Cabin Love

De: Hayden Hunt

Narrado por: J.J. Jenness

I've given up on love.

Well, there it is, another failed relationship. And right before Christmas time, too. After breaking up with my boyfriend, the only thing I want to do is get out of town and have some time to myself. Thankfully, my best friend Jake has a cabin that I can go to for the weekend.

Except that Jake forgot that the cabin already has been booked for the weekend. So I'm pretty surprised when I go up there and find Chris relaxing in the cabin. And I drove four hours to get here! Thankfully, Chris is nice enough to let me stay the night so I don't have to drive home in bad weather.

But when I wake up the next morning and we're completely snowed in, one night together turns into the entire weekend and we get to know each other a lot better than I originally intended. And it doesn't take long for me to realize I'm crushing on him hard.

This isn't the vacation I planned for.

Honestly, I was happy when James came up to the cabin unexpectedly. I'd been having a pretty boring vacation and somebody else around definitely kept things more interesting.

Of course, I wasn't expecting us to get snowed in together. But if you have to be locked in a cabin with another person, this is the guy to do with it. He's smart, funny, warm, and very cute. He seems a little hesitant to admit he likes me too, but that won't stop me from pursuing something with him.

I have the feeling that this is the start to something more. I know it's soon, but he really seems like the guy for me.

This standalone MM romance comes complete with HEA ending and bonus material from two of my other books!

©2016 Hayden Hunt (P)2017 Hayden Hunt

A Sweet Holiday Romance

Hayden Hunt has written a short Holiday romance about two men who meet by accident (or is it by accident?) and find they have much in common.

Both men have been given permission to stay at a small cabin in the woods by a friend - a friend who has forgotten that he promised the cabin to someone else when he offers it to the second man. So Chris and James find themselves in this situation, it's late and Chris, who arrived first, agrees to let James stay the night and James promises to leave in the morning. But, it is winter, and Mr. Snowman decides to dump all over the cabin, locking them in for a few days. So they decide to make the best of the situation and get to know one another.

Naturally, this quickly turns into a hot romance, but then they both realize - they will be going home soon, and then what?

Kind of predictable, of course, and a little unbelievable at how quickly they fall in love, but it's mean to be a light hearted romance story and it does the job well.


J. J. Jenness did well overall as the narrator. One thing that always bothers me, however, is that many narrators, Jenness included, tend to imbue gay male characters with the overused "gay accent". It wasn't over the top, but I actually do not know many gay men who talk like that. I think there are more of us that just have normal voices, but the stereotype gets played all the time. Ok, whining over.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Snowed In

This is a cute and sweet, feel-good story. James and Chris end up in a cabin together for a few days when they're snowed in. They have chemistry but are reluctant to do anything about it because neither one is looking for just a one-night stand. They really get to know each other but can they make a relationship work.
The narrator did a good job of bringing the characters to life and the story.

Sweet

A nice sappy love story, not to deep but a good listen. Leaves you with that happy feeling at the end. Narrator has a good voice, but Chris and Jake sound alike.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

When Insta-love is just too instant

If you’re a fan of insta-love, this is a book you’ll enjoy. I’m more of a friends-to-lovers slow burn type, but I know lots of readers who love that two characters can meet, one can threaten the other, and they wind up in bed less than a day later.

(I am going to make one comment. It’s not a spoiler, but a real issue for me. Barebacking after 24 hours’ acquaintance? Especially when one of James’ ex is such a jerk? Sorry, but I am pro-safe-sex, and condoms are necessary. In all romances. There are a few exceptions, but this one didn’t even come close.) Stepping off soapbox.

For the record, dropping the f-bomb at least 20 times in the first scene doesn’t lend credibility to a story. (Truthfully, it was probably more than 20, but I stopped counting and almost stopped listening.) Fortunately it was used judiciously throughout the rest of the book.

The truth is, I was rooting for James. Yes, he had lousy luck when it came to boyfriend choices. His neediness and fear of being alone came from a genuine place, but either the novella was too short or – more likely – the author chose not to give James enough time for self-reflection. He never took the time to understand why he went from loser to loser, letting himself be abused psychologically rather than spending some time alone and learning about himself.

And it’s that lack of self-awareness that made the insta-love not work for me in this case.

James dumps his boyfriend.

24 hours later he meets Chris.

24 hours after that they have sex.

Less than 24 hours later, they’re talking about kids and HEAs.

Also, this book could have used a good editor. I struggled to figure out if the author was writing in present or past tense (first person). If you’re not a grammarian, this might not bother you.

It bothers me.

So I went to the Amazon preview to see if I could sort out the tenses. 8th paragraph? “Threee” This was either supposed to be “there was” or “there’s”. Big deal? Probably not. Here’s another example: “which is funny, because cruelty was pretty much all he showed me.” Then, “I honestly don’t know”. One present, one past. Either is fine, but please pick one and stick to it. That being said, I know how expensive editors are. And to turn a book into audio?

Lots of money.

But there are errors in the book, aside from spelling, and those are amplified in the audio.

The book is redeemable, though. I liked Chris, with his gentleness and easy acceptance of the mix-up that precipitated James’ arrival. His caring for James during a pivotal scene was heart-warming.

James also was a good guy, even if he made bad decisions. Thank God he finally meets such a great guy.

It’s a quick listen. J.J. Jenness is the narrator and he did a really good job. I would definitely give another book of his a listen and maybe even one of Hayden Hunt’s. I’ll probably check out the preview on the e-book first to see if it was properly updated.

a very mundane book

not the best book out there the story was very very mundane everything happened so easily no one had issues with nothing the characters had attraction and I can understand it but behind attraction and behind first love you need to have a connection for it to get real and it just didn't I do get it's a short story I do get it's a Christmas story and it should be sweet and it was a movie like story but I was lacking I don't know how to explain we just out making spoilers so it's difficult for me to do it but just I felt like more more about the characters more about the situation maybe in this particular book and I don't say it awesome the book should have been longer and deeper because the story is mundane So for this kind of story you need emotions you need maybe more fears and more reality overall it was a sweet story but maybe it wasn't for me I don't know and I do love lgbts books very much but this one didn't work for me

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."