Better Than Friends

Better Than Stories

By: Lane Hayes

Narrated by: Tyler Stevens

Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

When Curt Townsend, a successful young DC lawyer, attends his first gay wedding, he doesn't expect anything more than a great evening out spent celebrating two lucky guys willing to commit to each other. He certainly doesn't anticipate meeting someone like Jack Farinelli. Fourteen years Curt's senior, Jack owns two businesses: a gay bar and a motorcycle shop. He's gorgeous and self-assured, but Curt is positive they have nothing in common.

Jack is comfortable in his own skin. He's attracted to Curt's quick wit and easy manner but most of all to their unexpected mutual love of baseball. As they forge a friendship based on their shared enthusiasm for the sport, they begin a journey that reveals how their differences might be the catalyst behind a growing attraction. Both men have experienced their shares of pain, but they realize they need to set aside the past and learn to trust in the future if they are to have one together.

©2014 Lane Hayes (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press

Age knows no limit on love

Would you listen to Better Than Friends again? Why?

yes, I am older than my husband and I felt that the story I related to because he and I like Jack and curtis seem to know each other far longer than we really did

What was one of the most memorable moments of Better Than Friends?

Jack showing up at the funeral and surprising curt and showing him that he felt for him to

Have you listened to any of Tyler Stevens’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

1st one

Who was the most memorable character of Better Than Friends and why?

jack hands down he seemed so sexy and well defined as a man, he had so many layers.

Any additional comments?

LOved the book am wondering if this is a story a 2nd book would be worth or if it would take some of the magic away

I Enjoyed it More as it Progressed

Any additional comments?

I started listening to this one a few times and stopped. I just could not get into it. It's narrated in first person and Tyler Stevens sounded so whiny as Curtis. Finally I made it through the first 20 mins and started getting into the story a bit. As I liked Curtis more the nasal whine of Tyler's narration was less nerve grating.I ended up enjoying the story very much overall. I have not read the first two books in this series and now I am intrigued to check them out.

A Surprising Fabulous Story

I really enjoyed listening to this wonderful tale of giving love a try one more more time and the performer was wonderful! Great audio!

Opposites often attract

What did you love best about Better Than Friends?

Sitting back and enjoying the ride as Curt shows Jack it's okay to be more than friends.

What did you like best about this story?

The way their relationship slowly grew as they spent more time together and got to know each other better.

What does Tyler Stevens bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I haven't read any of the series, I've listened, and I love how through each book he carries the characters from the previous book over with the some tones and inflections, while creating something entirely new for the current characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed outloud a few times, Curt is something else. I wouldn't say cried, but I was a little misty when Curt confronted Jack at his office toward the end.

Any additional comments?

This has become a favorite series for me. Each book is just different enough, but they are all Opposites attracts stories. Both Jack and Curt were previously introduced in the first two books, but now they get their own story.

Jack is always the one that gets left behind. Whether it be ex-boyfriends or family, no one has ever cared enough to stay, until now. The problem is, Jack is gun shy and keeps everyone at arms length. Thankfully, Curt's a bit wirey and wiggles into Jack's arms and refuses to move. The passion and intensity sparks between these two from the start and they agree to a friends with benefits type of relationship. Feelings quickly grow into something more. They couldn't be more opposite aside from the same circle of friends and a shared love of baseball. I enjoyed these two so much. They are passionate, loyal and insanely funny at times and those emotions were conveyed well throughout.

Tyler Stevens truly brings all the characters to life with their own unique voice and tones, subtle nuances and inflections that make the characters more three dimensional, not wooden. I have to say that I LOVE the voice he uses for Jack, very much the southern gentleman, I was waiting for "shucks" or "dadgum"!

If you like opposites attract, friends to lovers stories, or are a hopeless romantic then you'll like this book. It is the 3rd book in a series and while each book can be read without reading them all, I think you'll better understand the characters if you listen/read in order.

Good audio version

This is a great addition to this series. I liked the narrator even though Curt comes across a little different to how I heard him in my head. Jack was great
pretty perfect and the narration added a lot to the story.

Love love love

Loved these characters! Great story and very 🔥🔥🔥. It was so fun to read I finished it quickly!

Good Story, Inconsistent Accent

I enjoyed the story. I liked hearing about Jack's side of the story with his break up with Peter. I enjoyed finding out Jack and Curt's own background story. However, I did not like the inconsistent accents. Jack's voice switch from being very Southern to sounding like Christian Slater. I understand the character had gotten used to hiding his accent. However, the listener needs one consistent voice per character. Otherwise, the voices becomes muddled.

Better Every Time

I love this series. I like the way the characters from previous stories make appearances and Tyler Stevens is a good fit. Hope to hear more from both Ms. Hayes and Mr. Stevens.

Not my favorite in this series

Any additional comments?

This is book three in the series. We met Curt in book one, he was Matt’s roomie. Now he is a lawyer and that’s about it.

Jack is an older man, he owns a Leather Bar, he drives a motorcycle, he smokes, he has tattoos… in other words he is everything Curt is not.

At first they become friends, but they can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. Curt’s low self-esteem keeps him from thinking this is a “relationship” and Jack has buckets of personal issues that keep him from getting involved too deeply.

Because Curt thinks he and Jack are only “friends” he agrees to go out with Paul. Of course it makes Jack jealous, but not enough to really push them forward, relationship-wise.

Eventually there is a confrontation and they end up with a HFN, probable HEA.

**

This was by far the weakest of the series. There were a couple of things that made me review this lower than books 1 and 2.

First, the ending. Let’s just say it’s too fast and not believable.

Second, Paul. Why was he in this story? His role didn’t make sense. Why would Curt jump into bed with Jack then move at glacial speeds with Paul? If he really thought there was a relationship to be had with Paul, he needed to stop sleeping with Jack. If he thought Paul wasn’t going to match up to Jack, he needed to drop Paul. It made me like him less as a character/person.

Third, chemistry. They could have had should have been this ultra-hot, bad-boy, opposite-attracts sort of thing going, but it never flared for me. I didn’t quite understand the motivations and actions so I didn’t feel the same wonderful “feels” I did for Matt and Aaron or even Jay and Peter.

So, for me, this story did not trip my switches as much as the previous books did, though the writing was still very good.

Audio

Again, Tyler Stevens does a great job with the narration. I love his narration and thought Jack was super sexy! He definitely adds to the experience.

Writing/Editing 4.5
Romance 3.5
Sex/Heat 4
Storyline 2
World Building/Characterizations 3
Audio 5

Overall 3.6 of 5 stars

Really good

Enjoyed listening to this. A simple love story about learning to get over one's insecurities and embracing love.
Great narration, Tyler Stevens is a pleasure to listen to!