Electric Sunshine

Brooklyn Boys, Book 1

By: E. Davies

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Charlie:

They say time heals all wounds, but it's been five years since my boyfriend died, and I haven't dated since. I threw myself into architecture, and thankfully, there's just no time to wallow or look for love. My friends push me to get back out there, but I'm not ready to be vulnerable again.

Then I meet Kev. He dresses like a catalog model, but he talks like he's got an old soul. He shows me what I'm missing but holds his own heart just out of reach. I can't stop falling for him, and he might be worth taking a risk for. Can I believe in myself enough to win his trust and his heart?

Kev:

My parents kicked me out for being gay when I was only 16. You grow up fast when that happens. You do things you regret just to stay alive. All that's behind me now. I'm 23, moved to Brooklyn, have an annoying roommate, and all I have to do is stay safe and pay the rent.

Sounds easy? Yeah, my options are closing in fast. I don't want to stand on street corners again, but everyone in this city just wants to fix their own loneliness, not mine. And then there's Charlie, who sees the best in me when others only see their own reflection. Can we bare our hearts to each other and build a future together?

Electric Sunshine is audiobook one in the Brooklyn Boys series, where good men find their happily ever afters in a hectic metropolis. It has an HEA and no cliff-hanger. There will be naughty bits doing naughty things, grumpy roomies, opposites attracting, retail hell, hangover specials, and cracked hearts made better than new.

©2018 E. Davies (P)2018 E. Davies

Electric is right

E. Davies is one of my favorite authors and Nick Russo is definitely climbing the ranks of my favorite narrators.

In this story, we have Kev and Charlie, one who is just trying to not fall back on his past choices and another that is alone after losing his love. As the two circle each other and give into their chemistry, there is still the sweetness that I adore from this author. With Brooklyn and NYC as the backdrop to the story, you have so many images in mind that you simply have to keep listening to find out what happens.

Love is Vulnerable

“Love is Vulnerable.” A perfect summary of this story! Charlie is an architect in New York. Charlie’s boyfriend passed away 5 years ago and he hasn’t had a relationship since. Kev was kicked out of his home at the age of 16. After moving to New York, he found a way to make ends meet, including trolling Grindr & local gay clubs to find men. The two meet and Charlie ends up paying Kev for his companionship. What Charlie doesn’t expect is to start to develop feelings for Kev.
This book is one that is out of my norm as I generally do not enjoy stories with “rent boys”. However, due to the way that Kev was written, a man who is just trying to stay safe and make his rent, I was able to look past that. I enjoyed the storyline, and the development of feelings between Charlie and Kev. It was nice to see Charlie going through some stages of grief still 5 years later.
It will be nice to see where he goes with the series! Great job!

Absolutely excellent

It was awesome to get caught up with Kev and Adam. We first met them in Tremble, and they moved to NYC to start a new life. Kev is back to being an escort, but starts to question what he wants out of life after he meets Charlie. Charlie had a tough time getting back into relationship territory after his boyfriend died 5 years prior. He starts out wanting just to find a friend or someone to talk to, but he is intrigued and very interested in Kev the moment he sees him.

I liked this. The relationship between Kev and Charlie was great. I enjoyed watching them break out of their comfort zone and find happiness together. I also liked the side characters and relationships, especially Kev with his roommate Adam.

I've found that I'm becoming picky when listening to audiobooks. Some narrators are clearly better than others. Nick Russo was fabulous and was a great choice for this book. He had a great rhythm and voice, and I felt like he did a great interpretation of Kev and Charlie. I would definitely listen to the rest of this series, and I will listen to Nick Russo again in general.

Yet another fabulous book from E. Davies. I continue to adore everything he writes.

I am voluntarily reviewing an ARC provided by the author

Kev and Charlie

Electric Sunshine is book 1 in the Brooklyn Boys series. This is a heart warming story about Kev, a young man trying to find his way in New York after being kicked out, and Charlie, an architect trying to find his way in New York alone after his boyfriend dies. There initial meeting started out as a business transaction but ended up being so much more. I really enjoyed following these two as they discover love and trust in and for each other. Definitely recommend
Narrator Nick J. Russo does a fabulous job.

The narrator, Nick J. Russo really did a great job

I have read this book and now i have gotten to listen to it and what a treat that was. The narrator, Nick J. Russo really did a great job of bring these men to life for me. Highly Recommend!

What a great book. I absolutely loved this book and all the characters.

Every once in a great while a story comes along that checks every single item on my "what makes a book awesome" list. This steamy, poignant, soul mending, sweet, heartwarming, snarky, gentle romance hits all the feels!

Treat yourself and one click this wonderful story!

Strong narration helps redeem a so-so story

I’ve read a number of E Davies books and have enjoyed all of them, but this one is just so-so. It felt like squandered potential. This book started out strong. I instantly liked both Charlie and Kev and even their on-paper mismatch as a couple was sold in a convincing way. But then the story simultaneously stalled out and sped up at the same time: stalled out because the character development seemed to stagnate and the events started to feel manufactured rather than authentic; sped up because the pace of Charlie and Kev’s romance went from tentative to all-in in the blink of an eye and I felt like that speed was forced in order to drive the plot. There are also inconsistencies in Charlie and Kev’s actions and reactions (Kev more so than Charlie), so the initial connection I had with them started to slip. The story isn’t bad, but the writing was subpar in comparison to E Davies’ other books.

What saved it for me was the narration. Nick J. Russo is a terrific narrator with great pacing, diction and intonation. He actually made me feel (and believe) more from Kev and Charlie than I might have on paper alone. His voices for Charlie and Kev were distinct and matched how I imagined they’d sound. I highly recommend immersion reading on this one or just listening, because the narration really does elevate the story. I think reading, without audio, would have been less enjoyable.

Substantial continuity errors & Uber rides but a good heart

I think the good narration kept me listening. I probably would have given up otherwise. And probably should have. The story just seemed glitchy, as if Kev had been written one way then fundamentally changed but only partially re-written to accommodate the change. Examples of glitches:
-He’s all brash confidence with good attention to detail & clothing in the beginning, but flounders in uncharacteristic ways when changing career paths.
-When he suddenly worries about some job/school path would mean keeping track of details after multiple instances of him being good at & enjoying keeping track of details.
-He has a lack of formal education, but substantial OJT experience then ditches his high paying escort gig for bottom barrel entry level jobs instead of working in hotel management or being a PA or something that would use his skills. His skill history is mentioned multiple times but never incorporated.
- He starts the story as a sex worker but after dating Charlie for a week or two, is worried about being not being in practice for bottoming. What?
-Kev goes to town confronting abusive customers or friends who snark on his job but when confronted by an abusive waitress is all “I hate confrontation” and gets jittery instead of righteously indignant. It’s a complete 180 that might have been saved by either not having him be jittery or explaining that he only can handle standing up for others, not himself. Except that he stands up for himself all the time up to this point.

Charlie is less glitchy but makes odd choices. And was in an Uber every other scene. He has two work trips planned to Singapore then Dubai. But he plans to “come home for the weekend” (aka for some Netflix & chill time, not tickets to Hamilton) between the two. But NYC to Singapore us one of the longest, most grueling flight sequences in the world. It takes a full day if you’re lucky, days if you’re not. And Dubai is on the return route back. So someone flying NYC-Singapore is NOT coming back to NYC between those destinations for anything but the birth of a child (or Hamilton tix). And did I mention his Uber fetish?

Minor Spoiler:
The Dubai trip is probably set up the wrongety wrong way it is so Charlie can bail on the Dubai project. I fully support the decision to not work in that country and the right *reasons* are given but the *reasoning* is…off. As id the timing. Dubai was enough riskier for him to travel to than Singapore that they are NOT interchangeable, equal risk. And the increased risk crossed a line. He eventually loses his job for backing out (oddly not a major plot point) after we’re repeatedly assured that he’s not being pressured. If you can’t safely say no, then saying yes isn’t consent. If he couldn’t turn the job down without losing his job, then he has tremendous pressure to agree. Yet we were assured that wasn’t the situation. And losing the job for taking it then backing out isn’t as unreasonable, but that’s not the reason given. Add to this he only expresses dissatisfaction with his job twice - once when he refers to it as “boring” stuff to do on the Singapore trip then again when he quits in lieu of being fired. Which was stupid because he couldn’t get unemployment compensation if he quit. And firing an employee for being too gay to travel somewhere he could be killed? Might actually happen but it’s mighty strange in a sex positive gay romance. And when it seems he has a job he likes for 80% of the timeline? Then he doesn’t tell Kev he lost his job when they are in a relationship. Huh? Glitchy.
/end Spoiler

There were also several instances where the main characters casually referred to things the other one “always did” when they’d been on 2 or 3 dates in a couple weeks. Minor phrasing changes would have prevented these observations from coming off as glitchy. They should have been touching moments of understanding, but weren’t and yanked me completely out of the narrative all 4 times. So they glitch, then they take an Uber to the next scene.

At times, it felt like generic character placeholders got shuffled in. Like once, Charlie was thinking about taking Kev’s underwear off for sex, but as far as the readers have been informed, Kev doesn’t wear underwear. The sex scenes are completely unmemorable otherwise.

The secondary characters were well fleshed out & consistent (except Charlie’s boss). The places they frequented were well done, but the overall Brooklyn vibe glitched on & off.

I could go on with the glitches but why? I *wanted* to like Charlie & Kev. The first few chapters were well done and drew me in. But the characters started glitching and the Matrix went all weird and the plot went nowhere. I stuck with it to the end but by then their characters were such a jumble and their decision making so odd that I was no longer invested in their success. Or their Uber destinations.

Love This Story!

Love this start to a new series! Charlie and Kev are just spectacular together and extremely hot. I love their chemistry and the way their relationship builds slowly. I was extremely happy with Charlie's attitude and understanding towards Kev' career when they meet and of course of how supportive he is when Kev wants to start a new one. They are great together and I can't wait to get the next ones in this series. The narrator did a fantastic job bringing the story to life. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I love hearing Charlie and Kev brought to life.

I loved this book the first time I read it. E. Davies did a fantastic job telling us the story of Kev moving to the big city and doing what he needs to do in order to survive. Then in walks Charlie and Kev has no idea what hits him.

Nick Russo did an amazing job voicing these two men and it was fantastic to hear their story come to life by the amazing Nick Russo.

Emotion meets Electic chemistry

Electric Sunshine by E. Davies is the first book in the Brooklyn Boys series. The story is well written and interesting, with characters you want to get to know and like. The story makes you feel warm and happy, pulling at emotions while keeping you engrossed in the journey these two take to fininging their happy ending together.
Nick J Russo does a fantastic job as Narrator. Smooth and vlear and entertaining.