you like?

Joel's performance brought the story to life, and he captured all of the characters perfectly.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed out loud while at work several times, my poor co-workers kept looking at me and waited for explanations every time.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves comedy, romance, or just great entertainment!

Word Play

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book whole heartedly!!

Word Play may go with the tag line of "Smut Sells" but adds great humor and wonderful characters, it shows us the workings of the literate word, the ego & friendships.

If you love a good smart romance, with easyto relate to characters, Word Play is the book for you.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Word Play?

I loved the first night Lauren and Michael spent together at the hotel.

They got to know one another as real people and not their famous personas.
I loved seeing how each of them started their writing career, about their insecurities, the day to day life of an author (not glamorous at all) , the struggle to deliver a best seller that satisfy both the publisher and the reader.

I loved Monica's Musings and the hilarious interviews with readers. MM makes you see how everyone is a critic and we all different opinions on books and our expectations of them and of the authors we love.

What does Joel Froomkin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Joel is a wonderful narrator. He adds dry humor in a perfect tone that adds to the story.

I found myself entertained all through the audiobook, I never lost interest in the plot and it was thanks to a great story and a great narration.

Its hard to find a male narrator who knows how to narrate female characters believably , Joel is one of the rare few who does a fantastic job narrating characters in a diverse way.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book made me laugh out loud!

Word Play is meant to entertain, show us the behind the scenes world of the romance community, it adds some angst and sexy times and delivers a satisfying HEA.

Any additional comments?

Buy the audiobook and I promise you hours of fun.

If you are part of the romance community (writer,blogger,reader) it will enlighten you and make you appreciate authors, show you that everyone is a critic and remind you not to take bad reviews too seriously.

Hot and Hilarious.

This was one of the best indie books I've had the pleasure of reading. Silver has a slick, sassy style... Kind of sex and the city-esque with an irresistible combination of spicy and silly. The book is told in dual narrative - by two competing writers of popular pulp romance. The narrator does a great job with the wit and punchy dialogue...great timing. This book was a really unexpected delight. If you're looking for a frisky and fun novel with a dash of farce, you'll really love this hot spin on classic screwball comedy romance.

Fun romance

I really enjoyed reading and listening to the audiobook of Word Play. Lots of humor and romance delivered with great narration. My favorite part was by far a chapter titled Monica's Musings Blog Post - 314. I want to print that out and frame it!!! I know those readers!!

Word Play is a fun story with disguising identities that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the romance book community and social media.

Unique romantic comedy!

Don't let the prologue throw you off. I started listening to this book and had to stop and go check if I had selected the wrong book because I don't usually select erotica and I was positive it was suppose to be a fun fiction not a graphic novel! I got over the shock of prologue and braved on forward! I'm glad I kept going because the introduction was just part of the main character's erotic novel he was working on.

The story is funny and very unique. A different take for a romantic comedy. Two competing writers of erotica fall for each other. There is a bit of humor weaken in everything.

The narrator did an excellent job bringing the story to life. Specially because there were pretty long sections of female voices and he did an outstanding job on them. His pace and inflection was great.

It's a very funny book and definitely intended for a mature audience with some steamy scenes.

**This audiobook was provided free of charge in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion**

great audio

If you could sum up Word Play in three words, what would they be?

great story line

What about Joel Froomkin’s performance did you like?

I like how he changed up his voices for the different characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this audio and that the narrator didn't announce the chapter numbers. You knew with each new word you knew it was a new chapter.