Names Can Never Hurt Me

By: Wade Kelly

Narrated by: Jack Amber

What if sexuality wasn't a definable thing and labels merely got in the way?

Nick Jones can't remember a time when he wasn't part of the in crowd. Everywhere he goes, he stands out as the best looking guy in the room, and women practically fall into bed with him. Then, after kissing Corey on a dare led to much more and on many occasions, Nick's "screw anything" reputation escalated, but he didn't care.

When Nick meets RC at the restaurant where he works, it throws his whole life out of whack. RC lives up to his dubbed nickname "Scruffy Dude". He seems Nick's complete opposite, but Nick can't get him out of his head.

Because of peer pressure and his fears about defining his sexuality, Nick struggles with stepping out of his comfort zone and caring about someone different than himself. If he's lucky, somewhere between arrogance and ignorance, Nick might find out what it means to be an adult, but if he's wrong, he could lose everything.

©2015 Wade Kelly (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press

Sweet and fun

This was a pretty sweet and fun listen for me. It's well written with kind of crazy but yet believable story that we love ina good romance. The narration is done well and makes it pretty entertaining to listen too.

I love this "twink-eyed" view of the world!

Gosh, was I REALLY like that when I was young??? Deliver me from Planet OBLIVION!

Great peek into the sex-crazed mind of a young guy still living at home with parents who know alot more than their clueless gay kid!

The narration/speaking performace is priceless and hilarious!

Adorable

I loved it.
It has a few "hard to believe" moments going on, and some of the main characters' actions are more than a little creepy, but every time they fall they quickly get back up, and never stay away for too long, and this is what I love in a love story.

Stellar story dampened by just ok narration

Would you consider the audio edition of Names Can Never Hurt Me to be better than the print version?

Nope. Now, I won't say the narration was horrid, I have listened to worse. But the narration didn't always fit the story and, at times, pulled me out of the story.

What did you like best about this story?

Nick's naivete about life in general. He wasn't some blushing virgin or clueless guy, not at all. But the way he was written, there was this odd innocence about him, about his character that was very endearing.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Sometimes yes, but not always. I think what was missing, for me at least, was the emotion I wanted to hear in the narrators voice, especially when warranted within the context of the story.

Who was the most memorable character of Names Can Never Hurt Me and why?

Again, Nick. He grew by leaps and bounds from where he was when the story started and the person he became by the end.

Any additional comments?

I love this Author, she is an auto buy for me. I read this book as an ARC when it first came out and was blown away by the raw reality of the story and the emotions. Some of my favorite little scenes in the book were down played with the way they were voiced. For example, there is a pivotal scene about two thirds of the way through the story when Nick "cries out" and the way Kelly wrote just that one sentence held so much emotion. It was lost in the audio, shouted out like someone that was tripping over a shoe in the middle of the floor.

I won't say I hated this audio, I think perhaps I expected a lot from this narrator and I just don't feel like he lived up to those expectations.

Check out my review of the print version...

Nick Jones life changes after just one kiss. He doesn’t realize it at the time, he’s actually always been gay, but he’s hidden behind a string of girlfriends and that one boyfriend that lights him up like none of the girls can. He refuses to be gay though, in fact, if he had a mantra it would be “I’m not gay!” for as often as he says it. Me thinks thou doth protest too much!

A year later and Nick is just going through the motions in his mundane life. The only bright sparks are his friend and sometimes lover Corey, and the strange man that eats where he works all the time, RC. He’s broken up with another girl, and jumps straight into a relationship with yet another girl, trying to convince himself that getting laid on a regular basis makes him happy. But getting to know RC more with each conversation they have is making Nick take stock, and reconsider some things about himself.

RC is not an easy man to get to know. He is always on guard and doesn’t let anyone close. He has no friends and no social skills to speak of. But there is something about the cute guy that works at the Diner. It takes a lot of effort and time, but the two become friends, best friends in fact. Both men appreciate that they can just be themselves around each other. But as Nick starts to open himself up to the feelings he’s having, he starts to want more from RC than just friendship. RC is adamant that he is not going there! His past is way too painful and Nick is way too much like a lot of the people that made that past painful. Nick is about to find out what he wouldn’t do for the right guy, which is nothing.

This was very a much coming of age and finding yourself story. Not just for Nick who is trying to decide his sexuality, but for RC as well as he’s never actually been in love or been loved. Nick was raised with so much love, and the entire time he’s wrestling with his emotions over what his parents will say when they find out, he doesn’t realize they already know. What Nick has to learn is restraint, patience and unconditional love. So what if RC is a little overweight, and big, and burly. The way he makes him feel safe, protected and loved regardless is what Nick comes to realize are the important things. He fell in love with someone, the wrapping doesn’t matter.

This book was an emotionally charged and endearing story about a very slow building love between two unlikely men. Trust and communication are what is at the root of their relationship, that is built before anything else, and it’s what makes them so strong. At first it looked like this was going to be another ‘gay for you’ story, but as the story played itself out, it wasn’t that at all. And these characters were far from perfect, if anything, they were perfectly flawed. Another thing that only added to the depth of the story. And it was refreshing to read a character that was surrounded by love and acceptance, his demons were the ones he created himself by his actions, and only he can change that.

I devoured this book in one long setting. I was so intrigued by the dynamics of the characters, and the way they bounced off of each other. Sexy, romantic, endearing and realistic are just a few words to describe this book. Definitely a must read.

The Narrator was AWESOME

It kept my interest. Listened to the book in two days. The narrator made it enjoyable to the point where I couldn't shut it off. Loved it