Hands On: M/M Romance

More than Friends, Book 5

By: Aria Grace

Narrated by: Tim Todd

Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Patton is new to town and hasn't met a lot of people outside of the salon he works at as a massage therapist. He wants a relationship but he's quick to fall in love and even quicker to scare away most men he's interested in. When he meets an outgoing bartender named Caleb, he is immediately attracted but isn't sure he can date someone that has to flirt for tips all night long. Unfortunately, that's not the worst thing Caleb does to make a living.

For mature listeners.

©2014, 2015 Aria Grace (P)2015 Aria Grace

Hands On

This is one of my more favorite books in the series. Patton the Massage Therapist and Caleb the Bartender / Male Escort. Poor Patton seems to love Caleb from the very first time they meet, but also seems to stick his foot in his mouth every time he opens it. LOL. And then Caleb doesn't seem to know how to handle Patton and what he says/does very well. This book has a little bit of Sweet, and Cute, and Heartbreak all in one.
Tim Todd is a new-to-me Narrator and he did a pretty great job with this one. Its just odd that almost every book in this series has a different narrator, but so far they have all been Good!!

Emotional and engaging with a small dose of angst.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would. It was a fast listen that was both well written and well narrated.

What did you like best about this story?

Caleb's courage.

Have you listened to any of Tim Todd’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but I will, I loved what he did with this book.

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

The bachelor party. I think the two characters started to see each other in a different light at that point, sort of a catalyst.

Any additional comments?

Caleb is working his way through college by any means necessary. He is a good guy, smart, with attainable goals. He never factored in considering someone else’s feelings on how he made his money. When he meets Patton at the bar where he is a part time bar tender, full time off the books rent boy, there is a definite mutual attraction. And when Caleb accepts an offer for a massage at the salon Patton works at, he starts to consider the possibility of something more for the first time in a long time. Then Patton makes an off the cuff remark and sinks the ship before it ever leaves the docks.

This has to be my favorite story and coupling in this series thus far. The story unfolds at the perfect pace, each piece of the puzzle being turned at the right time. The struggle Caleb faces was not only real, believable, it was painful. I loved the fact that he realized selling his body wasn’t the best line of work, but refused to be put down or looked down on because he pursued the only option he was given. Patton pissed me off early on, but then Grace did a fantastic job of humbling him and showing how he struggled with his attraction to Caleb, equal only to his disdain of Caleb’s choice of profession.

Narrated by Tim Todd, and though it was my first listen with this narrator, it won’t be my last. He really captured the true voice for the characters. I could feel Caleb’s frustration and Patton’s indecision throughout the story. I thought it was poetic justice that Patton’s lying, cheating ex was read as a sniveling jackass, much like his character!

Emotional and engaging with a small dose of angst. Definitely a must read if you are a fan of Aria Grace and/or this series. Perhaps it will become your favorite as well. I can’t wait to see what she brings to the table for the next couple in this series.

True Life Choices

This book really highlights how we have to weigh the pros and cons of what we need to balance our lives. I adore the characters... particularly Georgie. I want to read about him and hope he has a book within the series. Great reads.

Another great book by Aria Grace

I started binge listening to Aria Grace's More Than Friends series while on a long road trip. It's been a long time since I became instantly hooked on an author. When you add Tim Todd to an emotionally charged story, it becomes more. More intense, more heart wrenching, more heat packed in every kiss.
The story of Patten & Caleb is unexpected. Hands On is one of those books that stays with you after you close the book. Every time I had to stop or take a break, I found my mind wandering back, wanting to be with them. I enjoyed seeing the men from the earlier books make appearances, without this story depending on reading the previous books.

Cute, if a little simplified

This was an entertaining M/M romance. I liked the dual points of view and the story was pretty light with some good romance scenes. I understood where Patton was coming from, it would be hard to date a prostitute, knowing they're sleeping with other people, even if they don't actually like those people. I definitely didn't judge Caleb for what he did, gotta make money, but there are a lot of dangers in sex work. I'm glad he never got assaulted and had good security to take care of problem clients. Patton and Caleb's relationship was cute and I would love to see more of it!
The narrator did a good job, but was kind of soft spoken. I'm glad I listened to the audio because I got through this even faster!

Great Series, Tim Todd is Perfect

This series is so addictive! I finish one audiobook and load up the next... honestly, I did the same thing with her Mile High Romance series. Aria Grace just builds such a great story and she's never afraid to put in something shocking or angst-y - and, of course, she writes such incredibly hot sex scenes she's a sure thing for a hot romance.

Tim Todd is the narrator for Hands On and as I've written before he's the perfect narrator for Aria Grace's stories. His voice is soothing and his enunciations are spot on, and I love his voices for the characters.

More Than Friends is a wonderful audiobook series and I definitely recommend it!

A Story About Finding Love But Not Self-Worth

"Hands On" is an easy listen and I like how characters from the previous books are effortlessly incorporated into it, but I found this love story between bartender/rent boy Caleb and massage therapist Patton rather frustrating overall. I never warmed up to Patton given his repeated high horse judgement of Caleb, particularly since Caleb is already dealing with some inner turmoil about being a rent boy. Not that Patton is wholly undeserving of compassion and understanding as well for his many personal hangups, but his ongoing foot-in-mouth talent leaves Caleb feeling like garbage at every turn. Normally an HEA reconciliation would help smooth over some of that, but not with Caleb still basically feeling unworthy of being loved and Patton promising Caleb not to hold his rent boy past against him. Excuse you? Former rent boy or not, Caleb deserves unconditional love so yeah, frustrating right up to the end. I do like the More Than Friends series overall, this story (well, Patton really) just clearly rubbed me the wrong way. On a more contented note, narrator Tim Todd has a pleasant voice and I enjoyed his performance.

Another great entry to More than Friends Series

What made the experience of listening to Hands On: M/M Romance the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed the narrator which is probably the main thing that will keep me interested and listening regardless to the story

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hands On: M/M Romance?

Probably the massage scene was my favorite, it was an interesting jumping off point for the relationship between Caleb and Patton.

Have you listened to any of Tim Todd’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This actually was my first book read by him but I would be interesting in hearing others

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was a fairly quick listen so it was not hard to run through it quickly

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Sweet Awkwardness thy name is Patton

I have never in all the books I've ever read in this genre ever wanted to slap the stupid out of an MC. The level of miscommunication and equally the lack of any real communication makes you want to sit these two men down and stage an intervention just so they can get over themselves.

Now that might all sound like a negative but it's really not. You become invested in seeing these two finally lay aside their ego and really see each other but when they do it's the best kind of magic.

As with all the other men in this series you love them for their flaws and accept them for all their great big hearts.

Another story ruined by a negative stigma...

Authors really need to educate themselves, and stop using "Clean" when referring to HIV status. The perpetuation of this horrible stigma implies that people living with HIV are "Dirty" or "Unclean".
It really is sad, because this is otherwise a fairly good series. Up to this point, the author has used the proper term of "Negative" and I'm not sure what prompted this horrendous change.