Single

Cute Single Dad Story

Here is another one of those what I like to call 'comfort food for the brain' stories. It leaves you with all the warm and fuzzies. I will definitely keep this book in my library for those moments when I need a straight forward romance story. The characters were written okay.

I have listened to Sean Crisden narrate several books and he is always great to listen to as a narrator.

An enjoyable story which also kind of sets up the characters for book 2 in the end. Or at least I believe it does.

Worth a credit.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The narration was the best part

Single was a short and mostly uncomplicated love story between a single dad and the ER doctor next door.

In a way this story was a bit of a fail for me because I can’t say that I was all that invested in our main characters I just didn’t feel any connection between them or for them. It was very shallow and picture perfect. Nothing really happened with this book; we have Ash, the single dad to his infant daughter Mia. And being a new dad he is, of course, preoccupied with all things Mia – learning how to be a dad, learning to change a diaper, when to feed her. So his mind is solely focused on surviving one day – or hour to the next.

Sean, the ER doctor that just moved into the house next door kind of disappeared in all things Ash and Mia. I can’t for the life of me remember much about him other than him constantly helping Ash out with Mia in one way or another. He was a bit too perfect in some ways, but kind of also a wallpaper, disappearing into the background – which is never good for a main character to do.

Their romance felt off, it wasn’t there for me and came out of nowhere. Not to mention that their relationship felt very unbalanced with Sean doing all the work and Ash just being there – and not really being there for Sean or doing something in return for him.

I think that Sean Crisden’s narration elevated this story. I mean the story in itself was mostly mediocre, but his performance made it feel less so. He handled the different characters expertly and gave them distinct voices, and added feelings to them as well. We could feel how overwhelmed Ash was at times with Mia, the weight of the responsibility of an infant child. Crisden made you feel what he felt and made these past couple of hours pleasant ones.

While the main character and story failed to grip me, I did become very curious about Brady, one of the minor side characters, and I’m kind of hoping his story is up next in this series.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Good start to the series

Single new dad Asher is not looking for a relationship or a hookup or anything at this point of his life. He's barely getting by taking care of his 6-week old daughter with the occasional help of his twin sister and the last thing he wants is to complicate matters even more by getting involved with his new neighbor ER doctor Sean. Sean has never wanted a relationship before, but there's something about Asher and baby Mia that calls to him and he doesn't want to let go of the chance of more between them.

This was such a sweet, very slow-burn story. It dragged a bit at first, almost as much as Asher did in accepting that accepting other people's help didn't mean that he wasn't a good dad or that he could balance being Mia's dad and starting something with Sean. Really, there was a point when I wasn't sure why Sean kept trying, because Asher was being sooooo difficult I wanted to scream. *sighs* As you might have inferred by that last statement, Sean was my favorite and I loved his roommates, too, Erik and Leo and I'm very intrigued by them and want to know them better. Now, Asher wasn't that bad. I could relate to him somewhat, and I eventually warmed up to him, but really, I would've given in way sooner. Hahahaha! 

I love Sean Crisden's voice, so it was a delight to listen to this story come to life in his voice. He brought forth all of Sean's eagerness to help Asher, to make him see they could be so good together, and Asher's exhaustion and desperation when he couldn't manage in those first days to be what he thought his daughter needed. Recommendable!

Great RJ Scott read perfectly read by Sean Crisden

Honestly I don't think there's much I can add to my original ebook review back in June that would fully express how much I love Ash, Sean, Mia, and the whole gang. Sean Crisden once again brings RJ's words and characters to life in a way that almost reminds me of the old radio shows from the 30s & 40s that I collect. There's no sound effects but he puts so much into the individual characters that sometimes I swear I'm hearing the background noise, the footsteps, the door knocking and creaking open, the cars on the street.

Now I don't normally listen to a book this close to having first read it but the opportunity arose and you know what? Single is just as good in audio as it was on my kindle.

Enjoyable story with solid narration

The setup may seem familiar—single dad who is completely devoted to his child meets hot, caring guy but doesn’t want to compromise where his child is concerned. But RJ Scott takes this and gives it her own touches to keep things fresh and appealing…not to mention she’s drawn me in to this new series, so now I’m excited for the next book already.

Both Asher and Sean’s character were just right. The desire Ash had to start a family gave him the strength to push on even when his ex bailed on him. The descriptions of of his physical and mental state while trying to care for a newborn on his own were spot-on (from what I know of friends and family who have had kids), and that contributes to his likability as a character. Sean might very well be a just-about-perfect man (because nobody’s perfect, but Sean comes awfully close). He’s kind, understanding, protective, giving, and definitely has the caregiver part down pat…which you might expect given he’s a doctor.

I really liked that things developed slowly between them, and that Sean—who had been mostly the hookup type—was affected enough by Ash to find himself wanting something committed instead. Slower relationship development didn’t mean less hot though—it just meant when those moments came up, the intensity left me just as breathless as the characters.

There is a good, solid cast of supporting characters. Ash’s sister is a solid support system for him as he’s learning the parenting ropes. I was a bit wary of his mother due to the reason behind their estrangement, but that eased off my mind as the story progressed. And Sean’s housemates Eric and Leo, as well as some of the guys from Ash’s single dad support group, have my interest piqued for future stories in the series.

Single was a 4.5-star read for me, and will definitely be enjoyed by any M/M romance fan. I’m not usually one to pick up a book with kids in it, but Ash’s daughter Mia’s role does not eclipse the romance; she actually enhances the story without the over-cuteness I’ve sometimes found in other books with babies and children in them. Though Ash and the others try to rein in the language with Mia around, there’s still enough adult language—and Ash and Sean get up to enough intimate contact—for this story to be for readers 18+.

The narration: Sean Crisden really did these characters justice with his narration. The opening scene was my favorite in particular, but overall he did a great job capturing emotions and giving the characters their own voices. I hope he’ll be continuing to narrate the series—I’m already looking forward to hearing the next one. 5 stars for the narration!

Nice Beginning. <br />

This is a nice beginning. I have high hopes for the next book. I'm new to this author and I look forward in listening to more books by her. This story was nice and sweet. I loved the characters especially, the bestfriends and Asher's sister. The only little complaint I have about this story, is that I feel Asher acted a little to extra regarding Mia. Dont get me wrong I totally understand being a single parent and wanting to protect your child but in some of his concerns he was a little to excessive. Sean Crisden is one of the best voice actors out here, and as always he brings these characters to life. I hope that we will not have to wait a long time for the next book to become available on adubile. I recommend this book.

Cute start to what should be a great series!

I read this book initially on release but when I found out Mr. Crisden was performing the audiobook, I knew I had to listen. As usual Mr. Crisden does a perfect job bringing these characters to life.

This is my original review of the ebook:

Single is great start to what should be a great series! This is a low angst, slow burn but quick, sweet read. The story is a bit predictable with almost too perfect characters but is well written, entertaining and the perfect book for this stormy afternoon.

Ash is struggling with low self-esteem while juggling being a new parent/single dad. His vulnerability is matched by his strength making him an enigma Sean cannot ignore. Sean is sweet…the unsung hero in the trio next door to Ash and exactly what Ash doesn’t know he needs.

Leo and Eric – Sean’s roommates – are awesome supporting characters. And oh, I CAN NOT WAIT to read Brady and Eric’s story…the anticipation is HIGH for that one. I’m not sure if we’ve met Leo’s future love interest but I’ll be his story will be worth the wait as well.

I loved it!

As usual, Sean Crisden delivered a fantastic audio performance of another great story by RJ Scott. It was a couple of months ago that I read this book. Listening to the audio made me love it even more. My original review of the ebook follows below.

Single is a great book with all the feels and a nice amount of sexy time. I'm a sucker for stories involving single dads, especially if they are struggling a bit.

Ash followed through with surrogacy plans after his cheating ex left him because he really wanted to be a dad. He's planned for everything but real life doesn't always go according to plan. Thank goodness he has a wonderful sister who's willing to help him out. What he isn't looking for is another dad for Mia. But Ash never expected to meet someone like the hot ER doctor next door.

Sean is instantly attracted to Ash and Mia; he loves kids. He has a hard time getting Ash to even agree to have coffee. He knows that he must take things slow if he's ever going to win Ash over.

This book, like most of RJ's do for me, read as smooth as glass and I couldn't put it down once I started. There was just the right blend of sweet, angst and sexy. I loved the interesting cast of secondary characters and look forward to reading the next book in this series.

An advanced copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com*** (posting on September 6, 2019)

Narrator is the best

I have listen to Sean c. Narrates a couple books now and he is by far one of my favorites narrators. He can make any book interesting. This book is another good one of by RJ. But Sean makes it's way better. I feel he will be a wonderful Actor on screen.