Shotgun

Coda Series

By: Marie Sexton

Narrated by: Paul Morey

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

As a young man, Dominic Jacobsen already suspects he's gay, and he gets all the confirmation he needs when a rich boy from out of town climbs into the back seat of Dominic's GTO. One night with Lamar Franklin is all it takes to convince Dominic he's found the man of his dreams. Unfortunately, that one night is all he'll get before Lamar returns to Tucson.

Fifteen years later Lamar returns to Coda, Colorado, after ending the latest in a string of bad relationships. He's alone, depressed, and plagued by late-night phone calls from an unidentified caller. Lamar's ready to give up when he comes face-to-face with his past.

Since he was 17, Dominic has dreamed of a reunion with Lamar, but that doesn't mean he's ready for it now. Facing small-town rumors and big-family drama is bad enough, but Dominic won't risk losing custody of his teenage daughter, Naomi. The only solution is to make sure he and Lamar remain friends and nothing more. Clothes stay on, no matter what.

It seems simple enough. But for better or worse, Lamar has other ideas.

©2015 Marie Sexton (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press

nice but

the book spent wAY too much time on the should I shouldn't I stuff. after more than two chapters of that it gets really frustratingly old. I ended up skipping a chunk of the story just to escape it

SO SO

Fall short in some places could not keep my interest, boring in the end. Still good just not for me.

So-so story, great narration

First, the Coda series is one of my favorite m/m series. I love all the guys: Zach and Ang, Jared, Matt and Jonathan and Cole. So I was way psyched to see a new addition to the series. It can, however, be read as a standalone, Lamar and Dom aren’t in the previous books as far as I can remember.

The basic idea of this book is coming out of the closet, owning who you are and embracing the life you were meant to live.

Dom has been hiding for years because he’s afraid of what people will think. He hurt Lamar 15 years ago and when Lamar returns to Coda, he hurts him again, and again, and again.

Finally – finally! – he pulls his head out and realizes how important Lamar is to him and gets with the program.

Lamar just keeps picking the wrong guy, over and over. (In my opinion, I’m not sure he ever does find the “right” guy…) He returns to Coda when the latest “wrong guy” screws him over.

When Lamar gets to Coda and realizes Dom is still there, he wants to start things again. Dom doesn’t then he does. Then Lamar pushes too far and Dom retreats. The Dom goes to Lamar and then Lamar pushes too far. And so on.

There are some fun times with the previous characters – again only fun if you’ve read the series – but that back and forth between Dom and Lamar takes up a lot of the book.

**

I was disappointed with this book. I really wanted to see some of the unique relationships that Marie is so good at describing. Matt and Jared, Zach and Ang, Jon and Cole all have slightly unique power dynamics in their relationships and it makes for interesting reads even in sequels.

Dom and Lamar’s story is just cliché. One guy in denial. One guy with lousy taste. I just never really liked Dom (even at the end) and that made it hard for me to root for this relationship. There is hardly any sex in this as well – which can work in favor of a story at times, but here just serves to emphasize the disconnect between these characters in my mind.

Marie is a great writer who excels at her descriptions (especially of Colorado) but this story lacked chemistry for me.

Audio:

Paul Morey is a favorite narrator for me. I love him! I think he added to my overall enjoyment of this book because I like listening to him and find it relaxing and entertaining.

Awesome this series is one of my favorites. t

Would love to see more. maybe the straight brother could find love with another man.

Surprise Reunion

This one seemed different than the more recent books in this series. Dominic and Lamar have a surprise reunion after a 15 year old one evening encounter. There is room for misunderstanding and fear along the way. Dominic has to decide what he really wants out of life. Lamar has to be strong enough to stand up for what he needs. The other men of Coda are willing to help nudge and give advice but ultimately it us to this two to work things out. Sometimes facing the worst thing can be the best thing.

Another great one by Sexton

A great addition to the Coda series. Great to see the other characters but the new guys introduced are just as amazing. The mystery angle was a little weak but didn't detract from the story at all.

The narrator did a great job.

Morey is amazing as always, story.. not so much.

What would have made Shotgun better?

Dominic removing his head from his ass and Lamar removing the door mat stamp from his.

Has Shotgun turned you off from other books in this genre?

Nope, not even.

Which scene was your favorite?

The first one, loved it, could have been a set up for such a great book. Sadly, the rest was not so good.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment.

Any additional comments?

As teenagers, Dominic Jacobsen and Lamar Franklin share one night of passion that irrevocably changes them both forever. Lamar goes back home and begins a string of failed relationships, a pattern of falling for and clinging to the wrong man over and over. But he lives his life in the open. Dominic doesn't forget about the guy that helped him realize who he was, but he hides his true self behind a failed marriage and a teenage daughter that is his heart and soul. When Lamar's latest bad relationship fizzles, he moves to Coda and takes a job as a teacher, tries to start over. Running into Dominic makes Lamar believe they could have a second chance at happiness, but Dom is not ready to be honest with himself, much less anyone else, about his sexuality. So where does that leave Lamar?

Okay, I really wanted to like this book. It started out with a bang and the ending was cute, but that pesky bit in the middle had me wanting to scream! I never could get into the story or relate to either of the characters. Dom spent the majority of the book pulling Lamar close, then pushing him away. Promising he'd always be there for him, then pushing him away. Telling him he cared for him, then pushing him away. It got to a point where neither character was likeable anymore. Seriously, everytime I thought, okay this time is going to be different, this time Dom is going to stay. Nope. So then I was aggravated with Lamar for continually allowing that behavior and always being a door mat for Dom to walk over. No communication and more angst than the sparkly vampire books drove me mad.

The only saving grace for this book was Paul Morey. The man's voice just rolls down your spine like honey, it's so sexy and enthralling he could literally read the phone book and I'd listen. So, narration, fantastic, story, not so much.