Where Nerves End

Tucker Springs, Book 1

By: L.A. Witt

Narrated by: Iggy Toma

Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

Jason Davis can handle a breakup. And an overwhelming mortgage. And a struggling business. And the excruciating pain that keeps him up at night thanks to a shoulder injury. But all of it at once? Not so much. When his shoulder finally pushes him to a breaking point, Jason takes a friend's advice and gives acupuncture a try.

Acupuncturist Michael Whitman is a single dad struggling to make ends meet. When a mutual friend refers Jason as a patient, and Jason suggests a roommate arrangement to alleviate their respective financial strains, Michael jumps at the opportunity.

But Jason soon finds himself regretting it - he's too damn attracted to Michael, and living with him is harder than he thought it'd be. In fact, the temptation to act on his feelings would almost be too much if not for the fact that Michael is straight. Or at least, that's what their mutual friend claims.

(Note: This is a revised second edition, with minor additions.)

©2014 L.A. Witt (P)2015 Riptide Publishing

Interesting story, good narration, not my fav

First, as a trained acupuncturist I loved that a book explored this modality. It’s a wonderful way to alleviate pain and other ailments and anything that can broaden the use of acupuncture in our culture is a great idea!

Second, I didn’t like the way the story unfolded as much between the two MCs. Michael annoyed me a lot of the time and I found myself frustrated by him and felt bad for how he treated Jason.

Third, the HFN ending didn’t sit well with me… maybe a little epilogue later in life would have made me feel better about these guys as a long term couple.

That being said, it was a good book and I’d give it 3 of 5 stars.

Audio

Iggy Toma is a fantastic narrator who always makes listening to books enjoyable. His voice is easy to like and he does emotion and pacing well. He doesn’t do a lot of big changes in character voices, but it was never unclear who was speaking.

I think listening to this is a great way to enjoy this book and give the narration 4 of 5 stars.

Overall 3.5 of 5 stars

Slow burn romance, chock full of UST

Any additional comments?

Iggy Toma offers a solid performance with easily discernible character voices and a knack for drawing the listener in to the story.

The first story in the Tucker Springs series is a super slow burn romance with likable characters.

When Jason Davis finally caves under five years of chronic pain and takes his friend Seth's advice to go to an acupuncturist he's unprepared to meet the most gorgeous man he's ever seen.

Acupuncturist Michael Whitman is living life basically month to month. With both men struggling under various financial stresses, Michael accepts when Jason suggests that Michael move out of his month-to-month lease and into Jason's house so they can both get some financial breathing room.

After Michael moves in their friendship blossoms, but it's not long before Michael begins to fall for Jason, which is a problem for a lot of reasons...not the least of which is they live together.

I liked that there's no insta-love but rather that Jason and Michael's friendship slowly turns into romance. What I didn't like was the on again, off again nature of their relationship. I was also a bit disappointed in the quick ending. I'll admit I was left feeling like I missed a chapter or two. I wanted more time with the characters to be in their relationship, to get to see them happy for a while.

In the end, though, this is a slow burn romance, chock full of UST, and an entertaining listen with an open to hopeful possibility HFN.

Sensual, Slow-Paced Complicated Small Town Romance

What did you love best about Where Nerves End?

Well, that is not a quick answer. I loved the situation of these two having real life issues, slow-burn attraction, and the believable complications. I enjoyed their interesting backgrounds. And I relaxed into the setting.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character, Jason, was my favorite. He has a lot of stuff going sour in his life at this time. He gets down and it does bug him, but he doesn't turn all whiny and brooding. He does what he can, he is understanding of others, and he's just an all around good guy with a wry sense of humor.

Have you listened to any of Iggy Toma’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this was my first. I think he nailed it with this story. I had no doubt that I was listening to Jason tell his POV. He got the atmosphere of the story, the pace, and all the emotions. I would definitely listen to more of his stuff.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I think the big moment for me was when Michael decided to go for it with Jason and that he would do it openly. He had every reason to be worried about the consequences, but he went from questioning his sexuality to being honest with his son, his ex-wife, and his friends, but most of all honest with Jason. Love it!

Any additional comments?

This is part of a series and I actually read it out of order because the series all work well as standalones. And the cool part is that there is a pool of authors writing the series.

I like how there seems to be a theme of complicated relationships set in simple uncomplicated plots and settings.

Nice Story, Toma is Terrific

A very nice story. Witt touches on a number of interesting aspects of the relationship between Jason and Michael, and the whole thing is pretty well written...

Even though the whole thing is from Jason's pov I never felt like I got to know him very well, and even though we're told he's got great chemistry with Michael I didn't really feel it.

Luckily I enjoyed this one in audio, and Iggy Toma does a fantastic job.

A Good Series

I've read a lot of L.A. Witt novels... Some are great, some need a little work. This one needs a little work. I like the Tucker Springs series, despite a bunch of different authors - they all fit together nicely. This one took way too long to kick off (felt like a like of the same conversations over and over) and some of the dialogue felt a little forced and exaggerated. A nice little romance novel, and I enjoyed it on my commute.

I'm not a fan of this voice actor. I've listened to him on three other novels, and he always sounds the same. He has a cadence to his voice that makes the main character always sound angry. He's basically got two character voices, and the rest are a little muddy.

The Nerve

Where does Where Nerves End rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This story ranks at the top of, any list I might make.

What did you like best about this story?

It's beautifully discriptive. There is no dead space, no confusion of direction. It's totally believable, and I can see someone actually living this life. There's tention, and compassion, sadness and joy. Out of that comes growth, and exceptance.

Which character – as performed by Iggy Toma – was your favorite?

Michael. I like the name, in part because El at the end of a word/name means light. As a Dr. he brings, the light of health. As a man and a father, he brings the light of his love.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not a moment, but a time. As Jason and Michael take to each other, about their feelings. They also seem to be talking past each other, and still try and save their friendship/relationship.

Any additional comments?

Thank God this is series. The writer L.A. Witt is a joy to read, or in my case listen to. Iggy Toma's voice is perfect, and he really has wonderful control over it's range. If you ever want to have him read the phonebook, I might just be interested. Ha, ha, ha.

Narration gets on my nerves

Who was your favorite character and why?

I had no favorite character.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narration got on my nerves here. Too slow and especially the voice for Michael was very unsexy to me. I would recommend Iggy narrates documentaries. I felt Iggy was hyperconsiously focusing on pronouncing the words correctly, hypercorrection. And the slowness of the speech made it seem everyone is unhappy and tired.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Any additional comments?

I found the story entertaining but realised just how much a narrator puts a stamp on it all. Maybe having more than one narrator for the different characters is better.

Love it!!!!

I loved this story as well as the narrator...I think the narrator plays such an important part of the audio just as well as the story line...this book had both. it has a bit of everything. ..laughter...heartache...sex...and love...

great feeling

gives uschope for the one.. really enjoyed it. nice to listen as i drove my car

Love blooming in the midst of personal struggle.

I found the story very interesting and liked the patient/ doctor interpersonal struggle, as well as the other struggles inherent to owning a business and coming out.

I was not a fan of the performer, as his voices sounded more classically trained, than two West Coast 30 year olds.