Audiobook Review: The Other Book by Roe Horvat

It was supposed to be just sex... Famous last words.

Tyler doesn't overthink pleasure and avoids complications. He knows it might be stupid to get involved with his closeted boss, but the temptation is too great. At first, the cold and beautiful Joel Sandstrom seems to loathe Tyler's guts.

Except one late night at the office, his reasons become clear...and his control breaks.

Every time they touch, Joel's stony face comes alive, harsh lines smooth out, and for a minute, he looks serene. Happy, even. Just sex - dirty, intense, spectacular sex.

During their covert encounters, Tyler discovers the power he has over the lonesome man, and it's a heady feeling. What if he could set Joel free and give him peace of mind? When Tyler realizes how much Joel needs him, he doesn't regret breaking his own rules.

Gay erotic romance. Contains explicit scenes and sexual interactions between more than two partners. For adult readers only.

Narrated by Vance Bastian
Listening Length: 4 hours and 26 minutes

Well.

Good.

Goddamn.

This book and this narration are a combo platter of pure deliciously filthy goodness. I’ve loved every story I’ve read from this author and I’ve loved every narration I’ve heard by this narrator, so when this came through the blog I was on it. And as I may have said before, good goddamn.

Definitely listen to the foreword by the author at the beginning. After I finished I went back and listened to it again and I loved his message and reasoning for writing this gem of erotica and for the name “The Other Book”. And while I appreciate the thought process behind the author thinking of using a pseudonym for this one, I’m glad he didn’t, it shows another angle to his writing and the quality and flavor are just as appealing as any of his other titles.

So, erotica is fun. Super fun. Some erotica is there to be titillating, some is there to feed a niche, some is just words with crappy grammar and then once in a while some erotica comes around that hits you in more than just your tingly bits. The latter is The Other Book.

The story is told from Tyler’s POV and Vance Bastian’s voice is the perfect mix of worldliness and vulnerability to convey all Tyler’s nuanced emotions. He starts off seemingly crass and a little shallow, but my opinion quickly morphed as I learned more about his dynamic with Joel and was privy to his inner machinations.

The Other Book is chock full of coupling, tripling and quadrupling. Things get very sticky quite often and every encounter ends with happy satiated smiles. The sex scenes are very well written, there is no need for a flow chart or schematic which can sometimes feel like a necessity with multiple partners, but when the writing flows organically, it’s pretty easy to follow who’s doing what to whom, etc.

The Other Book though, offers more than that. Sex is fun and well written sex is even more so, but the thing that elevated this story is the well developed connection between the characters. It takes a book like this to remind readers how important sexuality can be in a relationship. As Tyler and Joel’s relationship progresses Tyler shows Joel everything he’s been missing physically and emotionally while he’s been in the closet.

Joel honestly broke my heart more than once and the cathartic effect the sex scenes had for Joel added an extra level of satisfaction, so to speak, to every one of them. It wasn’t just rubbing sticks together until sparks flew, the times these guys were together were actually quite lovely and incredibly romantic in the most intimate of ways. There weren’t just a plethora of orgasms, there were plenty of epiphanies as well.

Kudos to Tyler’s mom and his besties with benefits as well. The author managed to introduce playing with others into a monogamous relationship and it worked! I purchased Adam Only (book two in the series) and will be purchasing Adam Only on audio as soon as it’s released. The Other Book is a keeper in so many ways. The erotic words portrayed healthy sexuality because the sex worked for the characters, which in the end, is all that matters.

**a copy of this audiobook was provided for an honest review**