Serendipity Kit

By: Connie Bailey

Narrated by: Peter B. Brooke

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Christopher "Kit" Britten drifts through life, partying with friends and spending his parents' money. He hasn't told them he's gay, but he's told all of his five sisters, and to keep from being harassed about responsibility, he works part-time for one of them. When she sends him on an errand and his shiny red Ferrari breaks down in one of Houston's seediest locals, he pushes it to the nearest garage. That's where he meets Romy O'Keefe.

Romy works hard as a mechanic to provide for his mother and little brother. When Kit pushes his to-die-for Ferrari into Romy's garage, Romy is wary of falling for gorgeous Kit despite instant attraction. Kit impulsively decides to prove how serious he is about Romy by coming out to his parents - and his father disowns him!

Uptown and downtown clash as the two men share the tiny space in Romy's Airstream trailer and struggle to make ends meet. When Kit's former boyfriend comes sniffing around, and Romy gets the bill for his little brother's surgery, it drives home to him how very different his world is from Kit's. However, Kit is in love with the velvet-voiced Romy, and he isn't about to give up.

©2013 Connie Bailey (P)2014 Dreamspinner Press

What a Wonderful Surprise!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, its one of those little gems you're so happy to discover.

What did you like best about this story?

Loved the two MCs and I have to tell you I don't laugh much when reading but I had a smile on my face through so much of it - made me feel good.

Have you listened to any of Peter B. Brooke’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't but he did a very good job on the voices - loved Romey's (sp?).

Who was the most memorable character of Serendipity Kit and why?

Kit of course. He was the life of the party...or in this case, story. He is such a sweetheart...but naughty, too.

low angst, fun and short

This is a fun, light-hearted book, with very low angst. There is a very slow burn from interest to love. Kit and Romy meet in a garage when Kit’s Ferrari breaks down in front of Romy’s garage, located in the bad part of town. From that moment on, there is only a touch of sexual tension as both are pretty much immediately, and openly attracted to one another. The biggest source of tension actually comes from whether or not Kit will come out to his father to be with Romy. Once that happens, they are forced to go from dating to living with one another and some tensions arise between them, especially in regards to money. But they smooth those out easily, in fact, Ash (Kit’s friend) comments on the ease of their relationship, and Kit tells him “We talk things out”. And they do. Thus, not much tension.
I was very glad I had listened to this rather than reading it, because Peter B Brooke did a great job with the voices, giving Romy a nice, low, and rumbly voice and Kit a light, but not too swishy voice. He also gave Kit’s friend Ash this funny “aristocratic/nasally” voice that was funny to listen to. Since it is set in Texas there were some secondary characters with accents and that was nice. He even sang a bit, which was sweet. Romy’s boss had a fun Brooklyn type accent as well.
The recording had some technical errors and there were times when my ears got blown out when the sound changed suddenly, but there weren’t that many of them. It was distracting though.
As an overall experience, I enjoyed listening to it, the story was easy, low tension, held some funny banter between Romy and Kit. If I had been reading it I may have been a little bored, skimming to see what happens because I was not captured by much tension, but as a listening experience it was very enjoyable.

Youthful and Fresh

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes I would, it was just a fast, fun read.

What did you like best about this story?

The way Romy was voiced with that rough around the edges tone that totally matched the character.

Have you listened to any of Peter B. Brooke’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I haven't but I would listen to something else from him.

If you could rename Serendipity Kit, what would you call it?

Why mess with perfection, I'd stick with the title.

Any additional comments?

Kit Britten is the proverbial rich kid. He lives off mommy and daddy’s dime, in an apartment owned by their corporation, driving the car they gave him for his birthday and having his groceries delivered by the local supermarket. He fears if he ever told them the truth about his sexuality that they would not only cut him off, but cut them out of their lives. Everything changes when he meets Romy.

Romy O’Keefe is a mechanic that owns his own small shop, lives in a trailer out back and still supports his mom and little brother. His life and liveliehood are at the opposite end of the spectrum from Kit’s. There is something about the surprisingly unspoiled rich kid that quickly gets under Romy’s skin, and soon the two are dating. When dinner at the Britten manner reveals the truth about Kit and Romy’s relationship, Kit’s worse fears are realized as he and Romy go from boyfriends to roommates overnight.

It’s not all sunshine and roses though. Kit has to let go of a lifestyle he has become accustomed to and Romy has to give up a little bit of his independence when Kit moves in. Loving each other is never an issue, but trust and communication doesn’t come quite as easy for two guys that are using to living on their own.

This was just a fast, fun read about the joys of young love. Both men have secrets and they’ve come from vastly different backgrounds, so you spend a good deal of the story trying to figure out if their love for each other will be enough to make them fight for the rest. The writing was youthful and fresh and I thoroughly enjoyed to storyline and the character development. I haven’t listened to a reading by Peter Brooke before and for the most part he did a great job. In the beginning, the changes in tone, inflection and nuances were too subtle. But as the story progressed Brooke really found his footing and I especially loved the rough around the edges tone he chose to use for Romy.

A great listen for anyone that likes stories for hopeless romantics that are well written and well conveyed.