Shying Away Audiobook By Kate Sherwood cover art

Shying Away

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Shying Away

By: Kate Sherwood
Narrated by: Robert Nieman
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Quinn Donahue will do anyone once, so when Aaron Miller spots Quinn making his moves in a Vancouver gay bar, Aaron thinks he's found just the guy to relieve him of his unwanted virginity. Quinn, however, has apparently decided to make an exception to his usual open-bed policy. He may be an unrepentant connoisseur of one-night stands, but he's not going to disappoint a sweet kid like Aaron by giving him a hot night and then leaving while the sheets are still warm.

After Quinn takes a job at Aaron's family horse farm, Aaron spots both the demons and the decency that drive Quinn's frequent brush-offs, and it makes Aaron want him even more. But Quinn is determined that Aaron won't go home with a man who doesn't deserve him, so he starts sending likely candidates Aaron's way. It takes a grim act of sacrifice for Aaron to realize exactly why Quinn's been so skittish, and he’ll have to keep a firm grip on the man of his dreams to keep Quinn from shying away.

©2011 Kate Sherwood (P)2012 Kate Sherwood Contemporary Literature & Fiction Romance Westerns
Engaging Storyline • Well-developed Characters • Sexy Voice • Heartwarming Romance • Intriguing Plot
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This was a sweet, feel good story, but really was nothing special. Pretty predictable, but still worth a listen. 3.5 for the story and 4.5 for the narrator, he was pretty good. He is the same narrator as Clear Water by Amy Lane. He has a very young voice; like a Californian club kid. It can be annoying to some, but it is perfect for the young characters in the story. He doesn't have a lot of diversity in his voices but he does give emotion to the voices he does.

Sweet and predictable

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First, I must say I absolutely love anything read by Ronald Nieman. He could read the phone book to me in a foreign language, and I would never stop listening. Combine that with the great story line of this book, and I was entertained for hours within a few days as I listened and worked on my property. I recommend absolutely if anyone likes this style of story, by all means get the audiobook.

Great story, delivered delightfully…

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The story was cute, I liked the characters. The ending was a little abrupt to me and stuff didn't really feel resolved. I've never heard an audio book with music between each chapter and I didn't really like it. The narrator had little variation between characters and his reading seemed rushed, with the sentences running together. Altogether though, a decent production.

Shying Away

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Kate Sherwood is a wonderful writer. Her main characters are realistic, she doesn't neglect the minor characters, and the amount of romance, angst and sex are well-balanced.
Quinn starts out pretty unlikeable, but it's not long before it becomes clear that he is a sympathetic and ultimately good-hearted character who has had to take on the weight of a family tragedy at too young of an age.
And who could not fall in love with Aaron, who turns out to be exactly the right combination of innocent and gutsy to pull Quinn out of his self-punishment and let him feel worthy of love?
I cannot possibly be complimentary enough for the narrator. He brings this story to life, and truthfully, I could listen to him read forever - I will probably purchase anything he is narrating!

Perfect Voice for Characters

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After the first three chapters I was ready to return this book. I hung on mainly because I listen while on my rather long commute. The book takes a few chapters to get going, and then it's rather good. I would advise the author, if an engineer is going to try to fix a diesel tractor, he might know it has no coil or spark plugs before he "works" on them. Silly but it sort of jammed the chapter. Other then a few bumps, pretty decent. Give the narrator a chance. He eventually fits the characters, in a good way.

Better then expectef

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First of all, I bought this book solely because of the narrator, Robert Nieman. He is not featured a lot on audible.com, but his narration is spectacular. I found the characters to be very good but the story around them slow, even tedious in places. That's OK, but combined with sex which at times is OK, but mostly tepid, did not help. The basic love story and sex aside, the side stories especially involving Quinn seemed contrived, unnecessary or even kind of over the top or just plain awkward and not feeling very natural. Oh, and let us not forget, the ending was not to my liking, abrupt and just not as satisfying as I would have liked.


Frustrating

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If you could sum up Shying Away in three words, what would they be?

Sweet love story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This book was full of great characters. I'd have to go with Aaron's brother, who was supportive and awesome.

What does Robert Nieman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Robert Nieman is one of the best narrators I've come across on Audible, without a doubt the best m/m narrator. He has a voice you want to listen to forever, but he also knows how to read a book. I would purchase any book he read, regardless of what it was, because I thought he was so talented.

FANTASTIC Narrator for great book!

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Would you listen to Shying Away again? Why?

Yes, because it's a tender story about coming of age and I love the voice of the guy telling the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shying Away?

When they have sex in the shed.

What about Robert Nieman’s performance did you like?

His voice is very sexy....

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Love, sex & horses.

Any additional comments?

The sex could be more graphic.

Great Love Story

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Well written story for the most part. I liked that Kate Sherwood was able to portray both sympathetic and very unlikeable characters, i.e, Aaron's dad, at least Quinn's dad had a reason for being a jerk. Some of the psychology was dismissive of trauma, which I didn't like.
Robert Nieman is able to portray young men very well. He also did a very good job of the family scene in the bar. Some of the pauses in his narration were rather odd, like he had gotten to the bottom of the page and had to pause to turn the page.
Recommended as a short(ish) easy listen.

Sweet Romance

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Shying Away at first seems to be all about forbidden and pining love, but it’s so much more. It’s about acceptance, family, and redemption. I really enjoyed the story which focused on the growth and development of the two main characters as they figure out how to love each other and love themselves. This was a beautiful story that was really intriguing. The audiobook was narrated and produced very well, and I enjoyed my listening experience.

Second Chance to Find Love

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