The Shutout

By: Dianna Roman

Narrated by: Alexander Cendese, Iggy Toma

Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Sometimes love is where you least expect it, and sometimes it's right where you left it in this witty, slow burn-to-steamy friends-to-lovers MM romance.

Widower, Max Hartwell, is barely keeping it together, being a single dad, managing his law firm, and navigating life's chaos. Life after loss is too difficult for surprises, which is why Max would be lost without his reliable best friend and neighbor, Jack.

Best pitcher in the MLB, Jack Spears, is at the top of his game. He has it all, except for the one thing he wants most, which happens to be the one thing he can't have if he doesn't want his private life to overshadow his career: love. When an emotional evening reveals his biggest secret, he's faced with losing everything that matters most to him.

Can Max see him for the man he truly is, or will Jack forever be doomed to live in the shadow of the image he created as America's favorite pitcher?

©2022 Dianna Roman (P)2022 Wild One Press

Jack and Max are perfect!!

Although this turned out to be one of my favorite MM romances of all time. I wasn't Max's biggest fan in the beginning. When he got it right, though, damn did he got it right! Jack will absolutely melt your heart and Max will give you that edge you need to balance it out.

Audio Perfection!

Wow I just loved this! I did the audio and it was just fantastic! I'm a huge Iggy Toma fan and he was fabulous as always, but Alexander Cendese was the standout here. This is hands down the absolute best narration I have ever heard from him. He was just so spot on, I could feel the emotion pouring out from him whether it be uncertainty, humor, lust, rage, he just brought it all. He was a joy to listen to.

This was such a wonderful romance between a closeted baseball icon and a widowed, straight, single dad. Jack and Max were so fantastic together as they raised 9 year old spitfire Emma in the wake of her mother's death. I laughed, I happy sighed, I got all mushy inside...it just made me feel good. It was a slow burn, friends to lovers romance that was filled with kindness, caring, true love and some fabulous sexual exploration scenes overflowing with intimacy and tenderness. I just loved all their first times!

Was it perfect? No. I struggled sometimes with Jack's insecurities. There was a lot of internal musings, especially early on, that got a little tiring, but the audio made that much easier to get through. Could it have been shorter without sacrificing story in my opinion? Yes, I found it dragging at times during the 13 1/2 hours. But it was such a feel good story that made me laugh and smile, happy sigh, and the epilogue was perfection. Plus the narration was sublime, truly a joy to listen to.

So Heartfelt

The Shutout is one of those books that leaves you feeling everything. The narrators do an amazing job of delivering the story with all the sentiments that you hear in your head while reading, with so much heartfelt passion. If you are on the fence, don’t be, listen and give yourself hours of emotion-filled enjoyment.

Great audio

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. I think Alexander Cendese and Iggy Toma are a great combo. I enjoyed the best friends to lovers trope and the bi-awakening/GFY. It had a lot of feels and some great side characters. I would have liked a bit more on Jack’s relationship with his dad and it was mentioned, Max questioning his sexuality, but I don’t think it was ever fully defined. It also seemed that Emma was being portrayed in the book and in performance as younger than she was supposed to be. Overall though, it was a great story and great performance!

This book warmed my heart and soul

Funny, passionate, fiesty, sexy, endearing, wonderful sports m/m romance title with some angst. My first Dianna Roman title and this definitely won't be my last. Thanks to the performances of Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese this made what was already a good book into an excellent one.

5 stars - worthy of a repeat listen

GREAT

I really enjoyed this story. Little Emma was a delight addition to story. Loved the epilogue and ending. Great sports and family story.

Loved It

I loved this story. This is a great hurt/comfort story for both of the MCs. They go through so much throughout the story but end up with a great HEA. I really enjoyed the epilogue too.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

Absolutely wonderful story

This was a beautiful story that I'm so glad I read. It was a sweet story that at times was angsty and tragic but also very heart warming, a little funny and romantic with lots of steamy scenes. I was drawn in right from the start and couldn't put it down. These 2 men were so sweet and also alot of fun. They were both equally loveable characters and each developed wonderfully with their own tragic back stories. They had amazing chemistry and were perfect for each other. They are the perfect example of friends to lovers. I enjoyed their fun banter and teasing each other. There is every emotion in this story and really is all the feels. It was really well written. The pacing was wonderful. The relationship was developed perfectly over time. The plot kept me not wanting to put it down from start to finish. I did almost take off half a start cause there is a bit of drama near the end that I thought could have been handled a bit better by Jack but the rest of the book was just so sweet that I couldn't bare to take anything away from this story that is absolutely deserving of 5 stars.

The dual narration was enjoyable. They both expressed the emotions really well and brought the story to life. They both did the female and kid voices well and the side characters but when it came to differentiating between the 2 MCs I didn't notice a difference with either of the narrators. Cendese was a much faster speaker so I kept having to adjust the speed. Both did a good job but I preferred Cendese smoother voice and he seemed age appropriate and more what I pictured in my head. I actually thought his voice was what I would picture for Jack so I had to wrap my brain around the fact that he was reading Max's pov, which is the reason I didn't give it 5 stars but I did enjoy the reading.

good

sweet, cute, & sad at a point but works out. worth listening too. love it when it's both side pov which this is. never like when you only know one side of the story when it's about a couple.

Loved.

I actually clapped when the book was finished. Loved it so much!! Took me a minute to get into Max’s character but I think it’s just because he was amped up and overwhelmed in the beginning of the story (makes sense!!) but by the end, I loved him just as much as Jack. Such a great audiobook. Best HEA ever.