BooFF

By: Matt Burlingame

Narrated by: Don Alfredano

Length: 2 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

James Dixon has it all: a gorgeous fiancé, a beautiful new house with the pool of his dreams, and his beloved dog Pepper. But his perfect life begins to unravel after the sudden disappearance of his best friend, Ben.

Trying to maintain a sense of normalcy while desperate to find out what happened to his friend, James helps his fiancé, Michael, plan their upcoming housewarming party. But the oddities keep adding up until James becomes convinced their new house is being haunted.

Enlisting the help of his mother, a witch, their party becomes the housewarming from hell as James uncovers shocking secrets and the ultimate betrayal in this paranormal tale of terror.

©2017 Matt Burlingame (P)2017 Matt Burlingame

Horror with a Paranormal Twist

Okay, this book is way out of my comfort zone, but sometimes I enjoy taking a risk on something different. This book was…unique. I have to disagree with Melissa a bit in that, to me, this audio has horror elements. I feel the book combines two genres – MM and horror. If you love paranormal horror, this book will appeal to you. If you’re looking for a gay romance, this doesn’t really fit except for the hot sexy couple of men who are engaged and planning their housewarming party.

From the very beginning, I didn’t like Michael. Anyone (man or woman) who actively attempts to isolate their partner from old friends is usually in the wrong. Unless the previous relationships were toxic, it is good to hold on to people who knew you before.

Anyway, James has been away on business and upon his return, tries to locate his best friend Ben. Ben left a message the morning James flew out, but hasn’t returned any of the subsequent calls. James and Ben refer to each other as BooFF – a combination of ‘boo’ and ‘BFF’ (best friend forever). The closeness of that relationship is touching. 20 years of friendship with only a few bumps, and most of them caused by Michael.

Being a horror story, things go sideways very quickly. I’ll admit certain things I saw coming while others were a surprise. I don’t want to ruin the book, so I’ll refrain from including spoilers. I will say Pepper was the best part of the book.

Don Alfredano, the narrator, did a decent job. He allowed me to suspend my disbelief and just go along for the ride. I would be up to listening to another book narrated by him or another book written by Matt Burlingame, if it was in a different genre. I won’t be choosing another horror book soon, but I was glad I took a chance on something different.

Odd mix of paranormal and MM with boring narration

Although this is a short one, it was too easy to figure out what was going on from the beginning. None of the characters were really that interesting. Since I had never read the book, only listened to this audio, I'm not sure whether that is the fault of the author or the bland narrator. The narrator yelled a lot, but in a monotone voice. Most of the characters sounded the same, so sometimes you weren't sure who was speaking.

The story could have been better if it was written better so that you didn't figure it out so soon, or maybe that was Mr. Burlingame's inention?

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I really enjoyed this and the narration was Good

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

Yes, because I enjoy paranormal thrillers, and the bad guy gets his in the end. Plus it was written well, with good narration.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked it all.

What about Don Alfredano’s performance did you like?

He set the right tone for the story.

If you could take any character from BooFF out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Ben :)

Any additional comments?

** spoiler alert ** A complimentary copy of this audio was provided via Audiobook Boom in exchange for an honest review.

I will admit to hesitating to read this story because the cover is a little off-putting and the blurb - while intriguing - left me questioning if it would be to my taste. I am so happy I took a chance because this was certainly an entertaining and gripping story. I had my suspicions early on as to what was going on with Ben being missing and "shocking secrets" that James uncovers. Despite the "mystery" not being very mysterious, I thought this was a well written short about a man trying to uncover what happened to his best friend. The book title "Booff" is James and Ben's own term and a play off of BFF (best friends forever), it's something only the two of them use, and the term comes in to play a lot during this mystery.

Since I don't want to ruin what happens (I was shocked about a lot of the actual details, just not the overall mystery of Ben's disappearance), I can't tell you a lot about the actions in the story. I liked James right from the start, and I just adored Pepper. I didn't like Michael almost from the start. James seemed to be giving up a lot and acquiescing to a lot of things just to keep the peace and make Michael happy. That's not a good relationship, nor the basis for which to get married. Plus his attitude towards Ben just rubbed me the wrong way.

The final climax of the story was very fun (if gory) and very satisfying. I almost think the author wanted you to know what was going on, just be kept in the dark as to the reasons why and how. You could almost call the ending happy, except Ben isn't just missing - which is sad, but the bad guy definitely doesn't win, so that's a happy. :)

Since this is an audio, I HAVE to talk about the narration and this is my first my Don Alfredano, but it won't be my last. This was a great narration and I thought Don Alfredano totally nailed the characters and gave it the right tone to express the action in the story. When James was confused or scared/nervous, those feelings came through by how Don spoke. When Michael was being an ass, his voice carried just the right amount of snark or sass, or contrition (towards James). I fully enjoyed this narration and will be looking for more by Don Alfredano .

Overall I rate the story with 4 stars - because there are some unfinished elements that are driving me crazy: [what happened to the plumber? Was that scene a dream by Michael? But that doesn't explain what happens later with the pool. James' mother, when he tells her what he thinks is going on with Ben, what was his mother doing that was so important she couldn't cancel her other plans and rush to be with her son? What did James see in Michael that led them to date then get engaged? (hide spoiler)]
Narration 5 stars.

I do recommend this story (and audio if you have the chance). You might have the idea this is a horror, but I would NOT classify it as such. I see this as a paranormal thriller. There isn't exactly any romance here, but there is affection between James and Ben; they've known each other for a long time and we are given some history of their relationship. [There is sex on page, but it's a scene between Michael and the plumber that ends up being a bloody mess; it's not explained what really happened there).

Quick suspense mystery

This was a quick suspense/horror mystery. For me it was easy to figure out early on what was happening, but James appears clueless. Pun intended. The suspense came in watching James stumble blindly along, apparently ignorant of the myriad clues piling up, and wondering if he was going to end up victim or victor. It's a good thing he had his best friend looking out for him!

The narration was well-paced, but a little flat. More varied vocal inflection would have made for a more captivating story.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I'm speechless

*** I was given a copy of this book by the author for an honest review.***

I feel a little guilty leaving the worst imaginable review to an author but I have to be honest.
First, I had the plot figured out 7-8 minutes into the story. Second, The dialogue was so bad it was like watching children doing a role play exercise of adults speaking to one another, It was that juvenile and frankly a bit odd. Third, The narration was unbelievably bad. The narrator did this thing where instead of any change in inflection or tone to portray emotion (negative) he just raises his voice but it remains very monotone so you end up with a guy yelling in a flat voice for most of the book. I'm sorry but I just have nothing positive to report on this book.