Roman ‘Quick’ Webb is Duke’s business partner and best friend. Both men are in their forties and have given up on the happily ever after with the ranch-style home, and white picket fence. They’d both tried it and failed miserably. But they have their friendship and they have the business.
When Quick’s son, Vaughan Webb returns – after seven years - from studying abroad with his law degree in hand, he’s back to claim what he’s always wanted…his fathers’ best friend… Duke Morgan. Vaughan has always claimed to be a classic gentleman with an old soul. He didn’t party and screw up in school like his buddies. He was focused and dedicated to becoming the man worthy of Duke’s love.
It’s a complex and messy situation as Duke and Quick figure out how to still be best friends when one of them is sleeping with his friend’s one and only son. But when Duke is hurt on the job, all the unimportant trivialities fall to the wayside and Vaughan and Quick put their heads together to save Duke.
Part I of the Promises story is about Duke and Vaughan and DOES NOT end on a cliffhanger. Part II is about Quick and Dr. Chauncey and their realization that it’s not too late for any of them to find love.
Listening Lenth: 7 hrs 31 min
Narrator: Aiden Snow
Are you having a lazy day? One where you want to be entertained but can’t/don’t want to expend too much mental energy? Do you like tall, brawny, masc alpha-males who enjoy tall, brawny, masc alpha-males? Do you like (and who doesn’t?) Bruce Willis movies? Do you like a good ensemble cast? This is the book/series for you!
Author A.E. Via and narrator Aiden Snow are NTM and I can say they’re both very good at what they do. Though this isn’t my preferred candy, I can appreciate A.E. Via’s brand of romance: sex positive, romantic, and absolutely sweet. Her men are utterly masculine, muscled, competent, and all the things associated with alpha-males but they’re not knuckle dragging numbskulls. They’re in tune with who they are and what they want out of life, which makes sense being that, at least in this series, they’re grown-ups who range in age from 30 to 49. No blundering apes in sight. But I digress. This is the first book in a new series which is a spinoff of the Nothing Special Series, however you can read it, like myself, without reference to the previous series and each book as a standalone. Every part is about a different couple, though it seems most of the cast will all appear or at least be mentioned throughout along with mentions or visits by characters from Nothing Special.
Promises, Pt.1 is about Duke Morgan and Vaughan Webb, a pairing I overall loved. Duke owns a Bail Bonds and a Private Investigations outfit, he’s forty-five (45) but feeling way older. He’s only had four relationships in his life, none of which has given him the sense of belonging or being wanted we all crave. His last long term attachment was with Judge from Don’t Judge, but it was only a FWB arrangement on Judge’s part, while Duke was always left craving for more. Judge has gone off to live his very own HEA and is now nothing more than a good friend and business partner, but the universe is about to give Duke’s his reward.
At thirty-one (31) Vaughan Webb is a lawyer, who’s come home to spend time with his father, work in the Atlanta District Attorney’s Office, and woo the man he’s been in love with since he was a teenager. That man is Duke. The fact that Duke’s best friend is Quick, Vaughan’s father isn’t an obstacle. Vaughan is one of those ‘older-than-his-years’ souls who early on knew what he wanted, what he had to do to achieve it, and was willing to go for the long game. He turned his father into an ally to keep him posted about Duke’s life while he set about becoming a man he thought Duke would want and seriously consider.
I really liked these two as a couple. I liked how the prescribed age roles were flipped without much fuss. I liked that, though perhaps more a result of wishful thinking, Quick isn’t put-off by a relationship between his son and his best friend but rather supports it. I liked how Vaughan truly and demonstrably cares for Duke from moments of tenderness to scorching intimacy. This is a story of big love, high emotion, and sweeping gestures that’ll warm your heart.
One hiccup was Duke’s sudden insta love/lust for Vaughan. Commendably he had never thought of Vaughan as anything other than Quick’s son until Vaughan approached him. Perfect. However Duke’s turnabout is like flipping a switch. It’s kind of understandable given how starved for affection he’s always been and Vaughan being young & smoking hot, but I would’ve liked a few more seconds of introspection or a minute for him to recast Vaughan from bf’s son to hottie/love-of-my-life. I enjoyed everything else, from the clearly well researched world of bond-bails and medical procedures to an excellent performance by Aiden Snow. I’ll certainly be moving on to the next book.
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