Title: More than Everything
Series: Family, #3
Author: Cardeno C
Narrator: Ezekiel Robison
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 7 hours and 46 minutes
Publisher: The Romance Authors LLC (02-23-16)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts
Blurb: Time might not heal all wounds, but with two motivated and strong-willed men on a campaign to win him back, Charlie will get more than he ever thought possible.
As a teenager, Charlie “Chase” Rhodes meets Scott Boone and falls head over heels in love with the popular, athletic boy next door. Charlie thinks he’s living the dream when Scott says he feels the same way. But his dreams are dashed when Scott unexpectedly moves away.
Years later, Charlie meets brash and confident Adan Navarro, who claims all he wants is a round between the sheets. After eight months together, Charlie is convinced Adan returns his love. But when the opportunity comes to be open about their relationship, Adan walks away.
Time passes and life moves on, but when Charlie learns the only two men he’s ever loved are now in love with each other, his heart breaks all over again. Scott and Adan tell Charlie they want him back, but Charlie doesn’t know if he can trust two people who have hurt him so deeply. Time might not heal all wounds, but with two motivated and strong-willed men on a campaign to win him back, Charlie will get more than he ever thought possible.
Product Link: http://amzn.to/1MiywRi
Reviewer: Tams
Review: Charlie Rhodes is in his thirties, going through the motions in life. Work, sleep, eat… he loves to dance, always has, but his love of dancing is the only love that has stayed with him through life. Charlie has loved two men, his high school sweetheart Scott, and a college lover Adan. When push came to shove, both men walked out of Charlie’s life without as much as a backwards glance. When his sister is killed, Charlie becomes the sole guardian for his young niece and nephew. In a strange twist of fate, it’s this traumatic time in his life when love reappears.
Scott Boone realized he was in love with his best friend and neighbor, Charlie Rhodes, the night of prom when instead of wanting to kiss his date; he wanted to rush home and kiss Charlie. The two make promises to each other that can only be broken at such a young, tender age. And that is exactly what happens when Scott moves to Nevada to be a closer to his little sister.
Adan Navarro is a player. He meets them, beds them, then gets up and walks away. Something is different about Chase Rhodes from the start though. Adan finds himself watching, admiring, wanting more for the first time. But when push comes to shove and Chase needs Adan to voice his feelings, he too walks out of Chase’s life.
The three points converge when Charlie moves to Nevada to care for his sister’s children after her death. The only two men he ever loved, the men that left him alone and killed Charlie’s need to be loved, roll back into his life like a tornado, threatening to destroy Charlie emotionally. It really is a small world after all when the two loves of one man’s life wind up together.
The story is told mainly through Charlie Chase Rhodes POV as he puts together a scrapbook of his life. The good, the bad, the ugly and the happy ever after Charlie feared he would never have. From the first day he looked out his bedroom window and fell hard for Scott, to the day Scott left him alone and broken-hearted. Meeting Adan and going from skeptical to happy that his heart was big enough to love another man, only to be broken in half again when he too walks away.
The death of his sister, one of the hardest times in Charlie’s life, a time that morphs into so much more when Scott and Adan walk through his front door and stake their claim, refuse to let Charlie go ever again. Oh he fights them, every step of the way, makes them prove that they love him and won’t ever hurt him again. What Scott and Adan give him is love, commitment, security and a family… it is more than everything.
Narrated by Ezekiel Robison and I really enjoy his style of storytelling. It took me a few minutes to get used to the voice he gave Charlie. He is flamboyant, full of life and energy, the kind of person you want to be around because his joy just spreads over everything.
The twist on that, what really sold me on the choice of tone for Charlie was how Robison really brought Charlie’s pain to life after losing both men. Having the ability to convey that pain and hurt by literally bringing down Charlie’s voice much in the way CC brought the character down for a while there. Adan is the most accretive character so it made sense that Robison gave him a deeper, more commanding voice. Scott is the glue that holds them together, his tone was more neutral, and again fitting the way the character was written.
There is a good deal of angst and drama in this story; heartache and pain. But the balance is the happy times Charlie has with Scott, the two of them learning about and exploring their sexuality, together. Adan charging into Charlie’s life like a bull in a china shop, only to find temperance through Charlie.
My favorite aspect of the story was the semantics of their relationship toward the end. Scott and Adan are very successful with their law firm, could afford any of the riches life has to offer. But what they want, what makes them happy is to support Charlie and the kids, create a safe place for them, become a family and build a home.
Definitely a must listen story, I’m certain it would read just as well. But the narration really brought each character to life and gave them a distinct voice.
Either way, I highly recommend.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *