Jesse's Diner

Hope, Book 2

By: Cardeno C.

Narrated by: Paul Morey

Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Two men with a shared history and a mutual attraction must be honest with themselves and each other so both their dreams come true.

Quiet, unassuming Tanner Sellers spends his time running a diner in Hope, Arizona. Not particularly social, 22-year-old Tanner keeps to himself and enjoys his simple life, but he longs for someone to call his own. In his most secret fantasy, that someone is sexy Steve Faus. But Steve is his friend's father and mentor's widower and therefore off-limits.

Despite some challenges, 39-year-old Steve Faus has had a good life. He's extremely successful at work, has a great relationship with his college-age son, and lives in a wonderful town. Eighteen months after losing his partner, the one thing Steve lacks is someone to share his life with. If Steve is honest with himself, that someone is the young man he has known and cared about for years. Steve and Tanner want one another; all they need is a little push in the right direction to make both their dreams come true.

©2015 Cardeno C. (P)2015 Cardeno C.

liked this story a lot better than book 1

the vocal performance was good again - distinct voices for each character. i loved steve's southern gentleman voice...very nice!

even though this story was just as short as the first, this felt more complete. we got to know the characters better and although there is history here as in the first book, it wasn't relied upon to tell the whole story. their relationship developed naturally. i liked these guys better and could connect with them better than the boys in book one.

steve was sweet and loving and learned from his life experience of losing his partner. he finally realizes what's important in life and goes after it, although subtly at first. he is experienced and knowledge which is the exact opposite of tanner who doesn't have any experience with men or relationships. he's lusted after the same man for 6 years! they are absolutely adorable together!

mike was a bit of a surprise...and i wonder if we'll see a book about him soon.

overall this was a much better read/listen than book 1 and can be read/listened to as a stand alone.

Questionable vocal choice.

I actually chose this story because I have previously enjoyed orhers read by the same actor. In this case however the voice for the character "Steven" came across too old for a smoking hot 39 yr old.
The story lacked content. But was sweet.

What a great novella

Would you consider the audio edition of Jesse's Diner to be better than the print version?

I preferred the print version of the book, over the audio.

What did you like best about this story?

I love the May/December, and how they evolved. Not quite insta-love.

Have you listened to any of Paul Morey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to him before. He was fairly good at the performance. Good voice variation.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This one always makes me laugh, the little things.

Really enjoyable!

*** Audiobook provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***

I really enjoyed this audiobook. Paul Morey has a pleasant tone and he did a wonderful job with the different voices. The only complaint I have is that sometimes the tone would be too even, and it would turn a bit monotonous, but other than that, this was a very enjoyable audiobook of a story I already loved and that I will more than likely listen to again. Very recommendable!

Rating: 4.5 Stars!!!

Audiobook review of Jesse's Diner

What made the experience of listening to Jesse's Diner the most enjoyable?

Good cadence, great differentiation between character voices.

What did you like best about this story?

Everything about Tanner's character, especially how he so easily opened up to Steve when speaking with him--even if he didn't realize he was doing it.

Which character – as performed by Paul Morey – was your favorite?

Tanner

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

N/A

Any additional comments?

The audio book of Jesse's Diner is a great quickie listen--short enough that I can listen in one day while at work. The narrator does a really good job of the voices for the different characters, and I especially liked the voice he did for Tanner. I was surprised at the voice he used for Steve, for some reason I never associated the southern accent with Steve's character and I thought it made him come across as softer and more easygoing.

This was a great narration of the story, and I've already listened to it twice since I got it. Definitely recommended, especially if you want something to fill in just a few hours of your time.

hopeful

Short, controversial, but sweet. Another great HEA from CC. I love the age gap and the relationship between Tanner and Steve and Steve and Mikey. The fact that Mikey (his best friend) was OK with everything because its what made them happy was just an added bonus, not to mention he was such a hoot.

Jesse's Diner

This book was pretty good. For a Short book it really does cover a lot. We have Tanner, the sweet somewhat introverted early 20's Virgin who was left Jesse's Diner after Jesse Died. And then we have Steve, the Gruffer, Older HIV+ man who was married to Jesse for 20yrs before he died. Not much drama or anything just a sweet short story of how these two end up together. The narrator Paul does a good job with the voices of Tanner and Steve and you can really hear the difference in the two men's voices.

I love this series!

Where does Jesse's Diner rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Right at the top!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Steve. I really liked that he knew exactly what he wanted and patiently took it.

Have you listened to any of Paul Morey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Just about everything he has done, I buy books simply because he narrates them, he is amazing.

If you could take any character from Jesse's Diner out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Tanner, of course!

Any additional comments?

What would you do if you knew your time here was about to expire? Jessie knows he won't beat the cancer, so with his son Mike's help, he sets out to make sure the things he cares about most will be taken care of once he's gone. He wants to make sure the diner is taken care of so he leaves it to Tanner, Mike's best friend, and somewhat of an adopted son to Jessie. Making sure that his husband Steve doesn't fade away to depression once he's gone, well Tanner is key to that as well.

This is a super short story so the review will be as well. Let me just say if the fact that Cardeno C penned the story isn't enough to make this one an auto buy, then the fact that Paul Morey narrates should make it a no brainer. Need more convincing? Okay then. The story almost seems like insta-love in the beginning, but as the story unfolds you learn it is anything but. The feelings are mutual and a long time coming. Morey really translates each character from paper to audio well, I especially like the way he totally emerses himself into not just conveying the characters, but conveying the emotions.

Definitely a must listen, as I said it's super short, super sexy and well worth the couple hours to give it a listen.
Is it wrong of me to hope that the reason why Mike is such a ladies man, blowing through girls as fast as he does laundry, is because he hasn't met the right MAN yet????

Very sweet, sometimes funny

Tanner is 22 years old, he inherited the diner he owns from Jesse. Jesse is the father of Tanner’s friend from high school, Mike and was the partner of Steve, Mike’s other dad. Jesse died 18 months ago, leaving Tanner the diner because Tanner had been working there since moving to Hope 6 years ago.

Tanner has had a crush on Steve since they met, but thought it was hopeless. Steve was in a relationship, too old for Tanner, and out of his league. Now that Steve is alone, not much has changed, except that Mike has asked Tanner to “check-up” on Steve to make sure he’s doing okay on his own.

Steve was a workaholic sales rep who has changed his life after the death of Jesse. He’s a commitment type of guy and since his loss, he hasn’t met anyone worthy of a relationship. Tanner was always under his radar and now that he’s been hanging around so much all of the sudden, Steve is giving him the attention he deserves.

**
Though this isn’t a short story, it reads like one, so I want to be careful not to give away too many secrets, because there are a few surprises in this.

At first it seems like a simple story of May/December love, or about finding love after losing a partner, or jock meets nerd (Steve was a football player and Tanner is very reserved and slight physically). But… it’s not. There’s another, deeper layer to this story. There are things in Steve’s past that have shaped who he is and his relationship with Jesse is more complex than you’d guess.

Though Tanner is young, he’s a very mature 22, since he’s been raising himself for years.

Cardeno always does a great job of writing these “clueless” guys and then showing them the light. Tanner reminds me a bit of Samuel from In Your Eyes. The story is told from his perspective and in the first person and Tanner spends a lot of time in his own head and has a hard time voicing his emotions.

I didn’t get as good a read on Steve, but he’s definitely the more social and outgoing of the pair. I liked watching him “show” Tanner about love and relationships, he was sweet, sexy and funny, too.

However, there were parts of this story that didn’t work for me as well. I wanted more about Steve’s past and his relationship with Jesse. It felt incomplete somehow. I feel like I missed some of his evolution and though I understand a bit of how he and Jesse worked as a couple I didn’t quite have a handle on it and so it kind of blocked my way to giving him up to Tanner freely. I get that they had a totally different type of relationship, but somehow I wanted more closure there.

I also think that the “heavy” issue needed a bit more discussion. I think it’s a pretty big deal and it felt a little too casual for me in this instance.

I really wanted the “reveal” about Steve asking Tanner out on an official date to be more of an “a-ha!” moment. It lacked that POW! - where Tanner realizes he’s going to FINALLY get his dream man. The same goes for their first time being together. Tanner was new to this, so I was expecting it to be more of a “thing”. Seeing how excited Tanner would get just imagining Steve naked, I was expecting a really powerful first time and it sort of fizzled rather than exploded.

That being said, it’s still a Cardeno C book, so it was still wonderful. I loved the premise and the characters and felt happy at the end for both of them, but I just wanted a little bit… more, I guess.

I think fans of the author and the series will love it and it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone.

4 of 5 stars


Audiobook
Paul Morey is one of my favorite narrators. He gives Steve this lovely Southern accent and Tanner a nicely “clueless” tonality that really works for this story.
Mike is given this dumb-guy voice and he made me giggle. I think that listening to this was a wonderful way to experience this story and it added to my enjoyment immensely.

Audio 5 of 5 stars

Overall 4.5 of 5 stars

Great Story

I really enjoyed Jesse's Diner by Cardeno C. Paul Morey does a great job in the narration and his ability to make each character come alive! Loved it!!