Audio Review: Something’s Brewing at Joe’s by SJD Peterson ~ Narrated by Chase Johnson

Title: Something’s Brewing at Joe’s

Author: SJD Peterson

Narrator: Chase Johnson

Run Time: 7 hours and 30 minutes

At a Glance: I mostly liked this story, although some elements of the work part of it were a bit over the top for me.

Reviewed By: Sadonna

Blurb: The promise of a dream job lures Murphy to Tampa, but he arrives to the rude awakening that the offer is on hold. Now he’s got two choices: slink back to Michigan with his tail between his legs or stay and look for work. Things perk up when he goes into a coffee shop and learns the owner is looking for someone to renovate the apartment above it. He happily takes the job, only later realizing he’s met Joe Sterling, Kaffeinate’s proprietor, before… when they hooked up at a club Murphy’s first night in Tampa.

Murphy and Joe are both proud, passionate, and outspoken. Neither is looking for a relationship, though they can’t deny they go together as well as coffee and doughnuts, in spite of their tempers. But that’s before Joe learns Murphy will be working for the corporation he believes is harming local businesses and the environment—and if Murphy will be supporting it, Joe will want nothing to do with him, dooming any possibility of an unexpected happy ending.

Review: Murphy has moved to Florida for a job that turns out to not exactly be available for him when he arrives. He has to make a decision about either trying to find something else local, until the permit situation is rectified and he can start, or he has to go back to Michigan—which he REALLY doesn’t want to do.

While he’s making up his mind, he decides to get out and take his mind off things by hooking up on his first night in town. After getting situated in a motel, he heads out to find some fun. But, at the end of the day, it’s just a distraction, and the next day he goes about trying to locate some temporary work. At a cute coffee shop he discovers the next day, he lucks into the possibility of a place to stay in exchange for fixing the place up, and he decides to take a chance on the gig. Only to discover the owner is the hookup form the night before.

Joe’s surprised to see Murphy as much as Murphy is surprised to see Joe. But things seem to be going pretty well. That is until Joe finds out who, exactly, Murphy has moved to Florida to work for. Then he hits the roof. Both Murphy and Joe seem to have pretty short fuses, and Murphy doesn’t like being told what he can and can’t do any more than Joe likes the fact that Murphy seems to want to work for this company after Joe tells him what they are all about.

Without being spoilery, there is a LOT going on that neither Murphy nor Joe knows. Plot twist! There is definitely much more than meets the eye with Murphy’s new job and with his new company. Murphy really likes his job and his coworkers, and he doesn’t want to have to look for another job since he’s learning so much, but he’ll have to decide if it’s worth potentially losing Joe and his other newfound friends.

I mostly liked this story, although some elements of the work part of it were a bit over the top for me. The chemistry between Joe and Murphy is hot, hot, hot. This story is told in alternating points of view, which was well done. I also really liked Kallie and Jeremy from Kaffeinate, and Murphy’s coworkers.

Chase Johnson is a new to me narrator. I am on the fence about how I feel about his narration. While I liked his characterizations of Joe and Murphy, there is just something a little overwrought at various times in the story that, for me, detracted from the story.

You can buy Something’s Brewing at Joe’s here:
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