Splinter

Significant Brothers, Volume 1

By: E. Davies

Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux

Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

After zero-gravity heroics left astronaut Nicolas Rogers injured, his new job as a park ranger seems perfect. Being a caretaker of his corner of the Smoky Mountains makes him almost okay with having to be on Earth. More importantly, this deep in the woods, Nico's practically a hermit at a remote ranger station. Sure, he has good friends in nearby Knoxville, but he's otherwise free from petty drama and broken hearts...until Deen enters his world.

Caught in a compromising position by relentless paparazzi, rock star and international playboy Deen Jayse barely escaped with his career intact. He needs image rehab and a break from fame. His manager strongly suggests a stint in the Smokies, promoting national parks and being wholesome. That would be a lot easier if Nico weren't there in his sexy park ranger uniform.

Nico already has his hands full with arsonists at the park without Deen adding to his workload. He thinks he has to babysit a spoiled celebrity, but when he catches a glimpse of the man behind the persona, he sees something he can't resist. They've both experienced the isolation of fame, and while their loneliness brings them together, their worlds threaten to tear them apart. Deen can't just drop everything to go live in the mountains, and Nico can't abandon them.... After a taste of being together, how can they possibly face a future apart?

Splinter is a stand-alone gay romance novel with an HEA ending and no cliff-hanger. Book number two, Grasp, now available!

©2017 E. Davies (P)2018 E. Davies

Smoky Love

The first time I read this book I couldn't imagine how it could ever get better but when Ed announced that Greg was doing the narration I knew it had.

This beautiful story of love found between two men so dissimilar on the surface unfold in such a way you want to take it all in at one time.

Nico is astronaut whose time among the stars is cut short by an injury sustained in the process of saving one of his crew members. Deen is a world famous singer whose self destructive behavior finds him in a position so compromised that only a month removed from the ever watchful eyes of an adoring public will save him and it does. Beautifully so.

Finding love in the smoky mountains was not what Deen had sought when he ran but finding it doesn't just save him it saves Nico too.

This is a low angst story written by a master wordsmith and performed by one of the shining stars in the field of narration. I hope that he performs the other books in this amazing series. The Significant Brothers series is simply and honestly a joy to read and will leave your heart lightened and longing for the next book and Splinter is an excellent introduction. Enjoy!

excellent book excellent narrator

this is my first introduction to this to this author, and I enjoyed it so much I can't wait for the next installment I highly recommend this audiobook. it's a heartwarming tale of two people overcoming their differences.

Sweet and steamy unexpected romance

I really enjoyed this book! I was expecting it to be high on drama because of the Rock Star theme but was pleasantly surprised when Dean was much more low key and the story really did not put the emphasis on the glorious life of the celebrities.
I really think Nick and Dean worked so well together, I love the funny banter between them and the little jokes. It could have easily been an enemies to lovers book but the dynamics between both men are so much more subtle then that.
The plot is fairly simple, I like that it did not fall in to too many cliche's and did not turn situations into and overly dramatic affair.
Both men have past hurts and issues and although they it affects their lives they do not let them define the choices they make. These characters are full of humanity, and gentle acceptance of their feelings.
*****THE NARRATION*****
Greg Boudreaux is such a wonderful narrator! I have yet to find a book preformed by him that disappointed me. He has a fantastic sense for emotions and how to bring them into his voice, his accent work is superb and each character is clearly defined. He moved me emotionally and bought all the little innuendos of a real life actor into play when he preformed this book. I found myself laughing many times because of his narration and I believe had I read this book without the audio I would not have liked it as much as I did.

This was a very fun, romantic book with lots of great chemistry and attraction and I would gladly read it again soon.

Comfort read for the win.

If you need a soft, gentle, angst-free read/listen then Splinter is the book for you.

Davies has a wonderful take on the almost trope-y Rock-star needs an image rehab, goes somewhere (in this case the Smokey Mountains), meets sexy other, flirt a bit, smile a lot, fall in sex, dive into love; complete with the Rock-star has to go back to the big wide world... But love concurs all.

Splinter is not a deep read but it's the type of tale made for curling up with a book, hot chocolate (or other beverage of choice), pull up a warm blanket and just relax into nice. There isn't enough nice in the world, sadly, so enjoy this simple, uncomplicated, comfort-read.

Add Greg Boudreaux for narration and you'll have a pleasant time of it all.

Such an adorable story!!

E. Davies keeps in making the sweetest and adorable stories! This is no different! Then to get Greg Boudreaux to narrate the story. OMG!! I thought it couldn't get any sweeter but Greg has proving me wrong. Greg just has a way of doing his narrations that I can't help but fall in love even more then the last time. Such an amazing story to get an amazing narrator to bring Nico and Deen to life!!

Beautiful story!!

Sweet romance, low angst, and communication. I really enjoyed listening to this book and meeting the first set of Significant Brothers. At first I wasn't sure I would like Deen but by the middle I was singing a different tune. I love that Deen and Nico communicate their feelings and thoughts rather than let silly things come between them. The way they work through the fact that they are from different worlds was wonderful. Yes the book has insta-love and not all authors can pull that off without the shifter world being involved but E. Davies does and he does it beautifully. The connection between these two lonely men is undeniable and their chemistry is just, well I will just say be careful where you listen if you are using audible :) Which brings me to the narration, which is wonderfully done by Greg Boudreaux, I could listen to him all day! This is a wonderful start to this series and I am definitely looking forward to the rest of this series coming out on audible since my kindle time is very limited these days!

Our little corner of paradise

E.Davies is really good at writing cozy and heartwarming romances and this one isn’t an exception. A retired astronaut who is now a ranger and a celebrity seems like a very unlikely combo but they made it work very well.

Nico is wary of life and and just wants to stay his days happily taking care of smoky mountains. But life always has other ideas and thrusted upon a rock stars and international playboy Dean to his tiny corner of the world. Nico now has his hands full with the playboy and someone trying to commit arson to his beloved forest. But Dean is also determined to not only worm his way into Nico’s bed as well as his heart. When the real world can’t be avoided anymore and their happily little burble burst, what will happen for these two lovers?

Sweet, charming, funny and enjoyable. I loved listening this novel so much. I’m also really glad for that mystery sub-plot because it really enhanced the storyline. Nico and Dean was so sweet and loving. Greg Boudreaux’s narration was stellar and hisbperformance really enhanced my enjoyment of the story. Well done!


4.5 Our little corner of paradise stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫



Audio rating

Story - 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration - 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Performance - 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall - 4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Surprisingly sweet

Dean and Nico's love story was much more than the rockstar romance I'd anticipated. Though Dean initially came across as a troublesome playboy, his time in the mountains with Nico revealed an entirely different side of him. It was such a delight to see him and Nico fall for each other, from their first few days of steamy attraction to a much deeper, more committed relationship. I loved how Nico's gruff, hermit-like shield fell away the more he got to know Dean, and seeing Dean grow into the best version of himself was equally heartwarming. The background arsonist plotline kept me guessing the entire way through, and when Dean had his hiking mishap I wanted to scream for help right alongside him. Above all else, my favorite part of this story was getting to see how these two made their relationship work outside of the Smoky Mountains bubble. For a while, I couldn't see any path forward for them, so when they did manage to work things out I was thrilled. Greg's narration was on-point throughout the entire story, and he really made Dean and Nico come to life for me!

**I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.

Hot and emotional

I immediately fell in love with these characters. Deen, especially, was funny and sexy and engaging, but Nico is just as sweet and entertaining. The chemistry between them is off the chart. My only complaint is that the resolution of the mystery of the fires felt rushed and satisfying. That's a minor issue that didn't affect my enjoyment at all. The audio performance was smooth with distinct voices. Overall, a very enjoyable read that made me immediately snap up the next in series.

Splinter

This was a very surprising book. I thought it would be a super angsty book. But it was not I enjoyed it a lot. Opposites really do make the best matches! They have to learn to communicate and compromise. This was beautifully done! Loved the narrator!

A favorite author and audio performer

I love it when Davies mixes two characters I can't resist, a setting I would love to be in and a mystery all together in a hot m/m romance. If you adored the Hart's Bay series, you will love this one. I'll admit for some reason I was skeptical about an ex-astronaut as a character for some reason but boy was I wrong, Nicolas is wonderful and his job as a forest ranger forms the perfect backdrop for the story. Add in Deen, a rockstar in desperate need of image rehabilitation and you have two guys who are just meant to come together and fall in love. Just as he did with Davies' Hart's Bay series, Greg Boudreaux brings all the characters to distinct life. I am constantly amazed with his performances that I forget I am listening to just one person and find myself watching a movie in my head and it is a shock when I come up for air to remember I have not been listening to a full cast recording. This author/narrator pair is always at the top of my go to list for emotion, suspense and hot romance.

Enjoyed this enough

Story: This was an enjoyable, kind of insta-relationship, low-angst story. Deen and Nico have a cute connection and I liked that even thought they are so different they seem to work well/

Narration: Amazing. The narration really helped me stay in the story at times.

Fun, Flirty, & Romantic, Boudreaux is Wonderful

E. Davies series Significant Brothers follows a friend group of guys who met and bonded in college. We only meet them briefly in Splinter, but I’m already looking forward to getting each of their stories. If Dean and Nico’s romance is anything to go by, this series is going to be great!

I’ve only read a few books by E. Davies, but one of the things I like best about their work is the depth in their characters. We get to know each of them, what things in their pasts make them who they are, and what it is about the pairing that creates such terrific chemistry.

There’s a little mystery which runs through Splinter and, while I was glad it resolved the way it did, I can’t help wondering if the arsonist is going to show up again in future episodes of the Significant Brothers series… (don’t spoil it for me if you know!).

Audio performed by Greg Boudreaux who does a marvelous job. Clearly he’s enjoying himself with E. Davies’ humor, which appears in almost every scene. And fans of E. Davies do not need me to write about the scorching, steamy love scenes. ‘Nuff said!

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the rest of the stories in this series :)

A beautiful little escape

I love Ed's writing and this one whisked me away to the snowy mountains and two very unlikely souls finding each other. I loved the passion that these to shared and happily enjoyed said passion from the start and not pussyfoot around. They had a hard path to make it work but this was a great series opener and now I just want to read about all the other Significant Brothers!

great narration by John and I look forward to hearing the rest!!

Great story, great narration!

I'm pretty new to E. Davies books but I've really enjoyed those that I've read so far and this was no exception. Greg Boudreaux always does a fantastic job when he performs; he doesn't just read a book. He does great, distinctive voices for each of the characters.

This was a bit different for a rock star story. I like the storyline of a former astronaut (Nico), injured while in space, retreating and becoming a park ranger. And rock star (Deen) having to hide away after being caught with his pants down – literally.

There was also a nice mystery going on. The who story kept my attention and I listened to it straight through.

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.

Awesome

This was such a great audiobook.
I really enjoyed listening to this story.
it was a great start to a great series.
I can't wait to listen to more.

very good

i enjoyed this a lot.. it was good and an interesting storyline plus the narrator made me feel with them.. it was well written.. good narration and lots of emotions and personalities. very good

Excellent narration

The narrator was excellent but the story just didn’t pull me in as much as I’d hoped.

Dean and Nico’s romance progressed very quickly and there were moments where I wanted things to slow down enough to enjoy it.

Story was ok but far from being my favourite.

Such an enjoyable story!

Story: A rockstar with a bit of a diva facade plus a park ranger eager to stay away from attention, plus an image rehabilitation attempt = a recipe for a very entertaining story!
I loved the instant attraction and the fumbling on the way to admitting there is more between the MCs. I loved that despite the background plot, the whole focus was on their relationship and emotions!

Narration: A great voice that made the story all the better! Great characters differentiation, all the emotions are there and enhance the story to the next level!