Category: Audible

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Ever the Same Audiobook by BA Tortuga Narrated by Paul Morey

Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6711BlurbEvertheSameAUDMED

Audie Barrack is in it up to his elbows with a sick calf when his son’s school calls. Seems Grainger has gotten into yet another fight. When he walks into the principal’s office, he’s shocked to find his son has been fighting with a little girl named Randi.

A little girl with one blind dad and one dad who recently passed away.

Goddammit.

Dixon has lost his sight, his career, and his husband. Thank God for his brothers, Momma and Daddy, and his little girl, or he would simply give up. The last thing he needs is for Randi to start trouble at school, especially trouble that puts him in contact with another dad who might expect him to be a functional human being.

Dixon is struggling to live as a blind man, Audie is terrified someone might see he has a closet to come out of, and everyone from the school to both men’s families is worried for the men and their children. Unless they get themselves together and commit to change, neither of them stands a chance.

Review

(Previously on this site)

Dixon has had to move in with his parents after losing his husband and his sight. His parents are supportive – to an extent – but there is an underlying tension in the house that keeps Dixon on the edge of miserable.

Audie is a young, single father, working his family ranch because he knows nothing else. His mother is somewhat supportive of him, but doesn’t approve of his being gay and isn’t shy about letting him know it.

Dixon and Audie meet when Randi (Dixon’s daughter) punches Grainger (Audie’s son). Audie pretty much immediately falls for Dixon but it takes awhile for that to play out.

The romance between Dixon and Audie is fairly easy going, their relationship is not. Dixon is a widower, well meaning friends and family worry Audie is a rebound man. Dixon is blind, family members worry that he won’t be able to contribute and that he might not be the best man to raise his own daughter, much less two children. Audie is a landless cowboy (he’s mother won’t put a gay boy in her will) with a child of his own.

Despite all the various obstacles and reasons why this shouldn’t work… it does and it does so beautifully.

**

I really enjoyed this country mouse/city mouse story. The immediate attraction and the acceptance of their romance between themselves let the rest of the story be about each of their own growth.

For all intents and purposes, one wrong decision led to Audie being a single dad, trapped on his family ranch at the age of 25. He’d never gotten to be a single gay man or do any of the other stuff that we do when we are young and carefree. As a result he’s older in some ways but still has a lot of that youth and inexperience in him that was a perfect mix for Dixon.

Dixon had been there and done that. Though he was only 33, he’d had a much more varied life, though not on a ranch! He was a bit jaded, a bit spoiled, a bit insecure, a bit self involved, but so brave. His family didn’t support him – not really – and he felt totally lost.

What I loved was that both men saved each other and the kids helped too. It’s hard to write kids because no two kids are a like and it can be hard to represent that mix of surprisingly mature things that sometimes come out of a young mouth along side the more immature tantrums and such. I think Randi and Grainger are excellent examples of kids done well. Though there were times I thought they were a little too mature, most of the time I really thought they were great.

I loved how the families were represented. They both felt very “gray” to me, meaning not all good and not all bad. So often the family is this all or nothing evil villain when in reality there is usually a mix. Dixon’s parents are well meaning if not fully supportive. Audie’s mom isn’t all bad, though she is pretty judgmental and petty.

Dixon’s reaction to being blind felt pretty appropriate as well, though I did wonder at his relative ease at getting over Ron. I also wondered why Ron’s family was so intent on keeping Randi when Dixon was the biological father, why weren’t his parents taking over?

Overall I thought this was a riveting and wonderful book and I highly recommend it.

Overall 4.6 of 5 hearts!

Audio

Paul Morey did an amazing job with this. God, I loved his Audey and Dix was PERFECTION. This was such a fun book to listen to with all the different southern accents! I highly recommend this as an audiobook!

6 of 5 hearts

amazing

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Forgiving Thayne (True Mates book 2) Audiobook by JR Loveless Narrated by Derrick McClain

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6613

ForgivingThayneAUDMEDBlurb

Nicholas Cartwright has done everything in his power to forget that night six months ago in Senaka, when his true mate rejected him, leaving him shattered and disillusioned. Burying himself in his work, he pushes himself to the point of exhaustion while finding the touch of another unbearable. Suddenly his mate needs his help, and he may be asking for more than Nicholas can find it in himself to give.

Thayne Whitedove has always been a wanderer, spending his days on the road and his nights wrapped in the arms of whatever random hookup he meets, until a fateful mistake sends him rushing for the comforts of home. To his utter dismay, the only way to correct his error in judgment is to accept the one thing he’s never wanted… his mate. Thayne must decide whether to keep running or to stay and fight for Nick’s forgiveness.

Review
(from previous site)

This is the sequel to Chasing Seth and it pretty much takes up right where that left off. Namely, Seth is settling in with his mate and Nick has just met Thayne (his mate) and been rejected by him.

Thayne carries lots of guilt and secrets, mostly about Created Ones and Mates. He absolutely doesn’t want a Mate, doesn’t think he deserves happiness, but isn’t in a position to stop the events that force him and Nick together.

Nick carries a bit of guilt himself over his involvement in making Taggart, a Created One, but is mostly excited about having a Mate and dumbfounded and hurt by Thayne’s continual refusal to complete the mating bond.

Danger chases Thayne and arrives at Senaka’s doorstep, forcing Thayne to reveal secrets and forcing him to complete the mating bond in order to save himself and others.

Nick, despite EVERY reason to turn his back on Thayne, agrees to help for the sake of the pack and his mate to complete the bond.

Once mated, the pair move back to California to join Nick’s pack, but Thayne continues to act like an a**hole and the two are as miserable in California as they were in Wyoming.

The danger is still present and in fact has followed them to California, forcing Thayne and Nick into close quarters which does much to bring them into a more real mating, but it takes violence and near death to make them realize how important they are to one another.

**
This is somewhat hard to rate and review because on the one hand I really liked the story. I thought the hurdles were somewhat realistic, the danger well plotted and the shifter world interesting and mulit-faceted.

On the other hand I thought the main hurdle: Thayne not wanting a Mate was way over-played. It didn’t make sense for him to continue to hang on this argument when over and over and over he was shown how a Mate is a good thing and not something to weaken you or cause you to be “enslaved”.

Nick acts like a door-mat the entire time, and this drove me bonkers. He should have booted Thayne out the door right from day one. I get that it goes against his mating instincts and his desire to help the pack, but Thayne does not make it easy to help him. Even when Nick gives up practically EVERYTHING to Thayne in order to help him, Thayne continues to act like a total prick-douche-bag and I, for one, wanted to punch him in the nuts!

The ending was very satisfying if a little rushed, and though I was happy to see the HEA for these boys I didn’t fully buy it. Sure, they have the Mating chemistry to pave the way and that covers a lot of romantic ground, but even with all those pheromones Thayne managed to be a big ole jerk to Nick, so I didn’t quite buy his immediate 180 from enemy to love.

Overall, if you enjoyed Chasing Seth you will definitely want to read this – Seth and Kasey play a big role in this book and this is more or less an extension of their story, too. If you like shifter romances this will satisfy but be patient. It’s a long book filled with a lot of (in my opinion) prolonged angst that doesn’t move the story forward but only serves to make Thayne look bad.

I liked it and give it a 3.5 of 5 hearts.

Audio

Derrick McClain did a really nice job with the narration. He tries to differentiate the voices and I really liked his version of Thayne’s voice. Overall he added to the enjoyment of this book and I’d recommend listening!

4.5 of 5 hearts

Overall 4 of 5 hearts

4

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Souffle’s at Sunrise Audiobook by MJ O’Shea and Anna Martin Narrated by John-Paul Barrell

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6679

SoufflesAtSunriseAUDMEDBlurb

“Welcome to a new season of Burned, where we find fresh new cooking talent… and a few culinary disasters! Every season we do something a little different, and this time it’s all about the sweet things in life. Get ready in week one as twenty pastry chef hopefuls and dessert connoisseurs compete for the thirteen coveted workspaces in our Burned kitchen. With stakes this big, we ask the one question on everyone’s mind: Do these chefs have what it takes to rise to the top? Or will they get Burned?”

Burned contestants Chase and Kai are attracted from the start and can’t wait to spend more time getting to know each other… until they see the first episode treatment and realize the producers intend to portray them as bitter enemies. At first it’s fun to pretend to bicker—enemies on film, lovers when the cameras stop rolling—but soon it’s hard not to take the faux rivalry seriously. It’s only when their choice is to band together and bake their way to the final or get burned that they find where their real loyalties lie.

Review

Both Chase and Kai are contestant on a cooking show. The producers decide that the two need to be “rivals” in order to spice up the show. They even have it decided whose to win…

The two men quickly become lovers, however, instead. There are a very few hurdles for the men to traverse, especially when they get together long term as Chase lives in Wisconsin and Kai in California, but those are managed easily enough.

**
A lot of this book happens “on air” while the cooking show takes place and to me it kept me distanced from these two MCs.

I never quite felt connected or invested in their relationship. The writing of both Anna Martin and MJ O’Shea is wonderful – as always – but I wasn’t really that enthralled with the romance.

The recipes are neat and the mocking look at reality cooking shows was funny if not a little cynical.

John-Paul Barrell does the narration and he does an okay job. Nothing too spectacular in terms of voice modulation, but easy to listen to for the most part. Sometimes he ends the dialog on an up note that got repetitive, but mostly this was an enjoyable listen.

For both the audiobook and the story itself 3 of 5 hearts for a nice, light, enjoyable read/listen.

3

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Stealing the Wind (Mermen of Ea 1) Audiobook by Shira Anthony Narrated by Michael Stellman

Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6536

StealingTheWindAUDMEDBlurb

Taren Laxley has never known anything but life as a slave. When a lusty pirate kidnaps him and holds him prisoner on his ship, Taren embraces the chance to realize his dream of a seagoing life. Not only does the pirate captain offer him freedom in exchange for three years of labor and sexual servitude, but the pleasures Taren finds when he joins the captain and first mate in bed far surpass his greatest fantasies.

Then, during a storm, Taren dives overboard to save another sailor and is lost at sea. He’s rescued by Ian Dunaidh, the enigmatic and seemingly ageless captain of a rival ship, the Phantom, and Taren feels an overwhelming attraction to Ian that Ian appears to share. Soon Taren learns a secret that will change his life forever: Ian and his people are Ea, shape-shifting merfolk… and Taren is one of them too. Bound to each other by a fierce passion neither can explain or deny, Taren and Ian are soon embroiled in a war and forced to fight for a future—not only for themselves but for all their kind.

Review

We start this with Taren being sold to a pirate captain (Rider) by the man who essentially raised him in return for gambling debts.
Taren then falls into a triad relationship with Rider and his current “cabin boy”, Bastien. Rider offers Taren his freedom if he agrees to stay on board for three years. To say Taren is grateful is putting it mildly. The relationship is consensual if you disregard that Taren is Redier’s property and can’t really say no, but Taren does enjoy it and he eventually develops feelings for the other two.

There is a skirmish and Taren is tossed out to sea (after two years with the triad) where he is rescued by Ian, another sea captain, Ian, of a rival ship.

Ian is a merman and it turns out so is Taren. Ian develops feelings for Taren and the two begin a relationship. Taren has to embrace his origins or else he might die so Ian helps him to transform into his alternate form.

When Taren and Ian return to Ian’s homeland, Taren is accused of being a spy and thrown in jail. Ian has to decide if his affection and strange connection to Taren is more important than his trust in the rulers of his land. There is a bit of a twist thrown in as well and we are left with the two essentially in a HFN scenario that leads to book 2.

**
This is an amazingly rich and dense book. I’m assuming that all the wonderful world building will carry us through the next books in the series and we will see more of the relationship and the mysterious tie between the two of them develop more fully.

I had a hard time seeing Taren with others in an on-page relationship and this keeps me from giving this book 5 of 5 hearts. I can appreciate that it’s part of creating his back story and giving us the full impression of his life up until he meets Ian, but I can’t say that I liked it.

We don’t get to see much of Taren and Ian together and happy in this book so I look forward to seeing where the two will go from here.

Shira Anthony writes beautifully and has a gorgeous imagination and I’m looking forward to seeing where she takes us in book 2.

4 of 5 hearts

Audio

I really like Michael Stellman. He is a very easy narrator to listen to. He doesn’t go over the top in differentiating the voices of all the many characters in this complex story, but you can always tell who is talking. He does a nice job with the new names and definitely adds to the overall experience.

4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

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Hook, Line & Sinker (Hard Hats #2) Audiobook by Piper Vaughn Narrated by Jack Fleming

Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6638
HookLine&SinkerAUDMEDBlurb
When they were teens, Castor McCormick was the bane of Blake Kowalski’s existence. Their mutual animosity led to summers filled with rivalry. Now, nearly two decades later, Cas is moving back into the neighborhood to live in his grandmother’s old house. Blake tells himself he isn’t interested in seeing how snarky little Cas grew up, but when his mother dupes him into visiting his former nemesis, he finds out “pretty” can evolve into “sexy as hell” on the right man.

Cas didn’t think he wanted to see Blake again. No one has ever pushed his buttons like the arrogant boy he remembers from their youth. Turns out, the adult version of Blake still gets him hot under the collar—and everywhere else. With Blake on leave from work to nurse an injured leg and Cas taking time to move and unpack, they form a tentative friendship that turns into a sexual affair neither man can deny. But when Cas’s job sends him out of state to deal with a difficult client, their new relationship will be tested, and if they fail, Blake’s broken leg might not be the only thing to end up scarred.

Review
Blake and Castor were competitors as kids. When Blake gets injured and is forced to move back home to his mother’s house, and Castor moves in to the house across the street, they find that as adults they have more in common than they thought.
They begin a relationship fairly early on, fairly easily. Things are going well, they’re getting pretty hot and heavy in fact, when Castor gets called out of town for business for several months. They try the long distance thing and that seems to be working, until Blake decides to surprise Castor with a visit and ends up suspecting Castor of cheating.
Castor can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust him and they break up.
Fortunately, after some soul searching, they realize the mistake they’ve made and agree to try harder to make things work.
**
This is book two in the series and though I generally LOVE Piper Vaughn’s books, this was a little disappointing. I found things were just a bit too easy. The sexual tension was released early on and things between the two move along fairly easily until the big break up. The resulting make up is really down-played and though I do believe they get their HEA it wasn’t really well-developed by the end of the story.
Her writing, as always, flows smoothly and the character development was excellent. If you are in the mood for a relatively low angst story with lots of hot sex, however, this is definitely the story for you. It is very enjoyable if not amazing.

Audio

The narrator Jack Fleming did a really nice job. I loved the assertive voice he gives Blake. He didn’t do a lot with the voices but they are each distinct and I enjoyed his take of Blake’s mother.
I think the audio adds to the overall entertainment and makes the experience even better.

4.25 of 5 hearts

4.5

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Being True Audiobook by Jacob Flores Narrated by Mark Westfield

Dreampsinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6655

BeingTrueAUDMEDBlurb

Truman L. Cobbler has not had an easy life. It’s bad enough people say he looks like Donkey from Shrek, but he’s also suffered the death of his policeman father and his mother’s remarriage to a professional swindler, who cost them everything. Now dirt poor, they live in the barrio of San Antonio, Texas. When Tru transfers to an inner-city high school halfway through his senior year, he meets Javi Castillo, a popular and hot high school jock. Javi takes an immediate liking to Tru, and the two become friends. The odd pairing, however, rocks the school and sets the cliquish social circles askew. No one knows how to act or what to think when Mr. Popular takes a stand for Mr. Donkey. Will the cliques rise up to maintain status quo and lead Tru and Javi to heartbreak and disaster or will being true to who they are rule the day?

Review

Truman is 17, in his last year of high school, and this is his 6th school in as many years. Due to his small stature he is the object of bullying and his poor single mother can do nothing more than move them to help the situation.

Javi is the star of the baseball team and a genuinely nice, great guy, part of a loving family.

After Tru gets beat up again (on the first day by Javi’s best friend), Javi rescues him and takes him home to his family where he is immediately embraced into the fold.
After that day Javi and Tru become best friends. Javi protects him as well as really enjoys his company, more than the other kids think he should.
When push comes to shove, Javi has to face the fact that he has feelings for Tru (admittedly gay, but not out officially). After facing the truth he has to decide what to do with the information but before he can decide things have heated up at school to the point where it may already be too late.
**
OMG! I loved this story. I’m not a huge YA fan, but I really love Jacob Flores and Mark Westfield so I decided to give this a try. Boy am I glad!
First, since this is their last year in HS most of what the boys are dealing with is adult enough not to feel awkward when it comes to relationship stuff.
Second, Jacob Flores is an excellent writer and he does an excellent job of creating two believable characters in situations that feel authentic. Javi is (perhaps) a bit too good to be true, but every story needs a hero and he is an absolutely wonderful one.
There are plenty of “bad guys” in this story, including most of Javi’s “friends” from the baseball team.
Tru is another wonderful character who just keeps trying and trying. He never gives up and I really liked that he didn’t perseverate on the future or have dire thoughts of suicide. He truly lived in the now and simply focused on doing the best with what he was given in that moment.
Claudia, the BFF, is another fantastic character – serving to give some attitude to the couple who are so sappily sweet.
I also loved that most of the characters in this story were non-caucasian but that race really wasn’t made much of an issue – if any.
It was a super sweet and lovely story and I highly recommend it.

Audio
Mark Westfield (who I really admired in the THIRDS books) disappointed me with this. He does a nice enough job and is easy to listen to, he gives Javi’s folks a bit of an accent, but I think that someone like Gomez Pugh would have rocked this as most of the characters in this were Hispanic and I think more accents would have made this sound more like I had it scripted in my head.
That being said, it was a nice (if not amazing) way to listen to this book and did not detract.

5 of 5 hearts

5

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Fixing the hole Audiobook by Katherine Halle Narrated by Philip Alces

Dreamspinner presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6656

FixingTheHoleAUDMEDBlurb

Heavy rains and strong winds slammed an uprooted tree through Steve Crowell’s roof, leaving a gaping hole to match the one in his heart. After his ex left him for a younger man, Steve’s not sure he’s ready to handle another disaster. His best friend highly recommended the contractor, but the man’s already late, and when he shows up with his music thumping, Steve isn’t impressed—until Riley steps out of his pickup truck. Personable, gorgeous Riley talks a mile a minute, which Steve finds both ridiculously endearing and terrifying. Piecing together a heart isn’t as easy as fixing a roof, but Riley might just be the right man for the job.

Review
(Book reviewed on previous site)
This is a short book where the ending is the beginning.

Instead of being a book about a relationship, this is really and truly just about the beginning of a relationship. Steve is older, has a thing for younger guys, got burned by the last younger guy, isn’t getting any younger himself, and still has a thing for younger guys.

Riley is a younger guy with a thing for older guys. He’s super sweet, adorable, chatty – very chatty – and he lives at home and tries to keep his dad healthy.

Steve is into Riley, but is worried about being burned again. Riley is into Steve, but worries that Steve isn’t into him.

Most of the book is them dancing around this issue. Then – bam – they go on a date.

The End.

So… the end is the beginning.

**
Ummmm, well. How do I rate this?

It was…nice. I’m sure it was making a statement. It was very well written and some people will like that it didn’t do anything besides start the relationship.

Not me. I was disappointed.

It felt like the beginning of a story that got cut off just when it was getting good! I wanted to see where it went and what happened and … well, all the good stuff that goes with that.

But that wasn’t what this was about.

It was man meets boy. Man wants boy. Man finally gets the balls to ask boy out, and he accepts.

So…

I give the author props for doing something different and for setting up an interesting start to a story, but I can’t really recommend it. However, if you are the sort that just loves the “chase” you will be psyched to read this short story.

I give it 2.5 of 5 hearts for being half a story, good, but unfinished.

Audio
Philip Alces isn’t my favorite narrator, but he does a nice job and is easy to listen to. He doesn’t do much with the voices but he does a good with the humor found in this story.

I think that overall the listening improves the entertainment experience.

3.5 of 5 hearts

3.5

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Beyond Duty Audiobook by SJD Peterson Narrated by Jonathan Young

Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6492

BeyondDutyAUDMEDBlurb
The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” didn’t come soon enough for Gunther “Gunny” Duchene and Macalister “Mac” Jones, career US Marines who met at boot camp in the 1990s. They’ve been somewhere between best friends and lovers in peacetime and wartime both, but as the clock ticks toward Mac’s and Gunny’s retirements, the guys have much more to worry about than coming out.
Whether their relationship will survive outside of the closet they’ve had to shove it into for over two decades is a big question mark. Gunny questions why a hot military man like Mac – who could get any guy he wanted, including a younger, sexier one – would want him. But as Gunny and Mac navigate emotional waters as choppy as any they saw on duty, they just might learn Semper Fi applies to more than their careers.

Review

The first part of this story is Gunny facing retirement and the possible loss of his “fuck buddy”, another military man forced into hiding by “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”. Gunny is afraid that given the opportunity to be out, Mac will find another, younger, better lover – he’s afraid that’s he’s been nothing but convenient all these years.
Fortunately, this concern is rapidly dispelled by Mac, who is not only psyched about the end of DADT, psyched about retirement, but wants to marry Gunny and walk hand in hand with him at their retirement ceremony to show all other closeted gay military men that true, tough, and honored marines can be gay too.
Gunny is excited to be married to the man he’s been in love with for years and together he and Mac wrestle with their new lot in life. Retirement. Coming out to their friends, family and their community. Neither man can predict which of those will be the toughest, but they are at least doing it together.

**

I LOVED this book and especially adored it on Audio. There is relatively no angst, though plenty of emotion. Both men have huge adjustments to make – not just as retired military, but as a couple living together after years of occasional hook up week-ends. Neither is out to their family and even their community is unaware of their status. It’s a very thorough look at the process and so touching how these tough guys lean on each other in surprisingly sappy ways.
I loved how “handsy” Mac got when drunk and how sweet Mac’s family was when Gunny’s family doesn’t support him.
There is a bit of BDSM, one scene to be precise, but it is not the central focus of the story. I wasn’t bothered by it and BDSM is not my taste.

The narrator, Jonathan Young, does a fantastic job with Mac’s southern drawl and his “mama” is hysterical and wonderful as well. I really thought the audio is the way to go to appreciate this story, Jonathan adds so much to the reading – giving nice emotional impact to the story.

5 of 5 hearts

5

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The Backup Boyfriend (Book 1) Audiobook by River Jaymes Narrated by Marc Bachmann

Audibles Presents

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Backup-Boyfriend-Audiobook/B00YNT53WE/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1435249035&sr=1-1

back up boyfriend audioBlurb

Professionally, Dr. Alec Johnson has almost reached his goals. As this year’s recipient of a humanitarian award with his ex, Dr. Tyler Hall, Alec’s work with the homeless is about to be recognized. Unfortunately, his personal life sucks because now he has to attend several events alongside Tyler – with his ex’s new boyfriend in tow. In an attempt to lift his mood and break out of his rut, Alec purchases a motorcycle he has no idea how to start. Dylan Booth doesn’t have time for Dr. Clueless and his fickle 1964 Harley, but the cocky mechanic can’t say no to the request for help.
Having spent his teen years on the streets, and losing his best friend to HIV, Dylan decides teaching the do-gooder how to ride is the least he can do. But watching Alec flounder in his ex’s company throws Dylan into protector mode, and the confirmed hetero introduces himself as Alec’s new boyfriend. But Dylan’s a master bullshitter, and the phony PDA soon turns ultra-hot. Alec can’t afford to get attached, and Dylan’s learned everyone eventually leaves. Unfortunately, playing the backup boyfriend is starting to feel way too real….

Book Review

Alec is in a bind. He’s been dumped, needs a new “look” and some external reassurance that he’s not all washed up.

He does this by buying a motorcycle he has no business buying and then failing miserably at driving it.

Fortunately a friend recommends he talk with a mechanic, Dylan, about the bike. As events fold out, Dylan surprises Alec by being willing to put on a brave face and “fake” being a boyfriend for Alec at his exes party – even though Dylan identifies as straight.

Things get out of hand after a lot of alchol and the surprisingly versatile Dylan opens up to Alec in a sexual way that neither anticipated. The two are hot for each other!

They begin to explore this “relationship” more and find an amazing amount of compatibility. But – when things start to get serious – both outside and internal forces work to drive them apart as well as to really look into their hearts as to what it means to be gay/straight/bi and what does it mean to have a boyfriend/partner/relationship.

**

Though I thought that the growth each of the characters went through was impressive, I wanted a bit more of an emotional connection between them to receive page time.

I loved the GFY/Gay-virgin sexy times and thought that it was a refreshing take to have the “straight” guy be so open and honest in his exploration.

3.75 of 5 hearts

Audio Review

Marc Bachmann did an excellent job with this! I loved his Dylan and Alex – they were as I’d pictured them in my head! He did a fantastic job with the other voices – keeping them all differentiated and his smexy scenes were smoldering! I really enjoyed this narration and will look for his narrations in the future.
I think the narration really added to my overall enjoyment, taking some of the less than fluid phrasing used by the author and infusing more organically genuine emotion into the scenes.

5 of 5 hearts

Overall 4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

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PS Why did they change the Audiobook cover?  The other was a much better cover IMHO 🙁

 

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Lover at Last Audiobook by JR Ward Narrated by Jim Frangione

Audibles Presents http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Lover-at-Last-Audiobook/B00BMCXK9S/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1435248890&sr=1-1

loveratlastaudBlurb

“The hottest collection of studs in romance” (New York Times best-selling author Angela Knight) returns as number-one New York Times best-selling author J. R. Ward brings together two of the most beloved people in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world – at last….
Qhuinn, son of no one, is used to being on his own. Disavowed from his bloodline, shunned by the aristocracy, he has finally found an identity as one of the most brutal fighters in the war against the Lessening Society. But his life is not complete. Even as the prospect of having a family of his own seems to be within reach, he is empty on the inside, his heart given to another….
Blay, after years of unrequited love, has moved on from his feelings for Qhuinn. And it’s about time: The male has found his perfect match in a Chosen female, and they are going to have a young – just as Qhuinn has always wanted for himself. It’s hard to see the new couple together, but building your life around a pipe dream is just a heartbreak waiting to happen. As he’s learned firsthand.
Fate seems to have taken these vampire soldiers in different directions…but as the battle over the race’s throne intensifies, and new players on the scene in Caldwell create mortal danger for the Brotherhood, Qhuinn finally learns the true definition of courage, and two hearts who are meant to be together…finally become one.

Review (book)

This is Book 11 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by JR Ward, and it is mostly a m/f series. However, since the beginning there have been hints and suspicions about a couple who were into each other – thus gay or at least bi.

If you haven’t read the series, don’t bother with this. It will barely make sense and it will undoubtedly make you crazy.

I was a devoted fan for the first several books, but lost interest once I realized the very repetitive nature of each story and I began to feel the author was spending less time on developing a tightly woven, character driven story, and began focusing on getting longer and longer books out there with more violence and repetitive sex scenes than anything else.

However… when I saw she had finally paired up the two Vamps who’d been showing gay leanings… and I saw the backlash… and I’m a sucker for these guys… I had to read it.

Welllllll – there were parts that I adored. I loved the hugely masculine and mind altering sex these guys had. Scorching (if not terribly plausible – I don’t think lube was ever mentioned and they pretty much had anal sex every time they touched.)

I loved the deep soul searching and the way these guys finally had a heart to heart and got TOGETHER – AT LAST.

But – there was way more that I did not adore. Frankly I skimmed.

There were so many subplots and entire other couples and couples with other couples and babies and drama and drama and more drama.

Sigh.

It was too much.

If this had been more focused on these guys, their relationship and their immediate exes, etc it would have been a tightly written and probably excellent addition to the series.

I kinda felt like JR Ward didn’t just fully commit to writing the m/m book she wanted – maybe it was her publishers her editors … who knows. But it ended up watering down their love story to a sort of side show and also minimized all the other couples’ stories as well.  I was also really, really annoyed at how Qhuinn danced around saying he was gay, or admitting he was at least bi-sexual and that their relationship was still “less than” for being two males.

So – I have to say I gave up on the series at this point, I was glad to see the boys got their sappy ending, but I really didn’t see investing more time in the series. Especially since I enjoy m/m so, so much more.

Audio
I got the audio book because – Thank God – it was narrated by a man – and the sample sounded excellent.

He did a terrific job! He does accents and emotions and doesn’t shy away from the sexy times either.

On the whole, I think the audio version makes the entire book more palatable, though less easy to skip over the stuff I wanted to skip.

I give the book a solid 3 for at least attempting to break out of the “norm” in her genre, the audio a 5 for being awesome, and an overall score of 4 for entertainment value.

4

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