Crossroads

By: Riley Hart

Narrated by: Sean Crisden

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

After divorcing the woman he'd been with since he was 17, Nick Fuller is starting over. He owns the restaurant of his dreams, and he's determined to meet new people, find new passions, and experience life to its fullest. Easier said than done - that is until he meets his new neighbor, Bryce Tanner.

Neither man has ever wanted another guy, but there's a connection between Nick and Bryce from the start - a spark they can't deny. They find themselves navigating an unfamiliar new world and dealing with unforeseen obstacles. Physical desire isn't enough, and now Nick and Bryce are at a crossroads. They have to decide which way to go: the easy path they've always followed or the one that's determined to trip them up at every turn.

Contains mature themes.

©2015 Riley Hart (P)2015 Tantor

Double GFY - amazing narration

Double GFY people! Yes! It sounds so fantastical, but it is SO WELL DONE! Riley Hart is an amazing writer and she absolutely manages to pull this off.

She spends a lot of time building the relationship (as friends) between the two guys and then showing us that with an open mind (and an open heart) the two can explore their feelings for one another physically as well as emotionally.

I loved the similar yet different reactions each man received from their families. Though Nick had only ever been with one person, his feelings for Bryce follow a similar pattern and it’s totally reasonable that his mother would think he’s jumping the gun again. It’s also fair that Bryce’s family would think his impetuosity is throwing him into another doomed to fail relationship.

But… both men are being true to their authentic selves. Just like the motorcycles, Bryce KNEW Nick was THE ONE. And just like his cooking Nick knows his own heart and has to trust it where it concerns Bryce.

The sex is OFF THE CHARTS hot! But … so is the love. These guys aren’t afraid to reach for one another emotionally and it’s so very sweet and tender.

I loved this book – gave myself a book hangover as I had to read it all in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down at 2 a.m.

I can’t recommend this enough!


Audio

Lord! The heat is SCORCHING. Sean Crisden does an absolutely perfect job with this narration! The feels, the smexy scenes, the humor… just perfect! I absolutely adored the book and the audio only makes it BETTER!

I cannot recommend this any more!
6 of 5 stars

*sad face emoji*

Everyone loves this author and I feel like I'm missing something, like I'm the one who doesn't get it.

Maybe this would've been more successful had I read it rather than listening to it, but the story overall seemed unrealistic. The priority seemed to be focused on the sex rather than developing the relationship between the Bryce and Nick, two previously lifelong heterosexual dudes.

I appreciate that one's sexuality isn't static, more of a continuum, and I like that Hart seems to do this trope relatively well. Maybe there are people who just dive headlong into bisexuality without reservation and good on them! But if you're trying to convince me that two people are going to live happily ever after then I need more than sex, sex, more sex, blow jobs, rimming, sex, sex shop + dildos and then some more sex on top. The sex was hot; that's undeniable.

But sex isn't love. Sex isn't going to take the garbage out or mow the lawn or paint the living room or stay by your side when you get sick.

So, as much as I wanted this to work for me, it just didn't. There were some feel good moments but not enough to convince me of their longevity.

I also feel left out because so many people love this narrator to pieces and his performance was about as exciting as the iTunes user agreement. He blah, blah, blee, blee, blee'd about half of it, yada yada'd most of the sex and Peanuts teacher'd the rest of it. I've had oatmeal more interesting than this.

I also HATED his voice for Bryce. H.A.T.E.D.I.T. I'm not a huge fan of his voice in general but Bryce's voice was particularly grating.

Unfortunately not one I would recommend but my opinions are my own and YMMV.

Don't refer to HIV- as "Clean," and other things.

Maybe my age, maybe I'm jaded, maybe I'm tooo gay, but I had issue with reading books in this genre by self identifying females. On the advice from Max Walker (Stonewall Investigation Series) and his recommendation of Riley Hart, i gave her a shot. Well, her writing is good. I felt the character development was good. Even though this was written in 2015, the term "Clean" was still used while describing the guys HIV status. For anyone reading this and not understanding why I'm saying this. It perpetuates the stigma of people living with HIV as bad. The opposite of Negative is Positive. If you use "Clean" to describe HIV-, then the opposite of clean is "Dirty," meaning anyone living with HIV, HIV+ is Dirty. This didn't help my hesitation to read a straight woman writing about gay life and love.

Ok, off of my soapbox.
[Spoiler?]
If you like the idea of 2 straight guys turning gay for each other - give this a shot. I'm still going to give Riley another opportunity.

The voice acting was really bad

The storyline was interesting. This is my first m/m romance and I’m definitely interested in exploring the genre. I wish I would have read this book as opposed to listening to it. The voice actor took me out of the moment. Whenever he tried to use speak in a woman’s voice it was hilariously bad. He also didn’t do some of the male voices well. Ill be sure to avoid any more books that he narrates.

Bravo, Sean Crisden!

Any additional comments?

I'll be honest, when I first read this story I wasn't one of its scores of fans. I just didn't get all that into the story. I mean it was *okay* - but nothing I'd shout from the rooftops over, you know?

Then I got the audio. And holy WOW does Sean Crisden BRING THE HEAT.

I *LOVED* EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF THIS AUDIO BOOK! And it all boils down to Sean Crisden.

Bravo, sir. Bravo!

When listening to this I bought their burgeoning bisexualism, Nick and Bryce's love for each other, and the ups and down of navigating not only a new relationship, but one so far outside of your previous comfort zone. I bought it all - hook, line and sinker!

And I loved it.

Terrible narration. Wonderful story!!

I was able to get past the terrible narration until he came to women's voices; then I had a hard time hanging in through the. Wish I had purchased the Kindle version.

Crossroads

Crossroads by Riley Hart is a special book to me because it was the first M/M book I read, and I fell in love with it. Since that time almost two years ago, I couldn't tell you the number of times I've read the book or listened to the audio, but I can tell you it's more than ten times. This is the book that made me aware of this genre, and completely changed my reading habits. Once I finished this book, I had to start looking for similar books and started reading every book that Riley wrote. She is one of my go to authors. I have read almost all of her books, and most of them I've read multiple times. I've said it before, but Riley writes more than hot, sexy, romantic stories. She builds worlds and characters that I want to spend my time getting to know better. Every time I've reread one of Riley's books, I feel like I'm catching up with old friends.

Crossroads is about two men who are beginning again in their lives. They're both single and consider themselves straight, if they were ever to even think about it. They're both happy with their careers, and have moved into a new place, right next door to each other. Both men come from large, meddling families and strike up a friendship. But Nick and Bryce are opposites. Nick is a thinker and planner that will overthink everything. Nick married his high school sweetheart, didn't date around, and now that he's single, has no interest in dating and especially no interest in hooking up or one-night-stands. Bryce acts without thinking, has had very few serious relationships, and is always looking to have a good time. Both of these men are sweet and funny and guys you want to be friends with.

Crossroads is a double GFY, and I know that's a term that many people get upset about but I don't. Personally, I don't really like labels especially when it comes to attraction and love. I think Riley did a fantastic job of storytelling for two men who have found themselves attracted to someone of the same sex. Neither man just jumped in and found perfection. Nick and Bryce had to do a lot of thinking, research and were tentative in their exploration. Even once they agreed to see what happens, their relationship moved slowly. And their explorations were sometimes quite awkward but endearing. But throughout, you could see the strength in the relationship and love that Nick and Bryce were building. And there is no doubt that these two men have found love with each other.

Sean Crisden does a terrific job with the narration! He has an easy to listen to voice, bad a good pace, gives characters individual voices and expresses emotions he brings the story to life!

I couldn't tell you the number of times I've recommended this book to others, even my friends that are M/F readers because the love, friendship, caring, support, and strength of Nick and Bryce are what makes this such a beautiful story. If you haven't read this book yet (seriously?), then you definitely need to!

Rating: 5+++++++ stars!

Was I supposed to be uncomfortable?

I am sure it is a good book but I could not finish it. The nerrorator was not a good fit for this type of book.

Unexpected Love

I bought this book in 2016 with the intention to read it the week I bought it. Fast forward and it’s not 2020 and I finally got to it. At first, I was a little apprehensive, this is a book that has a lot of positive reviews, but I was afraid it was going to let me down. GFY books are usually not my favorite romance trope, but I’m willing to try almost any book. And I’m so glad that I did. This was a beautiful story of two men who find love with each other. Yes there’s some angst, but overall, the angst factor in this book is low and there’s no doubt that Nick and Bryce belong together. I enjoyed the how Nick and Bryce’s relationship developed and grew – it was beautiful, tender, and so strong. It made my heart feel warm, and that, more than anything, made this book a success for me.

I'm surprised

Good story with good characters overall. I liked the little bits of humor throughout the story.

EXCELLENT BOOK

This book was excellent with a great story. Families who are accepting, others not so much. I won't say anymore as I would hate to spoil the book for future readers.

One last thing I should say about the book is that it this is almost a biography of my own life, and the change once my wife and I separated. The only difference being that it wasn't a neighbour. Friends took me out one Friday night to cheer me up. We went to a pub, my eyes met this hunk of a guy, his eyes met and locked on mine. Need I say that the rest is history and we have a Church wedding arranged for next summer, and I can't wait for our relationship to become legal. It makes things easier if anything happens to either of us.

I suppose you could say that this book is our story, with changes made to protect the innocent!

A great read

Where does Crossroads rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best if not the best, certainly the best gay book I have ever read

Who was your favorite character and why?

The motor bike rider. I liked all the characters but he stood out for me especially when he went to his partner's mother towards the end

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Several but after my comments above I really do not want to spoil it for anyone

Any additional comments?

This is a nice steady easy listening book, gently written with an interesting story and well read. Some readers plough through with no feelings as to what is being read but this guy is very good, not too fast just with the right tempo for the story.

Two straight guys?

Overall I enjoyed it especially the family issues and the way stuff with family cropped up. Mothers seem to cause biggest issues it seems!!

Improve by Audio

Found the story 'okay' easy reading but a trifle ridiculous, an extra star for the sex not immediately being porn-star easy though. Characters are both likeable, banter is fun, families trope overkill.

Listening to the book made the difference. Seriously made a difference. Raised it a whole two stars. This is one definitely improved on by getting audio.

A real feel-good romantic read.

Two ultra decent seemingly hetero-sexual men discover a mutual love which overcomes family opposition and eventually blossoms into a full-blown sexual affair. Wow! The sex is pretty stand-up raunchy too. The reader is excellent and makes it spring to life. It kept me going well into the odd solitary night.