His Best Man

By: Elle Keaton

Narrated by: Nicholas Santasier

Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

Rod Beton and Travis Walker have known each other almost all their lives; since the third grade, when Rod was the new kid in town and Travis befriended him with Pokémon trading cards and a fruit snack. Apparently Rod’s easy. Since that day, they've had each other's backs, bread and butter, biscuit and gravy...and so on.

Along the way, Rod fell in love with Travis. He's been hoping for some kind of signal from Travis that he returns Rod's feelings. When Travis announces his surprise engagement over Thanksgiving dinner, Rod decides he's done waiting for the impossible. He packs his belongings and heads for Skagit and a new life. Even if Travis suddenly decided Rod was the man for him, would Rod be able to put aside his insecurities?

Travis always knew he was destined to take over the family business. As the only boy, he’s expected to take the helm of the Walker farming operation, and he’s good at it. An engagement to a local girl he’s pals with seems like the perfect solution, gets him mom off his back, and ensures the family line - eventually. When his best friend abruptly leaves town, Travis’ eyes are finally opened to the difference between what is expected of him and what he could expect for himself.

His Best Man is a stand-alone in the Accidental Roots series, a friends-to-lovers m/m romance with an HEA. Bisexual/gay.

©2018 Elise Hansen (P)2018 Elise Hansen

Best friends to lovers - one of my favorite tropes

I've read most of the books in the Accidental Roots series and I loved all of them. His Best Man is book 7 and the first audiobook that the author has released in this series. It totally stands alone with no problem so don't be afraid to jump right in and listen to or read it.

Friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes; another is second chance. His Best Man definitely is a friends-to-lovers story and it also kind of fits as a second chance story.

Rod has been in love with his best friend for a long time but never told him. I guess I can kind of understand this; fear of rejection is a big thing for most people I know. Travis doesn't admit to the feelings he has for Rod until Rod has left town and then he is jolted into admitting his feelings. A case of you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone.

Travis is expected to take over his family's business but he's afraid to tell his parents that he doesn't want to. Travis's mom is a total witch and doesn't like Rod because he's gay and this is partly why Travis hasn't come out to them as bi. When something unexpected happens, Travis goes to Rod and they finally get to begin their journey to their HEA.

The story really captured my attention and I also enjoyed the narrator's performance. It's the first audiobook I've listened to by Nicholas Santasier and I think he did a pretty good job. His voice is fairly crisp and pleasant to listen to.

His Best Man is another great addition to the Accidental Roots series.

A complimentary copy of this audio book was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A surprisingly wonderful love story!

I will admit I didn't have a lot expectations for this story, but I was sorely mistaken. What a wonderful love story. I fell in love with Rod and Travis and the side story with the young boy on the bus was a unexpectedly pulled at my heart strings. I found myself thinking about what was going to happen next at my desk at work and couldn't wait to listen to another chapter at lunch. I highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great friends to lovers!

This is a great friends to lovers story. Rod and Travis relationship is a slow burn that I love and I love see how their relationship grows. Nicholas Santasier does a great job in narrating this story and brings these characters to life.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Yikes! The narrator!

Okay, I’ve read the series and loved Rod and Travis’s story! Rod and Travis have known each other almost all their lives; when Rod was the new kid in town and Travis befriended him with Pokémon trading cards and a fruit snack. Insert all the awes! As time passes on, Rod fell in love with Travis. He’s held on for so long, like waiting for Travis to catch up, hoping for some kind of signal from Travis that he returns Rod's feelings, but when Travis announces his surprise engagement over Thanksgiving dinner, Rod decides he's done waiting and packs his belongings, and heads for Skagit to start building a new life that doesn’t revolve around Travis. Insert the broken hearts and tears.

Unfortunately, Travis, the only boy in his family, knew that he’s expected to take the over the Walker farming business, which is okay and all since he’s good at it; but when he announces his engagement to his gal pal that he’s known for a while, to get his family (namely his mother) off his back and ensures the family line - eventually, it seemed like it was the perfect plan. However, after the announcement Travis learns that his best friend abruptly leaves town! Travis’ heart breaks, shatters even, that is when it finally hits him: Rod is who he’s meant to be with. Rod is the one he cares most about, who's always been there and who really knows Travis and that there’s a difference between what he’s expected to do and what he needs (and wants) to do, because a future with no Rod doesn’t sit well with Travis and that’s all it takes for him to get his head out of his behind and go after Rod, hoping it’s not too late! His Best man is actually my fav in this series, so I was excited that it was released as an audio book, HOWEVER, oh my word, the narrator either cannot narrate, didn't give his 100% or doesn't know how to audio edit his recordings. It was so cringe-y that I had to stop, I couldn't get further that the first two chapters. He sounded so monotone and it's like he enunciated every sentence, it was not good at all. I hope the author re-releases this and uses another narrator because I couldn't get into it even though I loved the book. All in all, I recommend you read the book, skip the audio.

A Must Read M/M Romance Novel

The protagonists of this satisfying novel, Rod Beton and Travis Walker, were nicely developed and the twists and turns in their long distance romance were incredibly well written. Elle Keaton has produced another winner.

Nicholas Santasier does a workmanlike job narrating this 5 hour and 30 minute Audible book. Unfortunately for me, the narrator’s distinctive inflection on the final word of every sentence was truly disconcerting.

Bottom line: A must read M/M romance novel that rather than listening to, I wish I read.

Great Story

I enjoyed listening to this book, Elle Keaton and Nicholas Santasier did a great job bringing the characters to life

Friends to Lovers slow burn romance

The narration was hard to get into, but eventually I got comfortable with it. The story started out slow, but picked up in the middle of the book and the momentum continued on from there. I liked both of the lead characters in this story and was rooting for their HEA throughout the book. There was one drunken incident from their youth that I really wish had not been in the book. It made the fact that Travis was completely obtuse to how Rod felt about him seem even less realistic. That was the only flaw I found in the story. It was a slow burn with several unexpected plot points that kept me interested throughout the whole book. This was my first book from this author and I am sure I will read more in the future.

I'm conflicted.

Rod and Travis have been best friends for most of their lives, and Rod has been secretly in love with Travis for most of that time. The men fight fires together during fire season; then Travis works his family's farm, and Rod drives a school bus the rest of the year. They bicker and snark at each other, but neither takes it personally. These are all very good things.
I liked Rod and Travis, though the early part of the book made Travis come off as completely clueless, when he was supposed to be very intelligent. Thank goodness for his sensible sister! And the way Travis's mother was handled in the end made me really angry. I can't say more than that without giving away spoilers, and I won't do that. Overall, I did like this story, and the storyline with Jasper actually made me cry. This just didn't turn out to be one of my favorite books from this author.
The narrator was clear and concise, but his performance seemed lackluster. I didn't feel that the different characters' voices were easy to recognize, and the reading was monotone. I thought he did a better job when someone was expressing surprise, since his voice did change for that.
I have read other stories from this author, and I will read and listen to more of her work in the future. (I hope The NorthStar becomes an audiobook!) I see that the narrator has worked on many audiobooks, and I might listen to him again to find out if I enjoy him more performing another story. This one just didn't work for me as much as I was hoping it would.

Unfortunately not for me

I like this series, but some stories are stronger than others. To me, this is one of the weaker books in the series, and the narration didn't do it any favors. I got to chapter 14 and I couldn't force myself to finish the audiobook. The acting was not good, the performer kept raising his voice at the end of sentences constantly, which made it sound like he was asking questions instead of narrating, and there was barely any distinction between the characters' voices. I kept forgetting who was talking at times, and the pace was hurried but monotone. Even the intimate scenes didn't manage to make it sound entertaining. I also had trouble caring for the characters, Travis just came off as unbearably thick, which doesn't exact fit if we are to believe he's a very intelligent man, who graduated with honors and had lots of dating experiences as a bisexual man, yet was so easily convinced to get engaged to someone he knew he didn't love. We are also supposed to believe he never thought of his best friend, Rod, in a sexual and romantic way once, even though they had experimented before. it just required too much suspension of disbelief, in my case, and it annoyed me. Overall, not my cup of tea, so I'll just stick to the other books in the series.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful