5+ "Thunder's Match" Stars for the story and the narration!
Four Days is paranormal romance audiobook perfection! I will not lie, ever since his introduction in Seven Years, I have been pining for the very hot, commanding and ultra confident, rival pack leader, Lorenzo "Enzo" Church. In fact, one of the reasons I rushed through Six Months and Five Weeks, was to hear Enzo's story. However, what completely caught me off guard, is that I loved Ivy, almost as much, if not more, than Enzo (and, just as I had imagined, I adored Enzo)! Talk about a strong, loyal, and completely likable, heroine! Ivy had to combat some of the worst adversities, and still rather than let it get her down, it actually made her stronger and even more personable! Moreover, not only is the story fantastically full of action, adventure, romance and drama; but the performance by Nicole Poole, as always, was spot on and greatly added to the overall magic of this thrilling and touching title.
Please note that while Four Days could be read as a standalone, as the vast majority of Lorenzo's and Ivy's love story is contained in this book, I highly recommend that you read this series in order. Truly the entire series is fantastic, and all of the characters continue to evolve even after their love story has been told. Additionally, the Seven Series is so much more than just a love story. It's also a story about a creative shifter and other supernatural world that evolves over the series, as well as, a tale of the importance of family, particularly as it relates to the Weston shifter pack. Therefore to truly appreciate just how fantastic all of these intricate relationships are woven together, and the detailed nature of this supernatural world, it is essential that you enjoy this series in chronological order.
Ivy is a member of the Weston pack, but she hasn't always been. In a prior book we learned that her father, an alpha pack leader of another group of wolf shifters, traded her to the Weston pack. At the time it was clear that this trade was, at least in part, motivated by past events. In Four Days we learn just how sordid those past events were.
Ivy has previously met Lorenzo. And while Enzo found Ivy intriguing, he is a wolf who prefers to stick to a few of the unmated females in his pack to meet his needs, as he has no plans of ever falling in love, much less become mated. In light of his feelings, and given that Lorenzo has already had issues with Austin (the Weston packmaster), he prefers not to further stir the potential acrimony between the two by pursuing Ivy.
When a series of unfortunate events, however, lead Ivy right into Lorenzo's hands, they are both forced to face their feelings. Soon they find that they have a lot more in common than they ever could have suspected. The danger from Ivy's past, however, once again threatens her and her loved ones; and Ivy soon must determine just how far she is willing to go to protect the one person from her past who she can never let go. Meanwhile Lorenzo must determine if Ivy is the subject of the Native American legend that his Grandmother used to tell him about, and therefore worth changing his destiny for.
The ever talented Nicole Poole once again renders a flawless performance in Four Days. Not only does she maintain immaculate consistency among audiobooks with the various characters that have already played a role in the Seven Series, but she also manages to create yet even more, completely different voices for the new roles that are introduced in Four Days. In that regard, I was impressed with her characterization of William, Lorenzo's second in command. Somehow she manages to make him sound genuinely of Native American descent, while nonetheless varying his intonation sufficiently to allow him to be easily distinguished from Lorenzo's commanding tone, which also bears a slight Native American sound.
Perhaps my favorite part of Ms. Poole's performance in Four Days was her portrayal of Ivy. She expertly gives Ivy the perfect intonation to convey both her alpha nature, while still imparting her character with a sufficient docile sound to communicate her willing subservience in order to fit into the Weston pack (given that the role of alpha female is already occupied by Lexie, Austin's mate).
As always Ms. Poole's attention to not only character specific nuances, but also to scene driven matters, greatly aided the suspense and action scenes. Even her passionate scenes are romance audiobook nirvana. I could listen to just about anything Ms. Poole narrates, that is just how effective and instrumental she is in bringing to life the particularly story being told!
All in all, I can't recommend Four Days, and in fact the entire Seven Series, highly enough! If you have, even just a passing interest in Paranormal romance, then you absolutely must listen to this series!
Source: Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.