Touch of Love

A Hurt Comfort MM Romance (Trials of Fear, Book 3)

De: Nicky James

Narrado por: Adam Gold

Ireland is convinced no one can love him when his boundaries include no touching.

With a fear of touch deeply ingrained in his core, Ireland has always floundered with love and relationships. All the therapy in the world doesn’t seem to help, and no one wants to love him broken like he is.

Raven’s patience and understanding seem genuine, but will he stick around when things slide backward? Because they always do. Can Raven accept Ireland’s limitations, or will he be like everyone else and leave in the end?

Touch of Love is a hurt comfort MM romance with moderate angst. It is part of the Trials of Fear series, but can be listened to as a stand-alone.

©2018 Nicky James (P)2021 Nicky James

Beautiful

This one just hit me harder. I really empathized with Ireland and his struggles and of course then there’s Raven - a little older with endless patience. I just ADORED them and their journey.

No Comforting Touches

Each book in this series hits me in a different way... The idea of not being able to receive even the briefest of comfort in the smallest of touches just breaks my heart. And to find someone who can love you anyway, that helped mend my heart. Ireland and Raven were compelling characters and this story with its ups and downs, kept me completely engaged. As always, Adam Gold offers a top-notch performance. The combination of Adam Gold and Nicky James is magic.

100% perfection

I am going to miss River and Ireland. These two men will dive into your heart, and lodge in there for good. What a moving, heartbreaking, and beautiful story. How can you go wrong with something written so perfectly by Nikki James and narrated by a master Adam Gold?. Absolute perfection, highly highly recommended.

Love

Loved Ireland and Raven's story and the narration was perfect. This is a great series.

Angsty, hurt/ comfort romance

This was an angsty, wholesome, hurt/ comfort romance.

I absolutely loved Adam Gold's narration. It was real, raw and heartfelt.

The author's writing style appealed to me and drew me in from the very beginning


The characters were likeable, relatable and well fleshed out. The storyline was engaging and compelling and the world building was unique and descriptive.

Overall an enjoyable listen.

This book is part of a series but can be listened to as a standalone

Not the Same ol Same ol

Nicky James & Adam Gold…the dynamic duo! This was a unique story, not the same ol same ol. Adam Gold was the perfect choice to bring Nicky James’s writing to life! Both are still my very favorites.

Heartbreakingly good

The Queen of angst has struck again. This audio has two fantastic MCs, both Ireland and Raven stole my heart. It had been a while since I read the book so hearing the narration felt like a whole new experience to me. The narrator is absolutely phenomenal and I love how they utilize their recording technology to make phone calls sound....well like a phone call....it’s hard to explain but easy to recognize in the audio. The narrator really brought the characters to life without missing a beat and made it easy to follow along with out any extra effort.

Beautiful story!

Audio version. These guys were so amazing and so meant to be! It broke my heart to know that something as simple as touch ravaged Ireland, but he was a fighter! I love how he fought every instinct he had warring within him to distance himself from Raven, and in the end they both prevailed! That ending was everything for me, it really was!
On a side note, Adam is the best narrator for all of Nicky’s books, he truly brings the story to a whole new level of life. Can’t wait until this whole series is on audio.

Another great book in this series

The way this author handles phobias is so good...and unique. Her writing with Adam's performance is outstanding. I love the cameos by characters in the first two books!

When touch brings pain

Phobia: an extreme or irrational fear or an aversion to something
Haphephobia: the fear of touching or of being touched


If you know me, you know I love Nicky James. Especially her books where main characters have a mental illness. I write extensive reviews where I talk about how the book has impacted me. I’m going to *try* to keep this one shorter.

Wish me luck.

First, I completely related to both Ireland and Raven. Ireland might be the one with the phobia, but Raven has just as much to lose. Just as much to gain. Ireland has his reasons for being touch-averse. Only that phobia runs so much deeper. He goes into panic mode when anyone invades his personal space. Even his job as a nurse is barely tolerable because, frankly, nursing requires touching people. Whether taking a blood pressure reading or administering a needle or simply offering a reassuring squeeze, nurses rely on their interactions with patients to calm them.

Ireland has already been on leave several times because of his inability to cope. The first trigger came out of the blue and devastated him. He’s never really recovered. He’s also never really dealt with the underlying trauma. He’s in therapy, and I understood why he didn’t confront the reason for his beliefs – irrational as they are – but my heart ached.

The book begins with him breaking up with his girlfriend of two years. Julia is also a nurse and she knew what she was getting into when she moved in with Ireland. I think she thought she could fix him. Breakups are never pretty, especially when the life you’ve crafted is so meticulous. Faced with taking apart what they had put together, Ireland is flummoxed. Then the movers show up and he and Julia are still bickering. Now, Raven has seen just about everything as a mover, so he’s not really fazed. But he’s struck by Ireland’s beauty. And he senses depth to the man. But after it comes out that Raven’s gay, Irelands standoffishness gets interpreted as homophobia and it didn’t look good.

Things aren’t always what they seem, and the next time they meet, Raven learns more about Ireland. The third time they meet, it’s on Ireland’s terms and Raven manages to convince the man to go out on a real date.

Thus begins the push and pull, parry and retreat, forward and backward, of this relationship. I wanted so badly for things to progress. Raven’s patience never wavered. Not once. That kind of love is precious. And Ireland’s a smart man. He was able to recognize it. But ingrained beliefs are tough to battle. Ireland is always convinced Raven will leave. And to compound things, Ireland has a physical ailment that requires self-care and if there’s one thing he’s not good at, it’s taking care of himself. But doing better for Raven becomes a thing. Seeing his therapist becomes a thing. Being brutally honest with both himself and Raven becomes a thing.

Then came the setback. I knew it was coming. Didn’t know what form it would take, but there was an inevitability to it. Didn’t stop my heart from breaking all over again. So the question was – could they build back better? Stronger? Or would there always be the physical distance as well as the threat of emotional one as well?

Did I say I was going to write a short review? I lied. Big surprise.

Nicky James novels hit me where it hurts. As someone who struggles with a mental illness, I often see parts of myself in these characters. And although this book was written pre-pandemic, I think the lessons are even more profound. Will I ever be comfortable touching someone again? Having them touch me? Will I ever fall into a friend or relative’s arms and just enjoy the embrace without worrying? I think there are going to be a lot of people relating to Ireland’s dilemma. And that’s sad. That’s something that’s been taken away that we may never get back.

Two more quick things – several characters in this book appeared in previous ones and I always like those little cameos. Holds my interest. And finally I’ll mention Adam Gold. He’s fantastic as a narrator and these books suit him. A chance for him to both demonstrate his talent and to give us Ms. James’ words in an even more moving performance. There are more books and I look forward to them.