Better Be Sure

Harrison Campus, Book 1

By: Andy Gallo, Anyta Sunday

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

Orphan Jackson Murphy just staked his legacy on a bet. Holy shit, his impulsive ass is in trouble.

Bring a guy to the fraternity formal? Pfft. Easy. Won’t be him kicked of the house.

So what if his luck with guys on campus has been shitty? Ed Knowles is Jack’s winning ticket.

Tall, handsome, hardworking - and he doesn’t go to Harrison.

With every stolen look, every secret kiss, every clandestine touch Ed becomes more than just an answer to a bet.

These cloak-and-dagger meetings that set Jack on fire? They mask one tiny, enormous obstacle: Ed’s not out. Can’t attend the dance. What does Jack do now? Hold on to his legacy...or his heart?

Better Be Sure is a sweet, slow burn M/M romance with a heart-pounding HEA. This new adult, college, opposite sides of the tracks novel can be listened to as a stand-alone and in any order.

©2019 Andy Gallo, Anyta Sunday (P)2020 Andy Gallo, Anyta Sunday

A sweet, steamy opposites attract!

This is book 1 in the Harrison Campus series and can be read as a standalone.

This was a sweet, steamy opposites attract MM romance with all the feels.

Jackson needs to bring a guy to the fraternity formal and Ed Knowles just happens to be the key.
There’s just one hiccup, Ed isn't out.
Will Jackson pull out all the stops to win his bet or will he listen to his heart?

This was such a sizzling slowburn romance!
Andy and Anyta are definitely a winning combo for me.
The characters were likeable, relatable and engaging. The writing style was compelling and pulled me in from the very start.

As always Nick Russo performed an exemplary audio delivery which made this all the more enjoyable to listen to.

I bet you’d like this one! 😉

I enjoyed listening to this low angst, new adult love story between Jack and Ed.

It all started with an impulsive bet, which had Jack’s standing in his fraternity on the line. Then Jack met Ed, who was so far back in the closet, he’s basically living in Narnia.

The storyline was good, realistic. The bet is too. The characters are very relatable and Jack’s melancholic recollection of fond memories with his parents tore me up. Ed and Jack’s chemistry was very hot. The supportive characters are great too.

I can’t wait to hear more from this series. It’s my first listen to Andy Gallo’s work.

Nick J Russo, stellar as always.

** thanks to GRR for the opportunity to listen and review **

Blurb doesn't do this one justice

I have to admit I only bought this book because I was in the mood for a new audiobook and this is a pretty dry week for M/M new releases. The blurb was sort of all over the place, but it looked halfway interesting so I took a chance and bought it not really expecting to enjoy it much.

With any fictional story that involves a bet, you can usually pretty much map out the plot before it even happens: guy makes bet, then falls for another guy (or girl I suppose), stays with them for the sake of the bet, then they fall in love, then the other guy finds out about the bet, gets mad, blah blah blah. Well, this book subverted my expectations in the best way, mostly because our protagonist, Jack, is just the sweetest, most self-sacrificing guy imaginable. It's rare that you see such a selfless character in fiction without it seeming like it's overdone, but somehow the author makes it work here. I was also expecting to be annoyed by Ed, the love interest, but he surprised me too. I liked Jack's best friend/brother Marcus as well, and his frat brothers. The only character I really could have done without is Jack's female friend Brittany, who comes across as sort of abrasive occasionally, but she didn't detract from my enjoyment at all.

In fact the blurb doesn't do this story justice at all, awkwardly inserting "orphan" before the protagonist's name, which makes it seem like that's going to be a huge thing. And it was a large part of his character, I suppose, but it was so well done it didn't seem forced or anything. And the bet was done relatively believably too. It was a great, great listen and I'll definitely add Andy Gallo to my insta-buy list.

Oh, and Nick Russo is amazing as he always is.

great angsty story

I love seeing a bully get karma in spades, and it was so well deserved. I liked that Jack had so many supportive friends. I was happy Ed found the strength to be himself and follow his heart. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did an excellent job bringing the characters and story to life. I loved it and highly recommend it.

Wow! What a treat!!

I really enjoyed the story from beginning to end. Nick Russo's performance was spot on. I wouldn't mind listening to more stories read by him. Andy and Anyta are super fantastic authors, both with their own preferred writing style and preferred genres. They have come together to pen this fabulous tale of love, compassion, and friendship. All in all, I'd recommend everyone who loves a good story of young love to give this one a listen. It's well worth it.

Sweet College Romance

I was offered an opportunity to request a free review copy of this audiobook. In exchange, I agreed to post a voluntary review after giving it a listen.

'Better Be Sure' is the story of a romance between Jack, a college student, and Ed, the local boy he encounters at the town bookstore. Despite Ed being closeted, they begin a relationship that quickly becomes more than casual.

I know this book is advertised as a slow-burn, but I personally wouldn't call it that. The couple express feeling for each other after meeting as friends only a couple of times. Ed isn't out but it is clear they consider themselves to be together pretty quickly in the book.

This is exactly the kind of story I like to read. Two guys are attracted to each other and express it right away. They TALK to each other about their feelings.

The characterizations are solid. Even the secondary characters are written with personality and dimension. Both Jack and Ed are well-drawn. The dialogue is completely believable. Overall, it's a well-told engaging story.

Narration by Nick J Russo is great. He puts a lot of emotion into telling the story.

Recommended.

Enjoyed

This is a sweet NA romance with a touch of angst. I felt for Jack and the devastating loss he has suffered. While I understood Ed’s fears I felt that he kept contracting himself, giving mixed signal to Jack. I really enjoyed the narration by Nick J Russo.

DNF

As someone who is very picky when it comes to narrators, I can say that I very much enjoyed Nick Russo's narration.

That being said, I dropped this one about halfway through. Unfortunately, nearly all of the dialogue felt very unnatural to me, I often felt it hard to keep up with who was actually speaking, and overall.. It was just very boring. I'm sorry. ):

You are my biggest win

I’m have always love Anyta Sunday and her witty writing style so I was quite excited when I heard that she has a new book coming. This is sweet and funny, a bit silly at times and quite light.

Jackson had to deal with the loss of his parents when he was very young so he isn’t without hidden traumas and wound. And it meant everything for him to be attending the university his dad attended. When an impulsive bet was made when he was pushed to his limits, Jackson had to go to desperate means not to lose the bet and his legacy. And Ed can’t afford in anyway to come out of the closet. He needs a job desperately because his father lost his job. And the garage he worked at fired a guy a few weeks after he came out. When Jackson and Ed met, the attraction is undeniable and the chemistry is sizzling. Can Ed give up everything to be with Jackson?

Lighthearted and fun with some episodes of angst. I love how well-built the the secondary characters are in this story. Ed and Jackson are sweet together and I’m glad they were able to overcome some misunderstandings between them. I’m intrigued to see where this series will go. And NJR did a great job narrating the story.


4 You are my biggest win stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Audio rating

Story - 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Narration - 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Performance - 4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Overall - 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nice

I like Anyta Sunday as a writer, there were distinct parts I could tell were written by her. I liked the story, it did feel somewhat unbalanced at times but I can't point out why.
The narration was good, they story touching and emotional at times, and funny at other times. I liked how the romance unfolded slowly but was not a total Slow Burn like Anyta's books usually are. Jackson and Ed were a funny pair, and their meet-cute was sweet. Jackson and his brother also have a great relationship, and it was one of the better parts of the story.
Was this the best book I read in recent time? No. But I'm looking forward to the next books.

GREAT Listen

I had a hard time putting this one down. I loved the story and the narration was spot on.

Did not finish at 40%

I knew my reading buddy's did not like this novel but I thought the narration could make it better.
It was just boring. At 40% nothing has happened that wasn't mentioned in the blurb. I still don't know the characters of the protagonists. All the drama comes from one bully. And I would like to feel tension and frustration when the protagonist feels like that. You don't accomplish that by writing 'Jack felt frustrated and tense.'

Enjoyable

Sweet story. Big meets boy, they are happily ignoring issues that will impact their relationship. Some angst, lots of loving. Great secondary characters.

Bet on my Heart too

This was a good story! The story was amusing and cute. The characters were interesting and unique. They were sweet and endearing and their connection was quite adorable. I would listen to this narrator again he did an excellent job with the story and all the characters.

Loved the story, loved the audio performance!

I loved this book when I read it back in June 2020 but now, I love it even more after listening to Nick J. Russo's performance of the audiobook. Often when I listen to a book that I've already read (especially if it hasn't been long since I read it), I don't pay super close attention to the audiobook because I already know the story. That wasn't the case with Better Be Sure. Nick's voice captured and held my attention from beginning to end.

Below is what I wrote when I reviewed the book back in June.

Such a good book!

I've gotten behind on reading Anyta Sunday's last few releases and I've never read anything by Andy Gallo. I'm so glad that Better Be Sure changed all of that. It brought me back to Anyta Sunday and also brought me to a new-to-me author, Andy Gallo.

New Adult stories have kind of become my MM romance crack lately. Maybe it's so that I can vicariously re-live my experience of falling in love through them; who knows? Anyway, it doesn't really matter. What matters is finding a good book to sink my teeth into and having it engage me to the point of getting lost in the story. Better Be Sure did that and more.

I felt so bad for Ed. He really wants to be with Jack but he is afraid of what will happen to his job if he comes out. Jack is still having trouble dealing with the loss of his parents and he is pleasantly surprised at how supportive Ed is when he loses control of his emotions; other boyfriends were definitely not supportive.

This story really tugged at my heart and had me in tears more than once (that means I really liked it). There is so much depth to the MCs, and the secondary characters of Jack's best friend, Brittany, and his brother, Marcus, that I couldn't put the book down once I started reading it.

I am so, so much looking forward to reading more books in this series.

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

Loved it

Great start to the series, loved how the boys are following in their fathers footsteps. Can't wait to continue this series. Great narration

SOOOOO GOOD

I have a weakness for slow burn and Anyta Sunday's cleaver wit, Andy Gallo was a new to me author so I wasn't sure if i was going to love this one but WOW they are a fantastic combo. I adored every min of this book and didn't want to stop it. It had all the clever wit and sweet moments and by the time the got together i was so ready for it. Loved these guys!

Sweet slow-burn

An adorably meet-cute new adult romance.
An impulsive act results in a bet that changes the course of Jack and Ed's lives.
Absolutely endearing with some mild angst over life-changing decisions.
A great secondary cast of characters round out the sweet and fluffy story.
Nick Russo did a wonderful job of conveying the tone of the story.

Sweet

A great few people to visit, and interesting story. Nice narration by Nick J Russo.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Great narration

One thing about Russo-he can make any book interesting! I found myself lost in his engaging voices. The book itself had a good storyline. The characters are likable and their dynamic good.