Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Knight in the Shadows

  • Elm Street Mafia, Book 1
  • By: Ali Lyda, Alexa May
  • Narrated by: Mike Peterman
  • Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (23 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Knight in the Shadows

By: Ali Lyda, Alexa May
Narrated by: Mike Peterman
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Serve the Family at all costs. That’s my purpose in life. No one asked me if I wanted it. Now there’s no way out.

And there’s definitely no place for Jake, a do-gooder military vet who sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong.

He thinks he saw darkness in the Army? He hasn’t looked at the depths inside me. He’d run screaming if he knew. But he’s made something in our crumbling neighborhood I thought couldn’t exist. Something I want to be a part of. Just like I want him. But I have to walk away. No one betrays the Family and lives.

Knight in the Shadows is a full length m/m mafia romance featuring a wounded army vet trying to make the best of his neighborhood and the mafia enforcer with a dark past who never expected to fall in love!

©2020 Special Fiction Books (P)2020 Special Fiction Books
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

King's Gambit cover art
My Brother's Best Friend cover art
Blade cover art
Mine to Protect cover art
Yes, Sir cover art
Teach Me cover art
Bent, Not Broken cover art
Redemption cover art
The Easy Way cover art
Traitor of Villain Academy: The Complete Series cover art
The Hands We're Given cover art
Paragon cover art
The Boneyard Brotherhood Three Book Collection cover art
The Complete Evelyn Maynard Trilogy cover art
Falling for His Comrade cover art
Kill Song cover art

What listeners say about Knight in the Shadows

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Slow start, but great overall

This story started out very slow for me, and I think part of that was that the narration wasn't very lively. There are also a lot of characters dumped on the listener all at once (at the gym) to try to distinguish and remember. It felt a little like being dropped in a pool at the start, with really no history or foundation to get me interested in the story. Once Max and Jake started connecting, it improved. I wasn't really hooked until around Chapter 6.

Max and Jake are wonderful, complex characters who are more alike than they may realize. I enjoyed watching them open up to each other about their plans and what they wanted. After the slow beginning, the story was exciting with sibling rivalry, deception, betrayal, unknown enemies, and surprising twists.

The narration was just okay for me. I sometimes had trouble telling some of the male characters who didn't have accents apart, particularly the MCs.

I received a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Deeply engaging

Authors Lyda and May are new to me, but I found they had an engaging cohesiveness that creates a great book. Max and Jake have fantastic chemistry. Peterman was a bit rough around the edges, but his narration fits in with this story and he does a wonderful job bringing these characters to life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great new series

new to me narrator and they were alright not bad enough for me to stop listening but not great enough for it to be a one clock.

the story was great. I can't wait for the next book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Cuter than I expected.

I like the story and the characters, the way things progressed and the pacing. I went in thinking it would be gritty and dark-ish, with all the angst an army in love with a mob enforcer could have. But this turn out to be really sweet and not all what I expected. I did like the story, the characters and the pacing, but the narration was really difficult to listen and the damped my enjoyment of the story. Mr. Peterman has an aggressive way of narrating, with really tiny pauses between sentences. The characters are not distinguishable at all and there is little emotion. Nothing wrong with this style, it's just not a style I like.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A captivating intro to a new, action-packed series

I've never listened to a story quite like this one, and I enjoyed the unique approach to a mobster/mafia romance. I don't really know what I was expecting from a book about mafias, but Jake and Max's story wasn't overly gruesome at all. Sure, there was plenty of violence and action scenes, but nothing in this book was overly graphic or sickening, in my opinion. Instead, I was easily able to focus on the mystery surrounding Elm Street and the growing relationship between Jake and Max. It took me a while to warm up to these two and understand their motives, but their chemistry was undeniable from the start and I loved their passionate moments together. I wouldn't say that this was the steamiest romance I've read lately, but honestly with everything else going on with the Russo family and the gym it would have felt unrealistic for Jake and Max to ignore everything else in favor of getting it on with each other. As the two of them navigated the danger associated with Elm Street, it was thrilling to see how evenly matched Jake and Max were, despite their different backgrounds. I've read so many stories where one guy in the relationship is obviously "the protector" and the other is "the protected", and it was nice to see these men have a mutual understanding of their shared strength. I thought the pacing of the story was nicely done, the supporting characters were awesome, and the narration was excellent.

**I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions. 

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

This was such an entertaining audiobook.
I really enjoyed this story.
I can't wait to listen to more audiobooks in this series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Brilliant series opener.

I really enjoyed this book and like the take on a Mafia Romance. Mafia with a heart of gold, sort of...
I loved the dynamics of a dark mafioso who wants to be better and a damaged war hero with a sunny personality. I feel these two played off each other well and acknowledged their differences and the "ethical" dilemmas of them dating rather than being blinded by lust. That being said their connection and lust was steamy AF and I loved their give and take.

The story builds intrigue and hints at some things here and there. They don't ride off into the sunset but they do work towards an HFN ending. There is, of course, the mini "fall out" but thankfully everyone sees the error of their ways quite quickly and comes back together. I really enjoyed the energy and layout of the story and The Elm and look forward to more stories for The Elm and these characters. I can't wait for the next book!

Great narration, character voices, and dialects! I could feel the difference in the characters, their emotions, and their motivations. I really liked this narrator and look forward to more from him!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

It was okay

The story wasn't the best I've enjoyed from Ali Lyda. It felt really forced if that makes any sense.

The narration was quite good though, definitely improved the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A new kind of mafia...

Jake, ex-military and determined to clean up his community. He has a gym in which he creates a family. He is a natural leader but someone wants to set him up. Max is a mafia underboss, interested in taking over Jake’s community until they collide. Sexy, super hot collision I say! They both need to fight the Russo’s mafia... lots of action and suspense plus the hot romance between the good and the bad. The narration started a bit monotonous but gets better along the book. Enjoyable listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story

I don’t think it can get any more forbidden than being on different sides of the mafia. Max is a part if the mafia, and Jake is on the side wanting to get the mafia out of their town/neighborhood. Max’s stepbrother says Jake stole a drug shipment, but Max’s gut is telling him it’s not true. They end up spending more and more time together. They are attracted to each other, and over the course of the book, boundaries are crossed, and feelings become involved. 🥊👨🏼‍🤝‍👨🏻 This book was well written with wonderfully developed characters. It set up the series perfectly. I cannot wait for the next book. 🎙🎙 Austin Jay did a great job with the narration. Despite the similarities in the voices between the two main characters, there were no issues knowing who was talking. He really brought this story to life, and I enjoyed his narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!