A comfort listen.

O'leary, sadly doesn't exist in the real world: an accepting kind of place. Fall isn't high literature but rather a comfy robe and good tea or coffee to curl up with and just enjoy.
The angst level is low. The steam just right; driving the tale where necessary but not so much and often that you lose the story in sex.
I hope we see more of the town of O'leary.
The narration rocked.

11 people found this helpful

May I have some MORE Please?

I really enjoyed the story and the characters. The readers Alexander and Iggy did a great job. Sure for a small town in upstate NY it's bit unrealistic that most of the town is gay and so acceptable BUT it is a gay M/M romance so.... Everet and Silas are funny and the town characters are amusing as well. The whole time I was listening I was thinking I hope this is a 5 or 6 book series! Imagine my disappointment When I found out this is the only one! Audible Please get Alex and Iggy to read the next book. And Ms. Archer Please find some new adventures for Ev , Si and all the rest of the O'learians. I want to move there my self and eat some Cal and Ashe's lemon bars.

8 people found this helpful

Too much pride parade, not enough plot

The issue that I have as a gay man reading M/M fiction mostly written by straight women is that although a lot of stories are lovely, others are full of tropes that ring false. For example, the GFY stories which are borderline offensive or the trope of the bisexual who "thought he was straight" until he realized he was in love with his best friend's cute brother, which, I'm sorry to say, rarely happens. The books end up being a rumination on how women want their M/M romances to be and less about how a M/M romance actually works, sort of how lesbian pornography is mostly marketed toward straight men.

This book has the opposite problem, however. Instead of everyone being basically a woman trapped in a straight guy's body, a good portion of the characters are Gay with a capital G and those who aren't sure talk about it a lot. These guys are way gayer than I am, and I slept with a dude last night. I came out twenty years ago but if someone I just met said to me "I bet this town has a problem with queer people who vote liberal" I would roll my eyes and immediately find an excuse to be anywhere else, and not only because I hate the word "queer." Murders and disappearances are happening and all the police officer main character can seem to think of is how great it is to be gay in O'Leary. I made it to the part where a bunch of characters were arguing with each other about what to call their child's non-binary uncle/aunt and peaced out. I don't have 8 hours to waste on this.

Which is a shame, because Iggy Toma and especially Alexander Cendese were doing a great job narrating as usual, and May Archer's prose was relatively good. I won't be buying the other books in this series.

13 people found this helpful

Really enjoyable!

Great story and great narration. Really enjoyed it and can't wait for the next in the series.

3 people found this helpful

good idea with a so-so ending

I wanted to like this book but I really did not. First I absolutely did not like two separate narrators it was very confusing. Especially when the characters were supposed to be 30's and the second narrator made them sound like they were 50's. Second I found the main character (Ev) Everett to be very wishy in his decisions. The way he would flip-flop between wanting a relationship with (Sy) Sylis and then running away. If I was Sylis I would have told Ev to keep running he was not ready for a relationship.
Then there was the underlining mystery. Basically why? it felt like a throw away plot to just have something aside from a love story. There is the town sheriff who seems to just let the mystery slide by. A real sheriff would be on a missing person till it was finished especially when it became two missing people. Also I was able to figure out who the killer was in the beginning. The final climax scene with the killer was far too much a tosser as both men declare their love.
Finally like others have said you really need a score card to keep track of all the towns people. There are far too many characters to keep track of. With the two narrators and their different voices it was very difficult to follow who was who.
A re-write would be great because this has a good story in it you just have to find it.

2 people found this helpful

Loved it!

Great book! I loved the characters and the story line! Binged it in 2 days! Cannot wait for the next one!

2 people found this helpful

Another great series to add to my favourites.

Looks like I have found another series to add to my favourites. This story was great. Full of dynamic characters and their complicated relationships. There is a mystery element to the story but it is not the focus. In fact, even though Sy is a policeman we get most of the information about crime in the area from the residents. I loved watching Si and Ev, and several other characters grow with the story and the phases they went through. The dialogue was realistic as were the characters actions.

I listened to this book, narrated by Iggy Thomas and Alexander Cendese. I'm not a fan of dual narrations because I find it difficult to keep track of the characters when they are read by two different readers but I loved the way both narrators were able to move the story along with their pacing. And the emotions being experienced were felt through the words. If you like audio versions of stories this is a good one to listen to.

2 people found this helpful

Laugh out Loud

There is angst but mostly laughter and some intrigue - really enjoyed Si and Everett - and Grandpa Hen. Could have been a bit more romance the first 1/2 of the book - but, the reasoning is understandable with Ev losing Adrian such a short time ago. The story of these two is enjoyable and smartly written. The wit and sarcasm is ongoing and fun - Alexander Cendese and Iggy Toma are both excellent at their task and hope to see them in the NEXT O'Leary Book on Audible - Please Please May?!!

1 person found this helpful

Enchanting

F. Scott Fitzgerald Said “All good writing is like swimming underwater and holding your breath.”
I definitely understand the sentiment, I have felt as if I was holding my breath for hours on end during the Love in O’Leary Series.
As I fell in love with each couple’s story, I hesitated to proceed onward with the next book because each one was so special and I was slightly worried the magic couldn’t be replicated. To my delight I was proven wrong with every page in the anthology.
Needless to say... I was moved.

Skip this book. Start with the second book.

Ending
💖Happily Ever After

Comedy Level
😄Minimal Comedy


Romance
💜Slow Romantic Build in

Sex
🔥🔥Long Sex Scenes

Series
📘Stand Alone

Misc
👨‍👨‍👧‍👦Too Many Characters (Hard to follow along)

Narrator
💩No Distinct Voice for Each Character

Biased Review
If I hadn't started with the second book, I would never have listened to the rest of the series after reading this book, the first in the series. It is horrible. Plot holes. Too many characters. And its all about two people grieving. Yeah, grief is a normal function of life, but it's just too damn depressing for a warm and fuzzy love story. Which is what the rest of the series is all about.