The Same Breath

The Lamb and the Lion, Book 1

De: Gregory Ashe

Narrado por: J.F. Harding

Teancum Leon, who goes by Tean, is a wildlife veterinarian. His life has settled into a holding pattern: He loves his job, he hates first dates, and he only occasionally has to deal with his neighbor Mrs. Wish’s cat-related disasters.

All of that changes, though, when a man appears in his office, asking for help to find his brother. Jem is convinced that something bad has happened to Benny, and he thinks Tean might be able to help. Tean isn’t sure, but he’s willing to try. After all, Jem is charming and sweet and surprisingly vulnerable. Oh. And hot.

Then things get strange: Phone calls with no one on the other end of the line; surveillance footage that shows what might be an abduction; a truck that tries to run Tean and Jem off the road. As Tean and Jem investigate, they realize that Benny might have stumbled onto a conspiracy and that someone is willing to kill to keep the truth from coming out.

But not everything is as it seems, and Tean suspects that Jem has been keeping secrets of his own.

©2020 Gregory Ashe (P)2021 Gregory Ashe

Astounding!! I love these two!!

Wow!
Simply, wow!

These two characters are so very different from each other: one a wildlife vet, the other a grifter.

What they have in common is trying to find a missing man: a friend to one, a brother to the other.

The mystery of missing Benny leads them into dangerous territory. As much as this aspect of the story hooked me, what really drew me in was how the two men interacted with each other.

They were awkward, funny, real, and shielded. I kept waiting for secrets to drop, for tidbits of truth to come out & it had me on a wonderful edge.

Tean, the vet, made me laugh with his constant grim statistics. Jem, the con man, delighted me with his quick thinking. Both men held pain in their past, and they slowly, so very slowly let it out.

The two do solve the mystery. The two do get together. Tean does find out about Jem’s past. Do they get past it? In a way.

Are they still together at the end? As Jem said, like two rovers on the opposite sides of Mars.

Can I wait for the next audiobook? No!! I may have to read the next one straightaway!!

Things to watch out for:
1. Tean’s ex/not ex/but is married/and Mormon. He’s a piece of work.
2. Tean’s inability to say no.
3. Jem’s lies & cons.
4. Trivia.
5. SLT traffic.

Great performance by JF Harding, although a few times I had trouble telling Jem and Tean apart.

Awesome!

I keep coming back to this authors books because it’s hard to find anything about gay people that isn’t either too artsy or too pornographic. I like mysteries and like when the romantic interest isn’t straight, because I already have to live in the world. But his other series are so unrelentingly depressing that I keep saying I just don’t prefer this author. So glad I read this book!! I do like that he writes about the terrible things that are true in the world. But there is matter of fact-ness and humor in this book that reflect the resilience which can also be true. The characters are both flawed and likable and they show growth over the book without becoming perfect. The narration is excellent! Can’t wait for the next installment of the story.

slow start

So glad I stuck it out ! Great narration & story. Slow start keep going!

A Great Combination

One of the best gay-themed authors combined with one of the very best readers makes for a very enjoyable audiobook. The main characters are fully 3 dimensional, maybe a little broken and really, really interesting. The plot has multiple twists. It's believable story line and not too messagey - the bad guys are individuals, not some faceless, evil corporation..

Beautifully narrated by J. F. Harding!

What an incredible breath of fresh air Mr. Ashe gives us with this novel that takes place around Salt Lake City, Utah. We encounter Teancum Leon a veterinarian who works for the Division of Wildlife Resources whose staid life has disrupted a series of disturbing events that start shortly before Benny--a crusader for mother earth--is driven away in a dark SUV. Benjamin Guthall's foster brother Jeremiah (Jem) Berger solicits Tean's help to locate him as it appears a conspiracy is behind his abduction. This book combines so many elements incredibly well! We read of the beauty of the Salt Lake City area where Mr. Ashe invests time and words describing the topography, flora, and fauna. We see two very different men come together and grow through their circumstances, especially their relationship with each other. Each man has experienced and processed life very differently. Tean is a gay Mormon with all the baggage that comes with it including the deeply disturbing relationship he has with a married bisexual Mormon police detective. Jem is an illiterate con man that suffered severe emotional, sexual, and physical abuse as a child. Both find each other and hold on desperately as the mystery unfolds and come to a conclusion revealing greed, manipulation, and corruption.