Innocence

Jack Calihan’s narration is the standout here—his voice is like warm whiskey on a cold night, smooth enough to lure you in but with an edge that keeps you on high alert. He nails the protagonist’s arrogance and vulnerability in equal measure, making the power imbalance feel both thrilling and unsettling. The pacing is relentless, which works for the book’s intensity, but I could’ve used a few more moments of breath to fully savor the emotional gut-punches. The romance isn’t just about obsession; it’s about redemption, though the path to it feels perilously close to self-destruction. Black’s writing shines in the tension between Cora’s innocence and the protagonist’s hardened exterior—it’s a dynamic that could easily feel cliché, but here it’s executed with surprising nuance. My only real critique? The secondary characters sometimes feel like props, existing only to highlight the leads’ magnetism. Still, this audiobook is a masterclass in how to make toxic romance addictive.