Idk what it is about this book but I just couldn’t get into it. It was so slow in the beginning and I ended up not able to finish it. I’m hoping to try again but for now it’s a pass from me

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* not a bad read tho not normally my type of thriller, it was good and the story made me lose track of time lol

This was a new author for me. But Blood Cold #2 of the series. I was caught right inthe story. SETTING IN Africa somewhere in the deep seas searching and researching for lost ships. I loved the Chris Black series. Excellent listen.

Blood Cold By: James Lindholm and Narrated by: Tom Taylorson this is the second book in the Chris Black Adventure series and I confess I haven't read or listened to the first one and I found it very easy to get into this book. The narration in brilliant throughout and suited this book. This audio book was Very fast paced with lots of twists and turns and I really enjoyed this book. I will be looking out to read or listen more books by James Lindholm...Excellent author,

Thank you to NetGalley and Camcat Books for an ARC of the audiobook version of this book.

This was another audio for me and was about a diver, Chris Black, who is in South Africa for six months for research and rest after something that happened in the first book. What he stumbles upon is dangerous and sinister and life altering. There were so many twists and turns I felt I was missing something at times. Does a professor really get into this much intrigue? Made for a good book though.

unfortunately for me the narrator of this audiobook sounded really bored and monotonous and i really struggled to get into the book for that reason.
i think the idea of the book is wonderful but the narrator rally does make or break the book - for a suspense book it just didn’t hold any suspense for me which is a shame.

Thank you to NetGalley and Camcat Books for an ARC of the audiobook version of this book.

This is the second book in the series of Chris Black, and even though I am not familiar with the first one, I had no trouble keeping up with the plot. I am however interested in reading the first one.

Blood Cold is a great actionbook about diving, the ocean and a country trying to find its own legs after apartheid.

It is narrated by Tom Taylorson, who does a wonderful job. His voices are great, and I love how he yells without yelling.

It was a pleasure to hear and I’m looking forward to Chris Black’s next adventure.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. This is a fast paced book with both adventure and mystery. I did find the beginning slow but got thrilling as the story progressed. I thought the narrator did a wonderful job.

I did receive this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for my review.

The narration and story for the book at pretty good. However, I wanted more from a diving standpoint. I love marine biology and thought this book would have more MB in it. It is a decent mystery/thriller. I’m sure others will enjoy it more than I did.

I did not know this character Chris Black from his previous episode but his trip to South Africa brings a myriad of mysteries and information.
   Sunken treasure, plunderers, murder, Apartheid, African history, marine biology 101--- fills all the pages of this thriller set on and in the water.
   I always enjoy a book that educates you as well as entertains you. This one hits that goal.

Very fast paced and suspenseful. I really like the main character. It's an easy read with short fast chapters. Kinda reminds me of a James Patterson book. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it if you like adventure/ suspenseful stories.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and give an honest review.

Okay I had higher hopes for this one based on the synopsis, but it just didn’t do it for me. The narrator was great, but I just think since it wasn’t the first in the series (which it seems like you need to read the first before the second because it may have made more sense that way). There was a TON of characters and honestly I was super confused who was was. I don’t recommend this book UNLESS you have already read the first one.

Blood Cold by James Lindholm, Narrated by Tom Taylorson.

The synopsis on this book was interesting, but a definite draw to reading this book was that it was in Cape Town, a beautiful country that I have been fortunate to have visited a couple times.

The narrator was ok. He paced the story very well and had a likable voice but was not very good at the accents but not so bad that it puts you off. For the most part it seemed to me when he was doing a South African accent there wasn’t much difference when he had switch to do the American character.

The plot itself was great and could lend itself to a movie. In my mind’s eye I could see the panic on the diver during an underwater incident, the fights and explosions. It is actually a fairly quick read at 5 and a bit hours.

This is, I think the second book in a series based on the lead character Chris Black. I haven’t listened to or read any of the others in the series, nor at this time do I feel that is going to change even though I did enjoy this book but I do have them on my list of potentials just in case I change my mind or find myself looking for something to read.

If you are a diehard fan of novels like those that depict the adventures of Jack Reacher or James Bond, then this is one you might enjoy.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy of Blood Cold in exchange for an honest review.

Until the first listen in this series I never thought I would get into a book like this. It is so much fun and the narration in brilliant.
The explanations regarding SA apartheid was really interesting and how it developed into crime now etc.

Both the author and the narrator are brilliant at what they do and I really enjoyed it.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

The Cape of Good Hope brilliantly described.

Chris Black, a marine biologist hopes that six months of scientific research off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa will bring lots of interesting dives and recuperation from traumatic events on his last research trip.

An old man, still dreaming of his infamous times during apartheid, will not hesitate to wipe out anyone standing in his way, to find his millions of Kruger Rands which he’d tried to smuggle out of South Africa on a trawler (just before the change of government in South Africa). He fears that the institute that has invited Chris Black to share his knowledge will find the gold before his foot soldiers get to it and they must be stopped at all costs.

I loved this audiobook, so much so, that I spent a day with my earphones plugged in listening to it. As a South African, I was delighted that Tom Taylorson managed to (almost) pull off the difficult pronunciations of both people and places names in the Cape. His descriptions of the coast, the phenomenal ocean surrounding Cape Town where great white sharks, whales, seals and penguins share the water with a huge variety of fishes and kelp. e storyline was enough to keep me waiting to hear what would happen next. Where the author shines though is adding a lot of scientific facts about diving and research. Truly fascinating information.

Rony

Elite Reviewing group received a copy of the book to review.

Thank you NetGalley, Independent books, and James Lindholm for this ARC of Blood Cold in exchange for an honest review.
"Blood Cold (Chris Black Adventure #2)" by James Lindholm, Narrated by Tom Taylorson.”
This was an interesting audio book. Tom Taylorson the narrator did a great job and made the book easy to follow. Unfortunately, I couldn’t completely connect with this book.. There was a mixture of mystery and adventure but I felt as though I wanted more action. I though the description of the settings in South Africa was extremely fascinating and makes me want to just visit those places one day.
Overall I thought this was a good book and if you're looking for an adventure you'll enjoy it!

Despite not having read the first book, I felt Blood Cold was great as a standalone title. Great storyline and caught me off guard at the end! I enjoyed the descriptions and parallels drawn between US and SA. As I listened to the audiobook, it was perfectly narrated with matching accents to cover a host of continents! Thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it!

This book has more than one version, and each version has a synopsis. I was unlucky to catch the version with the good (but innacurate) review, which made me want to give this book a chance, even though the reviews were not optimal. Oh how I wished I had taken those reviews more seriously.

The whole time reading this book I thought "This is the script of an action movie", except for the parts where the author goes on monologues on the technical details about diving, sharks and the marine system, which I completely zoned out from.

The caracters are unidimensional, they lack depth and are SOOOO uninteresting. The main character is a Gary Stu (I'm not a native speaker so someone correct me if I used this term wrong), he's a marine biologist, but seems more like a James Bond kinda guy, always ready to face danger, never gets hurt and is always the hero. It's annoying af. Honestely, the only character I felt an inkling of liking to is Chris' mother, who's basically a filler character.

About the romance, oh my freaking god I wanted to strangle someone about this romance. (spoiler ahead) The guy interacts about 5-8 times with the girl, she dies a tragic death and he can't get over how perfect she was for him. YOU BARELY KNEW HER YOU DINGBAG!! When describing her he can only mention her sarcasm and how she doesn't beat around the bush (again showing how little they knew of each other, or how little the author values about women), which are not extremely rare characteristics among other humans.

The synopsis mentions how the backstory is linked with Apartheid, but this event is mentioned only a couple times as a weak motivator for the main villain, and it could be erased entirely from the story without changing a single thing. In resume, the villain has a bunch of gold inside a ship wreck, and he wants to use this gold to finance a movement to bring back Apartheid. The link between those events is so weak, if he was a villain motivated to get his gold just because he wanted the money he'd probably be a more interesting character, because this attempt at giving a motive for his "evilness" was not written the right way and left a huge hole in the story (aproximately the size of my disappointment tbh).

"Blood Cold" is an action-packed thriller that's got all of the things an action story should: treasure, shipwrecks, sharks, betrayal, government hijinks. It's got it all.

What I loved most was how artfully the author explained the nuances of diving without it feeling like a lesson. It helped add suspense while also drawing me more into the story.

"Didn't you come down here for rest and recovery?" - From Blood Cold

3 stars

Very fast paced, James Patterson-esk story with short easy to follow chapters. MC could be interchanged with many male protagonists in the genre. Half mystery, half adventure, with a recap of what happens previously, and a heavy outline for the next book. All tell, no show. I think I enjoyed some of the diving information the most.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.