Author: Renae Kaye
Narrator: Randy Fuller
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Run Time: 9 hours and 38 minutes
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: Those listeners familiar with Fuller’s other narrations will not be disappointed here.
Reviewed By: Mike
Blurb: Andrew and Paul learned about God and Jesus in different churches and realize their views of spirituality are worlds apart.
Andrew was raised Catholic and was told his homosexuality was a sin. For his entire life, he hid the truth. He married and had children to present a façade to the world—that of a straight man. It’s not until he has an affair with Paul, who shows him a different side of Jesus, that Andrew realizes he can be gay and still believe in God. Paul’s Jesus is one of acceptance and love, and in Paul’s church, being gay is not a problem.
For Paul and Andrew, falling in love is the easy part of their journey. They must make it through the fires of cheating, being discovered, Andrew’s wife leaving, the necessities of childcare and family life, the demands of their jobs, and working on their commitment to each other. Only then can they be safe in each other’s heart.
Review: Andrew is a married man who lives deeply in the closet because he wants to hang on to his children and even his marriage of inconvenience with a woman who has been in love with another man all through their marriage. Then there’s God and his family, both of which would cast him out if he reveals he’s gay, and the question of whether he could remain the youngest CEO of a mining company if he comes out.
Paul is an out and proud male nurse who loves his job, his family, and his band of friends. God has never been an issue for Paul since he was raised to believe God loves everyone, and everyone should be loved as is. When Paul meets Andrew in a gym shower during an illicit encounter, Paul isn’t sure why he’s drawn Andrew.
Andrew likes to keep his life in neat little boxes, and tells Paul this. But, the new and rapidly deepening connection between the men may be just what they both need. While wrestling with his true nature and needs, Andrew’s wife leaves him and their children without a second’s thought. He’s left with no choice but to involve Paul more deeply in his life.
Andrew’s assistant encourages the connection between the couple, and Andrew slowly dips his toes into coming out. Paul is added to the children’s school contact list so he can pick them up. Andrew’s personal assistant has known the two were falling in love for months. Longer than either of them realized, and the children accept Paul in their father’s life, without judgement.
As Andrew moves forward, trying to cobble a new life together with Paul, the journey out of the closet is not always easy and it threatens to sever their newly built ties. How they work through them is surprise to both of them, and to the reader. Listeners should note, this is the second book of the Safe series. It takes place in the same timeline as the first book, Safe in His Arms, and we get to meet some of the characters from that book in this story. This is not a sequel but a companion story, and a nice change from cliffhangers and contrived endings.
The narration by Randy Fuller is top notch. He does not try to put on fake accents but gives life to the characters with heartfelt delivery. The right emphasis is given to those parts of the story that have the most impact on plot, but no part of the story is treated as an afterthought. Fuller takes an interesting plot and makes it even more interesting by giving us a clear read that is properly paced. Those familiar with the M/M romance genre may be familiar with Fuller’s work. His spot-on deliveries make his narration one that many look forward to hearing.
This book is a definite buy. Kaye’s story is well plotted and does not rely on the other book in the series to give you a complete story. Fuller’s work here draws you in and keeps you involved in the story. Buy the book for the good story, stay for the impeccable delivery.
You can buy Safe in His Heart here:
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