Clara’s Verdict
Entangled is the second book in Rebecca Quinn’s Brutes of Bristlebrook trilogy, and it is not the place to start. If you haven’t read Ensnared, go there first – this sequel picks up directly from a cliffhanger and assumes complete familiarity with the world, the characters, and the particular emotional investment Quinn has spent the first book constructing. Having said that: for readers who are already in, book two is everything a sequel should be, and rather more besides.
The trilogy sits in the dark(ish) post-apocalyptic romance subgenre, a space that has developed a substantial and devoted readership over the past several years. Quinn is one of its more accomplished practitioners – she has a genuine ear for multiple POV storytelling, a willingness to complicate her characters beyond what the genre strictly requires, and the courage to sustain real emotional stakes across a very long book (over 180,000 words; 21 hours and 45 minutes in audio). This is not light comfort reading. But for its audience, it delivers at a very high level.
About the Audiobook
The story continues in the ruins of Bristlebrook, with Eden – the librarian at the centre of the story – now separated from her Brutes and in the hands of the hunters who destroyed their home. The narrative structure alternates between Eden’s perspective and the Brutes’, and Quinn manages this dual narrative without losing pace or emotional coherence, which is genuinely difficult across a book of this length.
The thematic substance is darker here than in book one: Eden is processing grief and loss, and her decision to become strategically ruthless in pursuit of revenge sits in interesting tension with the instincts that defined her in Ensnared. The Brutes, meanwhile, are dealing with injury, fracture, and the painful process of confronting their individual failures. Quinn doesn’t let anyone off the hook, which is what separates her work from the sunnier end of the harem romance genre.
The series carries a number of content warnings (listed on the author’s website), and readers who are sensitive to specific content types should check those before proceeding. Quinn takes her readers’ welfare seriously and is explicit about what the books contain.
The Narration
Avery Caris narrates, and the reader response to her performance has been uniformly enthusiastic. Multiple reviewers specifically recommend the audiobook over print – “give the audiobook a listen, it’s next level amazing,” wrote one listener – which suggests Caris has found something in the material that the page alone doesn’t deliver. At 21 hours and 45 minutes, a narrator’s ability to maintain vocal and emotional consistency across a very long runtime is no small achievement, and the review response suggests she manages it throughout.
What Readers Say
Readers have been passionate. “I fell in love with Anthony in the first book… I cannot think of words to express the emotional journey this book took me on,” wrote one ARC reader (note: reviewer name changed for clarity) – the enthusiasm is consistent across responses. “My oh my, the angst!” wrote a UK reviewer with characteristic restraint. “The spice certainly upped a notch during particular scenes in this one. Are we excited for Book 3? Yes!” Another described it as “a rollercoaster from beginning to end,” adding that the balance between action, character development, and “the spicy scenes” was precisely calibrated. The rating stands at 4.4 from seven reviewers, with five stars the most common score.
Who Should Listen?
This is for adult readers (18+) who enjoy dark post-apocalyptic romance with a harem structure, significant emotional complexity, and substantial heat. It is explicitly not for sensitive readers who haven’t checked the content warnings, and it is definitely not a standalone – book one is required reading before this makes full sense.
For its target audience, this is a high-quality entry in a popular subgenre, with a narrator who clearly understands the material and a story that takes its characters and its readers seriously. Available on Audible UK, Kobo, Scribd, and Storytel. Listen to Entangled on Audible UK – but read Ensnared first.
