Title: Better
Author: Jaime Samms
Narrator: Randy Fuller
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 8 hours and 33 minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (02-21-14)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts
Blurb: After filing charges that put his abusive ex-Dom behind bars, Jesse Turbul relocates halfway across the country, hoping to escape his past—but, of course, it’s never that easy. When Jesse meets third-year law student Aadon at the library where he works, their mutual attraction is instant and obvious.
Despite the sparks, they just can’t seem to make it work. Aadon is mired in guilt over his inability to help his older brother, damaged by events far too similar to Jesse’s past. Jesse is stuck in his own desperate wish to forget the painful shadow that continues to threaten him and any hope of a happy future.
The only way to move forward is for Jesse to acknowledge he’s broken and for Aadon to accept he can’t make him better.
Warning: Graphic scenes may trigger readers sensitive to abuse issues.
Product Link: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Better-Audiobook/B00IJF9QYO
Reviewer: Tams
Review: Jesse Turbul lives a life of fear and isolation, all but paralyzed by the abuse he suffered at the hands of his ex, a vicious man who used the guise of a Dom/sub relationship to physically and mentally abuse Jesse. After pressing charges and putting his tormentor behind bars, Jesse moved away and is trying to have some resemblance of a life, going to school, working in the library. When a fellow student shows interest in Jesse, it scares him and opens up old wounds.
Aadon has admired Jesse from afar for a while, not only attracted to shy guy that works at the library, but also sensing he and Jesse share a mutual interest in the type of relationship they want. But pursuing Jesse turns out to be very challenging, to say the least. Aadon is determined to learn the truth behind Jesse’s scars though.
The two begin a shaky friendship, with both wanting more but not acting on that want for different reasons. Aadon slowly unravels the mystery behind Jesse and what makes him so skittish and falls in love with the broken soul he holds in his hands. But Jesse’s hesitancy to trust anyone coupled with troubling news from home send him back into his self-imposed isolation and makes him drive away the one man who stood a chance at rescuing him, from himself.
I was drawn into this story almost immediately but somewhere along the way, the story started to drag and I found myself skimming here and there. I can’t quite put my finger on it, not quite angst but close. The story itself is what kept me going though, I became invested in these two men wanting, no needing to know whether or not they got their version of a happy ever after. This was definitely a case of narration hindering the finesse of the story, in my opinion.
My first audible from Randy Fuller and it will probably be my last. While I could hear the despair in Jesse’s voice when he was the focus, Fuller chose to use two subtly different tones for Aadon, which was confusing. I had to rewind a couple of times to be sure that it was actually Aadon who was meant to be speaking.
Sadly, I have to give this book a lower rating at this time because of the mediocre narration. I mean to go back and read the written version of this story at some point, because THAT kept me listening to this audio book. The grit and grime that was Jesse’s life, what he went through and how he survived and how he so wants to be better, to be more. And finally coming to the realization that it is something he has to do himself. He can love Aadon, but he can’t rely on Aadon to make it all better.
So, my recommendation, READ the book, and skip the audio.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *