Tread the Boards

SHS, Book 3

By: H. J. Perry

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ben's shook up when two of his work colleagues come out. Ben considered himself liberal and broadminded but also straight. Macho construction workers aren't gay. They just aren't. So of course, he can't stop thinking about it. And he can't stop thinking about Tom.

But if Ben falls in love with a man how will he tell his family, his friends and his son?

Tom is slowly getting over the heartache of his past when he's swept away by a straight-acting but flirty scaffolder. With enough baggage of his own, should Tom spend time with Ben when he discovers Ben wasn't acting? Is it time for Tom to ditch the low paid work, pick up the threads of his life and resume his professional career?

©2016 H J Perry (P)2017 H J Perry

Ben, Tom and Benji. A Family Maybe!

Any additional comments?

This audiobook is the third book of The SHS Series. What an captivating book the writing was amazing. The plot was entertaining and it was steady throughout the book. I found the story and characters likeable. The characters and world are developed fully and wonderfully. Ben and Tom are the MC’s of this book. There was humor, a son, friends, workmates, hiding, cleaning, a surprise party, an art show, laser tag and swimming, hot steamy moments as well and so much more in this book.

The narration it was good. He was good about showing action and emotion so it wasn’t monotone. It was lively and each character a different voice. His accent fit in the story line. You could understand what was said and the meaning throughout the audiobook.

Here is a quote, “It’s the same cooking routine that you witnessed the other night. My ability to drag bags of ready food from the freezer knows no limits.” “If you can eat it, why not? Is it pie, chips, and peas again?” “No. It’s roast potatoes on a Sunday. That’s how we know what day of the week it is.” Ben chuckled and opened the freezer door.”. There is more but you will need to listen to the book which I can highly recommend.

great narration, story could be better

I was very excited about this book because it is narrated by Joel Leslie, who is a fantastic narrator I love very much. His performance was incredible, emotional and realistic.

Ben is a construction worker that after finding out two men in the construction company have secretly gotten married starts questioning his own sexuality. Tom is an actor turned cleaner after the death of his boyfriend a few years back. A chance meeting brings Ben's awakening attraction to men to full force and they soon fall into bed. Ben is still unsure about being with men, as well as how, and if, to tell his 10 year old son about it.

I like the gay-for-you/first time gay troupe and the story was sweet and sexy. Unfortunately the story had some believability issues I could not ignore.

I wish this book was better, because the good parts worked beautifully, the banter between the characters was funny and cute, it's just that the gaps were the issue for me. Mainly I feel that the ease and suddenness that Ben's attraction towards men, and Tom, was very cliché and even thought it was the conflict of the book, will he come out as bi and have a relationship with a man there is no point in which the conflict is resolved. They talk about it, and the same things come up over and over, but the parts were it came to a head, of sorts, were smoothed over too easily. The story also contradicted itself a few times, where same sex relationships are acceptable but they cannot display affection in public and it's described as if they are very afraid of the consequences of such displays. It interrupted the flow of the book and made it look like it needed a lot of editing. This book was a dance around conflicts instead of focusing on one or two and letting the characters go through the emotions and process of dealing with it. A few issues were never addressed, like Tom's trauma after losing his boyfriend, his escape from the theater into the life of a house cleaner and ben's son took it all too well for my liking. He didn't need to object, but everybody around Ben just understood and did not even try to understand how it happened. It like the author did not know how to deal with these conflicts so they were gone the minute they appeared.

Sweet

Ben and Tom meet in some unusual circumstances. Tom is a friend of Ben's coworker. Ben never really let himself entertain thoughts of being interested in guys, but when his coworker's father announced that his son was married to a man, it made it hard to hide and stop his thoughts. Ben met Tom and felt things that he couldn't hide. He didn't want to hide them. These two are sweet and the Tom getting the strength to do what he has always dreamed of is a big deal. I enjoyed hearing this book, and look forward to others in this series.

Great vocal performance by Joel Leslie!!

I read the ebook of this first and my comments below are from that review. The thing I want to add about the audio is how Joel Leslie's vocal performance (it's so much more than a narration) brought the book alive for me. My original review for the ebook was only 4 stars. After listening to this book I had to up that to 5 stars.

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Tread the Boards starts out with an encounter that Tom has at a gay bar and then moves on to Ben at his job with Sky High Scaffolds (SHS). I have to admit that at first I didn’t really get the connection but things totally made sense as I read more of the story. The chapters alternate between Tom and Ben’s perspective, and I was soon hooked.

Ben meets Tom as at co-worker’s house and is puzzled by the attraction he feels for him. Ben is straight, and has a son, yet he feels drawn to Tom in more than just the way that a friend would feel. Tom suffered a personal tragedy several years ago and hasn’t had a serious relationship since then but he’s had a lot of one-night-stands. Tom longs for something more but he’s also wary of getting involved with a man who until now has identified as being straight.

As the friendship between Ben and Tom deepens Ben finally comes to understand that he isn’t straight, rather he’s bi-sexual. Tom has to overcome his fear of getting involved with a man who isn’t out and Ben has to learn to accept himself and not be afraid of what other people will think.

I liked how the relationship between Ben and Tom was slow to develop (except for one early encounter). The easy relationship between Tom and Ben’s son, Benji, was a very nice part of the story. Adults can learn a lot from the easy acceptance of children as they don’t know to make judgments until adults teach them differently.

There’s humor in this story along with the serious stuff. I liked both main characters (MCs) but it was particularly enjoyable reading about Tom and his life experiences.

Nice story, loved the narration!

I read the story when it first came out, I liked it, but was not in love with it. I jumped at the chance to listen to the audio and I'm glad I did! This is a low angst, funny GFY romance (my type of story).
The narration was well done, the banter between Tom and Ben was funny to read and even funnier to listen to. Listening to Joel Leslie, as he brought the characters to life, made me remember why I liked the book (and the series). I enjoyed rereading and listening to the book. Definitely recommend!

I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Low angst steamy romance.

Things developed a bit too quickly for my liking and I feel the MCs could have been fleshed out a bit more. But overall, it was a good book made pretty great by the narrator..
Sometimes I buy audiobooks simply because they're performed by Joel Leslie.

Sweet romance

This was a very sweet romance with very little angst or conflict. I really enjoyed the interactions between Ben and Tom, and also Ben's son Benji.

I liked how both main characters were quite relatable, I could easily find myself identifying with especially Ben who's idea of a home cooked meal was to pull packages out of the freezer after a long day at work.

Joel Leslie did a very good job with the narration, I always enjoy his performances.

Tread the Boards is the third book in the SHS series but this is the first one I have listened to or read. I had no problems following along so it did very well as a stand alone. I will be looking forward to catching up with the rest of the series.

I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

great story, fantastic reader

fell in love with the characters, felt invested in their relationship. reader was fantastic, I was engaged and part of the story. fun, so loving, great sex scenes. highly recommended. buy the book and listen to it. liked the main characters and the supporting characters. I was invested in all their lives.

Great Narration

The story is good, Sweet, funny maybe a little fast and could have been a little more developed but a great addition to the series. Joel Leslie always does a great job and sometimes really makes the story even better. Really enjoyable listen.