Saving Silas

By: SJ Himes

Narrated by: Derrick McClain

Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Haunted by his years at war, Boston paramedic Gael Dominic spends his time saving other people's lives. An empty house, a single friend, and living at work, Gael is not content with his existence, but he's close. Gael was expecting his overnight shift on Thanksgiving to be the same as always - manic crowds, heart attacks...until catastrophe strikes, and Boston's streets run with blood.

On the run from an abusive and politically powerful father, Silas has been on the cold, mean streets of Boston for days, injured, hungry and alone. When he wakes up in the middle of a nightmare, he expects to die in the same alley he was calling home.

Brought together by tragedy, Silas and Gael can't resist their attraction. Gael may have saved Silas, but it's his alleyway angel who brings Gael back to life.

As Christmas approaches, Silas and Gael learn how to love, despite their pasts. And as Silas' past closes in, Gael learns the greatest gift he could ever give isn't something bought in a store, but freely given from the heart.

Warning: Mature content. Violence. Male/Male sexual contact.

©2015 Sheena Jolee Himes (P)2016 Sheena Jolee Himes

Excellent narration/ Solid action/romance theme

Where does Saving Silas rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's in the middle of the pack. I love the performance by narrator Derrick McClain, however found the character evolution somewhat lacking.

If you’ve listened to books by SJ Himes before, how does this one compare?

This is my first book from this author. I like that although Gael 'saved" Silas, Silas was not portrayed as week or unappreciative. The instant attraction between the two men was plausible, and definitely a feel good vibe. I would have like to have seen more depth from Silas and Gael as individuals, more of their personal growth throughout the story.

What about Derrick McClain’s performance did you like?

His ability to vividly portray the emotions and total feel of the scenes from the perspective of the characters. Derrick gives each character an individuality as far as tone, intonation, and dialect when it comes to their voices. I felt each character in this story was given a spot-on voice - especially his voice for Gael. This adds incredible nuance to an already good story.

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

I always cringe about the subject of abuse - particularly by a parent. Happy that Silas had the strength to escape and to accept the help and love of a good man.

Any additional comments?

I kept waiting of a bit more depth from Silas - his character could have had a lot more conflict going on, with his history and all. It seemed as though his emotions and actions were being assigned to him at times, rather than percolating, being assessed, and then acted upon.

Such a cute and sweet story with a great narrator.

What made the experience of listening to Saving Silas the most enjoyable?

I had love this story when I read it back in December and now with the audiobook it just made the story so much better. Gael and Silas I feel are made for each other. With Gael wanting to save Silas from his father just my heart want to burst. Then with Derrick McClain brings the characters alive. I thought I love this story before. Well he made me love it more. This is definitely a story that needs to be heard.

Love happens when you least expect it

Gael (love this name) is haunted by his past but keeps moving forward. Silas is trying to figure out what to do while staying free of his father. As these two come together and begin the path to a relationship, they are having to deal with outside sources that mean them harm. Even with that threat hanging over their heads, Gael and Silas are getting closer and you can just feel the love beginning to bloom.

I love this little story

This was a good book I loved this book will look listen to it again

Short but sweet 💖

For a short story, this one packs a good plot. It has the holiday feels & romance. It has action & a bit of suspense and the steamy parts are quite sexy.

It’s my first listen to Derrick McClain narrating and he did a great job!

Gael and his Angel!

I really enjoyed this story. I knew going in that it would be a short story so I was prepared for that. I would love more of this story because I loved Gael and Silas together. Yes this was an insta-love story but again going into a book that is less than four hours that is kind of a given. The angst was all from outside sources like Silas' worthless father and Gael's ex who I wanted to shake. I would have loved to see the outcome of what happened with the father but I was just glad that this had a happy ending, well happy for now in my opinion since this could theoretically be turned into more. I really enjoyed Derrick McClain's narration with all the different voices, especially Gael......he could call me Angel in that voice and I would probably fall in love instantly too, I'm just saying haha.

Angst-filled Holiday story

Would you consider the audio edition of Saving Silas to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the print version.

Would you be willing to try another book from SJ Himes? Why or why not?

Oh yes, I like her stories!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not necessarily.

Any additional comments?

*I was provided with a copy of this audiobook by the author in exchange for a fair review*Gael is an Iraqi war veteran suffering from PTSD. He now works as an EMT in Boston. Following a mass shooting event he finds a wounded young man, Silas, who is the son of a local, powerful District Attorney. Silas’ father is abusive, and doesn’t approve of his son being gay. Gael instantly feels very protective of Silas, and Silas feels very protected by Gael. I’m not a huge fan of insta-love, but it wasn’t really overdone in this story. Gael and his friend Jim work together to protect Silas from his influential father. Much of this book was kind of unbelievable and over the top, along the lines of a Die Hard movie. There is a lot of angst in this story, but it’s all wrapped up in a neat, happy ending. The narrator, Derrick McClain, is among my favorites, and once again I enjoyed listening to him narrate this story. I did have an issue with his pronunciation of Gael’s name – early in the reading I heard both Gile (one syllable, hard G, rhymes with smile) and Guy-El (two syllables). By the end of the story (and after the pronunciation had been clarified in the book) he was consistently saying it the correct way.

Silas and Gael are a wonderful couple!

Would you consider the audio edition of Saving Silas to be better than the print version?

I wouldn't consider the audio edition to be better than the print as they are the same. But Derrick McClain did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life! And you can indeed take the audio edition with you while driving so it does have that advantage over the print edition.

What other book might you compare Saving Silas to and why?

This one is difficult to answer as I haven't really read a lot of medical type stories. The closest I could think of would be Afterglow by E. Davies. The stories themselves aren't really very close in story line but they do both have similarities in that both sets of characters do end up saving each other.

Which character – as performed by Derrick McClain – was your favorite?

Silas. He did such a wonderful job bringing him to life. I believe that he was the most diverse character when it came to emotions and condition throughout the story. Silas went from being beaten, freezing, and starving to being shot then recovering from surgery and thus on good pain meds, to running and dealing with severe pain without the benefit of meds, to gradually back to what we can only believe is his normal self. Silas experiences a full array of emotions and feelings throughout the book and Derrick McClain does a wonderful job expressing them.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Sometimes the greatest gifts can come from great tragedy.

Any additional comments?

Both the print and audio editions of this story are wonderful but Derrick McClain definitely did a wonderfully amazing job bringing the characters to life!

Enjoyable little romance

This is a short and very sweet story. I think the offer you some interesting concepts and lovable characters that can be fleshed out in longer formats if the offer desires. Some of these story elements are hello harder to believe such as a homophobic Christian district attorney being in power in Suffolk County Massachusetts, but I can imagine that perhaps a decade ago that kind of possibility did exist.

4.4 > Complete Ear Candy!

One large, shirtless and tattooed guy, and another man, fully dressed. Ambulance in the foreground. Synopsis sounds great.
Third-person POV.
This was the first book by SJ Himes that I've ever read or listened to and was very pleased. Likewise, I've not listened to Derrick McLain prior to this, but will be looking for more from both of them.
Gael was a strong lead. A combat medic veteran, now paramedic, he still suffered PTSD episodes a decade after returning stateside after becoming injured in the line of duty.
Silas suffered an abusive upbringing at the hands of an influential city figurehead, which only became worse when he came out to his parents. Fearing for his life, he ran with only the clothes on his back, despite it being late November in Boston.
An event of terrible violence brought the two men together, but something deeper connected them immediately, which was a good thing, because Silas was going to need a protector!
Great story, plenty of dynamics. The characters interacted well, dialogue was good. The conflicts were multi-tiered, but nothing was left unresolved. Predictability was little to none. The conclusion is solid enough, with an implied HEA.
Although the story did take place during the holidays, I would not necessarily bill it as a Holiday Novella. It had a dose of Romantic Suspense, plus a heaping of Sweet and Sexy.
STORY -
Rating: [R] ~ Score: 4.2 ~ Stars: 4
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AUDIO -
Narrator has a warm, inviting vocal quality that is extremely easy and pleasant to listen to. It's simply ear candy. His character voices made the cast easy to distinguish. The speech was clean and well-paced, providing a smooth flow.
Overall Narration Score: 4.4
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⭐ ⭐ **** Disclosure of Material: I received a copy of this book from Embrace the Rainbow and the Author/Publisher with the hope that I will leave my Unbiased Opinion. I was not required nor asked to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising". ***** ⭐ ⭐