Audio Review ~ Due Diligence ~ Anna Zabo

*I received a free copy of Due Diligence from Tantor Media via Tantor Media. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *

After Fazil Kurt breaks up with his girlfriend, a business trip to Seattle offers some much-needed time away. Sent by S. R. Anderson Consulting, Fazil is there to help audit Singularity Storage, a company they are trying to save. His first discovery is intriguing to say the least: one of Singularity's engineers is Todd Douglas, Fazil's first love. He knows better than to get personally involved on a job like this. Back in high school, Todd broke Fazil's heart more times than he could count, but both men have grown so much since then-and Fazil never could say no to Todd . . . Contains mature themes.

Due Diligence was a relevant and engaging listen. Although it’s the thrid in the series, it works as standalone. However, characters from the previous books are present and are interesting enough that I want to know their stories. I did have a few issues but overall my introduction to AZabo and IToma was a good one!

What Worked:

• Characters
  I liked Fazil and Todd. They’d been involved in high school but broke up when Fazil left for college. Their reunion was unexpected but they definitely still had chemistry. I liked how AZabo demonstrated how their upbringings and their families impacted their personalities. And I admired how she conveyed their flaws and the ways in which they caused problems for themselves in the past and present. Fazil and Todd felt genuine because of this. They were smart and kind guys, too.
• Plot
  AZabo wrapped Fazil and Todd’s story around a very real business scenario…that of a company positioning itself to be more attractive for a buyout. Her details, particularly those involving the development engineering team were very realistic. That combined with the rekindling of Fazil and Todd’s relationship made for an authentic story.
• Romance
  Not only did AZabo deliver a hot romance but she also illustrated the issues Todd and Fazil would face as a gay couple. They dealt with prejudice at work as well as harassment. That Fazil was Turkish and dealt with misperceptions about his nationality and that Todd was the son of a mechanic – a blue collar family that that people also had preconceived notions about put them on an even playing field, so to speak.

What Could Have Worked Better:

• Fazil’s Self-Doubt
  While I understood where Fazil was coming from and it showed his vulnerabilities, there came a point where his self-doubt was annoying.
• Conflict Resolution
  There was one major point of contention between Fazil and Todd and the solution seemed so simple to me. Yes, I understand the angst level wouldn’t have been as high and the resolution also proved character growth but it really took too long to get there! I kept talking out loud to the characters, asking them to get over themselves or offering solutions. 🙁

Those two things kept Due Diligence from being a higher rated listen for me. IToma’s narration was great though. I enjoyed his delivery and his range was pretty decent. AZabo does have me curious enough about the secondary characters to read their books. So look out for more from this series. 🙂

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2019 Audiobook Challenge

About Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Brandee is a mom of 3 and a soon-to-be empty nester. She is also an avid reader, a genre omnivore, and a compulsive one-clicker - but she's in recovery. Besides being a reader, she's also a writer and hopes to divide the vast quantities of spare time she'll soon have between reading and finally publishing her first book.

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