Audiobook Review: Nothing Serious by Jay Northcote

What happens when "nothing serious" turns into something more complicated?

Mark O'Brien is finally being honest with himself. His relationship with Rachel is over, and he's moving out of the home they've shared for six years. They get along, but he can't fix a relationship when the person he's with is the wrong gender.

Jamie Robertson, one of the removal men, is huge and ridiculously gorgeous, and Mark is smitten at first sight. When a cardboard box splits, revealing items of a personal nature that Mark never wanted anybody to see, he's mortified. But it sparks the start of a beautiful friendship with benefits.

As Jamie initiates Mark into the joys of gay sex, the two men get increasingly close and "nothing serious" turns into something rather important to both of them. But communication isn't their strong point. Will either man ever find the courage to be honest about his feelings?

Narrator: Michael Pauley
Listening Length: 4 hours and 3 minutes

Sweet and sexy - which Jay Northcote does best!

Mark O’Brien amicably ends his relationship after admitting to himself - and his ex - that he’s gay. He’s ready to move out, but he’s a bit nervous about moving on with being an out gay man.

When Jamie Robertson, a younger removal man Mark hired, offers a night of fun, Mark decides to take the bull by the horns. He’s hooked from the first taste - on Jamie.

Right off the bat, I really liked the dynamic of younger Jamie initiating Mark into man-on-man love. Yeah it’s a bit of a laundry list of Gay Sex 101, but I still found it incredibly sweet how patient Jamie was.

And Mark was definitely an eager student once he got over his initial timidness! This is a sex-forward book, and the sexytimes are there in spades.

Beyond that, there’s a very sweet romance between Jamie and Mark. What starts off as just a bit of fun gradually turns into something more, with their lives slowly weaving together. I was a big fan of how family played a role in Mark and Jamie’s relationship!

I loved how these two cared for each other. Jamie taking care of a sick Mark was probably my favourite part of the book. And Mark won a lot of brownie points for how understanding he was of Jamie’s dyslexia.

This is a very low-angst romance. The love between the men builds at a steady pace. When it comes time to talk about what they really want out of their relationship, they do just that - talk. Imagine that!

I’d say the title of the book sums up the romance pretty accurately. It’s not particularly grand, but Mark and Jamie’s happy ever after - mellow and soft - is perfect for them.

My only niggle - the audiobook narrator didn’t fit the setting. While Michael Pauley did a decent job, his American accent kept distracting me when he was reading very obvious Britishisms.

Overall, this was a very easily enjoyable read. If you’re looking for an MM romance that’s low on the angst and high on the steam, give Nothing Serious a try!

Audiobook Review: Five Minutes Longer (Enhanced World #1) by Victoria Sue

Talon Valdez knew when he transformed into an enhanced human, his life and his dreams were finished. Reviled, mistrusted, and often locked away, the enhanced were viewed as monsters, despised by the public, and never trusted to serve in the military or any law enforcement agency.

Years later he gets a chance to set up a task force of enhanced to serve in the FBI, but with one proviso: each enhanced must partner with a regular human.

Finn Mayer dreamed of joining the FBI from the time he was fourteen and made every possible sacrifice to make it happen, including living with his selfish mother and bullying, homophobic brother and never having a boyfriend. But his undiagnosed dyslexia stopped his aspirations dead in their tracks. His last chance is to partner with Talon, an enhanced with deadly abilities who doesn’t trust regular humans with their secrets and wants Finn to fail.

Four weeks to prove himself to the team. Four weeks for the team to prove itself to the public. And when another group threatens their success—and their lives are at stake—four weeks for them to survive.

Listening Length: 7 hours and 36 minutes 
Narrator: Nick J. Russo

I'm fifty-eleventy nine years late to this series... but I really liked this first slice of the Enhanced World.

Late like a boss

Finally.

Set in modern day America where a certain percentage of the US population transform in their preteens (or earlier) with a scar on their face and special powers (aka Enhanced), I couldn't help but be entranced by the plot. It was giving me Marvel vibes a little and me likey X-Men, so win-win.

Finn Mayer is a dyslexic human FBI wannabe with a shitty family background and suckier life. He's from small town Iowa and hides his sexuality from everyone, making him a virgin who wants to experience life anywhere but there. Finn gets the break he never knew he was looking for with a test trial of a special FBI department. Finn has four weeks to partner with Enhanced males to help fight crime.

Finn's partner is the leader of the small group, Talon Valdez who has the special power to slow the body down to kill. Talon seems to hate Finn on sight. America has been cruel to Enhanced (go figure?) Treating anything that is different as less than second class citizens... even the children. Sounds familiar?

But there's more under the surface of just one special power for each Enhanced. And while Finn and Talon battle Talon's asshattedness, there are missing Enhanced children, hate from opposing parties clogging up the news and the team trying to see if Finn is a regular human they can trust.

The action, mystery? It never stops and pulled me in. Mixed in with Finn's goodness, it made for a great listen.

I think I like Nick J. Russo as a narrator. He does give good enough emotion to the characters and changes the one to help distinguish each person. Though as I listened I couldn't help but imagine different voices for some characters namely Nolan Dakota who sounded a little cartoonish villain-y. It would through me off some when he was in a scene. But the story keep me entertained that, I looked for traffic to listen to more during my drives.

A sign that the audio book is a solid listen for me.

I have to say I enjoyed the action plot more than the romance. I believed in it a little more than Talon and Finn. I like them as a couple but I don't think they've begun to scratch the surface. The L word was thrown around in personal thoughts and I question if they're really there yet. The book spans a few weeks. I need more to believe we get someone who was saving it for 24 years to lose it just as quickly and fall in love. Granted, there were life & death situations thrown in there but... I wanted more. Talon did a lot of pushing away instead of communicating with his partner. They did manage to fit in a few sexy times (even while one of them battles a concussion)

But only sex does not a relationship make. I think Talon and Finn can balance each other out with more time. Five Minutes Longer does end with a HFN vibe.

(I see book #2 features the main couple again. I hope I get to see more of what I think these two can bring to the table.)

Guess that means I'm down for the rest of the series. ;)

Review: Loud and Clear by Aidan Wayne

Jaxon is getting by fine, severe dyslexia or not. Being a cab driver means he doesn’t need to read much, and the job has its perks. The pay isn’t bad, the people can be interesting, and having memorized the city streets keeps him from feeling too stupid.

When he picks up Caleb, a quiet fare in a nice suit, Jaxon doesn't think anything of it. Then he ends up driving Caleb home the next week too, and the next, and the next. Eventually Caleb tries to communicate—by writing things down. Turns out that Caleb has such a bad stutter he spends most of his time mute.

If only Jaxon had an easier time reading what Caleb had to say. But he’s interested in trying, and Caleb seems interested back. They discover that, with a little bit of effort, it isn’t so hard to make themselves understood. Especially when what’s growing between them is definitely worth talking about.

Disabilities are not defects.

Because they're not.

I jumped at the chance to take a chance on new author, Aidan Wayne after reading the blurb. And this story was more than either man's disability, it was more about letting someone in when you've had to fight harder to make your place in this world. This is a slow burn romance and more about opening yourself when you've learned it's better to be closed off...but there is something about the other man that made them give a chance.

Dyslexic cab driver Jaxon picks up an easy fare on a Tuesday night. His tipsy fare didn't talk much, wore a sexy business suit, appeared to have a cold demeanor and tipped well. This became a pattern, his routine fare nary saying a word until one Tuesday, Jaxon got a little written note on his receipt. Out of normal routine, Jaxon was curious about his Tuesday fare, who was intoxicated but never tried answering back at Jaxon's attempt at small talk. This pattern continued for several weeks until his handsome Tuesday fare cancelled his Tuesday night bar pick ups.

Jaxon's mind for memorizing comes in handy when he had a chance to save his Tuesday fare and thus begins a tentative friendship. When they discovered their communication issues, they didn't make a big stink or tried to ignore each other. They found middle ground and learned a few new things about themselves.

Loud and Clear isn't about their disabilities. They play background to both men who carry damaged baggage.I loved learning about them and their background (though I felt it could've went deeper for Caleb) Jaxon comes from humble beginnings, has low self esteem, think of himself as "stupid" since mostly everyone thinks he is and tells him. Caleb is a wealthy marketing and research developer who had specialists, went to expensive special schools and uses ASL to communicate when his stuttering is bad. Both men had barely anything in common except for their disabilities and people's perceptions of them.

Since the story was slow burn, the men take time to get to know one another and I felt it as believable. The author clearly did their research and didn't make it read like a manual. (If there was any incorrect facts, I didn't notice) I love that the story was light in tone, low angst, and basically let the characters be the stars. The setting could be any city really. The author didn't really give much detail in either main character's description, letting their personalities and actions be the driver. (Badda bing!)


Jaxon! He stole my heart in this story. He was so sweet, took the time to try to bridge the gap, even when he was filled with trepidation at points. He is a great character and good soul. I took slight longer to like Caleb but I got where he was coming from and sometimes resting bitch face can be misconstrued.

Were there any issues with the story? I didn't find much really. The story might've hit a lull in some spots. I questioned Caleb diagnosing Jaxon as quickly. (How'd he pinpoint dyslexia from one conversation?) Overall, reading this was infectious.


There wasn't any sex, this story didn't need it. It was mere kisses and sweet. It ends with a HFN, a starting point and though I wouldn't mind another chapter to the last scene, I think it ended in a good spot, where feelings are developing.

I will end this review with stating my beginning statement once more: disabilities are not defects. Loud and Clear showed that disabilties can help people develop a bond.

A copy provided via Netgalley and publisher for an honest review

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