-sigh-

Any additional comments?

This story annoyed the hell out of me! Yes, it was a lovely story and Joel Leslie performance was outstanding. But ....SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ...SPOILERS

THE BREAK UP:

You're left with the feeling that Vinnie cheated on Ben.

Ben is jealous (because who wouldn't be) when your man is hanging out with some other dude all the time. I mean seriously, Ben is at the new guy house painting, when his boyfriend (Ben) has given him more space than he deserves to paint at home.

Vinnie doesn't call Ben nor does he leave his phone on when 'supposedly' going out to drink with his new friend. He doesn't invite Ben (you know his boyfriend) out with him and the new friend.

Ultimately, he leaves Ben for this new friend. Vinnie could have stayed with his brothers but chose the new guy to live with. And the entire time, Ben is being shredded apart believing it's his fault Vinnie left.

What truly had me hating this story was the fact that Vinnie chose the new guy over Ben over and over again and in Vinnie's words, "he was so nice at first" (he's talking about the new guy). So because this new guy was soooo nice, he chose to ignore and break his boyfriend heart (Ben) who gave Vinnie a home, helped find him business, absolutely adored him. But the niceness of this new guy had Vinnie treat Ben as though he was trash and not once does Ben take a step back to acknowledge that Vinnie and his care for his new friend was the main factor their relationship ended.

Vinnie cheated! Doesn't matter if it was physical or emotionally but he was the reason the relationship ended and it was never addressed. Ben spent all his time wanting back Vinnie, being completely faithful while Vinnie is living and sleeping with the new guy but somehow all of that is Bens fault.

Then we're to feel bad for Vinnie because he's being domestically abused -rolls my eyes- Vinnie put himself in a crappy situation yet this is Ben's fault too!

The new guy is gone and Ben and Vinnie are back together again with no real consequence to Vinnie leaving Ben for another man. Ben swears it's his fault the relationship failed and poor poor Vinnie had no fault in his actions at all! But somehow within days, trust is rebuilt and all is good. I guess all is good until another good looking nice guy comes around.

So yea! I hated that part of the story. The fact that Vinnie put another man first breaking Ben's heart disgusted me. But the fact that Ben took all the blame without addressing Vinnie's actions just p*ssed me off and made me hate this story!!!!

27 people found this helpful

great story with great vocal performance

the vocal performance was pretty good...i'm an american so i love the english accent - A LOT. he offered several voices for the characters as well a solid performance, sucking me into the story and keeping me interested throughout.

i LOVE this cover – so hot and perfect for the story! The writing was pretty good…I love English books – their spelling and slang is different than ours and I love it. It seems like this could be the start to a series…I’d love to see books about Vinnie’s brothers – Theo and Finn.

When we first meet Ben he seems a bit snobbish and shallow. He’s also a bit of a man whore…only partaking in quickies in the back room of the club he frequents. When he finally finds the courage to introduce himself to Vinnie and gets to know him, he starts to get a good figurative look in the mirror. Vinnie has had to work hard for the little he does have and is not interested in being another notch in Ben’s bedpost. Ben realizes that if he wants anything to do with Vinnie, he’s going to have to make a change or two. While in their relationship with Vinnie he really is a sweet, affectionate guy. He also gets along well with both of Vinnie’s brothers. He matures quite a bit during their time together and truly becomes a great man. He suffered a bit of a tragedy as a child which Vinnie helps him through.

Vinnie is a bit shy and reserved. He lacks self-confidence in his work and even while in a relationship with Ben is easily manipulated by someone else (not going to say more here as I don’t want to add a spoiler). As he becomes more successful and gains more confidence he really becomes a great man too. By the end, the two of them together are the perfect pair.

The secondary characters are really great – I’d love to see a couple of follow up books about Vinnie’s brothers – Theo and Finn. There was a pretty good setup for their stories in this book.

The angst in this book was so heart-breaking. It brought tears to my eyes several times. I just wanted to hug each of the boys. Theo and Finn were really great to Ben during the time of trouble.

One of my complaints about the book is that we didn’t get to see Vinnie’s reaction to Ben’s tattoo. I think that could have been a magical moment.

Overall, a great listen or read!

25 people found this helpful

Ben and Vinnie

Would you listen to Paint the Sky again? Why?

Yes because I really liked the story.

What about Joel Leslie’s performance did you like?

I loved his voice and accent.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me smile quite often and I did laugh quite a few times.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this for anyone that enjoys a good mm romance. It is contemporary and light hearted. There is some angst but it is low key in my opinion.

24 people found this helpful

wonderful story!

thoroughly enjoyed this book. the narrator captured characters wonderfully. his accent was delightful. The cover of the book captured the theme of the story perfectly . was so glad to hear the HEA. after all the pain and heartbreak.

21 people found this helpful

Very Enjoyable Book

Would you listen to Paint the Sky again? Why?

I would love to hear Ben and Vinnie's story again

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the Birthday evening

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

First time I have listened to his voice, loved it, great job

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I had to rake a break but had it listened too within 36 hours

20 people found this helpful

Great Book!

What did you love best about Paint the Sky?

Loved the story! New to me author and I can't wait to read more of her books!

20 people found this helpful

Paint the Sky review

Would you listen to Paint the Sky again? Why?

I don't listen to books a second time, so no I wouldn't.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I loved the ending, it was satisfying and felt good.

What does Joel Leslie bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Joel did a perfect job narrating the story. I adore his voice, it's deep and mellow and very pleasant to listen to.

If you could take any character from Paint the Sky out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Theo

Any additional comments?

3.75 Stars.What I loved: Paint the Sky is the story of two recent college grads. They come from very different backgrounds and economic situations. The story between Ben and Vinny was wonderful. As an amateur astronomer I loved the theme running through the book of using the night sky in various ways to help tell the story. Their's was a nice, sexy boy meets boy story and the narrator was amazing. I loved his voice. The characters make honest mistakes and eventually learn and grow up enough to start getting through them. I thought the sex scenes were beautifully done and hot!What I didn't love: There were a few plot points that I thought was a little off putting. When Ben and Vinny hit a snag in their relationship Ben's father basically tells him to man up and reminds him there are plenty of others out there. Coming from a married man who must have had some bumps in his own romance I thought that reaction was very odd.Vinny's family totally had me confused. They kept a pretty close relationship with Ben during a time that he and Vinny were broken up and to me that is a very big no-no. It seemed they were more supportive of Ben than their own brother. One of Vinny's brothers went so far as to hit on Ben. None of these issues are really addressed in the book and I thought they should have been, since these are highly emotionally charged issues with the potential to shatter a family. Actually that is my only complaint about the story. The parts of the love story between Ben and Vinny are wonderful with a number of ups and downs and a great ending.

11 people found this helpful

As gorgeous as it's cover.

Where does Paint the Sky rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very highly. The narration is perfect... with really nice differentiation between characters and he has a fabulous accent that I love listening to. This was one of the most complex and heart wrenching m/m romances I've read. You really become invested the characters and their inability to open up to each other and share what's in their heart.

What did you like best about this story?

The painting scene - it was so sexy and really beautifully written.

What about Joel Leslie’s performance did you like?

Excellent narration... lovely to listen to.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's very emotional... but not in an over-wrought way. The ending is worth all the ups and downs you go through! They are both imperfect damaged characters - which made the book all that more interesting. It wasn't about two perfect hunks who immediately have a fairy tale romance. This story had some darker edges to it that gave it real depth. It's a beautifully written story and the characters are layered and intriguing.

Any additional comments?

A true romance in the best sense of the word.

8 people found this helpful

Feelings all mixed up like swirling colors.

I would start by saying that I enjoyed Joel Leslie's performance. His performing skills are incomparable specially with different accent variations.

As for the story, it's given me mixed emotions. It does have a HEA but how and why they got a HEA is something I'm still struggling with. The story is being told in a very realistic progression. Boy meets boy during last term of college. They fell in love and fell out of it.

However, what bothered me the most is Vinnie. He is portrayed as this struggling but gifted artist with a gentle spirit. He is fiercely independent with a stubborn streak. He is also a bit reserved.

Ben is the hot catch, he is a musician with sharp business acumen, who used to be a player but got his act together once he got together with Vinnie. He's moved at Vinnie's pace when they finally got into a relationship.

The process of drifting apart from each other bothered me. Like any other romance stories, it all boiled down to miscommunication or the lack of it. That and quite possibly Vinnie's emotional cheating.

I could not fathom why it was SO easy for Vinnie to walk out of Ben's life and their relationship. He accused Ben of controlling him. Yet, he jumped straight into a worst relationship with James. Vinnie even admitted James was trying to take him away from Ben even when they were together. How had he kept being friends with James when he knew what his motivations were?

Ben is no perfect by any means. For example, he could have just asked. He could have talked it over with Vinnie, specially his reservations regarding James. But nope, kept it all in and hell broke lose when he couldn't process his emotions properly. AND my pet peeve, he WAITED for the PERFECT TIMING. Waited for Vinnie to pick up his paintings, Waited for Vinnie to get in touch. He just waited and waited in agony

It was so heartbreaking to hear it from Ben's perspective and understandably so. He took his time with Vinnie, earned his trust, he got Vinnie's back. Yes, he really needed to communicate better. But that should not be a breaking point.

Vinnie made really bad choices, emotional decisions but was too stubborn to admit he made a mistake, even to apologize. Instead, he got himself into deeper ugly situation and his brothers AND Ben had to swoop in and save him from himself. He clearly learned a lesson or two.

I am glad, for Ben's sake that he got his Vinnie back and they had the chance to start over. I am all for second chances. I just wish it highlighted the moment when Vinnie saw Ben's tattoo. I wanted to see his reaction, how Ben got it in memory of their good times.

Like I said, the story is being told very realistically. It's got me feeling all types of way. And yes, I will read more from Lily. She clearly knows how to get a reaction from me. Four stars, overall.

3 people found this helpful

Ben yes, Vinnie no

I enjoyed listening to Mr. Leslie narrating this book and the voices he gave the many characters. Emotional and complicated, the relationship between Ben and Vinnie starts really good and I hoped for a more balanced story. Ben is hopelessly in love with Vinnie, and does so many things to show it too. Vinnie comes across as immature, I don't like him too much when he chooses to throw all that away for one who abuses him. Why?
I am glad there is a HEA though so it is not all lost.

3 people found this helpful