His Undoing: A Gay For You Erotic Short Story

By: Aria Grace

Narrated by: Fred Wolinsky

Length: 1 hr and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

When Mike found out he would be sharing a dorm with a former football star, he was terrified. He'd been bullied by jocks all his life for being scrawny and weak and didn't have high expectations of how it would go. To his surprise, Brett was a great guy that was easy to get along with and seemed to enjoy his company. When Mike learned that Brett was gay, it was a shock but it also explained the threatening letters that Mike had been receiving. Was Mike really at risk because of a jealous ex? Was there even anything to be jealous of?

©2012-2014 Aria Grace (P)2014 Aria Grace

Narrator Ruined it for me

Cute story but the narrator was awefull I really considered not finishing the book. The men’s voices sounded the same, I was not sure who was speaking.

Sweet and stimulating

This was a sweet coming out story that was also tender and erotic. You really get to like the two main characters. The story skillfully avoids the cliche that it could have so easily fallen into. The sex comes from the characters and situation and is not artificially forced onto the story. The narrator gives a real naturalness to the first person narration, and you feel like he is a real person telling you his story. He does a nice job distinguishing the other voices as well. His emotional content is full of nuances. I enjoyed listening to this story and hope to hear more by this author and from this narrator.

Sometimes it’s just the narrator

The story, albeit short, was fine. A bit unresolved and weak with the antagonist part. Hardly seemed worth his introduction. The weakest was the narrator. His voice sounded too “old” for the characters he was narrating. I ended up listening to the book at a higher speed to make the voice sound differently and to speed him up in his narration. If you only have an hour to kill this isn’t a bad story.

disapointing

I really like the story, but the narrator was terrible! It was like listening to the teacher from Feris Beuler. I recommend getting the regular version and skipping this mess.

A captivating listen

Would you listen to His Undoing: A Gay For You Erotic Short Story again? Why?

Yes. It really drew me into the characters and storyline, and I enjoyed spending time with them. Like any good book or movie, it will be nice to hear again -- and I will probably find more nuances the second time around.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the deep tenderness, yet real sensuality of the two main characters. Following Mike's journey and personal discoveries were especially heartwarming. He was very real. That is what made the sexual scenes all the more steamy.

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

Not yet, but I would like to see what else he can do. I love that he does not sound like a radio announcer, but rather like a real college kid. His narration drew me into the story and characters. I felt like I was experiencing a movie.

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

Yes. It was less than 2 hours, so that is certainly possible. The story moved quickly and had some unexpected twists. I was always curious to see what would happen next.

Good story

It was a good story but the narrative was a bit dry. I did enjoy it though.

College Roommates

Brett, an out gay man has a new roommate named Mike, a straight man. After Mike was mistaken for being gay and getting jumped and almost raped, Brett nursed Mike back to health.

Aftee Mike, a virgin, tried intimacy with a girl named Maggie, he begins to realize his love for his roommate Brett. He realized that he was falling in love, but not with Maggie but Brett. It is a tale of young love that I think many would sincerely appreciate and enjoy.

Seductive Coming Of Age Story!

I enjoyed listening to this short story. Yet, I had to adjust to the narrators voice. I enjoyed that it wasn't your typical gay romance plot that was purely sexual. The story moves along charmingly. I was saddened that the end came because I truly wanted to hear more. I would recommend this book to any and all who enjoy a story of mans evolution of understanding the gay mans plight.

Love the story itself, the narrator, not so much.

What did you like best about His Undoing: A Gay For You Erotic Short Story? What did you like least?

I loved the relationship between the two male leads and the way it played out. Sadly, the narrator was not a good choice.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I'd have to say Mike. He went through a lot both physically and emotionally throughout the story.

What didn’t you like about Fred Wolinsky’s performance?

Everything! If I hadn't already read this book I wouldn't have known which character or when, he was so monotone and he would stress his voice at times and places that he didn't need to then be very matter of fact when perhaps he should have shown some enthusiasm.

Do you think His Undoing: A Gay For You Erotic Short Story needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Oh yes, I'd love to see where Mike and Brett are ten years after college. Just please god, a different narrator!

Any additional comments?

Mike is in his first year of college in a foreign state, away from his family and friends. Having spent much of his young life being picked on and bullied, the scrawny more academic than athletic type, is justifiably anxious to meet his new roommate.

Brett is the typical jock, the same kind of person that had picked on and bullied him in the past. Imagine his surprise when he meets Brett and he’s not only friendly and easy to get along with, but he’s gay.

His Undoing is the story of Brett’s hidden attraction to Mike, who is none the wiser in the beginning. As the story progresses Mike makes friends and even grabs himself a “girlfriend”, sadly, he also becomes the unwitting victim of a stalker that results in him being brutalized as the result of a hate crime. Brett and Maggie both are there for him through the ordeal and the aftermath and as his relationship with Maggie progresses to the next level, Mike realizes that he’s not quite as attracted to her as he thinks he should be.

Grace does a phenomenal job of squeezing a lot of content into this short story, as well as conveying Mike’s emotional journey while adding depth and realism to it. I loved the reality of the conversation he and Brett have when Mike is telling him how he feels. This is the first book I’ve read where one page had me saying “Awwww, they are just so damn cute!” then the next had me fanning myself from the steam radiating off the pages when Brett and Mike finally get together.

My only complaint was the way the situation was handled when they discovered who it was that had attacked Mike. I thought there could have been a better outcome, aside from that this was a well written, coming of age, gay love story with some Fantastic guy on guy action!

Probably good that it's short *minor spoilers*

As I don't want the small part that shows in previews to give spoilers, I'll start the "in general." The characters are mostly believable and the situaiton they are dealing with is mostly believeable. I wouldn't consider this to be an "erotic short story," for reasons that are further below.

There is actually a lot of potential with the story! There are some really cute moments. I have a thing for shy guys that are a little unsure of themselves. I want to be clear - it's not a BAD story - it's just a 3 star story. There are a few major parts I have an issue with. The main two things that made it difficult to immerse myself in the story are below (don't read if you don't want any spoiler).

I don't mean to give spoilers - but this is how it starts, so, I won't go too far into it. This is my opinion, but in general, a potential rape is NEVER sexy. I have no issue with a "rape story arc" (I'm not 'into it' just - I think talking about surviving sexual assault can have a lot of value - not here). Since this is a short story and tagged as erotica - I feel like the potential rape arc is very misplaced here. There is nearly no reason for it to be there. It adds nothing and actually makes other parts of the book less believable.

Think of Mike - always been straight, never questioned his sexuality - there is a possibility he's been raped by another man, and he... may be starting to feel hot for his male roommate? I think it's more believable that he'd probably have an aversion to being touched at all - or at the very least avoid another male's touch if he had been assaulted. I've never been assaulted, so I don't know that for sure, but that's been my experience with other people. They usually have a harder time with intimate touch (not always). Either way, I think if he'd just been attacked it would have been the same, so I think it really pulls a lot of the "erotica" possibilities out of the book (for me).

Aside from that, a few things that threw me off was in a "straight sex scene," it's pretty graphic. I don't care about graphic, but it seems this is geared to gay men - I felt very not excited by the descriptions. About as not excited as the character experiencing it. Since he wasn't into it, I felt like it wasn't bisexually geared - because while graphic, it's not really appreciated. Straight people won't want to hear the gay sex parts, and gay men won't want to hear about the straight parts. It's not that I'm horrified hearing straight sex - it just felt like maybe the author lost their audience focus here.

Overall - I still enjoyed the story. I think if it were a longer story, it would fall apart more quickly, but for a short story it's ok! I think if Mike had only been physically attacked and there was no indication of rape - the care he's given could really make the physical touch of a male more acceptable. I think if it had briefed over the lackluster straight sex, it would "hold" the audience better. That's just IMO.