TPod

Engaging, Erotic, Excellent

Reviewed: 09-08-16

This was one of the finer performances I've listened to, and I've listened to many during my daily commute. Spencer Goss takes an already engrossing story with tight characterization and gives it even more dimension. His voices for Colin and Rafe are distinct and fraught with emotion (I laughed, I cried, et cetera, et cetera). When we last saw Colin in MIDDLE OF SOMEWHERE, he was a wholly unsympathetic character (an a-hole, really) until the big reveal at his father's funeral. Now author Roan Parrish gives Colin depth and a backstory, along with a wonderful love interest who comes with his own brand of depth and backstory. Spencer Goss takes those two and breathes life into them in a brilliant narration performance. Color me a fan.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Absolutely Fabulous!

Reviewed: 06-04-16

Loved loved loved this audiobook. I'd read the novel a year or so ago and liked it a lot, but decided to also purchase the audiobook more recently. So glad I did! Nicholas Boulton took Alexis Hall's great book and rich, complex characters and brought them to life. His performance is really one of the best ones I've listened to (and I regularly listen to audiobooks on my long commute). His Ash is alternately dry and passionate, fragile and brimming with untapped strength. His Darian is brash and charming, delightfully flamboyant--the perfect glittering foil to Ash's more staid and reserved self. So much to love about this book and these characters. But I would pay money to hear Boulton read the phone book, his voice is so nice and rich and delicious.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Story is very good, performance is great

Reviewed: 01-26-16

I'd bought this as an ebook, oh, a year ago or so and really enjoyed it, but wound up purchasing the audiobook more recently. I have to say that while the story Brandon Witt has written is very good, it's the reading performance that is spectacular. Andrew McFerrin does a tremendously good job not only with the narration (which some readers do not excel at), but manages to create and perform each character with a distinct voice.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Heartbreaking, Heartwarming, It's Got It All!

Reviewed: 05-15-15

For the most part, I consider Amy Lane an insta-buy and Sidecar (audiobook version) was certainly worth the money spent. Josiah and Casey's story is not your typical gay romance; Casey is a homeless teen and Josiah a noble, kind man not about to take advantage of a vulnerable youth, so they don't actually get together until many years after they meet. So their story is a long, winding one, set to a late 80's soundtrack (well, the chapter titles are 80's song titles, at least), taking the pair through their first meeting when Casey is a gay, homeless teen in need of a home and Josiah over 10 years his senior and with a home and caring heart to provide. While Casey would jump at the chance to have a sexual relationship with Joe, Joe refuses and focuses on healing Casey's pain, both physically and psychologically, jumping through hoops to ensure that Casey has a safe place and a future.

Sidecar winds through the decades, carrying Joe and Casey through heartache, heartbreak, and so many heartwarming moments, a meandering trip through the vast hills and valleys of love. The tale touches on what it means to be gay/bisexual in the 80s and 90s, what it means to be a father (because Joe very much is Casey's foster father for those first 6 years), and what it means to sacrifice for the one you love.

The audiobook performance by Chris Patton is tremendously good, with very distinct voices for Casey, Joe, and the other characters, emotional and evocative and, at times, just plain sexy. His Joe sounds like like I'd imagine him to, especially when he's cranky, and his Casey voice grows with the young man, high and vulnerable when he's an adolescent, and deeper and more confident as he ages.

There are very few audiobooks that I will wind up listening to again and this one just made that list.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

Warm and charming

Reviewed: 03-26-15

SUMMER SON was a delightful "gay dads" story, replete with heartwarming father/son interaction, romantic sexytimes between the protagonist and his love interest, and a tiny bit of peril in the form of a jerk of an ex-husband. Very few complaints about the storytelling, besides the use of Zane's former last name in legal documents, which could have put his life at risk. No attorney worth his/her salt would potentially undermine their own case by doing something so foolhardy. But perhaps that was the point, after all?

R.L. Davis' performance of the book was incredibly well done. His Zane voice had the right amount of husky sexiness as described in the book, and his female characters were a hoot. My only complaint with the performance was more of an editing issue -- there were several points in which the narration was re-recorded and it was inconsistent, sometimes in the middle of a paragraph or bit of dialogue. The effect was jarring. The same went for chapter introductions, although that wasn't as jarring as having what sounds like a different voice popping in at different points in the story for a sentence or two. I don't know if Mr. Davis literally called in his performance there? Otherwise, he did great and the sex scenes were steamy, steamy, steamy.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Sweet Gay Dad Story

Reviewed: 03-15-15

I had a few quibbles with how some plot points were addressed (Josh's age as a final year vet candidate, child protective services allowing defense counsel to know the exact whereabouts of a child in protective custody), but overall it was a sweet story with some nice sexy-times. Finn Sterling's performance was great, although his narration was a tiny bit bland (his Rex voice, however, dang near melted my panties off). It's hard for narrators to get Southern accents right, and Finn did a pretty darned good Kentucky accent, though it on occasion slipped into more of a Texas twang. Still panty-melting. :)

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful