Napkins and Other Distractions

De: M. A Wardell

Narrado por: Kirt Graves, Evan Parker

This steamy romance follows two men who find themselves working together after a one-night stand—and explores the balance between career and relationships while also dealing with mental health issues—perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Anita Kelly.

On paper, they're a disaster. In the sheets, they're a perfect match.
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Kent Lester is proud of the joyful, thriving learning community he's created as principal of Lear Elementary School. But six years after his divorce, he's ready to focus on his personal life and spread his bisexual wings. Things get off to a rocky start when Kent's first date is an uptight control freak — although that doesn't stop them tangling some sheets.​

Vincent Manda never seems able to move past the friend zone, and besides, he's not sure anyone can handle his OCD. But that night with the bearded, older Kent revealed a side of Vincent he'd never experienced before. And he's equal parts scared of and desperate for a repeat.​

When Lear's test scores take a nosedive, Kent finds himself under the microscope. Forced to implement new software to monitor and collect school data, he's horrified to discover that Vincent is working on the project. With his last install ending less than ideally, Vincent's job depends on this one succeeding — and butting heads with the principal won't help. Vincent and Kent need to view each other in a new light, but that could change their futures forever.

All the Lego!

Vincent’s Lego obsession made me feel seen! The story is sweet. It was a lot spicier than the first two books in the series, which isn’t really my thing, but the story was strong enough that I still enjoyed it. I love how these books try to give representation to populations that don’t often get it. I think the author did a great job with Vincent’s OCD. The portrayal felt real and most importantly, it managed to walk the line of showing how much it impacted Vincent’s life, but also not treating him like something broken that needed to be fixed.

My favorite

This one is my favorite in the series! I appreciate that the majority of his characters are queer, anxiety ridden cat owners. 😹

Different from the others but still good :)

This book came off different compared to the other books in the series. The main characters are mature men who know who they are, but still discover new things about themselves. I think this book does a great job exploring sex that doesn’t include penetration. Having a main character with OCD is amazing and enlightening.

M.A. Wardell Never Fails

If you want to feel every emotion, pick up a Wardell. He writes from the heart but also from real life. I never cease to find some form of myself in most of his characters which is so refreshing as a gay person.
Kirt and Evan deliver incredible performances that just add to feelings in the best way. Do yourself a favor and read this series!

Note: This book does contain spoilers for characters from the first two books so I would recommend listening in order!

Great story, good prose, dangling modifiers

I enjoyed this book as much as the other two Teachers in Love books. Oddly, in all three books, the author and his publisher included several dangling modifiers such as (and I paraphrase) “streaming in from the window, I squint at the morning light.” This is especially ironic since these are books about teachers. As for the narration, it was great except that the recording of Evan Parker’s esses had loud sibilance that sometimes hurt my ears.