Title: Stuck in Oz
Series: Tales from Kansas 02
Author: Andrew Grey
Narrator: Rusty Topsfield
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 4 hrs, 7 mins
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (13th June 2017)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Blurb: When Jeremy and Petey’s mother died, their house was taken to pay the debts she left behind, leaving them homeless. Afraid Petey will be put in foster care, they have no one to turn to but their Uncle Milt, so they pack up Jeremy’s beat-up car and leave San Diego for Wamego, Kansas.
They arrive in the middle of a snowstorm and stop at the local diner to contact their uncle, where they meet Nate. Nate and his aunt help them contact Uncle Milt, and he agrees to help.
Jeremy and Nate hit it off quickly, but Jeremy runs when he’s made to believe their new home isn’t permanent. Nate goes after him, finds him, and convinces him that he’s wanted. However, just as Jeremy and Nate begin to trust each other, Petey’s estranged father appears and threatens to tear Jeremy’s new life and fledgling family apart.
Product Link: Audible US | Audible UK | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Reviewer: Prime
Review: I love a good Andrew Grey book (to prove it, I have 18 books on Audible and all his books in ebook format), which is basically any book the man writes, and Stuck in Oz is no exception, so I’ll keep this to the point. Grey is brilliant at writing heartfelt stories, that of course include a beautiful romance, that is gentle, relatable and believable. His characters are down to earth, and everything just works. He also tends to add children into the story which takes heartwarming to a whole new level.
Narration for this story was done by Rusty Topsfield. He has narrated as number of the Dreamspun Desire imprint that I could basically eat up for breakfast if it was a foodstuff. I really liked Topsfield’s voice and the tone that he lent to the character. He nailed the performance in for the entire Tales from Kansas series.
The story starts in heartbreak. In order to keep what is left of his little family together after their mother’s death, Jeremy is forced to sell the family home in San Diego and with nothing left for him and his baby brother Petey, he goes on a cross country expedition to find his only other living relative. Jeremy and Petey aren’t prepared for life – or weather – in Wamego, Kansas but Jeremy will do anything to keep his brother out of foster care. Arriving in Kansas during a snowstorm, he meets Nate who helps Jeremy find his Uncle Milt.
This book is mostly Jeremy’s story – he has to grow and come to realize that he doesn’t need to keep on running and that happiness won’t be taken away from him. After all, life has left him with a lot of insecurities. Only from there can the sweet, fledgling relationship between Jeremy and Nate become something more. On a side note, Uncle Milt is a wonderful secondary character.
Words cannot express, well more than I have without going on for much longer, how much I love Stuck in Love and how incredible heartwarming and sweet the romance is. In short, if you love Andrew Grey, read/listen to it. If you love a sweet, slow burn romance, read/listen to it.