I had a kickass time with the performance & story!

This a great way to experience the stories - by listening to Joel Leslie narrate :)
Let me say, (before I forget), that I liked A Twist and Two Balls when I read it. I haven't gotten round to reading the rest of the stories - too little time, so many other books on my TBR list to read ...
When I read the book, I had an idea of how Nuri sounded - a bit more Turkish- because I failed to realise that he had lived in London for a while. Imagine my absolute delight when I heard Joel Leslie voice Nuri perfectly - a mix of Londoner and Turk - it sounds brilliant! Mr. Leslie made a cast of colourful characters vibrant :) As a Londoner (I live in the US now), the voices sounded like home. And I'm only talking about the first of the novellas!
The other main story, 'Slap and Tickle' is really good as well, but let me be honest here- Joel Leslie made it fantastic. OMG!, when I listened to Phiz, it made me realise how truly gifted Joel is. (I feel I can call him by his first name :) )
Joel has a talent for knowing exactly what the character needs- emotionally and physically - and giving them a 3D feel in the narration. I felt I could see and almost touch Nuri, Eddy and all the other characters.
So, as you can read, I really liked the stories and I absolutely loved the performance!

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Perfect

What do you have when you add Joel Leslie's amazing narration with Clare London's writing? Perfection.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to these three short stories. Joel does a great job bringing people to life with his amazing capacity for accents. Loved it and would recommend listening.

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So much fun. And Ice cream.

Joel Leslie adds a new layer to a favourite series.

Each character has their own distinct voice and their personalities, as written by Clare London, shines through in the performance.

The writing is excellent and Clare London creates flawed characters that we want to alternately hug and shake, but always want to love.
Eddy, a neurotic z-list actor. Nuri, a steady reliable Turkish taxi driver whose dreams of being more have been sidelined in favour of providing for his family. And their sweet and sexy relationship that has the funniest beginning. and a great family dynamic with Nuri's family.
Then there's Bryan, an accountant who's all about control and order, who gets together with Phiz, who as his name suggests, is flighty, talks without thinking, clumsy, and just a tad kinky. Lucky then that Bryan is repressing a spanking kink of his own.
These stories are set in London, an area that Ms London knows well, and it shows in the multicultural nature of the stories and the descriptions of streets and traffic and the tube. They also have a strong British voice, especially in the humour.

I love them. And I know I'll be revisiting these audiobooks often, especially when I want to put a smile on my face.

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Collection Includes Two Holiday Shorts :)

This audiobook collection includes two holiday shorts at the end.
Nice and Snow is Eddie and Nuri's Christmas, and in Smack Happy Bryan and Phiz celebrate Valentine's Day.

A Twist and Two Balls and Slap and Tickle performed by Joel Leslie.

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With a Kick comes alive in audio book format

I do love the 'With a Kick' books, and have followed the series from the moment I found the books and have snapped up every new release which has come out. This collection, written by Clare London, features four characters who I love. Two main stories for each pairing, and then two shorts which add more to the depth of the characters.

Eduardo/Eddie and Nuri
The guys come alive from Joel's narration, and I went weak at the knees the first time I heard Nuri. The voice was different to what I had expected, but had the sexiness I'd imagined as well as the strength and warmth which makes Nuri a wonderful man.

Brian and Phiz
Oh my gosh, these guys were amazing. I loved hearing Phiz speak because it had all the traits that were written about him. He was so alive through the narration, and Joel the narrator managed the firmness in Brian's voice to balance out the two.

I loved the stories. Having read them before, they weren't new to me, but they were good feel stories with enough angst thrown in to make me squirm in places, but also enough that I was routing for the happy endings. A shout out should be made to the characters in the background, Patrick and Lee who run and work in the shop 'With a Kick' and I look forward to them in audio book format too.

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Sweet, funny and fabulous

Wonderful stories all set around an Ice Cream shop where it seems customers can not only find their favourite flavour but also love. Beautifully written, full of humour. Expertly delivered by Joel Leslie. I am constantly amazed at his talent. So many characters to give life to and he certainly does. Can’t wait to listen to the next collection.

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1 person found this helpful