Story Rating: 3.75 stars
Audio Rating: 3.75 stars
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Length: 5 hours, 47 minutes
Audiobook Buy Links:Â Audible
Book Buy Links:  Amazon | All Romance
Adam Carson has always loved his job as a paramedic, but he knows the work environment means he needs to stay closeted. He has some occasional hookups, but doesn’t date. Sam McKenna is a forensic pathologist who works for the hospital where Adam often brings patients. The two men knew each other in high school, but haven’t talked in years. In school they weren’t quite enemies, but definitely didn’t get along, as Sam felt Adam always picked on him.
One night the two men run into one another at a bar with their mutual work friends. Although things are rocky at first and Sam is kind of wary, it turns out that they have grown out of their conflict and get along well. There is an attraction to one another, though Sam believes Adam is straight. But the sexual tension is there between them and it isn’t long before they act on it. The men are brought even closer as a killer strikes and they seek mutual comfort in one another for the horrible situation.
Sam wishes Adam could be comfortable coming out, but he totally understands Adam’s reasoning and is fine pursuing their increasingly serious relationship in private. But as time passes, both men realize that what they thought was a casual affair is actually becoming quite serious. There is no way they can continue their relationship with Adam unwilling to come out now that their hearts are involved. Adam must now decide if keeping his silence is still the best approach, even if it means he might lose the man he has grown to love.
Author Cate Ashwood has been a frequent guest here at Joyfully Jay and we have reviewed several of her books, but somehow I have not had a chance to read her work. So when we decided on New-to-Me Author Week for one of our challenges for Reading Challenge Month, I figured this was a great time to try her out. I enjoy romantic suspense, and was intrigued by Sam’s position as a forensic psychologist, so it seemed to be a good fit.
I found the vast majority of this story focused on the relationship end of things. The guys are technically “enemies” as the book starts, as Sam harbors some bad memories of their high school days, but not much detail is provided and things smooth over pretty quickly. It doesn’t take long for the guys to move forward to friendship and then a sexual connection. Their relationship flows pretty seamlessly, despite Adam being closeted. Sam is very understanding and never pushes Adam for more than he can give. Although the issue does cause a conflict as the guys realize they are falling for one another, for the most part the romantic end of things is intense pretty quickly and mostly smooth sailing.
I think the relationship end worked pretty well, though a major stumbling block for me was that I didn’t particularly like Adam. I found him arrogant and pushy at times and so many of his actions seemed to have kind of sneer to them when he is displeased. I think this was a story where my impression was partly shaped by the audio and Scott R. Smith’s narration. The way he portrays Adam just really grated a lot of the time. But it wasn’t just the audio. I just felt like Adam had this grouchiness at times, as well as an overconfidence that often  grated. Things improved as the story moved forward, but I particularly didn’t like how it plays out early on with his paramedic student. Unfortunately, my feelings for Adam made me less enthusiastic about these guys as a couple and I found it harder to get invested in them.
The bigger issue for me here was that the suspense plot related to the murder is essentially non-existant. The blurb describes a horrific murder and the investigation intensifying, and given Seth’s job, I expected that we would get some suspense, or at least be involved in the investigation. The story starts out well with Adam encountering the body of a badly hurt teen boy and Seth being called to the scene to investigate. We get a few tiny bits of Seth doing tests and trying to find evidence, and I expected us to then be drawn into the case, but then things are basically dropped. We get a few phone calls where Seth is following up on the case, but given the set up and the potential from Seth’s job, it just seemed like a wasted opportunity for this to then go nowhere. The investigation happens essentially completely off page and it is barely mentioned for the vast majority of the book. Maybe this is a case of just not meeting expectations and others won’t be bothered at all, but I felt like this plot had so much potential and just didn’t go anywhere. The entire murder and investigation could have been pulled from the story and it would have barely affected the book at all.
Overall I enjoyed Ashwood’s writing, but I will mention I ran into some trouble with the overuse of pronouns. There were many cases where I just wasn’t clear which of the men she was talking about since they weren’t identified by name. I realize this is a particular challenge in books with two men, but it happened enough that I found myself confused, as well as starting to regularly notice the problem.
As I mentioned, I listened to this one in audio and I do think that affected my experience. This was a weird case in that I can’t quite put my finger on what bothered me about the narration. I think Smith’s voice just wasn’t a match for me. The tone just felt a little off to me somehow, and as I said, I had problems with Adam’s voice in particular. It wasn’t just the way it seemed to have some arrogance, but also sort of an overdramatic, what I am going to call a “la di dah” voice at times, as if he should be adding “dah-ling” to the end of his sentences. The voice went in an out in terms of how intense this tone was, but it was enough to bother me. But the pacing is good, the audio was clear, and honestly, I think this is just a case of a bad match for me. I really think most people would find nothing objectionable here at all, so I would definitely listen to some samples if you are considering this in audio.
So overall I found this a nice story and there were some elements that I particularly enjoyed. But I did feel the chemistry was lacking a little for me and I was disappointed in how the investigation ended up being such an afterthought. I think personally I would have enjoyed this more in written form, but I do think this story would work for a lot of people, particularly if you like a sexy romance between former enemies.
This review is part of our September Reading Challenge Month for New-to-Me Author Week! Leave a relevant comment below and you will be entered to win a fabulous prize from Interlude Press. One lucky winner will receive a selection of signed print books, as well as a variety of ebooks by authors new to Interlude Press this year. Commenters will also be entered to win our amazing grand prize sponsored by Dreamspinner Press (a loaded Kindle fire filled with DSP books!). You can get more information on our Challenge Month here, and more details on New-to-Me Author Week here. And be sure to check out our prize post for more about the awesome prizes!
A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.
The storyline of this does sound promising. I’m not one to listen to audio, so at least the narrator’s voice is not an issue for me. Thanks, Jay, for your balanced review.
You are welcome! and if you are interested in this one at all, take a look at Michelle’s review of this same book. She reviewed the ebook only so she will have some different insight than I did. She also reviewed book 2 in the series.
Thanks for the review! Â It’s nice to have audiobooks reviewed since I am fairly new to them but have become addicted to listening while on the elliptical trainer. Â ð Â But, for this one the fact that the murder investigation is not much of a story is disappointing as I love a good mystery/suspense story.
Yes I love audio books while I work out! And I listen to them a lot while driving. Helps makes the time pass faster.
I might try this in ebook first as I have read and enjoyed some Cate Ashwood books in the past and I like the enemies to friends trope. I’m a big audiobook fan but can be picky about the narrator (I also much prefer listening to audiobooks where I have read the book first – is that weird…?).
Yes if you are interested in the story, ebook may be the way to go. I’m picky about narrators too
Although I haven’t read anything by this author yet, I have several in my TBR including this particular book. Thanks for your review. I’ll have to check it out. I’m on the fence about whether or not I’ll get the audio.
I read this not realizing it was one of the books up for New-To-Me-Week, lucky me. I have to agree with your review Jay, although I didn’t see Adam the same way, many others readers/reviewers have felt the same. There were many paragraphs I had to re-read because I wasn’t sure if it was Sam or Adam talking. The ending upset me briefly until I realized it wa a very minor part of the story. While I enjoyed reading it and it was a good story, it just didn’t “wow” me. I’m giving it 3.5 stars.
Thanks for the feedback Debbie! I haven’t ready any other reviews besides Michelle’s so it’s interesting to me to hear what others have thought. I do believe I would have felt a little different reading versus listening but that is sometimes how things go wth audio.
I read this one when it was released. I pretty much agree with your review except it’s been a while since I read it so I don’t specifically remember having a problem with the overuse of pronouns. Also, since I read it, as opposed to listening to it, I didn’t have the problem with the narrator’s interpretation of the voices (Adam’s voice).
Not being an audio person, this is still definitely going on my list. I have loved Cate Ashwood in the past, so I hope you enjoy more of her in the future!
Thanks Ashley!
This is one of my favorites from Cate Ashwood.
Oh good! Glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve been trying more audio books lately. I haven’t read this one yet and I enjoy this authors other books. I think I’ll give it a try. Thank you for the review =)
You are welcome! Hope you enjoy!
Another new to me author, although I’ve been reading reviews about Ashwood’s books and find them intriguing. I may try the written version of the book (the audio version does not sound satisfactory) since enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes. Thank you for the review, Jay!
I haven’t read anything by Cate Ashwood before (can I tell you how many times I almost bought a book of hers, though, because I confused her with Kate Sherwood who’s an author I have bought and read many times), but I’ve meant to try something of hers. I don’t think this will be it. The Hope Cove series is something I’d still like to try out. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one, Jay!
You are welcome!
I’m not a big audiobook listener, but I have enjoyed Ashwood’s work before…
I have read several books by Cate Ashwood and so far I have mixed feelings. Some I lked and some not. But I have this one on my TBR list so i will get to it. I prefer reading and don’t listen to any audiobooks.
Thanks Cyntia! I hope you enjoy it!
The blurb sounded really exciting so it’s kind of disappointing that the murder investigation was mostly off page. It sucks when the blurb is misleading.
I don’t do audio books but i have read this one when it was released and i loved it. I found that the romance between Sam and Adam is the main focus but i really liked the crime story too. I look forward to continue this serie.
Glad you enjoyed it!