Fun and sweet

Sweet and fun story that made me swoon, smile, and fall in love. The characters were fun and adorable, with great chemistry... The story had drama , humor, and romance. The narration was well done and added entertainment value to the experience. Definitely a recommendation!

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3-3.5 stars for the story, 4 stars for the narration so I'm rounding up

Family Man marks the first time I’ve read a book by either of these authors, as well as the first time I’ve listened to this narrator. Gay-for-you/ out-for-you stories are always tricky for me but between the sample and positive reviews, I decided to give it a chance. Overall, Family Man was a good story with a very good narrator. While there were a few plot details that gave me pause, it was the execution and writing style that I struggled with most.

A May-December gay-for-you romance, Family Man had plenty of sweet moments between the characters and with secondary characters, while also offering some angsty issues Vinnie and Trey had to work through. I really liked the approach of the younger man being out and the older hero having the sexual identity awakening. I also liked that this was a slow burn, virgin romance because it gave both men time to develop before wading into physical intimacy, which inevitably made it more believable. The narrator did a good job injecting personality into his performance and it was easy to differentiate between characters, and all in all Family Man was an enjoyable listen.

Despite the unique characters, interesting storylines, and good narrator, the writing style felt stilted with awkward transitions. This wasn’t helped by each character’s point-of-view written in a different perspective. I don’t have a first person vs third person preference when it comes to reading, but Family Man is the first book I remember both used, with Vinnie’s side written in third person and Trey in first person. I’m not sure whether this was a co-writing thing, but it did seem clear when one author picked up and stopped again, and generally left the book feeling disjointed. That said, the story was a good one and the narrator definitely kept me engaged. I think Family Man is worth trying for fans of gay-for-you stories because it is pretty unique in regards to that trope.

*Reviewed for Alpha Book Club*

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it was great

i like this book a lot you will not be disappointed i have to say i love this one

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Good story

I liked it but Trays character kinda got on my nerves but very sweet romance.

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If at first you don't succeed try, try again.

Thrice divorced, Vinnie is trying to figure out who he is when Trey dances his way under his skin. What starts out as exploration develops into something more like soul searching. And when push comes to shove, Vinnie is determined to go the distance. Now if he could only get Trey to agree with the plan.

This story was the perfect balance of intrigue, angst, romance and just enough humor to balance out the underlying seriousness within the story. It flowed really well from one chapter to the next and kept me completely engaged from start to finish. Narration stayed in line with the story and Darcy conveyed the characters exactly how I pictured them in my head.

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Great Story

Had a hard time listening to the narrator. He was great as Trey not so much as Vinnie.

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Family Man

Alright... Can we talk about the Audio for a minute, before we get into the book... This book is not really a comedy, but something about the narrators voice Mixed with Vinny's character was just amusing to me and I could not stop smiling. I Also found myself laughing out loud during inappropriate times during this book, that weren't really supposed to be funny. It was almost like the narrator was trying to get into character and make Vinny into a Macho Italian New Yorker with the accent, but it didn't fully come across the whole time. Idk, maybe it was just me and my opinion, but it really made this book A Lot more Fun and interesting to listen to, since I wasn't quite sure what to expect from one minute to the next even though I had previously read this book. The first time for me with this narrator Colin Darcy and I look forward to seeing what else he's got for us.

Now... The Book.... I've read this one before, and liked it which is no surprise since these Authors are both fantastic at what they do individually as well as when they Collaborate books together. The only odd thing is the characters switch off between one point of view to another when talking, but the story is so well written its not a big deal where it could be if this was coming from different authors, it actually works for this book.

We have a late 30's Macho Italian man Vinny, with a Huge Family *Add in all Large Italian, Catholic Family & "Guido" Stereotypes* (which is NOT meant in a mean way at all, it is just describing his character and backstory *Think Jersey Shore*) Vinny is coming out as a "first time gay" even though he did mostly know he was, but was just denying his real feelings for years, being with and marrying women like he thought he was "supposed" to do. We also get sweet Trey who has an unbelievable amount of Angst ridden and Depressingly sad baggage he has to deal with daily in his life, which leaves him still a Virgin in his early 20's just trying to make it through life day by day. I absolutely love that even though they are both realizing their feelings together and for each other, Its not an instant-love story and they don't just jump into bed together. We get a real book here with actual feelings and romance, all drama and angst and family issues included with some slight twists thrown in. I would highly recommend reading this one.. And getting this book in audio too is just an added bonus, cause it was pretty great.

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17 people found this helpful

Fantastic Narration

A great story with an even better narrator.

Colin Darcy narrated it so well I felt like I was in Little Italy, Chicago. It was absolutely great.

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So glad to see this as an audio - Darcy is great!

This was a wonderful book and I’d read it several time and have found something new to appreciate with each new read.

This time, as a listen, I got the joy of the new narrator – he’s AWESOME – as well as the appreciation that the slowing down and listening to a story really brings.

I think, what this time ‘round has shown me, is that this book really works as a coming of age book that happens to have a lot of romance in it. Both of our MCs are really growing in this story and their coming together helps with that growth, but isn’t necessarily the main or only cause of that growth.

I loved how Colin Darcy portrayed Vinnie – he felt spot on to me! It was wonderful! He also really shone in his ability to handle the emotional saga between Trey and his mom. He had me in tears! Really well done and highly recommeneded!

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1 person found this helpful

Sweet & Romantic

The only flaw I could see was the narrator's accent for the Fieros. He tried for an Italian accent, but feel into a Spanish accent throughout the book. This would barely be worth mentioning if the story didn't revolve so heavily around the characters' "Italianess." Because of this, though, it was, at times, jarring.

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