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One Small Thing  By  cover art

One Small Thing

By: Piper Vaughn,M.J. O'Shea
Narrated by: Finn Sterling
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Publisher's summary

"Daddy" is not a title Rue Murray wanted, but he never thought he'd have sex with a woman either. Now he's the unwitting father of a newborn named Alice. Between bartending and cosmetology school, Rue doesn't have time for babies, but he can't give her up. What Rue needs is a babysitter, and he's running out of options. He's on the verge of quitting school to watch Alice himself when he remembers his reclusive new neighbor, Erik.

Erik Van Nuys is a sci-fi novelist with anxiety issues to spare. He doesn't like people in general, and he likes babies even less. Still, with his royalties dwindling, he could use the extra cash. Reluctantly, he takes on the role of many - and even more reluctantly, he finds himself falling for Alice and her flamboyant father.

Rue and Erik are as different as two people can be, and Alice is the unlikeliest of babies, but Rue has never been happier than when Alice and Erik are by his side. At least, not until he receives an offer that puts all his dreams within reach and he's forced to choose: the future he's always wanted, or the family he thought he never did.

©2012 M.J. O'Shea, Piper Vaughn (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press

What listeners say about One Small Thing

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed Finn Sterling's narration

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed Finn Sterling's narration. Though, personally, I would've switched the voices he does for Rue and Erik, but that's totally on me. I found it easy to slip into the story and he kept me engaged throughout.

Storywise, I liked the plot and loved the characters. Though it isn't said, I wouldn't be surprised to find out Erik is on the spectrum. He definitely seems like he has more than a touch of autism. I felt like the surprise of Rue finding out he's going to be a father was handled really well, and I enjoyed getting to know the characters slowly.

I really liked that Vaughn and O'Shea don't make this an insta-love romance or fix all the character flaws once the boys get together. The sexy times are hot, and the drama isn't too much. All in all I enjoyed it and wouldn't mind revisiting the boys for another listen again soon.

Recommended!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love this book!

Rue ends up becoming a daddy when his experiment with heterosexual sex ends up with a broken condom! He elects to keep the baby himself even though he’s really not equipped to handle a newborn. Lucky for him his neighbor – a mostly hermitted writer- needs the extra cash being a babysitter can provide.

Erik is the quintessential nerd and has very few social skills as compared to Rue’s very extroverted personality. Together they find that one nerd plus one flirt can equal one very solid and fulfilling relationship.

**

I LOVED this book! Erik is such a great character – broody, grumpy, awkward. His exploration into gay sex by converting his poorly selling sci-fi into gay-sci-fi is hysterical and hot!

The writing is smooth and flows easily. There is some angst when Rue and Erik need to decide how “real” their relationship is and the baby is there just enough to provide the glue for their new family.

I thought the narrator did a great job with Erik’s stuttering and didn’t make Rue over the top. It was very easy to listen to and added to the overall enjoyment of the book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Excellent narrator

Any additional comments?

I give the story a 3. It was sweet, but for me, it dragged in spots. I think it would have been more effective if it were shorter and faster paced. I give the narrator a 5. He really brought the characters to life with his voices and his performance.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • JC
  • 04-08-15

Sweet friends-to-lovers romance.

I read the eBook last year and it's one of my favorite friends-to-lovers romances to date, so I was happy to see it come out in audiobook format – and with Finn Sterling, who I thought did a great job narrating But For You by Mary Calmes.
This doesn't have your conventional too-perfect-to-be-real protagonists found in most romance novels. Rue and Erik are unconventional in both appearance and personality. Rue, the pierced, manicured, delicately featured guy who loves to top but is also maternal, and sweet Erik, with his reclusive nature, stutter, obsessive compulsive tendencies, social anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and gentle heart. I loved how their personalities complemented each other and I found their romance believable and incredibly sweet without being overly saccharine. I loved Rue's best friend, Dusty, as well.
Finn Sterling did a good job narrating this story, though he does use weird voices for some of the characters. Dusty in particular sounded a bit too goofy for the image I have of him in my head (he's supposed to be small, pixie-ish but Finn made him sound more like what I imagine Moose from the Archie comics would sound like...) and the women were... Weird. But none of these things decreased my enjoyment of the story because he did do a great job with differentiating the characters which made it easy to follow the dialogue or tell if it was Erik or Rue's POV I was listening to.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Been waiting for this and it didn't disappoint.

What made the experience of listening to One Small Thing the most enjoyable?

The story itself is well written and enjoyable and having Fin Sterling narrate was the icing on the cake. He brought the characters to life.

What did you like best about this story?

Rue. Period.

What does Finn Sterling bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He was the man for this book.

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

yes.

Any additional comments?

I hope to see the the next book in this series on audiobook soon.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Definitely not a small story

What made the experience of listening to One Small Thing the most enjoyable?

Getting to ride along with Rue and Erik as each of them figured out how to navigate the rough waters of their budding relationship.

What other book might you compare One Small Thing to and why?

We Danced by Jeff Erno. The stories are somewhat similar as are the characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Erik, insanely shy, withdrawn, recluse Erik kissed Rue the 2nd time. The 1st time was kinda sorta an accident, the 2nd one really counted. I enjoyed hearing each guys thoughts afterward.

Who was the most memorable character of One Small Thing and why?

I truly adored then all but Erik was a joy to listen to. The way he literally came out of his shell after meeting and falling for Rue and Alice.

Any additional comments?

Such a fantastic story. I was hooked from the start with the "experiment' telling Rue she was knocked up and the way that he never, ever, not even once thought twice about keeping the baby. Then the addition of Erik into their comfortable little bubble called life, the way both men really evolved and grew as they got closer and started falling for one another.

A well written story that was brought to life by Finn Sterling. There weren't many characters but each one was thoroughly explored within the confines of the story by the narrator and I especially enjoyed the way he voiced Erik, which was challenging at times due to his stutter and loner personality.

Definitely a must listen if you like stories about figuring out who you are, what you want and being just one part of whole that comes together to make their own perfect family.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Pleasantly Surprised!

I finally decided to give this story a try....I didn't know what I was missing! As usual, Piper Vaughn and MJ O'Shea has given us a sweet GFY love story. Rue is a slutty bar boy, working at the Tom Tom club, collecting great tips while wearing skimpy party club wear and having no strings hookups, but when he is drunk one night and hooksup with a girl....it's all about to change. Nine months later, Alice is born and he's now a proud Papa, trying to figure out how to finish his last months of beauty school during the day and work a few nights in the club to pay the bills. But now he needs someone desperately to watch the baby or he'll have to quit school.... Erik to the rescue. Love this story! The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the voice of Dusty!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story!!

I just loved this story! It was so cute and happy! It had a few sex scenes nothing outrageous to me! The narrator did a good job I could tell the voices apart. Would listen to him again. It will definitely be on M/M repeats list! Definitely worth the credit or money.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • JW
  • 11-09-22

I love this!

This is a cute story. I relate to Erik and his anxiety so much that it made me really emotional. I love him so much! Rue and baby Alice are adorable! I can't wait to read Dusty's story!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Loved this story

It was sweet and quirky and not what I expected but it was a good listen with a great narrator and wonderful characters.

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