Ying and Yang

Mason and Owen are enjoyable characters.
Owen owns a successful landscaping business. He doesn’t care about social media nor being in the limelight.
Mason on the other hand is somewhat a success as a model and tv personality. He is hoping to add to his resume by being in a short term tv segment with Owen. As they are interacting with each other, they see each other in a different light. Mason’s drive comes not only for his desire to succeed but also his family obligation. This causes him to make bad decisions. Mason is pushed to use their relationship for publicity which causes Owen to wonder if any of it is real.
I enjoyed to story and the twists presented. I feel the narration by Simon Goldhill is perfect for these characters.

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A fun romance

The main characters are believable and endearing, the villains reach such depths that I have to hope such unpleasant hypocrites are merely figments of imagination and don't exist in real life.

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I couldn't like Mason

I am sorry to write a less-than-stellar review, because I really like these authors, but I just couldn't like Mason. I felt so sorry for Owen and the way Mason and his people took advantage of him, then made him the scapegoat. I did feel sorry for Mason and the way HE was used by his mother, but that was no excuse for what he did to Owen. No matter what our circumstances, we are responsible for our own actions. I didn't appreciate Owen then acting like it wasn't Mason's responsibility. IT WAS. Owen was just a nice guy. Sorry, but I don't see how being a 'White Knight' makes you a bad guy. It's not like he forced Mason to accept his generosity. Mason did do right in the end, but it just wasn't enough, and I didn't like the way he got let off the hook without even some serious groveling. He was treated like a victim all the way through, and everyone just forgave him. For me, as an older person, this story really just highlighted the evils of social media and the fakeness of all the so-called 'influencers.' I guess this one just wasn't for me. I liked the first book much better.

The narration was good and really captured the environment of the production and the personalities involved.

I received a free copy and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

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Lovely British Romance

I thoroughly enjoyed this opposites attract romance. Owen is adorable and Mason is a complex man, frivolous on the outside but is really a sweet, kind man weighed down by family expectations and obligations.

It's a sequel but it's not necessary to have read the first.

The narrator does an excellent job bringing the characters to life.

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MM Real ife issues

This is my second book from these two talented authors.

The storytelling was so balanced. The two main characters and the background story all merged well and kept me emotionally involved at every step. The two main characters, Mason and Owen, had good character depth, and there were some great side characters, even Misty, who we all hated.

I loved how this dealt with real-life problems related to social media and how much we put on there. It's well worth a read/listen, and I would recommend it.

Simon Goldhill did a brilliant job. Very clear and easy to listen to. However, like usual, I did speed up the audio to 1.20 on audible.

Home Grown Talent
Creative Types, Book 2
By: Joanna Chambers, Sally Malcolm
Narrated by: Simon Goldhill
Series: Creative Types, Book 2
Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

❤❤❤❤❤ Overall
🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 Narration
📚📚📚📚📚 Story
Read at 1.20 speed on Audible

I received this audiobook for free from GRR at my request. My review is my opinion and an honest review - neither the author nor GRR influenced my opinion.

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Love in the age of social media

I’ll admit I struggle with Insta and Twitter (not calling it ‘X’ – sorry, not sorry). Facebook is often beyond me. I grew up in what I truly believe was a simpler time. I didn’t even have my own computer until I got into university or my own smart phone until two years ago (gasp). Hashtags are beyond me. Basically, I’m Owen. I might not be a gardener, but I have my feet firmly planted on the ground. I can respect those who do social media, but I’m no good at replicating it. People like Mason baffle me.

Which is, obviously, why I related to Owen. Not to say I didn’t feel empathy for Mason and his family’s situation – I just didn’t always understand his choices.

Now, this is book 2 in the series and since I adored Lewis and Aaron’s love story, I was thrilled to pick up this book – of Lewis’s ex-boyfriend Mason and Lewis’s brother Owen. Makes for interesting bedfellows, I’d say. But soon the two men grew on me and I got pulled into their love story. I wanted them to succeed, even as I saw the pitfalls ahead. When you see a couple headed toward disaster, though, do you avert your eyes or watch avidly, wondering how they might possibly survive?

Survive they did. Well, first through the dark moment, but then coming out the other side. This is a romance, after all. One that delivered all the feels. I got comedy, real drama, and a truly satisfactory happy ending.

Simon Goldhill’s narration was absolutely brilliant and I thought he did a fantastic job. I loved how his witty performance melded so well with Joanna and Sally’s writing styles. I can’t wait for book 3 to come out. Highly recommend.

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Charming, emotional and spicy British MM romance

I loved this so much it surprised me. I was drawn in my the combo of gardening (love it!) and social media (love-hate relationship) and nearly backed out when I read some reviews but went in anyway and found myself charmed from start to finish. Don't let the pretty pastel cover fool you, this is an emotional rollercoaster of a book that had me giggling happy, furiously angry and desperately upset at various points, and there's some serious explicit spice in it, including some bits that...let's just say I was really not expecting from such generally wholesome looking characters! If regular references to social media and hashtags aren't for you (as I've seen in lots of reviews) then no, don't read this, but I live very much in the world where that DOES exist and for me I really enjoyed it. I went through a proper journey with Mason and Owen and practically cheered at the end. I had it on audiobook and the narration by Simon Goldhill was great, it's so nice to hear a British accent in an audiobook and anyone who loves Tom Hiddleston will enjoy hearing a similar accent, even if a British voice making innuendos about tomatoes will always seem dirtier than an American voice saying the same thing.

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Entertaining

Another interesting story by Joanna Chambers and Sally Malcom. Mason and Owen are great characters to follow on their journey. Simon Goldhill did a super job with the narration.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

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Very Enjoyable!What fun!

What fun!

I read Joanna Chambers and Sally Malcolm's Home Grown Talent as a standalone and had no trouble at all. I'm looking forward to getting the audio version of the first book in the series, Total Creative Control, as soon as possible.

The characters are funny and sweet, and the story is highly entertaining. A real good time.

Simon Goldhill delivers a marvelous performance in the audiobook version. Goldhill has a beautiful speaking voice, very easy to listen to, and he helped make Home Grown Talent very enjoyable indeed.

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1 person found this helpful

4.5 Big stars

This book was so darn good.

Spicy
Workplace
Brothers Ex
Reality TV

Owen is a total care taker daddy. Definitely book boyfriend material. Be still my heart. He calls Mason “Petal” and it is foot kicking, skin tingling, goodness. I. LOVED. IT.

This book was FAR spicier than the first book. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting it. I was pretty content with a low spice read, but this brought it.

The narration is excellent, Simon Goldhill was exceptional, well paced and I want him to read to me all day. He voiced each character individually and made it easy to keep track of who was talking to who.

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