At Piper's Point

Publisher's Summary

Ten years and many boyfriends later, Cassidy Winters finally returns to the ancestral home of his late grandmother, Sadie Hart, despite the best efforts of his father to prevent it. Cassidy's plans of a quiet, seaside ceremony to wish a final farewell to Sadie quickly unravel. Interruptions run roughshod, beginning with Neil, who walks out of the ocean and straight into Cassidy's bed. The dominos topple one by one and news of his arrival spreads faster than Cassidy's legs, bringing his boyhood friend and first love, Nate Sommers, to his doorstep. As if the island wasn't getting crowded enough for Cassidy's good taste and bad decisions, best friends Ollie and Spencer arrive in time to witness the uninvited return of Cassidy's most recent ex, Teddy, who's refusing to stay dumped.

Fists fly and all hell breaks loose amid mojitos and martinis while Cassidy finds himself planning a huge party to celebrate Sadie's life. Accusations are aimed as arguments and libidos boil over, but even through the chaos Cassidy knows exactly who he wants. While he's certainly willing, he isn't sure if he's ready or able for love and life at Pipers Point.

©2010 Ethan Day (P)2016 Ethan Day

Entertaining

Any additional comments?

Cassidy Winters has spent the last (almost) decade fighting with his father first to return his grandmother, Sadie Hart, to her home at Piper's Point, and, later, after her death, fighting in court to prove Sadie's will valid, which left Piper's Point to Cassidy so he could bring her ashes home. It has been ten years since Cassidy has returned to the island where he spent his summers with Sadie and he's filled with fear that people will blame him for not being able to win against his father when he wanted to bring Sadie home.

Filled with humor and a surprising amount of UST, this also had a lot of emotional depth, particularly with Cassidy dealing with his guilt and grief.

I am a fan of Michael Lesley's. I love his performances - because let's be clear, Michael doesn't really narrate a story, he PERFORMS it. In glorious 3-D Technicolor. Sometimes it can be over the top, even sometimes a bit too melodramatic, and there were some emotional nuances to the story I would have preferred a quieter tone for, but Michael doesn't really do "quiet". He does however do wildly entertaining.

If you're looking for a funny, sexy, surprisingly emotional, sweet romance with lots of UST - pick this one up. Listening to this was fun and entertaining and fans of Lesley's performances will be right at home.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Fun, Sweet, Emotional and Hilarious

A fun and sweet trip down memory lane, with both hilarious and emotional moments.
But... the present is even more entertaining.

The book starts with Cassidy comes back to his late-grandmother house on Hart's island where he used to spend every summer there. In the beginning, the book switches back and forth between past and present which you will slow learn more about each character. There are some teary moments from both sweet and sad memory, but nothing depressing. There are also many dramas both serious and not-serious one. We wouldn't be left sad and brooding for long though. The book is full of funny moments that will make us laugh and smile throughout the book. I enjoy the author's sense of humor.

The romance in the book is about how two people learn to adapt and reconnect when they spend their whole adult life apart. I'm always a sucker for first love and childhood sweetheart stories. The book can portray the issues quite honestly. You can't expect to start over right away from where you left off. They have to accept each other for who they are now, not from who they remembered. There might be no drama between them if there were just the two of them together to talk things through. However, with everything going on around them, it's almost impossible for them to communicate and to spend time alone with each other.

I like both MCs. Cassidy is fun and dramatic, in a kind of drama queen way. Nate is kind of brooding, but when he teases...Oh my! I like that they care about each other more than just in sexual way. I like the nostalgic moments of their relationship in the past and their sexual exploration. Of course, there are sexual tension and sex scenes in the book. The sex scenes are hot, short, and to the point, not a long-drawn one.

Apart from the MCs, there are many other characters that make the book fun and heartwarming. I like all the merry gay men, and how they joke and interact with one another. No, they're not all get along. I wish I could witness Cassidy's beach party in real. Apart from "friends", there is also family. I love Sadie even though she's not alive. Natalie is one of the best mother characters. Besides, there is a lovely little dog who is spoiled by all the men.

I would say this book is a light romance with great character developments and depth. I love the small island town setting, with a nice house on the beach. Both the author and narrator suck us right into the story and the scenery.

Audio Performance Review:
I knew Michael Lesley from his masterpiece, The Lightning-Struck Heart audiobook. He also did a great job with this book. With Michael Lesley as a performer, you can be sure that there's never a dull moment with him. He can make all kind of sound effects: laugh, groan, sigh, huff, techno beat, and many more. Each character has different voice and tone, and we talk about many many characters here.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Book Lit Up by Narrator Michael Lesley Great Mini Vacation

The basic boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy gets boy plot. In the beginning and end grandson collects welcome back and sympathy greetings as people discover he is back in town after the death of his grandmother. He has s best friend turned high-school lover. Time apart has changed them and they are now only best friends—or are they? Will they be back to being lovers? There is competition from a young, hunky god who walks right out of the Atlantic and into bed. This is a M/M romance with a required happily-ever-after ending so take a guess how it works out. But wait! This is a story about an island with a point surrounded by ocean. There is sun and sand, a private beach with ocean breezes, beautiful bronzed boys, lots of cool nights sitting around the fire—this book is a miniature vacation! Relax and place place yourself in the hands of Michael Lesley narrator extraordinaire for a tour of the village, villagers, friends, and visitors.

In review of Michael Lesley's spectacular achievement with almost 20 hours of narration reading The Lightning Struck Heart I wrote:

Narrator: Michael Lesley
He did all the characters magnificently. It was a tour de force of narration that seemed as if a full cast was being used rather than just once narrator. Narrator is the wrong word. Michael Lesley is a voice actor with unsurpassed talent.

The same is true for Mr. Lesley's almost 10 hour narration of Ethan Day's At Piper's Point. He brings everyone to life, except the deceased of course, as the story takes you on audiobook vacation with all the comforts of a mansion and private beach. The ending is guaranteed to make you happy. What could be better? Relax with Michael Lesley's characterization of At Piper's Point.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great story

Loved the story and can even see a movie being made out of it.
Michael Lesley is supper at the narration

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Adorable

I found this book by looking through the narrator's work, because I've never disliked a book narrated by him. This isn't his best work, but it's still head and shoulders above most narrators. It's a little awkward in spots, but nothing that takes away from the story.

The story, while a little tropey, was exactly what it claimed to be. If you're disappointed in its predictability, you obviously didn't read the description. (This isn't pointed at anyone, just an observation)

Even given that predictability, it was a lovely story, with well rounded, believable characters, and I'm happy to have paid for it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Piper’s Point is the place to hang out for a while

AudioBook Review:
Stars: Overall 4 Narration 4 Story 5

I’ve read one title where Ethan Day was the co-author, and I enjoyed that so this was a no-brainer choice for me. In an overview, this story is one about facing your past and finding a way to make peace with it and move forward with your present. A long family battle has Cassidy finally claiming his inheritance, his grandmother Sophie’s house at Piper’s Point: the one place he always found unconditional love and acceptance. He’s bringing her ashes back home, and planning on spending some time adjusting to a life he may want to reach for.

Cassidy is charming with the inability to say no to a new partner. He’s also not all that well-versed at ending things, as he’s got a good heart and wants to please people. With his friends appearing for a visit, his new found friends in the area and the return of his childhood friend turned first EVERYTHING – there’s plenty of fuel for the story. There’s a solid mix of humor, heart, flashbacks and even some heated moments to keep readers moving through this story.

Light and fun, the collection of people and personalities with the easy affection shown from all, the palpable connections shown feel like a week away with long-standing friends. As the story progresses, Cassidy is able to deal with his grief and decide if he wants to continue life untethered, and if he wants to find ‘the one’ is it really Neil, or could it be someone else?

Narration for this story is provided by Michael Lesley, and he does a solid job providing pitch and delivery differences to present each character with their own clear voice. With flashbacks to the past, humorous interjections, emotional moments and memories in the making, Lesley smoothly transitioned from one moment to the next, presenting the words with touches of appropriate angst, wistfulness or snark.

A wonderful story that was a pleasure to listen to, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Piper’s Point is the place to hang out for a while – and you won’t regret spending time there.

I received an AudioBook copy of the title from the publisher for purpose of honest review for The Jeep Diva. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fun and sassy

Any additional comments?

This refers to the audiobook version---

If you are in the mood for a small beach town, adorable boys, one riot of a grandma, an adorable dog, with lots of snark, sex, and sass, you will love this book. The narration was perfect for this tale, easy enough to keep the tone light and, and fun, but able to give the heavier aspects the depth they deserved.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Home is where I...

I haven't laughed and teared up in a book so much as this one. Cassidy is hilarious, as is Ollie. just when things are getting serious and a but watery, you cam count on one of these guys to make you laugh again. The on liners are some doozies.

Michael brings all these characters to life, even the side ones. Fabulous job, as always.

This is my first Ethan book and I gotta say, I am a new fan. I will definitely be doing more Ethan books.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A fun and light read

Any additional comments?

This is my first book by Ethan Day and was pretty entertaining!

I really liked the setting of Piper's Point and I kind of wish I could live there over the summer too! I enjoyed seeing the Point through Cassidy's eyes and getting flashbacks every once in a while to his summers growing up there.

Cassidy was a very likable character. His internal thoughts had me cracking up and I loved listening to him interact with the other characters. I really liked Nate, and his and Cassidy's sexual tension had me screaming for them to "get on with it already!" I loved Cassidy's friends and Ollie especially had me laughing.

One complaint I do have is that there were just too many relationships in this book for me. Too many of Cassidy's ex's and the drama with all these men bordered on the silly. While this book was fun, there was just a touch too much humor in my opinion. These characters sometimes came across as cartoonish and just ridiculous, and while I did really enjoy the story for the most part, sometimes the amount of comedy just became too much.

I will say, though, that Michael Lesley does a phenomenal job narrating this book. Each character has their own voice, tone, and personality. Every emotion can be heard through this narration. Lesley doesn't just read books, he performs them. Seriously a Grade-A voice actor...

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The only thing that made this good was Michael L.

Story = no. Michael Lestlie =yes. This one is only good if you like the narrator. The story...ug.

not sure if the story or the narrator bothered me

So Cassidy has a job and life somewhere in North Carolina, and a vacation home and love-interest on an island. You'd suspect the writer to focus on his dilemma, especially because this is the reason the love-interest keeps his distance. But no, he just offers a solution in the epilogue in a few sentences.
The narrator chose to give every man in the book mannerisms, with exuberant ways of speaking. Very annoying.