Wrangled

I’ll admit, I went into *Wrangled* skeptical—how many times can we revisit the ‘high school bully grows up hot’ trope before it feels stale? But Daryl Banner flips the script by making Chad Landry more than just a reformed bad boy; he’s a *mess*, in the best way. A man who’s spent a decade performing charm like armor, only to have it cracked open by the one person who sees right through him. The audiobook’s strength lies in how it balances that rawness with laugh-out-loud humor, and Chris Chambers’ narration is the glue holding it together. His Chad is all swagger and gravel, but when the character’s facade slips, Chambers’ voice does too—suddenly softer, younger, like he’s not just reading the words but *remembering* them. It’s a subtle shift, but it guts you. That said, the middle act drags just a hair. Banner leans heavily into the will-they-won’t-they tension, and while the slow burn is delicious, there’s a stretch where the conflict starts to feel like wheel-spinning. (Yes, we get it—these two are *both* stubborn as mules.) And while Chambers nails the emotional beats, his delivery of some secondary characters occasionally veers into caricature, especially with the more over-the-top Spruce locals. But these are quibbles. The final act more than makes up for it, delivering a resolution that’s as satisfying as it is earned. If you’re a fan of audiobooks where the narration *feels* like a performance—where the silences are as loaded as the dialogue—this one’s a standout. Just maybe keep a fan handy. Things get *hot*." "tags": [ "LGBTQ+ second-chance romance