Author: Karen Stivali
Narrator: Robert Nieman
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Run Time: 3 hours and 47 minutes
Category: Contemporary, New Adult
At a Glance: Robert Neiman’s voice is well suited to this book. He plays the characters well and gives the listener well defined characters who each have a distinct voice.
Reviewed By: Mike
Blurb: Collin expected to spend another summer fixing cars and working at the college pizzeria. Instead, he’s living in a beach house on Fire Island, waiting tables at a hip seaside restaurant and, for the first time since he and Tanner got together, they can publicly be known as boyfriends. Being “out” takes some getting used to, but with the help of new and old friends, Collin is happier than he ever imagined. And more in love. But newfound freedom brings unexpected challenges, and when friends get flirty, old insecurities arise. Moments of doubt and jealousy threaten their happiness, and Collin and Tanner must confront the truth or risk losing it all.
Review: This novella is a sequel. I did not read the first one, and I don’t feel like I missed out. This is a short listen but it is a complete story with a complete arc and conclusion.
Newly adult Collin and Tanner re exploring their relationship without a net Recently out Collin has been cut off and disowned by his family. Tanner has dated both girls and boys in the past, but his family has no issue with his sexuality. Instead of fixing cars and being comfortable over the summer, Collin finds himself on Fire Island in a shared rental house of people and friends from his boyfriend Tanner’s past.
Collin lands a job at a trendy restaurant, while the slightly older Tanner gets a job at the adjoining bar. Over the course of the story, we see the two lives growing together and apart as they maneuver their deepening relationship, would be rivals for their affections, and house intrigue that becomes explosive.
Collin and Tanner make choices older, more experienced men would probably not make, and they don’t fully talk out the issues they face as a couple because they don’t understand making assumptions about your partner is almost always a mistake. Tanner and Collin almost come to an end over this. The moment of truth, do they stay together or split apart?
Robert Neiman’s voice is well suited to this book. He plays the characters well and gives the listener well defined characters who each have a distinct voice. The story told gives him ample chances to win us over with his work. He conveys both the intensity of a new, first love, and the heartache that not being clear about your needs can cause. The subplots are given full service and help our MCs see the mistakes that can be made in relationships and the ways in which communication makes a relationship healthier.
The story is good and the narration is above average, but it is a short novella. If you have the time and the money, buy the audio. It’s a nice view of new and growing love, and the narrator treats the material well. Enjoy the words as they tell the story.
You can buy Moment of Truth here:
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