Cravings of the Heart

Trials of Fear, Book 6

De: Nicky James

Narrado por: Adam Gold

A relationship with his brother’s best friend had only ever been a dream.

A chance reunion with his brother’s childhood best friend leaves Arden hungry for attention. He’s always loved Iggy, despite their vast age difference, but he didn’t know Iggy was gay until now. His family wouldn’t approve. His brother wouldn’t approve. Plus, Arden isn’t in a position to have a relationship.

Arden’s phobia is slowly killing him and consuming his life, and he doesn’t see a way out. He’s desperate to break free, but every day is a losing battle. It would be an impossible thing to hide, and when Iggy finds out the truth, could he love him the same, or will he decide Arden is too much to handle?

Cravings of the Heart is a hurt-comfort brother's-best-friend age-gap MM romance with moderate angst. It is part of the Trials of Fear series but can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.

©2019 Nicky James (P)2022 Nicky James

Perfect age gap, hurt comfort, brother’s bff ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cravings of the Heart is another brilliant installment in Nicky James’ Trials of Fear series. Each story focuses on a different MC battling a phobia and finding love.

This time we are faced with cibophobia, the fear of food. The disorder is slowly killing 20 year old Arden and no one in his life seems to know or really care. No one, that is, until his older brother’s best friend, Iggy. Oh my gosh, if ever there was a perfect, patient, supportive partner, Iggy Rojas would be it. His fierce loyalty and determination to truly understand Arden’s pain thoroughly warmed my heart throughout the story.

Nicky James handles mental illness with amazing sensitivity and care. She teaches us the ins an outs of a condition as she crafts her characters. I understood Arden… I felt every blow to his ego and every crushing disappointment. I worried as he seemed to vanish with nothing to keep him tethered. And then I rejoiced when his boyhood crush, now 29 year old Iggy, came back into his life.

Iggy is strength, patience, and love personified. He is written with emotional depth and maturity. He sees the chaos that is Arden and also sees the wonder that lies within. Through Iggy’s eyes I fell in love with Arden a second time. I was captivated by how Iggy saw our broken, starving boy. Arden’s is a raw, dark, painful story… and Iggy is his shining light. Their story touched me deeply, made me think and ultimately cheer… and that story will stay with me!

As always, Adam Gold delivers a flawless performance for this audiobook. He fully captures the suffering, the seeming hopelessness, and the subsequent love between these main characters. He creates distinctive voices for all involved and he even adds realistic sound effects for things like emergency radio and phone calls. Listening to him narrate is a truly enjoyable experience.

Coupling Gold’s talent with a stunning Nicky James story, I knew I was in for a wonderful time. Cravings of the Heart delivered that and so much more. I recommend it to anyone looking for a beautiful, intelligent, well researched, sensitive, hurt comfort story with excellent narration! Five stars all the way!!

Happy listening! 😊💖

nothing can beat hard work, dedication, and Iggy

I read this book when it was first released and I'm sticking to my guns that Adam brings everyone to life in a whole new way. I don't know how he does it but a;ojgr'opsifg . there are some characters that are same'sy and if you hear the other books sometimes they sound similar but pish posh its still great,

There are references to both Grey and Ireland ( and he shows up) as well as some of the other guys like Finn and Rory. I absolutely love Iggy, so much so my car is named Iggy, short for ignis instead of Ignites like our man here.. there are quite a bit of familial homophobia that can be and was a bit triggering. mainly the dad . shocker. there is one more book left in this series and I'm gonna cry again when its all over knowing how it ends.

Great Story Overall

I LOVED the connection between Iggy and Arden, i loved how their relationship blossomed.

I did NOT like FOUR HOURS of focus on Arden’s eating disorder. Once we got to the point of Arden and Iggy figuring out what the disorder really was and working towards treatment everything focused on their relationship so much more. The disorder became a side piece to the story instead of the main focus and the story became much more palatable to me.

The narrator, Adam Gold, is new to me and is VERY talented. The way he was able to switch his voice for Iggy and some of the other side characters was very impressive and I will keep an eye out for more books by him.

Beautiful story

I loved the story and Adam did a great job. I have one more book to read in this series and I’m so sad! I wish there were more!! But alas’ all good things must come to an end. Highly recommended!! I’ve added them to my favorites 😁

So Good!

Each entry in this series tugs on my heartstrings in a different way and Cravings is no different. Seeing Arden's phobia impact more and more of his life was heartbreaking. Watching Iggy's kindness and compassion help Arden heal himself was heartwarming. Seeing Arden and Iggy overcome and grow together kept me hooked on this audio. Even the unlikable characters (ahem, Arden's family) kept me engaged as I day dreamed of a smackdown or two 😉 Adam Gold is a fantastic narrator for this series, who brings both the big and subtle emotions to life. His performance is truly excellent. Well worth a credit!

Excellent story!

Another piece of art by Ms Nicky James.
The talent of Ms James is unparalleled; she does her research, has her books edited and the world-building is on point.
Arden’s problem is exposed at the right time; Iggy is the boyfriend any mother would want her son to have; loyal and authentic.
I recommend this book. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

My heart...

I loved this entire series. Each of them took a swing at my heart, but I swear... this one just broke it, then repaired it slowly. Shit. Had me bawling at 3 a.m.

Highly recommend!

Iggy is a paramedic. Arden is his best friends little brother.
Arden's brother Phoenix was really dislikable for most of this story.

I felt sorry for Arden and how his relationship with food was totally misunderstood by everyone around him. No one even tried to understand..

I really enjoyed watching the relationship between Arden and Iggy grow and blossom into something beautiful. Iggy's unending support without judgement or prejudice was exactly what Arden needed.

I loved Adam Golds narration. He is quickly becoming one of my favourites. He has a way of voicing the characters that brings them to life beautifully.

A beautifully crafted story about love, fear, a religious family, forgiveness and hope.

Really good!

4.5 Stars

Before listening to this book, I had no idea there could exist a food phobia and I found it very interesting. Arden has been dealing with a fear of eating most foods ever since his twin sister and he got Botulism, especially since it cost his sister her life. Unfortunately, being one of 8 remaining siblings, his family hasn't really acknowledged his problem, other than thinking he's doing it to get attention. It's only after reconnecting with his older brother's best friend, that someone finally sees there's something wrong with Arden.

Iggy is a paramedic, and he's also very caring and sweet and soon realizes that there's more to Arden's illness than the anorexia his family thinks he has. Iggy and Arden are great together, despite their age difference, and Iggy is just the right person to help Arden face his demons.

I hated Phoenix, Arden's older brother, and Arden's parents, although Phoenix at least made an effort to help Arden once he realized how wrong he'd been about his brother. Arden's parents were not only homophobic, but also of the mentality of 'you live under my roof, so you have to do what I say.' The way they treated both Arden and Iggy made me so angry. They have a turnabout at the end, but I felt it was a little sudden and unrealistic, all things considered.

Adam Gold's performance was amazing. He always goes the extra mile with his narrations which I appreciate. He really brought the book to life for me and did a fantastic job with all the characters.

Overall, a great book to listen to! Emotional and engaging, I loved listening to Arden and Iggy's story and becoming so invested in their relationship and Arden's road to a healthier future. Very recommendable!

Fantastic!

If you haven't listened to this series before, do yourself a favor and get to it! This is the sixth novel in the Trials of Fear series by Nicky James. James is a master author and this book displays her writing skills beautifully! Great storyline, beautiful characters, just a lovely novel! Adam Gold is perfect for this series!