Xander: An Open-Door Policy Novella

By: Anna Ambrose

Narrated by: Hugh Bradley

Length: 3 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Xander Penn has been around the block more times than he cares to count, always searching for an elusive something he’s never admitted to wanting, not even to himself.

Until now...

Then again, realizing what he craves doesn’t mean he accepts it. It’s one thing to dabble at the open-door policy club he belongs to, but quite another to declare it to others in the real world. After a harsh rejection pushes away the one person Xander wishes he could pull closer, he spirals down a dark path using meaningless sex more as a punishment than a pleasure.

When an unexpected ally makes him see he’s missing out on the best parts of life, Xander finally decides to open himself up to the possibility....

But by then, it may be too late.

Xander is an erotic romance novella intended for audiences 18 years and older. This novella is just over 30,000 words, and it contains a variety of M/M and M/F encounters.

©2018 Anna Ambrose (P)2018 Anna Ambrose

An erotic Gay-for-You story of new discoveries.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.5 stars
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Heat Level: 5 erotic flames
🎧🎧🎧🎧 Narration: 4.5

An erotic Gay-for-You story of new discoveries.

I loved Xander and Liam. I started listening to Xander but felt there was a little more to the background between Xander and Liam so listened to Lucy first and I’d really recommend this, as it laid the foundation for Xander and Liam’s story, very much like a prologue would.

Xander and Liam are so hot together and I enjoyed their individual discoveries and approaches to their feelings and attraction to each other. I loved Liam’s kindness and care and his acceptance of his feelings for Xander. Xander on the other hand, I understand His ‘shock’ at being attracted to Liam and his unease with the feelings he’s developing but I didn’t like some of his actions. That being said I felt Anna did well to add a little more depth, character, and emotion to this second Open Door Policy Novella and it has a lot more complex emotions and character depth than Lucy’s story.

I loved the happy ending and with great narration, with different dialects for the characters, it just made it that much more enjoyable! A great erotic listen!

Thanks for reading!

Xander

NOTE: My overall rating for this is 4/5, which to me is "I like it", but not Audible's "It's great".

Xander is a short audiobook that you can turn on after work while you cook, then have your dinner, and by the time you wash the dishes, you might've listened to all of it.

Would I recommend it as a dinner background though?

Probably not, if there are other adults in your home and definitely not, if there are children.

When I read the blurb, I didn't realize how much sex there will be in this book, but there's a lot of it, so if you are shy about bedroom acrobatics, yet still want to read/listen to them, put your earphones on.

Xander is a book about firsts. Neither of the main characters has self-identified as gay or bi and we get to follow Xander as he tries to make sense of his increasing feelings for his male best friend. There's a lot of confusion, anger and angst, which is a realistic portrayal when one realizes what Xander does, especially if the person has been raised in a more conservative family. In that aspect, I don't really have an issue with how Xander handles things at first. However, I have an issue with how selfish he is.

Seriously. The only notes I had taken on this audiobook were "MM, MF, MFFF" (to remember myself to put them in Themes & Genres) and "selfish".

And I get it: not all characters have to be the perfect Prince Charming; I like my characters flawed, and developing into something better. With Xander, I didn't really see this development until a sudden change of heart at the very end. And yes, this is a shorter story, so naturally, it will be rushed when compared to a novel. But I still can't understand how the other main character forgave Xander so quickly.

This is the only aspect of the book that I didn't enjoy.

The sex scenes were okay, especially between the two guys. I think Anna is one of those female authors who are better at writing guys than women. Then again, this might be so in Xander as here the focus is on the guys and not the girls. I'll see if that theory is correct when I listen to Lucy which is the first book in the Open Door Policy series and centers on a heterosexual relationship.

I'd recommend Xander to people who want a short adult read with a variety of pairings.

Hot

I have only listened to a few M/M narration. I wish this book was longer. Longer scenes between the characters. I am glad they found acceptance in each other. This is a must read for me.

love it

Just the absolute best story. Everything I like to listen about and more. Such a great story I will listen again and again. A keeper!!

Coming of Age, Friends to Lovers, Erotic Tale

My first novel by Anna Ambrose, Xander, is a story about a young man coming to grips with his romantic attraction to his male best friend. A mix of friends-to-lovers, GFY, coming out, and just plain old growing pains, Xander delves into a number of issues bothering the main character.

Hooking up with multiple partners, regardless of gender, is a favorite pastime of Xander and his friends at the private Open Door Policy Club. When thoughts of his best friend (and ofttimes bed partner) Liam start to lessen his enjoyment of sex with women, Xander has to work it out.

Xander isn’t the only one who realizes sex with women just isn’t doing it for him. Liam also discovers he has stronger, more authentic reactions when Xander is involved. These young men are just starting to understand how forging a connection with your partner can change sex, and I was glad for the ending which leaves room for these characters to grow.

Ms. Ambrose does a marvelous job of bringing us into the mind of this twenty-something young man who is coming into his own. There’s a lot more going on in Xander’s life besides this sexual crisis, and we get a nice balance between the erotic scenes and actual interactions between the characters.

Xander is part of the Open Door Policy series and can be read as a standalone. The narrator, Hugh Bradley, has a smooth voice which helps create a sultry atmosphere and works well in this erotic novel.

an audiobook copy of Xander, Open-Door Policy #2 was provided to me for the purpose of my review

Hot!

A realistic story of acceptance. Xander can't accept his need for his best friend Liam. His feelings of disgust and self loathing keeps him from a life of love, a life with another man. That is until he learns Liam may be lost to him forever.

I love the voice of Hugh Bradley, sexy and filled with emotions in the right areas of his narration. I can't wait to listen ti more from him.

I received a copy of this audible free at no cost. I'm thrilled to leave my review.

Sexy story, narration not my favorite

I struggled a bit with the narration here. I don't know if it was the narrator or the recording method, although the longer I listened the more I think it's the narrator's style. He has a good voice but I wasn't a fan of the delivery - very breathy and overly dramatic at times. And the recording style didn't do him any favors.

The story is good, sexy and hot with some angst thrown in. I haven't listened to the first book. I didn't feel it's necessary. This can be listened to as a standalone although I might have been more connected to the characters if I'd gotten a sense of their chemistry from the beginning.

If the narration style hadn't been mostly a miss for me I think I would've connected to the story better. I'd be interested in listening to something else from this author , and from the narrator if the style was different from this book.

Struggles of love

Thank you for the promo, I voluntarily give this book an honest review. Xander and Liam's story was such moving struggle. Xander can't come to grips with the feels that is brewing inside himself, with a downward spiral he turns to the club but that can't even clear his head. Can he get over his own terror before he loss out on what could be his own happiness or lose Liam for good? Such a moving and wonderful audio, the narrator did an amazing job with the characters involved.

Intense

It took me a while to get into this narrator, but the more I listened, the more I appreciated his voice.

Should of put a ring on it...

SO we start out as two friends who are in college and frequent a sex club and have sex with hot women. That get your attention cuz it gets hotter as one of the friends starts to realize his growing attraction to the other and the need to explore that. Xander is your typical southern guy, I say southern cuz occasionally the narrator has a southern drawl just slightly, who is raised to think sex with another man is wrong. Like so many of his kind, he becomes tempted and explores it and realizes he likes it. Liam is his skinny swimmer bodied friend who is described like a woman basicly, with a penis and body hair... He is dating a girl who he shares at the club with Xander, as well as his own body.


**********SPOILERS*******************

Now my thoughts are as follows.... I like that the self revulsion is constant for xander, but towards the end it is like he just changes personalities, suddenly the thought of someone else having liam is enough to make him confess that he loves him AND wants him to take his black cherry... that was a bit to fast a change... after he was so adamant to not do any of that to the point of banging a bunch of woman, one a stranger in a bar and constantly getting so drunk he forgets stuff like putting on a condom and was staggering around, which if drinking liquor at the club is against the rules then i'm pretty sure they won't let drunks in, one that is so safe as theirs seems like anyone coming in smelling of booze would be turned away. But seeing a red head suck liam puts him over the edge??? Just didn't flow right. Was good but was a sudden change. The narration was good, I liked the echoed dreamlike feel to it, but not for when he was voicing characters, and a few times it felt like he forgot he was doing voices for the characters, so that pulled me out a bit. BUT all together it worked, did not flow in some areas but the rest made up for it.


I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audio book by the author, narrator, or publisher, and it's my honest opinion because I read reviews as well and wanna know if a book is worth my time...