Hello, fellow audiobook junkies. Today, I’m sharing an audiobook review: Perfect Mate written by Mina Carter and read by Emily Beresford. This is the first audiobook in Mina’s paranormal romance series, Project Rebellion.
What’s Perfect Mate about?
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My Rating: Title: Perfect Mate by Mina Carter
Series: Project Rebellion #1
Published by Audible Studios, Mina Carter on 7 January 2015, 2012
Genres: Action & Adventure, Adult Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Military, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Shifters, Urban Fantasy
Narrator: Emily Beresford
Length: 6 hours 34 minutes
No. of Pages: 246
Monsters do exist…and they’re the good guys.
A hospital manager with a heart of gold. A soldier with a dark secret.
Lillian's life is... dull. The highlights of her day, other than her skinny hot chocolate, are the hunky guards who work in the military wing. It's classified and way above her pay grade, but she can't help feeling sorry for the hollow-eyed men and women they shuffle past reception. Then a late night emergency is wheeled in, his abdomen shredded and covered in blood. They’re not an emergency room but she can’t turn him away and risk a death on her hands.
Unable to get the handsome soldier out of her mind, Lillian sneaks into the restricted area and finds herself thrust into a world where nothing makes sense. A world where men aren't always men, the dead walk, and her handsome soldier is way more than he seems...
Her scent calls to him. She's his. Now he has to keep her alive.
Jack Harper was a soldier, a good one... then the Project decided to play god. Now he has permanent anger management issues and a monster living inside him. Used as a weapon, he's been waiting for a chance to strike back. But the Project are onto him.
Ruled unstable, a kill order is passed down on Jack and his squad and they are transferred to St.Margarets. Play-things for the head docs until a bullet to the back of the head deals with them for good. But Jack isn't going down that easily, not when the delicate scent he'd been waiting for all his life wraps around him.
The delicate human woman is his mate. And he'll fight anything the Project throws at him to save her.
Warning: Contains blood, mayhem, and nude werewolves operating heavy weaponry. Large amounts of sarcasm and smart-ass vampires may offend some listeners. No civilian hospital staff were harmed in the making of this story.
©2012 Mina Carter (P)2014 Audible Inc.
NB: Previously released with another publisher.
Source: Bought
Review Format: Audiobook
Purchase Links: Amazon* ¦ Audible*
eBook Read: 7th – 11th May 2019
Audiobook Listened To: 17th – 19th August 2021
What did I think about it?
An Action-Packed Fast-Paced Adventure!
Mina Carter is not a new-to-me author (I even met her at RARE19 in London) however, her stories are sadly hit or miss for me. I originally read Perfect Mate waaay back in 2019 before attending the London book signing event! Although there were a few niggles, I still couldn’t help but give it 5 blood-stained stars! 😉
But has my original review stood the test of time?
Yes! *phew* I enjoyed listening to it and would still rate Perfect Mate 5 stars.
This is the first story in the Project Rebellion series, and although I remembered a lot about the world from before, I still don’t think there were any information dumps. The way Mina introduces us to her world feels natural, never overwhelming. The relevant information needed was woven into the story using her four main characters. Captain Jack Harper, Lillian (Lilly) Rosewood, Major Antonia (Toni) Fielding and Lieutenant D’Arcy (Darce) Foster all had their stories to tell. However, I never felt confused with the changes of perspective or whose head we were in.
Emily Beresford is a new-to-me narrator.
The pace is fast and the violence is frequent in this story and Emily’s performance mirrored that. She gave each scene the appropriate emotion in her reading. Her male voices weren’t as deep and rich as I’d had them in my head but Emily did a good job. She created different voices that were distinctive so that I didn’t get lost in the dialogue. I’d happily listen to audiobooks narrated by Emily in the future.
Perfect Mate was one hell of a ride!
I was hooked, even though I had read the story before. I’d recommend Perfect Mate to adults who enjoy non-stop urban fantasy adventures. Especially those readers who love soul mate romances set against darker, horror-esque themes.
Content Warning: violence, blood & gore, attempted rape, foul language, explicit sex scenes, medical experimentation.
Keep reading to find out more about Mina Carter. But first, here’s a quick run-down of the Project Rebellion series.
Project Rebellion by Mina Carter
Monsters do exist…and they’re the good guys.
Books in the Series
- Perfect Mate (Project Rebellion #1) (2013)
- Blood Mate (Project Rebellion #2) (2014)
- Not Dead Enough (Project Rebellion #3) (2014)
- Broken Mate (Project Rebellion #4) (2020)
Buy PROJECT REBELLION in print, eBook and audio formats through the usual sources, including:
Amazon
Now as promised, here Mina’s bio and her social media links.
About Mina Carter
Mina was born and raised in the East Farthing of Middle Earth (otherwise known as the Midlands, England) and spend her childhood learning all the sorts of things generally required of a professional adventurer. Able to ride, box, shoot, make and read maps, make chainmail and use a broadsword (with varying degrees of efficiency) she was disgusted to find that adventuring is not considered a suitable occupation these days.
So, instead of slaying dragons and hunting vampires and the like, Mina spends her days writing about hot shifters, government conspiracies and vampire lords with more than their fair share of RAWR. Turns out wanna-be adventurers have quite the turn of imagination after all...
(But she keeps that sword sharp, just in case the writing career is just a dream and she really *is* an adventurer.)
The boring part: A full-time author, photographer and cover artist, Mina can usually be found hunched over a keyboard or graphics tablet, frantically trying to get the images and words in her head out and onto the screen before they drive her mad. She's addicted to coffee and would like to be addicted to chocolate, but unfortunately chocolate dislikes her.
As this is a review for an audiobook, here’s Emily’s bio too. 🙂
About Emily Beresford
Emily Beresford is a professional audiobook narrator who is a nerd for books, no matter the genre. She absolutely loves all forms of literature, and that transfers to the listeners through her passionate performances.
She primarily works out of her professional home studio with top-notch recording equipment and software, but will occasionally travel to other studios for human interaction.
Emily earned her BA in liberal studies from Green Mountain College in Vermont, with concentrations in creative writing, music, and English. In 2013 she was nominated for an Audie Award by the Audiobook Publishers Association and received an Earphones Award from AudioFile magazine. She works for several major publishers and voices books for many bestselling authors. She lives in the Midwest with her beautiful, fun family.
Thanks for visiting and reading my audiobook review: Perfect Mate. Have you listened to it? What about any other titles by Mina or those narrated by Emily? Drop me a comment and we can chat books! 😉
My love of audiobooks has grown over the last few years. I’m reading less and listening more. Lol! Before you go, check out my 2021 Audiobook Challenge page and see how I’m putting my new addiction hobby to good use!
Bye for now,
Flora x
