The Imperfection of Swans

By: Brandon Witt

Narrated by: Kirt Graves

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Kevin Bivanti's dream is to open a wedding dress shop, a place with the stunning gowns to make every bride-to-be feel adored. At 38, he quits a successful advertising career to buy an old brownstone in a trendy Boston neighborhood and to make his dream a reality. When one of his cosigners drops out, fate intervenes, ushering in Casper James, who hopes to open his own bakery. With Casper willing to take the risk, their ambitions meld into a wedding dress and wedding cake boutique.

Extensive renovations to the brownstone, an affair with his ex-husband, family drama with his mothers, and the anxiety of significant life changes push Kevin to the brink of a nervous breakdown. In the midst of stress and uncertainty, Casper becomes more than a business partner, a mutual attraction that adds another layer of intensity and risk.

With their dreams on the verge of reality, Kevin and Casper must find the courage to face the stress of managing their attraction, the gamble of a new business venture, and the resurgence of Kevin's personal demons.

©2015 Brandon Witt (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press

A meaningful book

This was a wonderful gay romance that ventured beyond the stereotypical story where two hunky guys meet and fall in love where everything is usually too perfect and not like real life. Kevin, our main character although he is handsome and seems to be perfect on the outside has some serious issues he is dealing with. Kevin is the product of an unusual family having two moms who are lesbians and a gay uncle Tony. Kevin has just gone through a divorce having been married to Scott, who looks like he just stepped off the cover of a men's fashion magazine. Living in Boston's ritzy Beacon Hill Kevin has lived a life of privilege with all of its trappings. His dream is to open a wedding dress boutique and get out of working for an insurance company spending his days in a cubicle. Kevin is on the verge of making his dream come true when he runs short of some money to get his new business up and running. Enter Casper, a baker who would like to open a wedding cake business but who is not quite as handsome and all together as Kevin but he's got the funding that would help Kevin to get his business off the ground. Although there is a spark of interest between these two they decide to keep it professional with the purchase of a brownstone in a fashionable section of Boston with the intention of turning it into their wedding dress/cake boutique.
Kevin is very serious about his appearance and when he starts to lose weight Casper becomes concerned that there is something seriously wrong with Kevin. The book deals with the very serious issues of anxiety and eating disorders. Kevin is bulimic and must deal with this issue if his business and relationship with Casper is ever going to amount to anything. Casper is very supportive of Kevin and finds himself falling in love with him. While Kevin is very self-critical the reader gets to see him through the eyes of Casper who thinks Kevin is perfect. The difficult nature of treating an eating disorder such as bulimia is made real through the eyes of Casper who has trouble understanding why Kevin feels like he is fat and unattractive. The book deals with this topic very effectively while at the same time developing a serious love story between the two main characters. The secondary characters are also well written and important to the overall story. The Audible version of this book is narrated by Kirt Graves who does an excellent job with all of the characters. Kirt has the gift of making the narration seamless with the rest of the book to the point where the reader forgets it is being narrated. The different voices he uses go well with each character even the females. Overall I rated this book 5 out of five stars for both the story and the narration and highly recommend it to those who are interested in M/M romance books.

Superb!

One of the most moving, insightful, and hopeful stories I've read (or rather, listened to ;-) in a long time. I couldn't help falling in love with Kevin and Casper, and being pulled along on their journey together. I'm so glad this book was written. Yes, it was a love story, but it was so much more . . . . That it was based upon a close friend of the authors, the real Kevin, made it all the more poignant and triumphant, and it was lovely to hear Kevin's letter to us at the close of the story. Thank you, Kevin, for sharing your experiences with Brandon Witt, and through Brandon's superb pen, with all of us.

This book has it all: Wonderful characters you can't help feeling close with, a beautiful and sensitively written story, and all read to perfection.

Wonderful

New to me author, Brandon Witt has been on my TBR forever. I enjoyed the audio book very much. It will not be the last I read of Brandon

Beautiful story, beautifully narrated

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would absolutely recommend this book to a friend. It is a slow burn, which in my opinion is so much easier to have in audio.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Imperfection of Swans?

Kevin is a character that will stay with you.

Which scene was your favorite?

Kevin's visit with the therapist...had me laughing and crying at the same time.

Any additional comments?

The narration is beautiful!

Beautiful story

I loved how the narrator brought the story and characters to life. The story itself is wonderful with many amazing characters. I really like how the descriptions are enough to create a mental picture of different scenes without becoming overwhelming. Highly recommend this audiobook.

Wonderful rendition of this beautiful story

Any additional comments?

Listening to this book after reading it, brought it to life again. The narrator is amazing. Highly recommend.

Wonderful!

This was more to me than can be put into words. Maybe I'll try again later.

Beautiful - both in Story and in Narration

These two are amazing - and this story is so poignant - and touches on a really powerful chord - Brandon Witt has really really outdone himself on this one - and the narrator is so excellent - I was on the edge of my seat on this one for quite some time - deserves to be listened to and read again and again! Kirt Graves does a beautiful job with these two and their entire family - and hits realistically on a devastating illness - bullemia. Keep it up Brandon, this and When the Stars fall are among my favorite male male books - thank you and look forward to your next great work!

A Moving Love Story

Witt is nothing less than masterful in this piece. Kevin and Casper's romance is intense and inspiring. They are both fully realized characters and help bring this story to life. Kevin especially feels very real, and you can tell Witt drew from life. The details of Kevin's anxiety and eating disorder were so detailed as to leave me uncomfortable at times, which is no easy thing to do. The book is far from the most vivid in terms of the sex scenes, but you get wonderful snapshots that are as erotic as they are moving. I will have to revisit this one in the future.

A saga of strength

I liked the overall premise of the book. The passages about Kevin's "illness" were affecting but there were a few "beating a dead horse" moments for me. I enjoyed the family dynamics and enjoyed the gentle pace of the book. kudos to the beautiful cover model for bravery.

Brainless fantasy

I finished it, so something must have spoken to me.

What has been bothering me the entire ride, is the 2 million loan Kevin gets in the beginning, for the perfect brownstone. And the bank gives it to him without a business plan? He didn't even know how they were going to renovate and decorate the two stores, at that point.

And Scott loves him so gives him the loan? I hope someone who loves me will never loan me 2 million without pointing out I need an investment plan. Come on, he is a bank employee!

And then they start renovating and buying equipment. Maybe from Caspers savings? They are just making decisions on the spur and spending money. For months. And who payed the monthly morgage until August?

And then, maybe even more rediculous, they look up another bridal shop and visit it. Because when you start a business you first spend a LOT of money before even looking at the competition. They went there to see <i>how one sells a bridal gown</i>. Kevin obviously has no clue about his Big Dream. It may be an American thing but in my country, before entering a bridal shop, you first have to proof you are really getting married, because of women just faking it and trying on gowns.

And what is that about Caspar in July baking a number of wedding cakes? Did I miss the part where they found their first clients (plural)?

This novel was just a brainless fantasy.

Perfect story

I can honestly say this is one of the most captivating audiobooks I have listened to. Such a compelling story beautifully told by Brandon Witt. Kirt Graves depiction of Kevin was perfect. I could feel Kevin’s angst whilst Casper always kept a positive outlook. Definitely on my listen again list.