Really good

What can I say....Gary Furlong narrating is awesome. He’s truly outstanding. The story line has action mixed with angst. I didn’t feel the connection of the two MCs in the beginning but as the chapters went on that changed. Absolutely loved the story and ending.

7 people found this helpful

I will listen to anything Mr. Furlong performs

I really liked this book when I read it so listening to it was a no-brainer, especially when I found out who was performing it. I will listen to anything Mr. Furlong performs.

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Here is my original review of the book after reading it.

4.5 Stars so rounding up to 5.

I’m impressed with this first-time author. The story moved at a good pace…the romance and the suspense. I liked all of the characters (except Josh’s parents), flaws and all.

Michael is a bit of a mess after trauma in his hospital in the States and after reading the opening scene he doesn’t appear to have much under control still. He’s a good guy but he’s buried that and gives the world his devil may care attitude. He’s immediately attracted to Josh but Josh wants nothing to do with him. Unfortunately for Josh, they’re forced to be around each other…and they cannot deny the sexual attraction and chemistry. When they finally give in to their attraction they’re fantastic together. I didn’t like their lack of communication about their true feelings (I never like that in any book) and I thought Michael was a huge coward near the end of the book. Thankfully Josh took over and fixed everything. :)

The suspense plotline was good and not over the top…there was even a late twist which surprised me (and that’s not easily done). I really, really nope Mark and Cam get books…they are both REALLY outstanding. The ending is pretty perfect!

My one complaint surrounds Michael and him being an American (and I’ll admit it’s a bit nitpicky). I suppose it’s possible Michael picked up the dialog and slang in the time he’d been in NZ, but he definitely didn’t sound like he is from the States.

This is definitely a must-read by an author that should be on your radar!

5 people found this helpful

Come for a story, stay for the performance.

I loved this book. I consume MM romance like its going out of fashion so I do tend to get bored with the standard tropes and humdrum story lines. There's nothing particularly special about this story line. It's your standard boy meets boy, falls for boy, conflict, breakup, resolution storyline. It is, however, very well written. The characters are well developed and interesting. The relationship feels real and developed enough to not feel contrived. It also has that laconic feel that kiwi people have which feels less fake than some American writers.

The narration is top notch and the NZ accent is pretty good (although I'm Aussie so it could be worse than I think). There is some muddying of accents around the interchange between the American and Kiwi accent but it's generally not too bad. Only criticism is that the narrator reads in a kiwi accent even when the story is written from the POV of the American character.
All in all a well written story with a stellar performance.
I'll be following up both the author and narrator for other books.

3 people found this helpful

This One’s on the Re-Listen List!

Gary Furlong did an absolutely phenomenal job narrating this book! The entire time, I felt like I was watching the story rather than listening to it. Definitely recommend listening to this one if you’re looking for a new book!

1 person found this helpful

loved it!

great story, great characters, engaging story line, interesting setting (I love books set in New Zealand! ) and a top-notch narration. I loved everything about it!

1 person found this helpful

Great start to the series!

Loved the storyline, emotion, snark, and characters. Backstories of the MCs really fortified the plot. Excellent supporting cast and interesting world. Jay Hogan is always good for all the feels! Really love Gary Furlong’s narration, but the American accents were a little cringey…only downside to this book, and definitely not a deal-breaker.

MM Crime Drama

If you are looking for an enemies to lovers with a lot of action and craziness going on, look no further. There was a lot going on in this book, and some was predictably hard to grasp, as it was difficult to get your head around this happening. I did really enjoy it though, and the relationship and character growth throughout was spot on. Also, the fact that Greg Furlong was on this narration made it that much better. You have Michael, the American doctor who is in NZ for a brief period who finds himself in quite a bad place when he meets Josh, the dog handler (K9 detective). Josh immediately takes a dislike to Michael, as he has previous bad experiences with his "type." So, of course this means Michael wants to pursue him even harder; however, he really doesn't, so that was actually quite refreshing. They do meet up again because a bunch of crazy stuff happens to Michael, and that is when the friends with benefits starts up for really frenemies with benefits. And of course it turns to more, but it well done. Then there is the inevitable breakup and makeup, but all in all I really enjoyed the storyline with the MCs and all the side characters. What I did not love was all attacks on Michael, as it just was a bit much. Overall a great read, and I cannot wait to continue on with the rest of this series.

One of the best of this genera!

Exciting, thoughtful, passionate, realistic, and super enjoyable to listen to. You won't be disappointed with this book!

I like it

First off I have to say the cover of this book did nothing to make me want to read it. Is this the best the author could come up with? I did like Michael and Josh a doctor and detective. Their meeting was funny but the relationship was are we or aren’t we. They had a great connection between the sheets but other circumstances kept them from committing.

New Zealand here I come.

without giving a detailed synopsis, this delightful story and a perfect narration to boot, held my interest through to the end and I could have listened for hours more.
We have characters in conflict who become lovers; criminals who threaten lives, disapproving parents to mollify as weii as breakups and separations.
All these things are handled in ways that hold our interest and concern for their outcome. So for me Jay Hogan's story pressed all my buttons., and hope tob"read" more in this series.