Family Man (Dreamspinner Press)

De: Heidi Cullinan, Marie Sexton

Narrado por: Colin Darcy

Sometimes family chooses you.

At 40, Vincent “Vinnie” Fierro is still afraid to admit he might be gay - even to himself. It’ll be a problem for his big, fat Italian family. Still, after three failed marriages, it’s getting harder to ignore what he really wants.

Vinnie attempts some self-exploration in Chicago’s Boystown bars, far from anyone who knows him. Naturally, he runs smack into someone from the neighborhood.

Between working two jobs, going to school, taking care of his grandmother, and dealing with his mother’s ongoing substance abuse, Trey Giles has little time for fun, let alone dating someone who swears he’s straight. Yet after one night of dancing cheek-to-cheek, Trey agrees to let Vinnie court him and see if he truly belongs on this side of the fence - though Trey intends to keep his virginity intact.

It seems like a solid plan, but nothing is simple when family is involved. When Vinnie’s family finds out about their relationship, the situation is sticky enough, but when Trey’s mother goes critical, Vinnie and Trey must decide whose happiness is most important - their families’ or their own.

©2017 Heidi Cullinan, Marie Sexton (P)2018 Dreamspinner Press

it was great

i like this book a lot you will not be disappointed i have to say i love this one

Good story

I liked it but Trays character kinda got on my nerves but very sweet romance.

Fun and sweet

Sweet and fun story that made me swoon, smile, and fall in love. The characters were fun and adorable, with great chemistry... The story had drama , humor, and romance. The narration was well done and added entertainment value to the experience. Definitely a recommendation!

3-3.5 stars for the story, 4 stars for the narration so I'm rounding up

Family Man marks the first time I’ve read a book by either of these authors, as well as the first time I’ve listened to this narrator. Gay-for-you/ out-for-you stories are always tricky for me but between the sample and positive reviews, I decided to give it a chance. Overall, Family Man was a good story with a very good narrator. While there were a few plot details that gave me pause, it was the execution and writing style that I struggled with most.

A May-December gay-for-you romance, Family Man had plenty of sweet moments between the characters and with secondary characters, while also offering some angsty issues Vinnie and Trey had to work through. I really liked the approach of the younger man being out and the older hero having the sexual identity awakening. I also liked that this was a slow burn, virgin romance because it gave both men time to develop before wading into physical intimacy, which inevitably made it more believable. The narrator did a good job injecting personality into his performance and it was easy to differentiate between characters, and all in all Family Man was an enjoyable listen.

Despite the unique characters, interesting storylines, and good narrator, the writing style felt stilted with awkward transitions. This wasn’t helped by each character’s point-of-view written in a different perspective. I don’t have a first person vs third person preference when it comes to reading, but Family Man is the first book I remember both used, with Vinnie’s side written in third person and Trey in first person. I’m not sure whether this was a co-writing thing, but it did seem clear when one author picked up and stopped again, and generally left the book feeling disjointed. That said, the story was a good one and the narrator definitely kept me engaged. I think Family Man is worth trying for fans of gay-for-you stories because it is pretty unique in regards to that trope.

*Reviewed for Alpha Book Club*

Family Man

Alright... Can we talk about the Audio for a minute, before we get into the book... This book is not really a comedy, but something about the narrators voice Mixed with Vinny's character was just amusing to me and I could not stop smiling. I Also found myself laughing out loud during inappropriate times during this book, that weren't really supposed to be funny. It was almost like the narrator was trying to get into character and make Vinny into a Macho Italian New Yorker with the accent, but it didn't fully come across the whole time. Idk, maybe it was just me and my opinion, but it really made this book A Lot more Fun and interesting to listen to, since I wasn't quite sure what to expect from one minute to the next even though I had previously read this book. The first time for me with this narrator Colin Darcy and I look forward to seeing what else he's got for us.

Now... The Book.... I've read this one before, and liked it which is no surprise since these Authors are both fantastic at what they do individually as well as when they Collaborate books together. The only odd thing is the characters switch off between one point of view to another when talking, but the story is so well written its not a big deal where it could be if this was coming from different authors, it actually works for this book.

We have a late 30's Macho Italian man Vinny, with a Huge Family *Add in all Large Italian, Catholic Family & "Guido" Stereotypes* (which is NOT meant in a mean way at all, it is just describing his character and backstory *Think Jersey Shore*) Vinny is coming out as a "first time gay" even though he did mostly know he was, but was just denying his real feelings for years, being with and marrying women like he thought he was "supposed" to do. We also get sweet Trey who has an unbelievable amount of Angst ridden and Depressingly sad baggage he has to deal with daily in his life, which leaves him still a Virgin in his early 20's just trying to make it through life day by day. I absolutely love that even though they are both realizing their feelings together and for each other, Its not an instant-love story and they don't just jump into bed together. We get a real book here with actual feelings and romance, all drama and angst and family issues included with some slight twists thrown in. I would highly recommend reading this one.. And getting this book in audio too is just an added bonus, cause it was pretty great.