Austin

Single Dads Club, Book 3

By: C.K. Blake

Narrated by: Michael Dean

Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Austin: Hockey is life.

As a 45-year-old divorced single dad, being the varsity hockey coach is the only thing that still brings me joy. When I’m on the ice, I feel so alive, and for those precious moments, I can forget about all my shortcomings. Because of my dedication to my players, we are the league’s reigning champions.

When my best friend's son Brayden tries out, I don't know if there's room for his ego and cockiness on my all-star line-up. But Brayden ignites something inside me that I haven't felt since my divorce.

The attraction doesn’t - and shouldn’t - make any sense. I'd previously been married to a woman, and Brayden is half my age. I'm supposed to push my players' boundaries to their absolute limit, but this boundary I'm pushing with Brayden is definitely out-of-bounds.

It’s only a matter of time until Brayden's dad finds out...

Brayden: Austin's my coach...and my dad’s best friend.

There's something about Austin's boldness as a coach that makes me feel some kind of way.

After many 6:00 AM practices with Austin, our coach-player relationship grows into something much more. This attraction to my coach is sudden. It feels like I'm getting body-checked hard out of nowhere.

There's no doubt we shouldn't be together, at all. But even though I want to stop, it feels like we’re colliding on the rink at 60 miles an hour. If anyone finds out, my dream of playing in the varsity league will be over faster than it began.

Austin is a full-length stand-alone romance novel in the Single Dads Club series, with no cliff-hanger and a HEA. Recommended for 18+ listeners.

©2020 C.K. Blake (P)2020 C.K. Blake

Mostly enjoyed it

My first review - The narration was great...the story wasn’t bad. The age difference became an issue for me though I was ok with the story for most of it. Around the last third of the story was when It unraveled a bit for me. I have to admit that I had to commit myself to finish the book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Loved this book. I'm a big fan of age gap, father's best friend stuff and this was just what I needed while I was in my audiobook slump. It was sweet and steamy with perfect narration. While they had their obstacles to overcome, no intense emotions that had me bawling like a baby or anything. Just a great story. Can't wait for Frankie's story.

ummmm...are you kidding a

I struggled to finish this story...Austin is a hypocrite and a creepy old man. Clayton gets over this wild betrayal way too easily! I have no understanding of this story...save your money/credits the other stories are better!

Made my re-listen list!

It’s the absolute worst time to be in an audiobook slump, yet here I am. I took a chance with this one because the premise sounded good. This is going to actually make my re-listen list and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I like books that deal with taboo topics—usually legitimate taboo stuff, not the “its not really taboo but it could be” stuff like this book. You really can’t go wrong with a best friend’s dad/dad’s best friend book, though, and this dealt with both. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series—usually something like “single dad’s club” would have me running in the opposite direction. This is for sure a stand-alone book as I didn’t need to know any of the previous storylines to understand what was going on. The writing is...not quite mature, I guess? You will enjoy it much more with Michael Dean’s narration than you would if you read the book. I thought the book fell a little flat on emotions between the two main characters due to the sometimes simplistic writing and that was easily solved by a great narrator. And despite this book being one of those “it’s not really taboo but it could be” books, I actually could feel the taboo nature of it. I think that had a lot to do with the fact that you’re hit with all four people (best friend’s dad, best friend, dad and Brayden) at the beginning and learn how they fit into each other’s lives before anything goes astray. Considering how tightly wound they all are together, it definitely felt scandalous. Add in the fact that your best friend’s dad (aka your dad’s best friend) is also your hockey coach and professor? Yeah, that had bad news written all over it and I loved every second. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a double GFY. I think I’ll read the next book in the series for sure (Frankie). If it sticks as much with me as Austin did, I’ll be anxiously awaiting the audio version! I have to admit that I was kind of hoping Clayton would dump Westley and get involved with Frankie, but I see that’s not the case. Oh well, a girl can dream.

Need more C.K.

Audibles needs more books by this author, I them. I bummed when I find an author I like, but there are either only that one, or 2or 3. I looked on Goodreads and there are so many more.

Anyway, this was worth a credit for me.

This is not Michael Dean's fault. He is perfection

It's actually unbelievable how simultaneously gross and poorly written this is. I don't generally write criticism of romance because I don't expect much but feel-good vibes.....
From this genre, I expect unrealistic fantasy...but I honestly think this kind of fiction is harmful.
(And yes, I read the whole thing to make sure it was actually as bad as it seemed. I expected that they would get together after their professor/coach roles were over. I was wrong.) Let me do you the favor of warning anyone else curious off of this book.

First, the poor writing: The characters stand around woodenly reciting lines that a real human would never say out loud. The author also has a weird habit of repeating the same word two sentences in a row. In fact, it's so consistent that I almost suspect it's intentional.

Austin is a creep and a sexual predator. There are a few times when Brayden says no and Austin insists until he gives in. In Brayden's 18-year-old life, Austin is in a position of authority in more than one way: his current professor AND hockey coach. That conflict is never resolved. A lot of predators think they're in love with their victims and don't see their actions as coercion.

Austin's behavior is completely unjustifiable--and not even a little because of the age difference. The author seems unaware that Austin's involvement with a current student of their instruction is not simply "frowned upon," but grounds for dismissal and loss of credentials.