A gem I didn't know I had in my shelf!

Any additional comments?

**** 4,5 big guy stars ****

Audio edition, narrator Matt Baca.
8 hours 12 minutes


Overall: 4,5
Performance: 5
Story: 4

This was such a gem hidden away among my shelves! I'm so happy I finally got around to listen to it!

A beautiful, slow burn love story mixed with a family theme. The story had so much going for it!

Loved Dean and Anthony. They were so different, but perfect for each other. I appreciated nothing was rushed into. I also liked Anthony's family. Their interactions and conversations were true and genuine. I liked reading about Mia, Anthony's sister and Cody. It was a little touch that made the whole book just sweeter. I honestly could have done without Rick "the prick", Anthony's ex-boyfriend. I'm not sure it added to the story. It made for some light angst, but that story line could easily have been dropped from the book, really. It would have been enough with getting to know Dean, Nicky, Anthony and his family.

I was also introduced to Aaron Weiss, Dean's army buddy, who is the main character of book 2 "The Only Guy."

Narration:
Matt Baca is a new to me narrator. He did an awesome job, and I'm really impressed! He did all the voices, and the narrated sex scenes were really hot.
Very well done, Baca!

I'm so looking forward to start the second book! Recommended!

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1 person found this helpful

Good but not special

Not the best book but still, if you are looking for a sweet story to lose yourself in for a couple of hours it is worth your credit.

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Bad Title. Good Story.

The story was far better than the cover and title. It was actually a sweet read with an opposites attract theme. There was minimal angst and a cast of strong secondary characters, both contributing to a solid story. The narrator does a good job, bringing out the emotions in the characters. Worth a credit.

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Everything He's Never Had

Dean has one path and he's been following it for years. Keep his head down and don't get involved. But his niece Nicki has shaken all of that to the core. Anthony represents everything that Dean has been denied in life. We know it really depends on how willing Dean is to open himself up to the possibility of a whole new way of life.

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Riva got it right.

Riva, a fellow reviewer who's taste I've begun to trust, got it right. A comfort read. Sweet story about an unlikely pair who get together against the odds. Light, comforting albeit just a little frivolous - but then, isn't that what we want from the genre?

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Ugly Cover But a GREAT BOOK!

I didn't quite understand the name. That is why I passed it up several times. Now I get it Glamour is the name of a town not a prissy beauty school. This was actually well written a story about a man in the military who has to leave to care for his niece and the guidance counsellor who takes her in. The narration was great especially the sibling bickering. I downloaded the next edition @audible and plan on reading the last book since it's not offered as an audiobook. I hope you give this more a modern cover. The teacher in his hot glasses and the giant pilot gazing at each other. Just saying.

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4 people found this helpful

Good story!

Any additional comments?

Matt Baca has the most sweetest voice ever! He sounds so d@mn adorable, which would fit for a novel about a teenager. For this story, his voice just did not match the main characters and I could not listen to the erotic scenes at all. LOL.

Now, the story was decent and I was entertained, plus Matt Baca is a fabulous performer. But for this story, it sounded like a teenager playing grown-up.

Anyway, good story.

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3 people found this helpful

Wonderful series expertly narrated

Dean gets called from active duty in Afghanistan to return to Arizona when his sister is killed to take charge of his 13 year-old niece. He’s totally freaked out because he really doesn’t want to A) leave the military B) raise a teenaged girl C) live in Arizona.

Then he meets Anthony, his niece’s guidance counselor and realizes that he is A) in over his head B) very attracted to Anthony.

Dean doesn’t have many social skills, he’s used to the military and hidden, hard, fast screwing as a means to release and he really doesn’t know how to handle things like “lovemaking”, feelings, or parenthood.

Dean was in foster care as a child, so he decides he can’t abandon his niece to the system and decides to leave the military to raise her. He works with Anthony to make this happen.

Anthony, who was used by his last boyfriend and left hung out to dry, is kind of a mess, but he really, really likes Dean and his niece, so he agrees to form a “no strings” relationship with Dean. He schools Dean both on “slow, tender, the-end-isn’t-important-it’s-the-journey” romance and tips to raise a teenager.

In the end, Anthony thinks he must sacrifice his family for Dean’s career. Dean has to confront his feelings and be willing to “come out” to his niece and accept a new life, without the military. We get a terrifically sweet HEA here and a glimpse of the pair in the future in the sequel!

**
Dean is sweet, closed off, hard to reach, but in the end very warm. I loved watching Anthony “train” him in the ways of tender lovemaking. I also enjoyed Anthony’s sisters, they were a hoot!

Anthony was the weakest character, but he did provide an interesting contrast in that he was kind of spineless out in the world, but totally owned things in the bedroom. In the end, he was the perfect foil for Dean.

I had originally rated this as a 3.5 when I first read it, but upon re-reading/listening to this, I upgraded it to a 4.5. I don’t know if it was the sequel, wherein everything is far more stable that convinced me, but I really enjoyed this book more knowing what I know about them in the future.



Audio

Matt Baca (previously from Into this River I Drown) did a great job. He didn’t do too much with the voices, but Dean had a nice rumbly voice and Anthony wasn’t done in any over-the-top gay-boy voice. The sisters had a vaguely Brooklyn type lilt that suited them well. I enjoyed his narration very much. 4.5 of 5 stars.

Overall 4.5 stars

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2 people found this helpful

A sweet book

What aspect of Matt Baca’s performance would you have changed?

He was a bit "reader-y" in spots, but he has a lot of great potential as a narrator. He did good voices and distinguished the characters nicely.

Any additional comments?

It was a sweet book, but (and I very rarely say this) it should have been shorter. The plot line and writing just didn't hold up well for 8 hours of listening, and I felt it was just kind of dragging on when I got to hour 5 or so.

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Sweet comfort read

This is a great comfort read. Dean is a Special Forces soldier who is forced to take a hardship discharge in order to take care of his niece when his sister unexpectedly dies. He travels to the small town of Glamour, AZ and meets Anthony, the local guidance counselor. One of the best things about this book is Anthony’s family; a big Italian family that loves and supports each other fiercely. It is always great to see that in an mm romance. Dean on the other hand has past demons he is trying to conquer. He was not “out” in the army and has a hard time adjusting to civilian life and his feelings for Anthony; he doesn’t think he is worthy of someone as beautiful and good as Anthony. The narrator does an amazing job. He has great voices and really brings emotions to the characters. There is a little angst and not a lot of drams. Overall, worth a credit.

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4 people found this helpful