Life, Some Assembly Required

The Rebuilding Year, Book 2

By: Kaje Harper

Narrated by: Gomez Pugh

Finding love in the ashes was easy. Building a life together? Not so much.

After spending the first part of his life chasing pretty girls, love has finally come to Ryan in the form of John, a tall, lanky, red-headed landscape architect with wide shoulders and a five-o’clock shadow. For the first time in Ryan's life, love feels easy. Hell, he even ran into a burning building for John and his son, and he’d do it again if he had to. But telling his father and brothers and classmates “I’m gay. I’ve met a man”? That’s going to take nerve of a different kind.

For John, loving Ryan is as natural as breathing. Now if only the rest of his life would fall into place. Dealing with his teen son is complicated enough, but with his ex-wife causing trouble and his daughter wanting to move in, John’s house - and his relationship with Ryan - threaten to split at the seams. Is one month without a new surprise knocking him upside the heart really too much to ask? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be yes.

©2015, 2017 Kaje Harper (P)2018 Kaje Harper

Absolutely Perfect, Pugh is Wonderful!

I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to read the next book in Kaje Harper's wonderful Rebuilding Year series. I enjoyed Life, Some Assembly Required even more than The Rebuilding Year because there was so much family drama, which Harper writes so powerfully.

I love Kaje Harper's message of inclusion and tolerance, and how carefully Ryan and John navigate exploring this with the kids and the rest of their families.

The audio version of Life, Some Assembly Required is beautifully performed by Gomez Pugh. Pugh's voice is so warm and comforting, and he does a perfect job with this story.

OKAY.

The 1st installment was better.

I guess I went in with such high expectations because the 1st one was so amazing.

This was just okay. We get to know more of they're life together, but I could have stopped on book 1 and been content and not felt like I wasted my money.

Don't get me wrong, if you need to know more about their everyday lives after the intensity of falling, then it's a great content.

Naration was great.

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

John and Ryan's story picks up right where it left off in book #1. I loved getting the rest of their story. Their relationship just continues to grow and the maturity of them both and the way they handle issues is refreshing. This is a beautiful love story with a real feel to it.

The narration is Perfect! Gomez Pugh has moved up my narrator list very quickly!

Enjoyable

I enjoyed the 2nd installment of John and Ryan’s story. I especially liked how realistic it was - messy, complicated, and imperfect - while still being hopeful and romantic.

What a wonderful life!

This book picks up just after The Rebuilding Year ends. With Mark and Ryan and John dealing with nightmares from the fire. Dealing with the aftermath of it all. It's really a continuation on everything that started in the first book, and they need to be read/listened to in order. Otherwise you'll probably be lost. And you will definitely miss out on a great love story - at least the beginning of it.

This book is all about family in every possible way. The new one Ryan and John is creating with Mark and Torey. But also coming out to parents and siblings, dealing with homophobic relatives. Coming out to friends and colleagues. And not the least dealing with John's ex-wife unexpectedly showing up on their doorstep announcing she's moving back to town... Add in some teenage angst and drama and this book is packed to the brim. Though, without having the feeling of too much to it.

Ryan and John are solid together, their relationship is solid. Not perfect but not that work in progress either. They know where they stand - at least with each other. The rest of the world needs some working up to. And telling your family about your bisexuality, a recently discovered one at that is far from easy. I have to say that they handled it in a great way.

As mentioned above, their relationship is so tangible, so credible that you can't help but believe in them. They are flawed, insecure, sometimes jealous and irrational, in short, they are wonderfully human and loving them is easy. I also have to mention the love between Ryan and John... you could almost see the connection between them. It was solid and strong and almost had this fairy tale "conquer all" feel to it. I loved how their relationship wasn't perfect or always easy. It made it felt real and their struggles felt real.

I was so excited for this audiobook. I've been looking forward to it ever since finishing The Rebuilding Year. I loved Gomez Pugh in that book, he was truly phenomenal. So I had some pretty serious high hopes going into this book. And maybe that's on me; it's the danger with expectations and all that. In any case; the narration lacked some of the shine, the magic from the first book and I can't say I was as ecstatic this time around. That being said Pugh’s efforts with this book were really good, probably even great, it's just those darn expectations that mess with my head.

I loved that there is no unnecessary drama or things blown way out of proportion in this book. It was, just like the title says; Life. And a great and wonderful one at that. Now to top it off, I’m going straight to the happily ever after and Building Forever

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.