Speak

Rayne-Moore University, Book One

By: Ruby Darling

Narrated by: Heather Firth, Joe Arden

Raven Monroe

I think I always knew I was going to die young. Like I had this… silent, invisible clock ticking down to my final moments plastered above my head. Maybe that’s why I was so reckless, crazy. Why I sought after adventure. Why nothing scared me… Except, there was always this… feeling I couldn’t shake that something was in the darkest parts of every corner, under every bed, closet, or room, like a ghost watching me. Waiting to take me. My own, personal reaper.

But it was always only during a lightning storm that I could see the outline of my reaper. No scythe. Just a tall, faceless shadow in a hood, staring at me in the dark…

That was the thing though. It was never the storm itself that scared me. Never the loud booming of thunder. Never the howling wind or the way the windows rattled. Never the sound of rain pounding against said windows. It was just that goddamn lightning.

Seems fitting, I suppose, that I’d die before my twentieth birthday during a freak lightning storm of the century… I just always thought I’d die while doing something dangerous—F*ck it. I’d even take a boring death like simply dying in my sleep from a brain aneurysm or even an early onset heart attack.

Anything.

I’d take any other way other than this...

©2024 Ruby Darling (P)2025 Blue Nose Publishing

OMG what did I just listen to??

Don’t know how he does it but each character Joe narrated was brought wholly to life in its own domain. And the female narrator was excellent at voicing the turmoil and character development for our FMC. The storyline was amazing- intriguing, in depth, suspenseful- and while the plot twist wasn’t a complete surprised the author was excellent at redirecting the reader away from it throughout.

Review

If you want to read a why choose, virgin FMC, possessive MMC, secret society, revenge story with some stalking, then this is the book for you! Just be prepared to start book 2 in this duet immediately afterwards because that cliffhanger at the end was not nice lol
I'm really enjoying the way things are playing out for the FMC! I can't wait to see how this story ends in book 2!

I am shook

This why choose romance is everything I didn’t know I needed. The audiobook performance was perfection. I both love and loathe how the author left us waiting for the next installment. Bravo.

This is the true definition of dark

First of course is the incredible narration, Joe Arden's performance is amazing as always. This is my first book with Heather and she was a pleasant surprise. The two of them... or should I say 4 of them together were perfect. The story line is very dark, pay attention to the warnings, and check in with yourself. The suspense and detail keep you on the edge of your seat, the unfathomable story that unfolds is disturbing and well written.

Outstanding

This story surpassed my expectations and I loved it. Everything about it. I’ll definitely be listening to it again!