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Cole Gannon arrives in the seaside town of Ocean Vista to work as a bartender and finally find a place to belong. Determined to make a home for himself, Cole lives happily with his four colorful roommates, whom he considers brothers. The only problem is Cole's attraction to Ian Stark - a guy all wrong for him. He wishes he didn't keep running into the sexy lawyer.
With four girls, single dad Ryan Withers has his hands too full to look for romance. He’s not complaining - he loves his daughter and the three nieces he adopted when their parents died, and he would do anything for them. He's caught off guard when his mother and daughter decide to play matchmaker. Alex Bernot works in disaster relief, his job taking him all over the world, helping others, for extended periods of time. He’s staying with his aunt while he’s home, and she sets him up on a blind date.
Deacon Reid was born bad to the bone with no intention of changing. A lifetime of law-bending and living on the edge suits him just fine, until his baby sister dies and he finds himself raising her little girl. Staring down a family history of bad decisions and reaped consequences, Deacon cashes in everything he owns, purchases an auto shop in Half Moon Bay, and takes his niece, Zig, far away from the drug dens and murderous streets they grew up on.
Seth Walker was my first love and I always swore he’d be my last. Even after he moved away our senior year in high school, we vowed to reunite after graduation. But when he suddenly broke things off without explanation and crushed my heart, it was my turn to run. After a decade in the navy, I’ve finally come home ready to move on with my life as Hobie’s newest firefighter. Unfortunately, the minute I set eyes on the new sheriff in town, I know I’m screwed. Hobie’s top cop is none other than Seth Walker.
Blue: When my ex walks into the resort bar with his new husband on his arm, I want nothing more than to prove to him that I've moved on. Thankfully, the sexy stranger sitting next to me is more than willing to share a few kisses in the name of revenge. It gets even better when those scorching kisses turn into a night of fiery passion. The only problem? Turns out the stranger's brother is marrying my sister later this week.
After trading the barracks for a fixer-upper rental, Navy SEAL Zack Nelson wants peace, not a roommate - especially not Pike, who sees things about Zack he most wants to hide. Pike's flirting puts virgin Zack on edge. And the questions Pike's arrival would spark from Zack's teammates about his own sexuality? Nope. Not going there. But Zack can't refuse.
Cole Gannon arrives in the seaside town of Ocean Vista to work as a bartender and finally find a place to belong. Determined to make a home for himself, Cole lives happily with his four colorful roommates, whom he considers brothers. The only problem is Cole's attraction to Ian Stark - a guy all wrong for him. He wishes he didn't keep running into the sexy lawyer.
With four girls, single dad Ryan Withers has his hands too full to look for romance. He’s not complaining - he loves his daughter and the three nieces he adopted when their parents died, and he would do anything for them. He's caught off guard when his mother and daughter decide to play matchmaker. Alex Bernot works in disaster relief, his job taking him all over the world, helping others, for extended periods of time. He’s staying with his aunt while he’s home, and she sets him up on a blind date.
Deacon Reid was born bad to the bone with no intention of changing. A lifetime of law-bending and living on the edge suits him just fine, until his baby sister dies and he finds himself raising her little girl. Staring down a family history of bad decisions and reaped consequences, Deacon cashes in everything he owns, purchases an auto shop in Half Moon Bay, and takes his niece, Zig, far away from the drug dens and murderous streets they grew up on.
Seth Walker was my first love and I always swore he’d be my last. Even after he moved away our senior year in high school, we vowed to reunite after graduation. But when he suddenly broke things off without explanation and crushed my heart, it was my turn to run. After a decade in the navy, I’ve finally come home ready to move on with my life as Hobie’s newest firefighter. Unfortunately, the minute I set eyes on the new sheriff in town, I know I’m screwed. Hobie’s top cop is none other than Seth Walker.
Blue: When my ex walks into the resort bar with his new husband on his arm, I want nothing more than to prove to him that I've moved on. Thankfully, the sexy stranger sitting next to me is more than willing to share a few kisses in the name of revenge. It gets even better when those scorching kisses turn into a night of fiery passion. The only problem? Turns out the stranger's brother is marrying my sister later this week.
After trading the barracks for a fixer-upper rental, Navy SEAL Zack Nelson wants peace, not a roommate - especially not Pike, who sees things about Zack he most wants to hide. Pike's flirting puts virgin Zack on edge. And the questions Pike's arrival would spark from Zack's teammates about his own sexuality? Nope. Not going there. But Zack can't refuse.
Daniel Mulligan is tough, snarky, and tattooed, hiding his self-consciousness behind sarcasm. Daniel has never fit in - not at home in Philadelphia with his auto mechanic father and brothers, and not at school where his Ivy League classmates looked down on him. Now, Daniel's relieved to have a job at a small college in Holiday, Northern Michigan, but he's a city boy through and through, and it's clear that this small town is one more place he won't fit in.
Jake Moore's world fits too tightly around him. Every penny he makes as a welder goes to care for his dying father, an abusive, controlling man who's the only family Jake has left. Because of a promise to his dead mother, Jake resists his desire for other men, but it leaves him consumed by darkness. It takes all of Dallas Yates's imagination to see the possibilities in the fatigued art deco building on WeHo's outskirts, but what seals the deal is a shy smile from the handsome metal worker across the street.
He promised to never leave me. But when I needed him the most, that was exactly what he did. Wilderness guide Xander Reed has spent fifteen years trying to forget the night he turned to his best friend in his darkest hour, only to find the young man who'd sworn to always have his back was turning his on Xander instead. Two thousand miles and fifteen years of building a new life in the quiet backcountry of the Rocky Mountains should have been enough to put the memory of Bennett Crawford out of his mind.
I don’t want Jason Vega. Not at all. It’s the worst idea ever. Ah, hell... Jason is handsome. Smart. Dangerous. Hot. He’s goddamn gorgeous - but he’s also sleeping on the street, hanging out with the local biker gang, and selling his body for a living. Our lives, our paths, couldn’t be further apart. I’m crawling toward the light while he’s falling into the dark. But it doesn’t matter how different we are or what logic dictates.
Self-proclaimed playboy, Aiden Vale, has it all - good looks, successful career, plenty of cash in the bank, and an endless supply of men who know the score...that one night is just that. So the last thing he wants, or needs, is to forge a connection that might mean revealing more of himself than he's ready to. But when fate intervenes, putting Aiden in the path of someone who threatens to knock down his carefully constructed walls, he's quick to realize the young man he's become infatuated with is hiding a painful secret.
Hagen Wylie has it all figured out. He's going to live in his hometown, be everybody's friend, explore new relationships, and rebuild his life after the horrors of war. No muss, no fuss is the plan. He's well on his way - until he finds out his first love has come home too. Hagen says it's no big deal, but a chance encounter with Mitch Thayer's two cute sons puts him directly in the path of the only guy he's never gotten out of his head.
Knowing that one more blow to his heart could destroy him, Giovanni had built walls up around his heart to protect himself. He had created strict rules for himself about the men he slept with, which included never exchanging names and absolutely no repeat performances. That was until he met a young man whom he found impossible to forget.
Blaming himself for the death of his parents, Dr. Drew Klein retreats into a shell of loneliness, merely going through the motions of life. After a disastrous, short-lived marriage, Drew leaves his lucrative medical practice to set up a clinic for abused young men and women. The decision has more repercussions than Drew could ever imagine when the dark and sensual Ash Davis volunteers to help. Although Drew isn't gay, Ash is inexplicably drawn to him.
10 years after leaving his small Minnesota hometown in his rear view mirror for what Nolan Grainger was sure would be the last time, life has decided to throw the talented musician a curveball and send him back to the town he lived in but was never really home. When he’s forced to use the last of his own money to keep from losing the family home, desperation has him turning to the one man he’d hoped never to see again....
Life takes delight in stabbing Gus Scott in the back when he least expects it. After Gus spends years running from his past, present, and the dismal future every social worker predicted for him, karma delivers the one thing Gus could never - would never - turn his back on: a son from a one-night stand he'd had after a devastating breakup a few years ago. Returning to San Francisco and to 415 Ink, his family's tattoo shop, gave him the perfect shelter to battle his personal demons and get himself together...until the firefighter who'd broken him walked back into Gus's life.
I left my family and tiny Texas hometown 15 years ago to escape small-town gossips and to give my mom and sister the chance at a better life. But when a phone call from an attorney back home informs me that my sister passed away, leaving me custody of her newborn baby, I'm shocked out of the steady life I've built for myself running a tattoo shop in San Francisco. The thing is: I don't do babies. And I don't do small towns. Or commitment. And I especially don't do family.
When interior designer David Snyder buys a beautiful century-old house in eastern Washington, he is reeling with heartbreak and looking for somewhere to put down roots. Unfortunately his new home comes with a laundry list of problems: electrical, plumbing, heating...things David knows nothing about. When his mother offers him the business card of a local handyman, David pictures an overweight, balding man in his fifties. But Jackson Henry couldn't be further from that stereotype.
How can you lose one dream and still find another?
Owen King is a lonely history teacher who wants to be braver. So when Owen learns about the deceased brother he never met, he breaks free of his safety net and risks answers. Despite his loving, adopted family, Owen wonders if there are missing pieces inside of him. Visiting the seaside town of Ocean Vista, where his brother lived and died, will be no vacation.
Andrew Teagan wants to be a winner. After being dumped by his last boyfriend, Andrew is through letting others dictate his life. To prove that dreams are possible, he's going after his ambitions full force. Having signed on for a cooking reality show, Andrew's ready to make his small café into a sizzling success.
When Andrew aids Owen on the beach, what starts off as an act of kindness turns into a hot temptation. But can a sweet budding romance survive when the time comes for Owen to leave town? Both men must learn to trust each other if their love will conquer the miles between them.
What did you like best about Lovers, Losers, and You? What did you like least?
I liked Owen and how he grew as a character from where he was when the book started, and where he was by the end. He matured and evolved a lot.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Lovers, Losers, and You?
That the "face value" of the characters wound up being different than one would think.
How could the performance have been better?
Bradley was waaaaaay too theatrical... or dare I say, satirical.
Did Lovers, Losers, and You inspire you to do anything?
Not really.
Any additional comments?
I absolutely loved the first book in this series and wanted to continue the story, though this book could be listened to or read as a stand alone. I did not care for the narration. As I said above, Bradley's tones and inflections didn't really fit with what they should have been. Of course, this is just my opinion. I could tell by the content though, that this was another amazing story of love, loss and figuring out who you are in relation to who you think you want to be. So, my suggestion would be to read this one.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
Second in the series, and I have to be honest, I listened to the first so long ago (in my audio book world, I go through 5-8 a month) that I actually didn’t remember who we were talking about. I kept getting the dead brother, but until someone said “bike accident” did I realize who and what first story we were on about. With that being said, I didn’t feel lost, in the first few chapters, until that connection (in my head) was made.
This time, we are trying to heal, Owen decides it’s time. It’s time to take a stand, in life, in love, in work. And he starts by finding out about the brother he wasn’t able to meet in that life. So heading south for Spring break to the seaside, with weight of the world on his shoulders so he can at least get this one thing off of it.
As Andrew, River, Marc, Tomas and Cole rebuild a life after Brenden death; Owen walks in and stirs everything up.
Andrew first spots Owen on the beach, and even from that first encounter we can tell that this is going to be a fun, sweet encounter. Andrew being the bolder of the two, but both of them soon realizing that something wonderful is happening in around and too them.
As for the other friends, tons of drama, from friends with unresolved issues, loves and hearts that broke with Brenden’s death. Father and sons drama, new business adventures, new lives for good and bad.
All of this revolves around Andrew and Owen and the HFN they are creating.
The narrator is doing a wonderful job creating a scene, a life we all can understand. The ups and downs, heartache and pain.
In book one we met Andrew as a replacement in the house after Brendan died. He owns his own café, has a brother and a sister who live nearby and a mother who relies too heavily on him. He’s just gotten out of a relationship where his boyfriend begrudged him the time he spent at work and he’s recently been accepted to a reality-TV cooking show for a chance to win some money to help his café grow.
Owen is Brendan’s half-brother, but the two never got to meet. Cole was conversing with Owen via mail and finally managed to convince Owen to come meet the family that Brendan created with the guys from the house. He teaches at the private school he attended as a child, but is questioning his current contract as a morality clause has been suddenly tacked on. He is also a dedicated big brother to his special needs sister who still lives at home, near his school.
In a flurry of co-incidences, Owen and Andrew meet without knowing they share a connection through Cole first at the beach, later at a bar and finally at the house. They had a spark of attraction at first on the beach, shared a kiss at the bar and then finally admitted to wanting something more even though they know their time together may be very short.
Their relationship moves from simmering to sizzling very quickly as they realize just how easy it is to be with one another. They just click. They know the distance is going to be a problem but they resolve to work things out.
In the end, after an intense week together and several weeks of doing things at a distance, they have to decide where their priorities lie and what can they live without?
**
I loved that (in comparison to book one) this book is almost angst-free (relationship-wise). There is drama about the show and things in the house, but the guys fall for one another and trust that. They move from “just met” to “can’t live without one another” rapidly, but also in a way that seems really organic and authentic.
In the end this is a story of two men falling in love over a week and agreeing to take a chance on that love. It was simple and sweet and sometimes hot, but low on angst.
We also see the seeds of the future books/couples here: Morgan and River; Tomas and Marc and we get to spend a bit more time with Ian and Cole being ridiculously cute and in love.
Skylar Cates’ writing is lovely, as always, flowing and without effort. She brings depth and emotion to her characters and really bring them alive for her readers.
Fans of the series and the author won’t be disappointed with this book, and I think it does well as a stand-alone, too.
I highly recommend this book, series and author. It’d be great to see these guys more on their own (stress free) and I hope we see that in future books.
4.5 of 5 stars
Audio
Hugh Bradley is dear to me for his work on Behind the Curtain by Amy Lane. In that he was exceptional as the young and naive Dawson. I think that soft voice really suits him. He does a nice job with Tomas' accent, though it isn't perfect. He doesn't do a lot for the women's voices, but it's obvious who's speaking at all times. His Southern accent is nice, giving Owen a gentle drawl. He's great at the emotions, pacing and is easy to listen to. This was an easy listen and I think this is a great way to enjoy this lovely story.
4 of 5 stars
overall 4.25 of 5 stars
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, the narration was good and I think the story was great.
Which scene was your favorite?
I love the school hearing, and the old teacher who made a show of standing up for the rights of the faculty.
Any additional comments?
I enjoyed this story about Andrew and Owen. The first book in the series made me cry with the loss of Owen's brother. It was a tragic loss. In this book, I felt mostly sad that the brothers had never met (Owen's mother gave him up for adoption) but the main part of this book was joy at finding love. It wasn't perfect timing for Andrew and Owen, with Owen only visiting to meet his brother's friends with plans to return to home and the teaching job he loves. There were surprises in this book for me, but the two men show incredible strength of character as they fight for their own happiness and happiness with each other.