A Darker and More Realistic Turn from Day

I listened to this one over a couple of days.

First off? It will surprise no one the audio performance by Jason Frazier was as excellent as ever. In a way, I wish authors would give him permission to adjust the writing just a little bit. Like, his voice acting is so top-notch that when he mutters something and then has to say "Deacon muttered" it can almost be jarring. I know he muttered it. I just heard him mutter. Frazier also has this way of controlling his breathing, making little kissing sounds, and swallowing a word that evokes magic for the listener: you believe the characters are doing all the hot and sexy things he tells you they're doing.

The story itself has whatever the opposite of a meet-cute would be: this isn't a silly, smiley meeting between two characters, this is two people making some happiness out of sadness. That's a recurring theme of the narrative, and the core concept of the book. Deacon has been dumped, right before Christmas, and has just agreed to be bumped from his flight to let someone else go home. Instead, he's at a crappy hotel, in a crappy hotel bar, getting sloshed and feeling bad for himself. In walks Steve, who is also by himself, a bit forward and certainly not put off by hitting on a tipsy young man, and from sparks comes sizzle, and the two share a very enjoyable evening's company together, even indulging in some pillow talk after what by all rights was intended as a one-night-stand where Deacon wanted to feel wanted, and Steve wanted to get laid.

From there, we learn about the pasts of the two characters, and it's pretty much a relentless string of pain for Deacon, and a late-in-life turnaround for Steve. Deacon, at 27, has suffered pretty much all the losses: most recently a boyfriend, but prior to that a mother who was verbally and emotionally abusive and an alcoholic, a string of bad stepfathers, and despite a fairly decent relationship with his younger half-sister, Deacon doesn't have much of anything.

Steve, on the other hand, is wealthy, 44, owns a car dealership, and though he was aware he wanted to sleep with men he married a former friend's widow and helped her raise her daughter, until he finally admitted a year earlier that he wanted men, and they split up. (Extra props here to the author for his admission at one point that if he'd been out younger, Steve thinks would have likely come out as bisexual, explored more, but feels like he's been hiding himself so long he needed to be honest).

So, these two connect, and have a one-off, and that should be it, right? After all, Deacon is about to fly back out of the city, returning to his life (albeit without a boyfriend). Well, of course not. It's a romance, so there's more. It starts with a panicked phone call from Deacon's half-sister, and from there, the two get a shot to see if sparks and sizzle is enough to bridge their many differences.

This was, over all, a really enjoyable experience. I listened while walking the dog, doing some chores, and didn't take a break from it with another book throughout. I did have two moments of confusion—I wasn't clear how Deacon's alcoholic and impoverished mother had no mortgage and there was a dark event near the end of the tale that I didn't understand where the motivation came from, or what the goal might have been—but those quibbles are minor.

This one isn't a chuckle-fest by any measure. Deacon's life makes that pretty much impossible, and even Steve has some pretty downer moments, so if you're looking for a fluffier, upbeat story, this isn't it. There are still some Ethan Day zingers, and a few moments of amusement (often involving the dialog of the women in the tale), and Frazier's delivery is pitch-perfect with those. This isn't a case of "magical love cure" either, in that even as the tale ends, it's quite clear that Deacon isn't "fixed." He's working on facing the effects of the life he's had. I appreciated that realism—I'm not a fan of "well, now we've got each other, everything is glitter and rainbows!"

6 people found this helpful

Not just narrated, PERFORMED !

Ethan Day's story Northern Star is definitely enjoyable, but Jason Frasier's performance is what made this particular M/M romance stand out for me. IMO This is one of the best audio performances of the >1000 audio books I've listened to over the decades. (with exception of his really, REALLY ill-advised & failed attempt @ Italian- and Irish- American accents in one scene)

Jason created multiple good male, female & child character voices. Except for the short accent debacle, it was easy to tell exactly who was speaking. There are a number of male narrators who do older women's voices well, but few that can pull off a decent younger one.

Additionally you can hear ALL the emotions in Jason's character voices. Even his breathing & sound effects here are just right. Usually someone attempting kiss sounds is just cringe worthy not sexy! Honestly, if Jason Frazier is in person how he makes MCs sound, he is one of the hottest gay boys out there.

So in short, 5 stars & worth a credit ; )

6 people found this helpful

I couldn't stop listening

I just finished listening to Jason Frazier's audiobook performance of Northern Star. Ethan Day provides his readers with just the right amount of detail to imagine the scene clearly in the mind. The storyline, with it's navigation through ups and downs, involves the reader in the emotional relationship between the two main characters and one's struggle with depression.
Jason Frazier did an amazing job on this performance. The amount of detail he put into the characters was perfect. Bringing to life the pages through tone and expression he creates a scene that's hard to resist. The emotional scenes were extremely convincing which gives you a sense of inclusion in the character relationships.
Throughout this performance so many physical reactions took place which were brought on by Ethan's writings and enhanced through Jason's voice. This was a fun experience and so many events within this book brought me to an emotional state. There's a few spots they get you chuckling and then a few to bring a tear. There was also a great deal of suspense that I hadn't expected. I truly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a well-thought-out storyline with a great amount of detailed love scenes. Thank you Ethan day and Jason Frazier this was such a great experience.

3 people found this helpful

A MUST listen to

The ebook is incredible , but the audiobook is AMAZING. I love age difference and hurt comfort type stories and this is one of my favorite one. Jason Frazier did an EXCELLENT job of bringing this story to life. I've been listening to audiobooks daily since the late 80's, and know that narrators can make or break an audiobook. Frazier hit this one out of the ballpark. A definite recommend.

3 people found this helpful

I bawled

Yes, it's a feel good story with a HEA, but there's some angst to get through before you get to the HEA. Not too much though. Overall, a really good book.
*spoiler alert!*
What is with mentioning the little red blinking light at the end of their first sex scene if it didn't lead to anything later? I kept expecting a porn video of them to be used by someone who wanted to ruin their lives.
I think this the first time I'd listened to Jason Frazier. Overall, I liked his narration, though he may need to work a bit on his young girl voices. They grated on my nerves. Speaking of young girl voices, he gave one to an older man at the company picnic. Weird.

1 person found this helpful

a testament that love can bring you into the light

this is the story of Deacon a young man who has been emotionally abused all his life by those who believe should have loved him and a man named Steve was spent his life pretending to be someone he's not both of them showing that they can be proud of who they are.

This Story tugged at my heartstrings!

I have a penchant for May/December romances and I love ones with a big age gap.
Deacon grew up poor, on the wrong side of town, an alcoholic mother that blamed him for all of her failed relationships. Now on Christmas Eve, he finds himself in a bar alone, his mother once again calling him names, and his boyfriend dumped him by text. He meets Steve, a handsome businessman and they hit it off. Then he gets a call from his sister that his mother was in an accident and finds himself staying there, back in his hometown and the house he hated to raise his 16-year-old sister. The characters are amazing, the storyline interesting and plenty of twists.

I would give Jason Frazier a 15 on narration alone. Holy cow, his voice is sultry and hot but he adds in all of these mmms, moans, grunts, sighs and I melted with each one. He gives each character a unique personality even the kids and women you could tell who is who. I think he brings a fabulous story to even greater heights. I could listen to this one over and over!

If you like older men/younger men, Car salesmen, cute kids, and fabulous romance I highly recommend this and if you can get the audio do so!

Northern Star

Deacon had a rough life growing up. His alcoholic mom was single and had men coming and going. And she certainly did not approve of him being gay and didn't want him around. She blamed him for all that was wrong with her life. He escaped when he could and only saw her around holidays. But then everything goes wrong for him. He's decided to leave his mom's home on Christmas Eve because he can't take it anymore. He gets an e-mail from his boyfriend dumping him and telling him to have his stuff moved out. A blizzard hits and he's stranded in a hotel. And, to top it off, his mom is in a wreck caused by her drunk driving and his teenage sister needs him to pick up the pieces. While at the hotel bar drinking away the misery of his dumping, he meets an older hot guy, Steve. Steve and Deacon plan for a hook-up but as Deacon's life falls further apart, it becomes much more.

I didn't hate the characters but I also didn't love them. I thought Deacon had a lot of potential and found him amusing when he was getting drunk in the bar. I was horrified by what he was saying to Steve, only because I thought he would be but it was funny. He was definitely putting good effort into drinking his ex away. But that was about the end of the feel-good emotions for me. The rest of it just seemed depressing, which is probably how Deacon felt as well. I don't know that I ever come to have strong feelings about Steve. At first, I really liked him but then he got on my nerves regarding the way he acted towards Deacon. Almost parental, instead of as a boyfriend.

The narrator of the story is Jason Frasier, a first-time narrator for me. He had an easy-to-listen-to voice, was able to give many characters voices and didn't have weird pauses in his narration. He brought the story to life and expressed emotions appropriately. Though he did give individual voices to most characters, I wasn't a fan of his young girl voice. And I'm sure it's just me, but I was not a fan of the kissing noises he acted out. It just felt awkward, but again, probably just me!

This is the first book I've read/listened to from this author and I've had a hard time writing this review. I've read books with much heavier topics and didn't feel the level of sadness that I did with this one. I felt bad for Deacon, but maybe if he spent less time in his head running through everything negative that had happened in his life, it may help him. And, maybe if I'd read/listened to it at a different time, I'd feel different. This is a book that you should judge on your own. If you read reviews, you'll know my thinking is the minority so don't let my confusion over my feelings stop you from checking out this book!

Overall: 4 stars
Performance: 4 stars
Story: 4 stars