Relay cover art

Relay

Changing Lanes, Book 1

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Relay

By: Layla Reyne
Narrated by: Nick J. Russo
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About this listen

A last chance at swimming gold, a second chance at lasting love.

Team captain. Olympic medalist. Devoted son and brother. Alex has it all, and all the demands that go with being the best. The last thing he needs on his crowded plate—and on his team—is his closeted ex.

Dane is swimming’s biggest star. Carefully crafted from crib to pool, his fame feeds his celebrity parents’ empire. He dropped the act once—the summer he fell in love with Alex. Ten years later, the performance is crushing his soul. So is resisting the man he still loves.

As the team struggles to gel, Alex and Dane clash in and out of the pool. Forgive and forget is easier said than done. But something has to give, if Alex and Dane want a shot at gold. And a second chance at love.

Team captain and team celebrity square off in this enemies to lovers, second chance MM sports romance between two elite swimmers fighting against their hearts and fighting for Olympic gold.

©2018 Layla Reyne (P)2024 Layla Reyne Romance Sports Funny Heartfelt Swimming
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Listener received this title free

This is my first Layla Reyne book and I have to say I enjoyed it. Enemies to lovers – when done well – is one of my favorite tropes. I love watching the evolution of a relationship from adversaries to men who really care about each other.

Alex is the captain of the Men’s Olympic swim team for the United States. He was voted on by his teammates and he knows the awesome responsibility he holds. Dane is resentful, to say the least, and when he’s not put on a relay team that anger boils over. The men fight and someone gets hurt. That propels the men together even more, leading to more dissention. But Alex and Dane have a secret – they were roommates and in love when they were sixteen. But they parted on bad terms and that resentment – at least on Alex’s part – has grown. Now they are facing the biggest challenge of their lives and they need to work together.

This was a good story with solid characterization and I very much like how it set up the second book in the series. On the narration side, Nick J. Russo always does a competent job and he did so again with this book. I’m hoping the next book comes to audio shortly.

Enemies to lovers done right

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While I really enjoyed this audio book, and found both Alex and Dane both interesting characters, both charming and charismatic, and I could see where the attraction came from.

Their story starts out with them breaking world swimming records on their way to the Olympics in Spain. There's been a rivalry unlike any other between Alex and Dane for a decade, since they met at swim camp and fell in love, then Dane walked away. But, there's always more to the story than just bitterness and resentment.

Now that they are both going to the Olympics, they are going to have to work together to get the team where it needs to be to win gold in the relay events.

Again, at first, I found the story a totally fun and believable lovers to enemies and possibly back, but I felt like it lost steam along the way with all the push back from Dane's parents. It seemed the relationship became more about fighting with his parents and proving a point than about a future with Alex. I think a little more in the romance or the why's of the relationship was warranted in the end and I would have loved to have seen that.

I don't think it's even possible for Nick J. Russo to narrate anything less than his best. This was outstanding.

Worth the listen

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A great story by Layla Reyne, interesting characters I did not want to leave. Hope book 2 will soon be available on Audible. Nick J Russo is one of my favorite narrators and was amazing as always.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Sweet and sporty

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Listener received this title free

I loved this!
Dane and Alex have sizzling chemistry whether they're fighting or kissing and making up.
Dane just wants to get out from under his parents oppression and finally live for himself.
In order to do that, he'll have to put it all on the line to prove his remorse for breaking his own heart along with Alex's years ago and hope he'll be forgiven alongside fighting for a top spot on the Olympic swim team.
A tale of love, regret and redemption that ends in a HFN.
I can't wait to finish this duology and see them get their much deserved HEA.
Nick J. Russo did a splendid job of bringing all this emotional angst to life.

So good!!!

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Listener received this title free

Now this girl is the epitome of a couch potato and finds sports on the TV so boring but for some reason loves listening to MM sports romances.
Relay by Layla Reyne is the first swimming related book I’ve listened to and I throughly enjoyed it! The added tension between the two MC’s and the up coming Olympics made for exciting listening.
The supporting characters are just as well developed and I’m hoping that they will have stories of their own in the future.
Nick J Russo was top notch as always with the narration.

Relay

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Relay is the first book in the Changing Lanes duology, a two book series focusing on the U.S. Olympic swim team as they train and get ready to compete in the upcoming competitions. I’m not a big sports fan myself, and I’m not really interested in all the details of the sports, but I love the drama and excitement that surrounds athletes as they strive to be the very best.

Dane is the media darling of the Olympic swim team. His entire image has been carefully controlled by his parents who use his fame and good looks to sell products and generate a profit for the family businesses. No where in this meticulously planned branding is there room for Dane to be himself and come out as gay. Alex doesn’t the spotlight; all he needs is a pool and his team. Alex doesn’t have the same privilege upbringing as Dane, but he’s also not forced in a closet pretending to be something he’s not. Dane has spent 26 years being told what to do and how to act by his parents, but the one thing his parents can’t control is heart. When Dane and Alex meet again as teammates for the Olympic swim team, there’s no stopping the sparks of attraction between them; however, they will have to overcome the obstacles and setbacks Dane’s parents and other detractors throw in front of them before they can get their happy ever after.

I really enjoyed this book, but as I stated above, I’m not a sports fan. I do respect the dedication and work elite athletes put into honing their body for their sport. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised by how well Layla Reyne did with balancing the sport aspect of the plot with the romance and drama. I still was able to enjoy the excitement that comes with athletes training and prepping for their big day, but I wasn’t over inundated with too many minute details that might have bogged down the plot. The plot was exciting with some twists and turns I was not expecting. There were moments where I was raging with Dane against his parents, who I instantly and continuously despised with all my heart. However, I did feel like the ending was a little fast, but I hope the second book picks up immediately from where the first book ended.

Nick J. Russo narrates the audiobook and does a great job with it. I love Nick’s voice and it was a perfect fit for this contemporary romance with a cast of different characters. Nick’s voice was smooth and each character was distinct. I had no trouble telling who was talking and following along with the audio. I enjoyed listening to this audiobook immensely. The overall production of the audiobook was well done with no glitches.

Jumping into the Deep End

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Relay is both a sports and second chance romance story. I initially had some difficulty following the story, but once the conflict between Dane and Alex was explained, I followed with ease. Dane and Alex are both competitive swimmers with hopes of winning gold at the Olympics. They have known each other for years, and after a brief fling as teenagers, they went their separate ways. Now on the same team, they don't get along until an accident involving a teammate has them calling a truce. I loved how these two came together, the club scene was perfect, and I love how Dane was able to stand up for himself.

I love MM stories and am usually hesitant of single narrator MM stories, but I was very impressed with Nick's ability to provide a distinct voice for each character.

Good story and narration

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Listener received this title free

I absolutely loved this story of swimmers preparing for the Olympics while also facing personal struggles, illness, dysfunctional family, and unrequited and denied love. I loved Alex from the start. He is such a nurturer and giver. An all around sweet and stand-up character. He is gay, Hispanic, and proud of it, and - oh - also the fastest backstroke swimmer in the world. But he doesn't trade on any of that and prefers to stay out of the limelight and let his swimming do the talking. Dane on the other hand...well he started out as mostly a selfish prick. He's a star swimmer. coached by Mom and Dad to be a media sensation, preen in the spotlight, and make the most of endorsements. He and Alex were lovers once, but Dane walked away because he CAN'T be gay. He had a ways to go to figure out what was truly important to him, and if fame, money, and parental approval were more important than being himself, living his life, and having love. The story was terrific with enough tension, surprises, angst, betrayal, and internal struggles, as well as a few really hot scenes between Alex and Dane, to keep me enthralled. The side characters were great, too. I hope we get more of Sebastian and Jacob in a future story. I also hope this story will continue on and take us to the Olympics,

The narration is fantastic. Nick Russo does an A+ job giving the characters distinct voices and showcasing their emotions.

I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Going for Gold

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Initially I was frustrated, because the 2 MC's needed their heards knocked together. Then i understood more of the story. As is the way of books. lol!
Thank I got angry on behalf of the MC's, so yes, it was well written and performed brilliantly by Nick. I was fully invested in the boys happy ending, I would have loved an epilogue that gave a glimpse into their happy ending, but maybe we'll see them in future books? Maybe.

full marks from me

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Listener received this title free

With the Summer Olympics is full swing, what better way to further immerse myself in the games than this? This is a really fast paced, enemies to lovers, second chance sports romance between two swimmers with bags of history and animosity. This is pretty angsty and there's a potential doping scandal to deal with, but what I liked about this was the pacing, the side characters, and the banter between Alex and Dane. Big fun and very timely listen. I volunteered to listen and review a complimentary copy of this. All opinions are my own.

3.75 Stars

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