Distressing

I had a difficult time getting through this book. I don't like mind control stories and they were horribly betrayed by someone they trusted. The loss Ben suffered was egregious. It's going to be hard to continue the series but I already bought the audiobooks after the last book. I didn't understand why they kept nattering on about whether or not they were gay. They love each other so what difference does it make. Why does it need a label? The performance by Gary Furlong was spot on.

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When resort vacations go bad!

With Ben and Nik, even a restful vacay on a lovely beach on a tropical isle turns into murder, action, plots, and a lot of near fatal events—plus a bit of their own mysticism, and hot sex, of course. It’s just a complex and wonderful concoction that adds up to a great read. Or a great listen, in this case, with Gary Furlong doing an amazing job.

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This just keeps getting better

These 2 guys just can't stay out of trouble lol. The beginning contains a lot of humor, the middle is heart wrenching, the end is typical Nik and Ben. The narrator is fabulous as usual.

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Continues to be 5 stars!

This Other Country is the fourth book in John Wiltshire’s More Heat Than the Sun series. These books follow the same couple and each book builds off some events from previous ones. While this is a complete story and could be enjoyed on it’s own, I’d definitely recommend starting with Love is a Stranger. It’s possible this review contains spoilers to earlier books.

These continue to get better and better. Partially because I’ve come to know Ben & Nik and love their truly twisted yet perfect for them relationship. Contrasting that is Wiltshire’s ability to surprise me with where the story is going. I honestly have no clue what’s going to happen and enjoy every minute of it. Her sense of humor is at times joyful and others completely dark. Then she drags Nik & Ben into a trope that other authors would struggle to keep out of being ridiculous but instead unfolds into a horror that kept me feeling like they might actually not make it to the other side. (despite, of course, knowing there’s four more books)

The most difficult part is that so many events build off each other that it’s hard to give many details without spoiling. They go undercover at a retreat for gay couples to discover what happened to Squeezy’s nephew. With other attendees they discover all is not as it seems. Both men have to be saved but in completely different ways. There’s a betrayal from someone very close to them. And old friends from previous missions are back. Then… there is the physical relationship which continues to burn up the sheets. And the kitchen. And the stable. And… It was a sexy and emotional ride that I didn’t want to stop. Fortunately, there’s more Nik & Ben in book 5, The Bruise-Black Sky.

Narration:
Gary Furlong continues to be impeccable. His voices and accents for characters are consistent book to book and it makes it so easy to binge these as well as jump back in if (like me!) there’s a few months between books.

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Great story. Great narration.

My favorite stories which happen to fall into the romance genre tend to be series about couples who are moving through the challenges of life together. This book reminded me why I prefer that type of story. New love can create a beautiful story, but holding onto love is an adventure. The relationship between Nikolas and Ben is constantly under pressure throughout the series, and this book takes a closer look at how they view their relationship.

Unlike the earlier books with multiple parts, this story has one main plotline that places Ben and Nikolas into a scenario where they find themselves surrounded by troubled gay men trying to find their own peace. Naturally, since neither Ben nor Nikolas are gay, they can maintain their emotional distance and help others in need. Yeah. Right. Sure.

The author does a wonderful job of utilizing the plot of this book to delve into how Ben and Nikolas perceive their respective places in their relationship and the emotions they experience through each challenge they overcome. Once again Gary Furlong's performance enhances the emotional experiences that Ben and Nikolas work through to try and stay connected to one another.

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1 person found this helpful

No spoilers

This is my favorite book in the series so far.
More relationship dynamics than previous books. In a good way.
Optimistic ending.

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enjoyed it

John Wiltshire is an unknown author for me. I picked up this series because I was looking for another long series (more than 5 books) revolving around the same characters and something a little "gritty" - it was a bonus that it was narrated by Gary Furlong. My overall comments are reflective of the whole 9 books, because I feel the 9 books are well worth the investment and it's been a very long time since I finished a series and went straight back to the beginning to listen again. 👍👍

Each book has a good pace and builds on events from the previous book as time progresses through the 14 years Ben & Nickolas are together, I was taken on a roller coaster ride of the best parts of an action/adventure movie, ran the full gamut of emotions and while the character development was subtle, it was well written and builds a relationship with a solid foundation that can withstand any force thrown its way.

Despite certain elements of some of the books not being to my liking, I was completely emersed in the stories, entertained from beginning to end and will definitely look for more from this author in the future.

*** my comments contain spoilers ***
📖 Story comment: This Other Country: i'm on the fence with some of the events in this one, I enjoyed the way Ben & Nik were forced to look a their relationship and I enjoyed the early banter/humor, but wasn't happy with the direction the Kate storyline went and I got a little tired of the "were not gay" (why does it need a label anyway?), but all that being said - i'm so hooked on these two I think it would not be possible to quit now!

🎧 Narrator comment: I enjoyed Gary Furlong's narration, he suits the characters, has good cadence, inflections and intonations and it's easy to distinguish the characters from each other. Overall an enjoyable performance and he bought the characters of the book to life

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Note to self ... the lack of lube drove me nuts ... 9 books and only one instance of "gun oil" to ease the way?

📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough [3⭐] • 5 enjoyed it [4⭐] • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]

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Heartache

I'm still trying to piece together my review and feelings for this book, and I decided this will be my last read of this series. 😳 The first half was interesting and funny, typical Ben and Nic shenanigans but then the floor dropped out the last half of the book.
Based on my feelings during this read I decided to look at the blurbs and reviews on the next books in the series and I'm not interested in more heartache 💔 and frustration 😤....
These last couple of books have had so much drama involved with Ben going off on his own, both the last book and this one. Thank God Nik is such a strong person because otherwise I think Ben would just be too much trouble for the average person, beautiful or not.
I loved all the side characters besides Kate 😡 who came together to help Nik and Ben. What Kate did was unconscionable 😠 especially being Ben was in such a vulnerable state!!!!! My heart was shredded for Nicholas. 😱
I was just happy the author didn't go into to great detail about the unscrupulous act.
Another thing that annoyed me was the denial about being gay throughout most the book, both seemed to be so worried about other peoples opinions! At the end that got resolved ❤ but you always feel like one or the other person is holding back.
I would like to continue on this series but I don't feel I have the strong heart and patience I need to get through what the author has in store for the future of Nik and Ben, I just can't see why they can't solve problems in the future without hurting and tearing each other apart!?!?! One of my favorite books in the series was [book:The Bridge of Silver Wings|56143416], Ben and Nic were working together to get out of a bad situation. 👏 Why can't the other books be similar?
I believe I'm one of the few who didn't love this book so please don't let me discourage you, I just don't have the heart to go through more heart ache for this couple, even though they seemed to end up stronger and more bonded than before. I just can't.....

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