The Idiot

Carver Brothers, Book 2

De: Dianna Roman

Narrado por: Liam DiCosimo, Tim Paige

There's no picking who you love...nor getting rid of them. Murphy Malone loves his orchard, his mother, and his dog. Life is great until he can't stop thinking about what he's missing—someone to share it all with. When he realizes that his love for his best friend, Jesse Carver, runs deeper than the bonds of friendship, it just makes things worse. The problem—Jesse Carver is the straightest man he's ever known. Only time and distance can ease the ache, but what do you do when your loyal best friend follows you to the gay singles cruise you fled to in an attempt to escape your feelings? Tropes: idiots in love, awakening, friends to lovers, forced proximity

©2024 Dianna Roman (P)2024 Dianna Roman

Love love love.

This was hilariously sweet and sexy. Such a good listen. I will be listening to it again.

Honestly Two Hilarious Idiots!

This story and characters are brilliantly written, but just wow, Liam Dicosimo and Tim Paige made this listen next level. I legit could not stop smiling and laughing. Just waiting for the next clueless Jesse moment was fun. His finger fighting for sword fighting and Murphy's exacerbated reaction Every time he did it was priceless. The scene with Jesse in the wrong kind of harness had me in hysterical tears. There were just so many moments and these two were just so likable. Without a doubt one of my favorite listens of the year!

Good story. Good narration.

Dianna Roman does a wonderful job of creating effective first-person narratives. Jesse and Murphy are best friends, but their distinctly different perspectives on life generate some personal confusion about their relationship. The narration by Liam DiCosmo and Tim Paige was a nice addition to the story.

I am not a big fan of the misunderstanding tropes, but I didn't mind with this story because, honestly, Jesse is a bit of an idiot sometimes, and Murphy has his moments. Their story is definitely worth listening to if you need a lighthearted romance between two best friends.

Funny, Sweet, and Appropriately Titled!

Definitely entertaining, and perfectly cast! The fact that the narrators are IRL friends might make this sort of friends-to-lovers story even better. As for the story itself, it’s sweet with a bit of angst (mostly due to miscommunication—even when the characters are ~trying~ to communicate, but just aren’t particularly good at it), and a good amount of humor.

As for the title, well…let’s just say it’s accurate. Jesse isn’t going to be winning many awards for his intelligence, even if he means well. The number of times I found myself literally muttering “oh my god” and “you sweet summer child” and “bless his heart” were…far from zero. Definitely felt for Murph, just waiting for the little hamster who runs the wheel in Jesse’s brain to finally power it up! Lots of “wait for it….THERE it is” moments. I’d say no one could possibly be as dense as Jesse, except I’ve known a handful of people who were EXACTLY this dense/oblivious throughout my life

Overall, a fairly light, sweet read/listen. Lighter and sillier than the book before it in the series, but with just as many feels

Great follow-up

After listening to The Gentleman, I read this book immediately. I absolutely couldn’t wait for the audio. I love the story, and both Jesse and Murph. And man, the audio made it even better! Tim and Liam are great. And some of the miscommunication or lack of just seemed to make more sense hearing it than reading. In any event, this is a great second book, which can be read/listened to as a standalone (although The Gentleman is FANTASTIC, so you should listen to that too!) and was super amusing.

IDTs in love

The miscommunication was so strong with these two. The love thankfully was strong. These two were so sweet.

MM best friends-to-lovers

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (0-5) I bump up for public places/outdoor spaces, 🍑 stuff, and it’s deliciously detailed.

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 It is Carver Brothers book 2 (and I loved book 1) but it totally works as a standalone.
🤩 Narrated (first person dual POV/dual narration) by Liam Dicosimo & Tim Paige—they are both so entertaining and bring all the emotions. I get swept away in them.
🤩 I love how Dianna Roman can make me LOL even in the heart of the heavy topics.
🤩 What a gorgeous MM, slow burn, best friends-to-lovers story. LGBTQIA+ representation.
🤩 Fabulous characterization, even in their fabulous conversations.
🤩 So captivating from the start and then extra exciting on the gay singles cruise ship. 🥵😮‍💨
🤩 The steam is perfectly timed and so vulnerable and refreshing and fun and hot!!!! 🌶️❤️‍🔥
🤩 I love a dressing room scene, especially when shopping for vacation Speedos.
🤩 The tractor shed.
🤩 The family interactions.
🤩 The ABBA grand gesture!

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 Just more. That’s why I just bought myself her newest release Caged by the Stranger. I’m behind on her books, but that’s good for me.

P.S. I like to give Dianna credit for growing my heart two sizes when I read my first ever MM romance—The Shutout (2022).

slow

not too bad but not enough story for a full length novel. I also just felt that the straight MC was unbelievable in regard to his cluelessness. I got the basic idea, but I just didn't feel like it was an interesting enough story and the characters weren't developed enough.