Matthew Nation

I'm conflicted

Revisado: 10-09-23

This was not bad by any means, but not a great follow up to the author's previous book. While the two books are not related in any way, this one felt more commercial and generic than his debut. Again, this isn't bad, but just kind of misses the mark. I do love the ending, but I feel like the journey there was a bit bumpy and the message of the story gets lost along the way. It's worth a listen but I probably won't want to listen to it again any time soon. The narrator did a phenomenal job. I've heard him narrate several other books and he never disappoints. I look forward to the author's next book but hope he can at least find a good balance from this book and his first.

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A great story!

Revisado: 06-26-23

This story made me laugh, cry, and so much more. The chemistry between Andrew and Jamie was amazing and very well developed. The voice actors really gave them the treatment the characters deserved. The story itself is gripping and never leaves you bored. I couldn't stop listening! If I had to nitpick something, it would be the antagonist of the story. Only because they come in after the halfway mark and don't have a lot to do with the overall story. Yes, they get involved more towards the end, but I feel like the story didn't need an antagonist, honestly. Or the author could have added them sooner so we could get a real sense of the threat they actually posed. But like I said, that is a nitpick on my part. Overall, it was very enjoyable and a great gay love story that felt genuine. I look forward to more from this author, especially if there is a sequel.

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I'm Conflicted

Revisado: 06-01-23

So, fair warning. There will be mild spoilers in my review. I really want to like this, and I don't hate it. The narrator was amazing! Hands down the best part of the experience. The story... well, it leaves A LOT to be desired. While I understand why the characters do and say the things they do, that doesn't make it feel natural if that makes any sense. There is a scene in which the main character, Max, is with his best friend, and he randomly gets VERY petty and acts like a jerk. Again, I understand why he felt the way he did, but his actions make him completely unlikable. And he has a lot of moments where he does or says things throughout that made me feel the same way. I don't hate his character overall, but it felt like the author was trying to make him truly unlikable. The love interest, Jasper,... I'm just going to be blunt about it. He is very toxic and overall bland. Again, I get why he acts like he does, but... that doesn't justify his behavior. If there had been a part where he redeemed himself, I would feel differently, but sadly, he never really grows by the end of the story. Also, the twist villain towards the end was not a great twist at all. While I didn't see it coming, the motivation for their bad ways is just... meh. And the resolution to the conflict just kind of happens... and then it's time for the story to end. To be fair, this book has a lot of funny lines and good character moments. However, the not so good stuff weighs it down and makes it less than what it could be. Not awful by any means, but it definitely could have used another round of edits before being published. Some may love it, and I hope there are people out there who do.

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Loved this book!

Revisado: 05-04-23

First of all, the voice actors did a phenomenal job! I've heard them on other audiobooks and love the dedication and care they put into their performances. I walked into this one not knowing if I would like it or not, but honestly, I loved every minute of it. The dynamics of the characters and the internal struggles of both leads make them likable and relatable. The story is nothing too deep, but just deep enough to make you tear up every now and then. I would totally recommend this book to anyone who loves a cozy romance. 5 out of 5 for me!

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Beautiful!

Revisado: 03-21-23

As a huge fan of "The Little Mermaid," I walked into this book with some skepticism. However, this book exceeded all my expectations. This does have scenes from the 1989 movie throughout and are word for word the same in most cases. But with the addition of more time for Eric and Ariel to develop a real relationship and bond with one another. Also, I'm glad the author gave some detail about Ursula's time disguised as Vanessa. The scenes where she has Eric hypnotized are truly wonderfully written and engaging. The scenes from the movie are also told from Eric's POV and are expanded upon which warms my heart. That being said, the books does have some faults. The new side characters added aren't completely fleshed out to where they feel necessary to the main plot. They are fine and don't hurt anything, but I feel like a little more time could have been taken to make them more important than they ended up being. But to be clear, this is Eric's story not theirs, so I can give it a pass. My last real nitpick would that while the overall story is great, sometimes it felt like the author had a hard time balancing the new scenes that were not in the movie and the ones from the movie. Sometimes they awkwardly transitioned into one another to where it pulled me out of the story. Again, overall, this is a great book and is beautifully written, but a few things could have been tweaked in the last round of edits to make it perfect. To all the other "The Little Mermaid" fans, I recommend this book to you all.

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Good ending to a good trilogy

Revisado: 03-11-23

While the true strengths are in the first half of this last installment, this and the two books that came before it are wonderfully written and engaging. The narrator did a phenomenal job. While I won't spoil anything, there were some creative decisions made in the second half of the book that felt forced. And the twist towards the end was highly predictable. That being said, the writing is amazing. The author can paint a very vivid picture with her words and definitely made 3 dimensional characters throughout that all have their own distinct personalities. Wonderful read. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good retelling of a classic story.

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Missed the Mark

Revisado: 02-26-23

So, this book is a bit of a mess. There are a lot of fantastic character moments and beautifully written scenes throughout. The narrator did an amazing job telling the story. There were some audio issues randomly throughout but that's okay. There weren't so many it was a huge distraction. However, the biggest issue with this book is the fact the plot is very weak. It felt as though the author was trying to tell a story and ran out of ideas for the plot, and had to put in a ton of filler that doesn't seem necessary and almost contradicts the elements of the main plot. Several things happen that I won't put out there to spoil anything. But a lot of the things that happen don't move the plot forward and don't really make a difference of your opinions of the characters. I also feel like the last chapter should have been cut, but I understand why it was kept. I felt like if the story had ended one chapter earlier, the ending wouldn't be as happy but it would be more realistic and in a way more satisfying. Like I said though, this book does have a lot of good things in it and it is a decent read overall. There are just some things that could have been fixed in the editing process.

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Wonderful book!

Revisado: 09-07-22

I truly loved this story from beginning to end. The characters are loveable and unique. The romance between Alex and Henry is done masterfully. The raw emotion between these two warmed my heart over and over again. This book is now one of my favorites.

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Well Done!

Revisado: 10-07-21

The Queen of Hearts grows as a character and is far less bratty is this sequel. The twists were sometimes predictable, but still good nonetheless. The narrator is very compelling to listen to as well. Overall, brilliant sequel! I can't wait to read the last book!

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Worth the listen but so much lost potential

Revisado: 03-19-21

I walked into this story expecting a generic love story between two men. However, I got a lot more.

Let me be clear. I didn't pick this audio book because I thought it would be awful, but because I hoped it be better than a generic Hallmark movie at Christmas time.

Cons about this book: There are a couple tense shifts throughout. You have to really pay attention to miss them. The tense is past but sometimes becomes present.

The love interest, Aiden or Sean, is very bland and basically a cardboard cutout of every hunky man you've seen on t.v. or the movies. The only thing we know about him is his job and we get a small bit of back story about his family not accepting him for being gay. That's all. I'm sorry the cat the family acknowledges is grumpy and hates people, likes him. Sadly the cat never comes back into the story, so I'm not really sure what real purpose it served other than to shove down our throats that Aiden is a good guy.

There should have been a few more chapters so this story would feel complete. We have an intense scene of revelation between Aiden and the sister that she has hired him to be her boyfriend to appease her parents. Right before that, Miles and Aiden talk and kiss but for obvious reasons, Miles is upset with Aiden and storms off. They completely cut to the next day and Miles just mentions his sister explaining everything in passing. There are a lot of instances like this in the story. I don't know if it was self published or taken on by a major publisher, but there are missing parts of the story I would have preferred to have shown to me than told.

Lastly, I can tell this story was written by women and not by gay men. That isn't anything personal. My point is this. This story was written by women who have certain ideas about how gay men function and how they fall in love. This was not a bad representation of gay men, but could have been more realistic.

Pros: Miles is funny, charming and witty. He is a compelling main character in every way you could imagine. The story should have been told strictly in his POV. Again, I don't know who had the final say in the matter and I also understand a lot of books take multiple POV's but Miles could have saved the book if it was just his POV we saw.

The ending is heartwarming. I'm glad that the characters get their happily ever after. It does feel a bit forced for the sake of the story, but still good nonetheless.

They don't use the fact Miles is gay as a plot line. Too many times I see where the delimma is the character is gay and hasn't come out to their family yet. That works for some story lines but this one it wouldn't have so I'm glad the authors didn't take that route.

Overall, nothing truly memorable or fantastic, but still worth a listen if you love a cliche love story between two men. It is better than a Hallmark movie for sure.

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