Crossing Borders

By: Z.A. Maxfield

Narrated by: Tobias Silversmith

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

Two dudes walk into a bookstore.

Tristan knows he's got issues. His latest ex-girlfriend knows it too. He can't blame her for dumping him - even though she gets her brother to do it for her. Since he can't stop staring at said brother's package, he figures it's about time to put a label on those issues. He likes guys.

He heads to a local bookstore with what he's sure is a foolproof plan to find someone to show him what he's been missing. But who should crash his little adventure? Officer Michael Truax, who gave him a really expensive ticket back in high school for skateboarding without a helmet.

Michael has been trying to catch Tristan for years, to give him a second ticket. Suddenly faced with "Sparky" all grown up and looking to get laid, Michael's protective instinct kicks in - and presents him with an opportunity that's hard to resist. After all, the kid must know what he's getting into, so why not?

But when a man with a plan connects with a man with a hunger, the result is nothing short of explosive.

©2015 Z.A. Maxfield (P)2016 Z.A. Maxfield

Sweet, insta-love, with hot sexy times!

Any additional comments?

Okay, so here's the skinny. This was actually one of the first M/M stories I ever read, so it will always have a special place in my heart. I loved the whirlwind romance between nineteen year old Tristan and twenty-seven year old Michael.

That being said, sometimes it's a good idea not to go back and revisit some stories.

The intensity of the insta-love was jarring to me with this read. The same points I loved when I first read this years ago now make me cringe a little.

But I still love the sex scenes, and the terrific family dynamics, and how much Michael and Tristan love each other and work to be with one another.

The narration itself was good, except I really didn't like the voice used for Tristan. Tristan is described as a sort of punk-skater-boi with long hair who has been banging chicks left and right before he comes to terms with his homosexuality and the voice Tobias Silversmith uses is...delicate. Almost feminine. It didn't match up with my idea for how the character would sound and that took me a long while to stop trying to force my expectation of the voice and just enjoy the narration.

I really liked Silversmith's range, tone, and emotion. Once I stopped trying to backseat-narrate I really enjoyed it.

If you like a super-sweet insta-love romance with an age difference between lovers and some really hot sexy times you should check it out.

12 people found this helpful

Awful Narration - Ruins a Good Story

Would you try another book from Z.A. Maxfield and/or Tobias Silversmith?

Yes, for Maxfield. I thought this book was perfection in kindle format. I was so excited to see it on audio - and then terribly disappointed when I heard it. Very very poor choice of narrator for this story. It was like he was reading a phone book. I'm not a big fan of Maxfield but I really liked this one (written version).

What did you like best about this story?

Interaction between Tristan and Michael.

Would you be willing to try another one of Tobias Silversmith’s performances?

No, I actually avoid anything done by him. Sorry. I won't buy a book with him doing the narration - he's right up there with Jeff Gelder - I won't buy any of his audio performances either. Doesn't ANYONE listen to these guys before they choose them?

What character would you cut from Crossing Borders?

I wouldn't, great characters.

Any additional comments?

Again, loved the book and I guess I'll just have to do my own voice in my head when I read it. Too bad.

3 people found this helpful

Uplifting fun

Is this story is a bit of a mixed bag, but in the end it delivers a decent story filled with a collection of comfortable and even interesting characters. This is not a story that will challenge you with either a mysterious outcome or heart-rending choices. It's simply a story about a guy pursuing and then winning over another guy and how they go about putting different lives together. Even though the conventions of genre fiction mean that the author had to put some type of tension building device in the story, which she does, it's still basically an easy-going slice of life narrative.

I enjoyed the easiness of it since as often as not books in this is genre waste too much time on slim excuses for narrative tension.

I noticed that some other reviewers did not like to narrator. I thought he was spot-on. I'm a little tired of romance novels in this genre having a storyline involving younger characters being narrated by someone who sounds like the old guy that used to narrate science filmstrips in the 1970s. The younger main character is an intelligent 19 year old with a good deal of self-assertiveness and sass. This was a well-written young character (for once) and I'm glad the narrator found a way to give dimensionality and authenticity to the character's words.

Often times in these types of stories, the younger character (in this case by 10 years) is some lost soul who gets saved by a daddy. How revolting. So happy to to see that this author purposely avoided this worn-out trope.

The only let down is that the author gets some of the sexual behavior of the men a bit wrong. Here is where she falls into the error made by so very many women writers of gay fiction by paying way too much attention to the prostate. I guess they think it acts in the same way as a clitoris. It doesn't. Fortunately, setting that aside, when she writes about the power of male on male love making, she gets more right than wrong.

2 people found this helpful

Great book, Skip the Audio Version

If you could sum up Crossing Borders in three words, what would they be?

While new in Audio Books, this story was originally published over 10 years ago. I mention this only because some of the prominent issues in the story are no longer relevant, and there are a few pop culture references 1990's.There's great character development, intense chemistry, and both guys are really likable. Loved the humor woven into the story, especially from the younger siblings.

How could the performance have been better?

I actually purchased the audio book by mistake, having forgotten I'd read the book years ago. Totally wrong narrator for the story. This was one painful listen that I endured only because I remembered how really good the story was.

If you could take any character from Crossing Borders out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I'd like to have thanksgiving with the whole family, wouldn't miss the chance for tofu duck for anything!

2 people found this helpful

Good book

Loved the story, read it before. The narrator just didn't bring the characters to life for me. He was great but I didn't feel it. I also thought he read it too quickly. It wasn't the speed on my device either.
Overall a good listen.

2 people found this helpful

My ears!

Struggled to finish this audio book. I finally just had to stop on the 18th chapter. The narrator was horrible! The characters all sounded so snopish. Poorly read. Stay clear from listening to audio books from this nattator for sure!

5 people found this helpful

The narrator makes everyone sound snobbish

The story was good but the narrator wad clippy & gave the carators a snobby old family vibe throughout.

2 people found this helpful

Disappointing

I was so excited to see a new release from ZA Maxfield. But so disappointed to hear it.

It's hard to believe that this is written by the author of the fantastic St Nachos series. The characterization is thin, the voices of the main characters, especially Tristan, don't feel real at all. This may be partly because the voice of the narrator seems so inappropriate for these characters, but I suspect it is also the writing.

I struggled on until the first sex scene, which could only have been written by a woman who has little familiarity with male bodies, and has certainly never had the kind of sex being described. It has all the cliches of the women's MM romance genre, put together in a checklist fashion, including the inevitable references to that magic button 'bundle of glans' they seem to treasure but appear never to have encountered. Most importantly though it has none of the passion to indicate that this is the life-changing best sex they have ever experienced, as they claim.

Perhaps a good narrator could have rescued it, but I couldn't make it past about two hours of cringing.

4 people found this helpful

Horrible narrator

I think I could care about these characters if they were voiced by a proper narrator. As it is, I can’t even finish the book, which is really sad because I generally love this author’s work.

Really good but the end was rushed

Like the narrator and the story .. definitely recommend . Sweet & sexy times. But there were a few plot lines that were totally skimmed over - specifically Michael’s relationship with Rod ?

great story, but narration wasn't great

This is a great story, but the narrator spoiled it for me. Most of the characters felt like they were mildly annoyed due to to the intonation and it wasn't as I imagined it from reading the ebooks previously. Finished it but didn't love it.

An old favourite book with a great new narrator

Any additional comments?

I've waited a long time for this story to come out in audio, and I loved ZAM's choice of narrator. Tobias Silversmith is a new (to me) voice and his narration fit very well with the story and the ages of the MCs. I know it's not the last time I'll listen to this story, and I'm also looking forward to listening to other productions with Tobias.

An old favourite book with a great new narrator

Any additional comments?

I've waited a long time for this story to come out in audio, and I loved ZAM's choice of narrator. Tobias Silversmith is a new (to me) voice and his narration fit very well with the story and the ages of the MCs. I know it's not the last time I'll listen to this story, and I'm also looking forward to listening to other productions with Tobias.

Wonderful book

This is one of my favourite m/m books, I love both Michael and Tristan, there is humour, sex, feels. It is a little insta love but so what, it's stands the test of time, and however many times I have read this it hasn't lost its charm. I was excited to see the book on audio, and I like Tobias Silversmith, he did a great job with Anne Tenino's Too Stupid To Live, and he didn't do a bad job, though I'm not sure he captured either m/c just quite right, a little too camp for Tristan and perhaps not old enough for Michael, which is weird as I think he caught Ian from TSTL, who is older, really well. Even so, I listened in one sitting and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this.