Bully & Exit

The Midwest Series, Book 1

By: Brigham Vaughn

Narrated by: James Edward Jones

Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

It's time to leave college and the closet behind.

Nathan Rhodes has put hockey first for most of his life, but as graduation looms, he has a different goal in mind. He needs to come out and reclaim his first love. If only Caleb will believe him....

Theater geek Caleb Stockwell gave up on love when his boyfriend chose the closet over being with an openly bisexual guy. Now, he hides his heartbreak behind a string of casual hookups. He loves the drama on stage, but he’s done with the drama of Nathan Rhodes. For good.

Nathan is determined to right the wrongs of four years ago, but the clock is ticking.

One month until he and Caleb go their separate ways. One month to take a final shot at winning Caleb's heart back.

Win or lose, everything is on the line.

©2015 Brigham Vaughn (P)2020 Brigham Vaughn

A second chance romance after a high school heartbreak

Theater loving Caleb and hockey star Nathan were hot and heavy in high school, but when Nathan screwed everything up at their senior prom leaving Caleb utterly heartbroken, the relationship soured.

Now, years later, the two find themselves at the same college. Caleb is furious, but Nathan wants a second chance. It is clear that the intense feelings are still there, but even though Nathan is ready to come out, Caleb is still hurting over their past.

This was such a sweet read. These boys care so much for one another, but the past is haunting them. When I got to the part of their senior prom my heart was breaking right along with Caleb. We get both points of view, which definitely helps us understand the whole situation.

James Edward Jones does a great job narrating Caleb and Nathan (as he always does). And I thoroughly enjoyed his voice this book. This was a fast listen and I can’t wait to check out more in this series.

Nathan and Caleb

I love to listen to a book that takes place in my own state.
opposites attract, sports romance. Great story with good characters. James Edward Jones is new to me but, did a good job bringing the story to life. HEA Thank goodness.
Bring on Brent and Lowell.
well worth the credit and your time to listen.

2nd chance romance is beautiful

I'm really enjoyed this story. It was sweet 2nd chance love story that was wonderful and showed some people can make bad decisions to protect the ones they love and hopefully are able to learn, grow and love again.

Enjoyable

I quite liked it, I kind of guess what had happened to make Caleb hate Nathan from the get go but I still liked the book and the characters, I can’t wait to dive into Lowell and Brent’s story

Second chances are worth it!

What happens when two boys fall in love in high school? One being a theater geek the other a hockey star. It’s a recipe for disaster and heartbreak from the beginning. No foreshadowing is needed to know what happens between these two boys. But you really don’t find out the reasons why until you dig deep into the story.
Well worth the read to find out where these two started and where they end up.
Highly developed characters that you can connect with immediately. The narrative created around them as they are about to graduate college and starting their adult lives is the best place to start for any series. It lets the characters look at their past and analyze it and decide what their future looks like. Using this as a starting point also allows a writer to have a lot of room for future growth or digression.
I had assumed this would be a high angst book however I was pleasantly surprised that it was on any medium angst. After the two main characters re-introduction to each other there was minimal angst at that point and much more openness to forgiveness.
Definitely a feel good book at the end of the day and I can’t wait for the next in the series.

Amazing listen!

I love second chance at love and I love Caleb and Nathan's story. Their story has angst and love that I love. I love the flashbacks. They give so much background to these two and just makes me love them story even more. Then James Edward Jones does an amazing job brings this story to life. This is the first time I have listened to a book by him and I love it. Such an amazing listen.

A good book to buy. A fun read.

this was a good book and it turned into a great story. I am new to this author so I am having to learn his writing style. over all it was a captivating storyline with good solid characters. i didnt find any fault with the book it was actually quite enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this book.

Second chances are my weakness and I can never resist diving into one whenever I get an opportunity to! And it's always a pleasure to find new amazing ones as this one was!
Bully & Exit has a kick of angst because at the beginning Caleb is dead-set on not giving Nathan another chance and continue hating him to protect his heart after the way things finished beteen them in high school. Thank goodness for meddling friends!
I loved the bits of flashbacks, they give you the background story, but not all at once, you really want to keep reading because you want to get the whole picture!
The characters are lovely: both Nathan and Caleb are such sweet guys, but with their head on their shoulders, too, despite being so young!

Enjoyable Listen

Not enough books take place in my home state of Michigan, and so when they do I get super excited. I love that this one takes place so close to my hometown. Love it!

The story of Nathan and Caleb is not an easy one. They have an emotional road ahead of them. I loved their story. They worked hard on their relationship, and it wasn’t easy on either of them. Nathan and Caleb have very supportive friends and family. This is not an instant love or instant everything works out, the MCs work at it.

Both author and narrator are new to me. I would recommend both of them. Brigham Vaughn writes a well put together story that flows nicely. James Edward Jones has a nice voice that told the story well. He added to the story with his narration. I personal listen to books at 1.5 speed, but I know that is not for everyone.


*Listener Note: I received a free copy of this audiobook through Gay Book Promotions and this is my honest review.

Second chance s and good narration

A second chance love story told in present day with alternating flashbacks which I enjoyed.
It starts as a typical closeted jock (Nathan) falling for an out/proud fellow student (Caleb). Though a bit angsty, it is overall a sweet story of facing up to one's mistakes, forgiveness.
The narration was ok, more reading than performance, which was fine, since I was alternating between the book and audio. Good voice and cadence, looking forward to listening to the next book.