Not a Game

Perfect fluffy goodness!

Any additional comments?

I honestly didn't think I could love this story any more than I already did. Easily on my favorites shelf, this is a perfectly fluffy, low angst, feel good romance that is absolutely, impeccably captured by Michael Ferraiuolo's performance.

I loved every minute of it.

Ferraiuolo's choices for Oliver, Jaime, and Jack's voices were faultless. He precisely captures Oliver's shyness, Jaime's infatuation, and even Jack's wistfulness.

The narration is a brilliant complement to a really wonderful, lovely story.

This is a perfect romance for anyone looking for a lighter, low angst, feel good story with great characters, hot sex, and a perfect sigh-worthy HEA ending.

Highly Recommended!

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

So Effin' Sweet!!!! 6 stars!

Oh my goodness this is SO effin’ SWEET!

The blurb tells the basics: Oliver, an overweight game designer, has moved to Seattle and has decided to do a make-over with his life.. He hires an escort to teach him how to be a better lover since he was told by an ex that he lacked skill. When Jaime, a very attractive older man, comes over and notices the book he’d brought in to signal the escort, Oliver assumes Jaime is the escort.

Jaime is just a man who’s finally realized his passion leans toward bigger men and he’s finally embracing it and he approaches Oliver out of real interest, not professional, but he realizes that Oliver needs the “paying for it” to overcome his shyness.

Just as can be predicted from the beginning – the deception can only go so far before someone gets hurt.

But… it’s so much more than that. There are layers, and a sad ex and growth and laughter.

**

Unlike SO MANY books with overweight characters – this is NOT A MAKEOVER STORY! Thank GOD! Oliver is PERFECT as he is and Jaime shows him that he can be loved exactly as he is.

Even disguised as “just getting healthy”, books that show the MC changing their bodies and finding love are really telling everyone that only the physically perfect can find love. Even if the author tries to show differently. Cardeno C doesn’t do that and it’s so beautiful!

Another GORGEOUS part of this story is that there is no BIG MISUNDERSTANDING! Instead of drama and angst, we have two grown-ups having conversations about their concerns. Despite the way they met. It was so refreshing!

The writing is excellent as always. I couldn’t put this down and in fact started reading it again as soon as I’d finished.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a sweet, somewhat unique, low-angst romance. It’s funny, terribly sweet and somewhat thought provoking.

Highly Recommended

Audio

Michael Ferraiuolo does an excellent job with this. He gives both Jaime and Oliver very calm, serene voices and nobody has any over the top accents to add drama to this lovely story. He’s excellent with pacing, is easy to listen to and adds just the right touch to bring this story to life. Highly recommended.

6 of 5 stars

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A definite must-listen for M/M romance fans!

For me, the characters-especially the main characters-are the driving factor in determining if I like a story or not. That's one of the reasons I keep coming back to Cardeno C.'s books...I know I'm going to get wonderful characters who are complex and deep, and with distinct personalities. I'm also going to get characters that are easy to relate to, and that is clearly illustrated here in Not A Game with one of the main characters, Oliver.

Oh my goodness, Oliver is just so sweet and adorable. He's insecure, extremely self-conscious and not at all confident in himself, with the majority of these things being caused by the size of his body (all of these things struck a huge chord with me). Then we have Jaime, who is the exact opposite, and is Oliver's dream guy in pretty much every way. They meet under some interesting and unique circumstances, setting up some complications for their relationship right from the start.

What Oliver doesn't realize? He's Jaime's dream guy too-something Jaime has to help Oliver understand and accept. This is complicated by a little...well, maybe not so little...secret that Jaime has.

It is so heartwarming to watch the relationship develop between them, especially as we watch Jaime help Oliver open up. And while things between them are sweet and evolve slowly, there's also a nice bit of spice to complement that as things grow ever more serious for the two of them. I loved every moment of their interactions, though for me once Oliver discovers Jaime's secret, it felt less strained than I expected given what Jaime was hiding.

Not A Game is classic Cardeno C. storytelling at its best, and was a 4.5-star read for me. I'd recommend this for any M/M contemporary romance fan, and it's for those readers 18+ due to the M/M sexual content. I hope we get to read more from this world, as I'd love to get Jack's story as well! As Jaime's best friend and somewhat pining ex, I'd really like to see him get his own HEA :-)

The narration: I thought Michael Ferraiuolo did an outstanding job with Not A Game. His smooth, even voice and well done characters kept my head in the story--even when I was listening at work. He did an excellent job bringing Oliver and Jaime to life, and made me love them both even more I truly enjoyed listening to his narration of this book, and am now looking for what other stories he's narrated. 5 stars for the narration!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I liked the narrator....

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I may have liked it better if I didn't feel like the author was pushing their personal issues with sexism in gaming down my throat. And I was hoping for a fat character who actually liked himself.

Would you ever listen to anything by Cardeno C. again?

Totally. This one just wasn't for me.

Have you listened to any of Michael Ferraiuolo’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Loved the narrator. Characters have unique voices that match their personality (like how shy, insecure Oliver is soft-spoken). I would definitely listen to him again.

What character would you cut from Not a Game?

The "sexist co-worker" characters. They seemed exist solely to show us how mean (straight) boys are in the workplace.

Any additional comments?

These characters have zero chemistry. Their relationship was just awkward and rushed. And Oliver was almost child-like sometimes, which was weird. And oliver's easy acceptance of Jamie's real identity was ridiculous. And the attempt to throw in all current slang phrases reminded me of when my grandma tries to use phrases she learns on facebook (on fleek. Shade. The struggle is real. And on and on) was annoying. Also annoying: basically getting preached to about those sexist dudebros in gaming. Why must we constantly be reminded that basically every straight man at the office was a pig? Plus I just found the story boring.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Sweet!

couldn't put this down. incredible, improbable but believable storyline. characters were so likeable. cardeno c did it again.

First impression

This is of this genre and I enjoy it. I like the one of the MCs has real life concerns like his insecurities about himself. It did get annoying however it seem to be realistic and later he does display growth in himself from being in a relationship. I just enjoy it. The narration was excellent, no complaints.

Very enjoyable

I liked the love story between Oliver and Jaime. I think Oliver's insecurity was a bit over the top though. Im glad the big reveal was handled in a low angst way and led to a more cemented relationship between them.
The narration was good. I could tell the difference between the characters. I guess my only complaint is that I am an Okie and there wasn't even a hint of an Okie accent when Oliver spoke. I can guarantee that anyone born and raised in Oklahoma will have a bit of an accent.

Awesome!

I'm a huge Cardeno C. fan, but I hadn't had time to read this book since it came out, so when we were given the chance to review the audiobook, I jumped at the opportunity.

Oliver is a chubby nerd, with low self-esteem issues that he hopes to get over to find the man of his life. Mistaking Jaime for the man he was supposed to meet at a bar, provides him with the chance to make some of the changes he'd planned on doing in his life. The more time they spend together the more he likes Jaime, but he's not sure Jaime could really be attracted to him, considering Jaime could have any man he wants.

Oliver and Jaime were adorable together and individually. Oliver is shy, sweet and funny and Jaime is oh so very dreamy and treats Oliver with all the gentle passion that the situation requires. They're so hot together and I just adored listening to their interactions, they definitely fit together in more things than just in the bedroom, but the explosive sex definitely was a huge plus!

The story is as amazing as Cardeno C. has me used to. Flawlessly written, with a very organic progression in regards to Oliver and Jaime's relationship and very light on the angst, which was just what I needed.

The narration was awesome as well. Michael Ferraiuolo has a very pleasant voice and really brought the story to life for me. He did an outstanding job with all the different voices he came with for the different characters and of course, it doesn't hurt that he was really good at reading the hotter than hot sex scenes, either.

All in all, either by reading or listening Not a Game, you definitely can't go wrong! Highly recommendable!

Rating: Story: 5 Stars!!!
Narration: 5 Stars!!!
Overall: 5 Stars!!!

*** Audible code provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my listening pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement.***

Awesome book!

I enjoyed this audiobook, but was not particularly blown away by the narration. This was my first audiobook by Michael Ferraiuolo and I just did not feel like he differentiated the voices enough. I guess I am getting spoiled by all of the narrators who actually do different voices for characters. I don't want a book just read to me, but want an experience. I love this story though so I did like the audiobook as well.

One of my favorites by the author

The vocal performer was pretty good. He had a slight variation in voices between most characters. There were a couple of times it was hard to distinguish who was talking but it became clear quick enough that I wasn’t too bothered.

My relationship with this author is tenuous at times. I literally almost DNF one of her books at like 90% because I was SO mad about what happened (and yes, I’m still bitter about that). BUT, I really liked this book. Is it perfect? No. Are there issues that might be hard for some to overlook? Yes. It’s not earth shattering either. Is it light, entertaining and low on angst? Yes! And the premise is unique enough to hold my attention and keep me from putting it down.

I liked both characters a lot. Oliver is a self-conscious, cubby, inexperienced geek that moved to a new town to try to makes some major changes in his life. He’s super smart, quirky and cute but is completely socially inept at times due to lack of experience and self-confidence. Jamie is the exact opposite – he’s confident and well experienced in relationships. I love Jamie’s patience with Oliver. I love that Jamie wants Oliver as is instead of wanting him to change. I love that Oliver didn’t over react when he learned the truth.

They do move fast in their relationship after the first couple of times they get together. It’s almost insta-lovey but it worked for me. The first few times they meet are very descriptive, lengthy scenes and the rest of the book sort of flies by but I didn’t have a huge problem with that.

Overall, and possibly because of my history with this author, I liked this book a lot and would totally recommend it.