Faith & Fidelity

Faith, Love, and Devotion, Book 1

By: Tere Michaels

Narrated by: JP Handler

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

Reeling from the recent death of his wife, police officer Evan Cerelli looks at his four children and can only see how he fails them. His loving wife was the caretaker and nurturer, and now the single father feels himself being crushed by the pain of loss and the heavy responsibility of raising his kids.

At the urging of his partner, Evan celebrates a coworker’s retirement and meets disgraced former cop turned security consultant Matt Haight. A friendship born out of loneliness and the solace of the bottle turns out to be exactly what they both need.

The past year has been a slow death for Matt Haight. Ostracized from his beloved police force, facing middle age and perpetual loneliness, Matt sees only a black hole where his future should be. When he discovers another lost soul in Evan, some of the pieces he thought he lost start to fall back in place. Their friendship turns into something deeper, but love is the last thing either man expected, and both of them struggle to reconcile their new and overwhelming feelings for one another.

©2014 Tere Michaels (P)2014 Dreamspinner Press

Finally in audio

Any additional comments?

I love this series, well, mostly I love Matt, Evan is too much of a martyr for my taste. Sadly I don't like the narrator very much, he sounds like he's going to cry most of the time, if they stick with him for the rest of the books in the series, I won't be getting them.
But, if you've read the blurp and listened to the sample and thought "wow" then go for it, it really is a good series.

Bad Narrator really takes away from this book

OMG, talk about dousing my excitement with cold water. The narrator was really bad. He sounded like he was sitting on the washer during the spin cycle because his voice had this vibration thing--almost like he was crying.

This is a beloved series but I will not recommend anyone do this one on audio. Please read it because you won't be able to focus on the story. Basically, widower Evan Cerelli is drowning in a sea of grief until his friendship with an ex-cop Matt Haight becomes a lifeline. What happens when two straight men begin developing feeling for each other? This was their awkward and terrifying journey as they tried to figure out what this means.

Great story, I love this series and it is second only to Cut & Run for me. The writing here is really gripping and I just felt the angst. I have read the book several times and couldn't wait to get the audio. I highly recommend this one as a READ series, not a listen series.

Well that fell flat

What would have made Faith & Fidelity better?

A way better narrator. He sounds like an old man with a bad accent and everyone that was male sounded the same. I couldn't tell who was who half the time.

What did you like best about this story?

When Matt and Evan got together for the first time. It was like they were teenagers sneaking out together.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of JP Handler?

Tristan James, Jeff Gelder, Greg Trembly. Heck I'd even have settled for sean crisdens terrible voices.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Faith & Fidelity?

Not much to cut in this book.

Any additional comments?

I was so sad hearing the narration for this book. I've waited a long time for them to come out with the audio book and when it finally came out it fell flat for me.

I didn't mind the narrator

I actually put off listening to this book b/c of all the terrible narrator reviews. But I got to tell you, I didn't mind him. It is not the best I've heard, but it is certainly not the worst. But I thought he did an OK job. I only wish he had more diversity for Evan and Matt; sometimes I couldn't tell who was speaking b/c they sounded so much alike.

This was one of my favorites as an ebook and I really enjoyed it in audio form as well. Actually it has been a while since I read it, so in listening to it, I actually picked up on a lot. This is the story of a cop mourning the loss of his wife and finding joy with another man. I think they call it "latent homosexuality" and it hits both men. But what makes this story so powerful is the courage shown by both men to be with each other. I'm going to get the 3rd book, which picks up the story and skip the 2nd, because it is with a different couple and really doesn't have Evan & Matt. The 3rd book deals with what happens AFTER the HEA of this book.

It was worth a credit to me, but for others apparently not.

I didn't mind the narrator

Other reviewers haven't been too gracious about the narrator. He's not the best narrator I've heard, but I didn't find it detracted from the story. Good story, enjoyed it. Worth a credit.

Narrator detracts from the story

This is actually a very good story and I love the family of one of the main charaters. BUT the narrator is really weird. The story starts out with the death of the wife of one of the MC - and he (the narrator) sounds heartbroken - and at first u think "Whoa hes really getting in to this" but no... I dont know - mayby he should have taken some personal time to get over what ever is making him miserable, because he sounds on the verge of tears all the time. My advice -READ the book instead!

Review of narrator: JP Handler

Well, I purchased this in audiobook format because I had extra credits...And wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to buying the book . The narrator.... it was just so bad. I cringed the entire time... the pace of JP Handler's reading was so off, and his voice quivering and I am assuming attempting to showcase the main characters distraught persona was cringe-worthy. I really tried... I thought I would be able to ignore it after a few hours of listening and it was pure torture, literally dragging me out of the story line. It was just a horrible fit... idk what other books he's done, perhaps they're better. I will definitely not be finding out. But I am sad to say, for this work... he ruined it. I ended up buying the book so I can just read it without his voice, tone ruining it. And I'll add that the story is actually quite great once I quit trying to listen to it... Listen to the sample before committing is my advice.

Loved the story, but the audio had some issues

Like so many before me, I read this book when I first started my m/m journey some years back. Along with a few other books it’s almost a rite of passage of sorts to read this book at some point. I also figured now was the time to give the audio version a try to see how that was.

What drew me to this book was that it was about everyday people. About you and me, the person you see every day on your commute to work, someone you meet in the grocery store. About real people. Nothing and no one in this book is glorified or polished. They are not perfect and that’s what makes you believe in them and their story.

Evan and Matt bonded over beer and an understanding of sudden life changes and the pain it causes. In each other they found a friendship that made them both come alive again. A friendship that slowly developed into something more – causing them both some major freak-outs. Because neither of them were gay or even bi. Evan was a recent widower with four kids and working in law-enforcement wasn’t always easy for gay or bi people.

Evan and Matt went through some major life changes and realisations. I liked how it was allowed for them to take their time with it, be hesitant and even freak out. Especially Evan. I’m not saying it wasn’t hard on Matt – I know it was. But in one year Evan lost his wife and love of his life and became a shell of his former self. In one day he became a single father to four kids. His family was floundering, breaking and he couldn’t really hold them together. So why not throw in a budding bisexuality into the mix – just to liven things up? So it’s messy. But that’s life for you. Life is messy, and things has a tendency to happen all at once.

Narration-wise JP Handler was an okay narrator. He had a good pacing and enunciation and I love that he added feelings and varied it to the events going on in the book. His voice was a bit shaky though and almost sounded like he was on the verge of bursting into tears.

I said earlier that I was curious to see how the audio would hold up against the print version. And sadly, for me it just didn’t. Production-wise the audio didn’t enhance the story, but took from it instead. The sound was harsh and had this edge that was hard on my ears. Added on that was a strange echoing sensation tagged on at the end. Unfortunately it wasn’t a pleasant listening experience and is the main reason why I can’t continue to listen to the rest of the series. I would have loved to see more of this family, watch them grow, but I think that will have to be in print form from now on.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Frustratingly All-Consuming!

The Up's and Down's will drive you crazy, but you won't stop reading... guaranteed!
The rollercoaster ride the author sends us on, in this intoxicating GFY romance, is nothing short of fabulous.
I was giddy over their encounters and so very invested in their hea.
Loved it!!!

Great story. Good narration.

Really enjoy this series. Intense emotional story that is well written. Narration is decent fit.

A sweet book but hard to believe.

It's a sweet book but hard to believe, and if you can't believe in the main characters there is little point. The reader does the best he can with the material he has been given.