Audiobook Review: Dirty Mind by Roe Horvat

Alexander Popescu is a university lecturer in a quiet German town. He's a respectable man in his thirties who stays fit, has a decent career, and travels alone - his only vice is an occasional greasy meal. And beer. And violent computer games. Nobody has to know about the other Alex - the acclaimed porn writer. His ingenious erotic fantasies earn him good money and keep his capricious mind harmlessly entertained.

When his young friend and protégé Christian transfers to Freiburg for medical school, Alex is overjoyed...and terrified that Christian will find out about Alex's indecent alter ego. The time they spend together, as lovely as it is, could overturn Alex's carefully balanced life. Suddenly, the writing is not good enough, his hair seems to be thinning, his careful hookups leave him unfulfilled, and his dreams are haunted by the innocent young man he's vowed to protect.

However, Christian is not a boy anymore. He's a grown man of 21, clever, and deadly attractive. And he's hiding some secrets of his own.

Listening Length: 5 hours and 10 minutes
Narrator: Vance Bastian

I’ve almost read every single Horvat book out there, and I’ve yet to be disappointed.

This story is a bit more light hearted, featuring Alex - professor and incognito porn writer - who while on vacation befriends a young lad named Christian, 12 years his junior and way out of his league. What ensues after that fateful night is a unique friendship carefully cultivated through correspondence over the next few years, and when Christian moves to where Alex lives to go to medical school, it sorta kinda definitely throws Alex a lot off kilter.

What ensues is a push pull as Alex struggles with his attraction to the vibrant Christian, trying to maintain boundaries but failing miserably at staunching his growing feelings. Being what Alex perceives as way too old (as well as keeping his erotic alter ego a secret) are just flimsy excuses for Alex to deny himself a chance at happiness. Luckily, Christian knows what he wants and takes the necessary steps needed to get Alex’s head out of his own ass.


Narrated by Vance Bastian, I felt that he was perfectly serviceable and I’m positive that many have and would enjoy his performance. For me though, my perceived expectations as to how I wanted these characters to sound like just did not fully mesh with Bastian’s interpretation and performance.

Regardless, this features a great slow burn, as friends become lovers and accept the age gap that isn’t and shouldn’t be a factor in their relationship (as well as that dirty little secret). Full of great UST and sexy, never shirking on the feels - that’s what I love about Horvat and this author thankfully, has yet to miss the mark!

A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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**

Audiobook Review: Vanilla Clouds by Roe Horvat

“I could spend days listening to you talk about chocolate.” 

Sex and chocolate are the two pleasures Michał enjoys most in life.

His sex life has been nonexistent for some time, though. After a particularly bad hookup, he keeps mostly to himself. That leaves chocolate. Luckily, he works surrounded by the most delicious, extravagant produce in Gothenburg. Beside his job at the chocolaterie, his main source of excitement is his online friend, Magnus, whom he stubbornly refuses to meet in person.

A customer turns up at the chocolaterie one day—tall, shy, and charming. He could be just the right man. If Michał can step out of his overly safe shell, there might be not only chocolate, but sex, too. Maybe chocolate-flavored sex. And if he’s lucky, maybe even love.

Warning: This book contains explicit scenes, adult language, and obscene amounts of chocolate.

Listening Length: 3 hours and 45 minutes
Narrated by Vance Bastian

After I finished listening to the audio for Vanilla Clouds, I listened to it again and then bought a copy for a friend, and then I bought the book so I could pretend like it was all new again.

That’s a lot of things for a 3 hour, 45 minute audiobook/132 page book.

But. But. Oh. My. God. You guys. This is such a little nugget of a treat and I didn’t want it to end.

I loved the approach the author took to tell the story. Michal and Magnus are online buds who have never met in person, but have a real connection virtually. They want to meet, don’t want to meet, push, pull, push, pull. From the inside, they are both a little clueless in a sweet, vulnerable way, on the outside, from the readers view, it’s obvious from the beginning that these two are meant to be. Which makes for a wonderful setup, because I got to enjoy the ride while still sailing on the optimistic high of their relationship evolution.

The story moves along via messaging and then when Michal meets a tall, shy, mysterious stranger in his chocolaterie, path forks a little, but it’s the most adorable deception ever. It’s actually a necessary little bit of tension that allows the rest of the story to be its sweet self without apologies.

I loved the setting, the uniqueness in comparison to so many other things out there added a layer of interest that made me accidentally learn things (which is my favorite kind of learning) and the city of Gothenburg was a character itself. I even Googled stuff and the story made me want to travel.

If you haven’t ever listened to Vance Bastian narrate a book, you are missing out. I love his tone, his character voices and the emotional nuance he brings to every interaction. Everything is just enough without ever being too much. He’s both relatable and swoonworthy which makes him the perfect person to read this book to me. And you.

Vanilla Clouds is a low drama romance that is perfect when you need the fluff, but want thoughtfulness and authenticity. This book is forever and always on my reread, all-time-favorites shelf.

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

Audio Book Release Blitz + Giveaway: Vanilla Clouds by Roe Horvat

Author Roe Horvat and Signal Boost Promotions promote the Vance Bastian narrated audio release, Vanilla Clouds from Beaten Track Publishing! Learn more about the story today and enter in the giveaway to win your own audio book copy of Vanilla Clouds!

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Audible US | Audible UK

Length: 3hrs 45mins

Narrator: Vance Bastian

Blurb

"I could spend days listening to you talk about chocolate."


Sex and chocolate are the two pleasures Michal enjoys most in life.


His sex life has been nonexistent for some time, though. After a particularly bad hookup, he keeps mostly to himself. That leaves chocolate. Luckily, he works surrounded by the most delicious, extravagant produce in Gothenburg. Beside his job at the chocolaterie, his main source of excitement is his online friend, Magnus, whom he stubbornly refuses to meet in person.


A customer turns up at the chocolaterie one day - tall, shy, and charming. He could be just the right man. If Michal can step out of his overly safe shell, there might be not only chocolate, but sex, too. Maybe chocolate-flavored sex. And if he's lucky, maybe even love.


Warning: This book contains explicit scenes, adult language, and obscene amounts of chocolate.

About The Author

Roe was born in former Czechoslovakia and endured a miserable adolescence in the post-communist wasteland. Equipped with a dark sense of sarcasm, they left for Germany and later, Spain.


Finally, they settled in Sweden, where the weather is nasty but the freedom great. Roe works as a motion graphics artist, loves Jane Austen, Douglas Adams and everything in between, preferably by the fireplace with a strawberry daiquiri in hand. Roe writes contemporary romantic fiction – it conveniently balances out their real-life pragmatism.


When not hiding in the studio doing graphics, Roe can be found trolling cafés in Gothenburg, writing, and people-watching.


Read more about Roe and the books at:

Dreamspinner Press author page

GoodReads

Queeromance Ink.

Amazon.com

Facebook | Twitter | Website

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions