Blueberry Boys

De: Vanessa North

Narrado por: Tobias Silversmith

Connor Graham is a city boy - a celebrated fashion photographer in New York. When his uncle's death drags him back to the family blueberry farm, all he wants to do is sell it as quickly as he can. Until he meets his uncle's tenant farmer.

Jed Jones, shy and stammering, devout and dedicated, has always yearned for land of his own and a man to share it with. Kept in the closet by his church, family, and disastrous first love, he longs to be accepted for who he is. But now, with his farm and his future in Connor's careless hands, he stands to lose even the little he has.

Neither man expects the connection between them. Jed sees Connor - appreciates his art and passion like no one else in this godforsaken town ever has. Connor hears Jed - looks past his stutter to listen to the man inside. The time they share is idyllic, but with the farm sale pending, even their sanctuary is a source of tension. As work, family, and their town's old-fashioned attitudes pull them apart, they must find a way to reconcile commitments to their careers and to each other.

©2015 Vanessa North (P)2016 Riptide Publishing

Really lovely story, great characters

What made the experience of listening to Blueberry Boys the most enjoyable?

I was so impressed with this story. Just beautifully written, and so intimate. The characters had such an intense and wonderful relationship, and the character development on them each individually was perfectly done.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved Connor, he was so sweet and open.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The narrator did a terrific job with Jed's stutter. My only criticism is that some of his stresses and accentuations came at the wrong places.

Sweet ,romantic story

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

I loved Jed's stutter. It made the story real. I loved his emotion in each character as well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I like an occasional short book you can do in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

The Blueberry Boy is a sweet story. I loved the cover and title.
Jed is a very religious man. He works hard on the blueberry farm that is being sold after the owner died. Jed isn't sure what will happen to him.

Conner is a photographer, he loved the Blueberry farm but agreed to sell because he needed the money to build a gallery he always wanted. When he and Jed become romantically involved life becomes difficult as neither can change their lives?

The story is sweet. I was giving it a 3.5 but when Conner sent the email near the end to Jed that did it for me. That was the sweetest love letter ever. The story is very family oriented with conflict in both Scott and Conner's family and Jed's family. There is some hot man sex too.

If you like farmers, photographers, blueberries, Cityboy/country boy, coming out, and a sweet romance.

Heartwarming Down on the Farm Romance

If you could sum up Blueberry Boys in three words, what would they be?

Poignant, Thoughtful, Relationships

What was one of the most memorable moments of Blueberry Boys?

That would be the scene where Connor grieves and Jed is there to hold him. Lots of scenes grabbed me, but that is the one that sealed it for me when it came to their relationship.

What about Tobias Silversmith’s performance did you like?

Um, everything? Okay, so that's vague.
Well, I thought he nailed the characters, the spirit of the story, the timing and the emotional tone throughout.
I would definitely listen to other audios he narrated.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Almost did, actually! But yes, it was engaging enough that I would have been disappointed to hit pause and go do other stuff.
It wasn't exciting or overly angsty, but it had heart, quiet conflict, and passion. The author carefully handed difficult subjects and didn't turn things into flippant cliches. I was glad to see how she handed things with respect, honesty, and instilled depth and reality to the story as a result.

Any additional comments?

I received this book from Riptide Publishing in exchange for my honest review thoughts.

Some good moments, but too slow-paced for me

I liked the scenes that featured Conner's photography/art and was excited that Oliver from Vanessa North's Dark Collector made an appearance (I would have loved more of Olliver). The beginning started out good, but the pacing and farm setting was slow and the story dragged on until things picked up near the end.

The narration was good. Ultimately, I think it's the story that didn't succeed in drawing me in. I did like how the ending resolved.

Must Be OK with Stuttering

One of the main character stutters, a deal breaker for me. I'm stopping at only about 15 minutes in though, maybe it's not all the way through.