Story Rating: 4.25 stars
Audio Rating: 4.5 stars
Narrator: Matthew Lloyd Davies
Length: 3 hours, 6 minutes
Audiobook Buy Links: Audible
Book Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance
Owen is a player and enjoys sleeping his way through men. When he meets up with Nathan again, a man he was attracted to in his college days, and finds out he’s gay, Owen thinks it’s the perfect opportunity finally act on the attraction. But Nathan throws him for a loop; Nathan wants to have at least five sex free dates before he’ll sleep with Owen so Owen can prove that he’s in it for more than the sex. Owen’s never done anything like that before, but he agrees.
Nathan may have made the suggestion as a way of getting Owen to back off, but the truth is, he had a crush on Owen back in uni. He’s surprised when Owen takes him up on it. And even more surprised as they begin dating. As they get to know each other, the more their attraction ramps up. With each date, they learn more about each other and grow closer. They both find themselves enjoying the dates and neither one is sure if they can make it through all five dates before they give in.
These guys are sweet and young and I enjoyed their story. Both men had their moments where I found them to be really well developed. I have to admit that sometimes, they sounded a bit younger than I thought they should. But these two guys are definitely good together and I liked watching them circle toward each other as the dates progressed. Owen definitely went through the most change as he grew up, and his outlook on love changed. Nathan was exactly what he needed, and I enjoyed watching them fall in love.
The story, as a whole, was a bit predictable. The dates kind of followed the same pattern, and so I found my attention straying just a tiny bit. But I liked finding out what they would be doing for the next date, and I liked that they put a lot of thought into each date, even if it was them trying to one up each other. This book is fairly low on the angst meter, and it was a nice tale of two young guys falling in love.
I listened to this one on audio, and I have to say that overall, Davies did a really good job. The narrator has a fantastic British accent that fits perfectly with the story. Both Nathan and Owen had distinct voices, and I had no trouble following along as to who was talking. The chapter breaks were clear, and the pace steady. Davies also did a fantastic job with the sex scenes, which definitely isn’t an easy task. I do have to say that I had a little trouble when Davies read the text messages, as he sounded almost robotic, which pulled me out of the story. I also thought that Owen sometimes sounded like he was talking too fast. If it was a consistent character quirk, I could have accepted it, but it came and went at times where it didn’t seem to fit the story. But for the most part, the narrator did a good job and I would definitely listen to something else he narrated in the future.
So this one is one I’d recommend for anyone looking for a light, sweet read, or listen.
