The Way Things Are

By: A.J. Thomas

Narrated by: Ron Herczig

A night of drunken confusion at 19 resulted in Patrick Connelly fathering a child. Determined to be there for his son, Patrick walked away from a sport he loved and forever hid his sexuality. After Patrick's brutal divorce and a vicious hate crime, his son, Jay, has become obsessed with graffiti. Hoping for a fresh start, Patrick moves Jay to his childhood home in Seattle. Within two weeks, Jay is arrested again. On his way to pick Jay up, Patrick stops an assault, then finds himself in handcuffs too. Thinking things can't get any worse, he's confronted by the sexiest man he's ever seen - his son's new probation officer, Ken Atkins.

The hardest part of Ken's job is working with difficult parents, and the undeniably handsome Patrick Connelly is going to be a difficult parent. A chance encounter and steamy hookup with Patrick leave Ken blindsided. As they work together to try to keep Jay on the right path, the passion between them proves impossible to resist. When the assault Patrick prevented comes back to haunt them and Jay gets into trouble again, Ken must convince Patrick that ensuring his son's happiness doesn't have to mean sacrificing his own.

©2015 A J Thomas (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press

Slow story but interesting premise

This story was set up well. Patrick Connelly got custody of his sixteen year old son Jay after he was attacked by some hatemongers. Jay was using graffiti and art to cope with his pain and trauma. However, his graffiti was getting him arrested for vandalism and defacing property.

Ken Atkins, a juvenile probation officer, was assigned to monitor Jay and give a recommendation to the court as to whether Jay should be removed from Patrick’s care. In working together to find out how to best help Jay, Patrick and Ken developed feelings for each other. They both resisted dealing with it until they just couldn’t fight the attraction anymore.

I thought the pace of the story was slow and didn’t really build up any angsty or momentum. The characters could have been developed better. I just didn’t feel like the actual story delivered what the blurb set up in my head. I didn’t enjoy this audiobook much and struggled to finish it. Normally, I like this author’s work (Least Likely Partnership was more enjoyable) and there is usually a character I really connect with. I don’t I would read this one again.

So good

The Way Things Are grabbed me from the very minute I started listening and didn’t let me go until the harrowing, action-filled ending. A combination of the perfect narrator and a talented author made for a truly enjoyable story.

This is a romantic suspense and A.J. Thomas did a superb job balancing both aspects of the story. Both parts were equally engaging as well as fresh and original.

Patrick Connelly is a single father dealing with Jay, his troubled teen son and Ken Atkins is Jay’s probation officer. Both men are gay and find an immediate attraction, which could be trouble consider their professional relationship. It doesn’t stop them from having a sexy hook-up at a bar Patrick works on his days off from working cranes at Port of Seattle.

The mystery that Patrick finds himself entangled in isn’t one I’ve seen often and I enjoyed the revelations along the way. Even the identity of the bad guy surprised me and I’m usually able to figures things out ahead of time.

Patrick’s job operating cranes added a freshness to the novel as well as contributed to one of the absolute hottest sex scenes I’ve ever read. It took place on the crane and was marvelously, incredibly scorching. I wished Ken had taken Pat up on the offer to be fucked against the safety glass because that would’ve been even hotter.

I loved how the conflict between the two was mainly external, despite Patrick never having had a real relationship with a man. They both wanted to be together but Ken’s job and the mystery Patrick finds himself in created problems. There was such amazing juxtaposition between the romance and the mystery here and I commend the author for doing it perfectly. Just as the men were taking a step forward and Patrick invites Ken to stay at his place, Patrick’s apartment is broken into and he’s concerned for his son’s safety.

That’s another amazing part of the novel—Jay and his relationship to the main characters. Yes, Jay is constantly getting in trouble, but he’s not a malicious kid or not stereotypical at all. He has a sassiness with his father that’s not negative, it’s how they interact. He’s a teen dealing with shit from his past the only way he knows how.

Jay and Patrick have a loving father-son relationship that seemed truly realistic. Patrick knows what Jay is dealing with and is doing his best to help him and steer him the right way, even knowing Jay will get in trouble again. There’s no yelling or screaming or useless threats. This is the way all fathers and sons should get along.

Ken and Jay’s relationship was just as sweet. First as his probation officer then as his friend and father’s boyfriend, Ken was always calm and easy going, helping Jay to open up when needed.

And Patrick and Ken’s relationship? Perfectly portrayed as well. Like I said before, the sex between them is hot, but we see them bond in other ways as well. Their mutual relationships with Jay is one aspect, but there’s more as well. The story follows a rather short timeline but by the time Patrick and Ken say ‘I love you’ to each other there’s no doubt they mean it. This is not an insta-love story here, despite them only being together a short time.

To recap; great sex, fresh and realistic characters, unique mystery and hotter sex. The best combinations I can think of.

Narration Review:

Ron Herczig did an amazing job with the narration. His deep voice grabbed my attention from the get go. Even though the differences between Patrick and Ken’s voice was only slightly different it was enough. I never once questioned whose head we were in when the Point of View switched.

Absolutely perfect. He is now one of my favorite narrators.

Dragged on

The beginning of the book was interesting. The story line helped me get past the not-so-stellar narrator (though I have heard a lot worse), but around the 5th hour I was getting bored, and I stopped listening right before I hit 6 hours in. With a better narrator I might have been able to finish, but this is a DNF for me.

Intense story, beautifully narrated

Where does The Way Things Are rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10

Who was your favorite character and why?

Patrick. A real stand up guy with a nasty ex, a son with a vandalism habit and a set of golden gloves.

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

Rich, creamy sound. Great interp of sex scenes as well as action and internal monologue.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The image of making it while suspended above the Seattle waterfront.

Any additional comments?

Curious to hear more from this author and narrator.

Half decent book, terrible narration

This book had a lot of potential but so many times the characters seen stupid. I liked how Ken dealt with Jay. Patrick needed just as much therapy as Jay did with his guilt complex of everything and his inability to talk about things. The narrator has a nice voice but he's a terrible narrator. He over acts and makes everyone sound like they are whining or lecherous old man, it was horrible. Really sounds like reallllly okay is okaaaaay. Just horrible. I may return this one I won't be listening again because of the narrator