Title: Love Me Tomorrow
Author: Ethan Day
Narrator: Jason Frazier
Publisher: Self-Published
Run Time: 8 hours and 5 minutes
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: I enjoyed Love Me Tomorrow for combining the fairy tale fantasy romance of recognizing “the one” at first sight with the reality of how complicated emotions and relationship can be. And though this is my first book narrated by Jason Frazier, it definitely won’t be my last.
Reviewed By: Jovan
Blurb: Event planner Levi Goode is positioned to inherit the newly vacated throne, becoming the in-demand party planner for Wilde City’s elite. Years of hard work and perseverance are finally paying off as Levi lands his next big fish: working with socialite Julia Freeman-Kingsley.
Distracted by work and dealing with his headstrong mother, an ex-Vegas showgirl suffering from debilitating health issues, Levi has his hands full. Time for love or even the occasional one-night stand is one aspect of life Levi hasn’t been able to master.
Sparks of interest fly during a chance meeting with a paramedic called to the aid of his mother, and thanks to Ruby’s meddling, Levi finds himself on a movie date with the handsome paramedic, Jake.
Personal and professional worlds collide when Levi realizes his new love interest is actually Jake Freeman, estranged brother to his brand new client. Discovering the man of his dreams already has a boyfriend leaves Levi stunned, realizing any hopes he had for something more with Jake were never going to be anything more than wishful thinking.
Struggling to downshift his expectations and remain friends with Jake while continuing to work closely with Julia quickly consumes all his time and attention. Wondering if there will ever be a special someone to love him is where Levi’s love story begins.
Review: Levi is an event planner who loves bringing happiness and joy to others, in his small way, and is great at what he does; unfortunately, the same can’t be said for his personal life. Not into casual sex, Levi wonders if he’ll ever find a lasting love when he is blindsided by his insane response to Jake, the paramedic who responded when Levi’s mother had a fall. After a movie date, Levi is convinced that Jake is the one he’s been waiting for, but is hurt and distressed when he finds out Jake is practically married. Although Levi initially turns down Jake’s overture of friendship, the two end up spending time together as Levi plans Jake’s sister’s anniversary party. As the two become close, their bond, camaraderie and acceptance of one another highlights what Levi has always wanted in a partner and what Jake hadn’t realized he was missing in his relationship.
Love Me Tomorrow is an interesting story about the complexity of love and human nature, and makes the reader ask, “What would you do if you felt an instant connection to ‘the one’, but discover they’re taken? What do you consider cheating? Is emotional cheating as bad as physical cheating? Is it cheating to fall in love with someone when you’ve convinced yourself you just want to be friends?” The answers to those questions and how you feel about emotionally complicated and messy romance stories will affect your enjoyment of this story.
What I liked most about this story is how messy the relationships are, and not just that Jake has a partner but for all the characters. For example, Levi’s mother lived a very free-styling life and encourages her son to basically be a homewrecker, because true love trumps all. Not your typical romance fair, neither is the fact that Levi is physically attracted to other people. The MCs aren’t put into a bubble in which they only have eyes and physical responses to one another. Moreover, Jake’s partner, Victor, isn’t made out to be some ogre who doesn’t appreciate how wonderful Jake is, nor is Jake an overly loyal martyr who stands by his jerk boyfriend no matter what. Victor and Jake just grew apart and want other things. They met when they were younger, different people and no longer fit, even though they still care about each other; it’s not overly dramatic, but it’s real and honest.
For better or worse, Jake is also very real in his handling of the situation. He goes on a date with Levi, knowing Levi is into him, and although he apologizes, he still presses to be Levi’s friend. Jake may not know the white picket fences and HEAs Levi was spinning in his mind from the moment they met, but he knows Levi is attracted to him and that he is attracted to Levi. Jake’s a good guy but is very human in his selfish desire to want Levi in his life without having to make any tough choices. Although the story sounds like it would be all high angst and drama, it is balanced out by the different personalities and relationships the MCs have with the secondary characters; there is plenty of snark, banter and an overly vulgar BF all portrayed wonderfully by Jason Frazier.
A large part of my enjoyment for the story came from Frazier’s voice work. Jake could have easily come across as “the nice guy in sheep’s clothing”—where the author wants to portray him as a good guy, but his behavior at times contradicts the accolades he gets from the characters. However, Frazier brings Jake’s indecision, denial and confusion to life, making his actions much more understandable. Additionally, there is a decent cast of male and female characters, and Frazier does an excellent job making them all distinct and unique. His pacing is very good and keeps some of the longer segments of historical/building expositional detail from feeling too boring, helps the more uneven parts of the story flow better, and makes the inevitable conclusion to the long, slow burn of their unintentional courtship seem less predictable and cheesy. I enjoyed Love Me Tomorrow for combining the fairy tale fantasy romance of recognizing “the one” at first sight with the reality of how complicated emotions and relationship can be. And though this is my first book narrated by Jason Frazier, it definitely won’t be my last.
You can buy Love Me Tomorrow here:
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