Lackluster

Ugh, it pains me to say it, but New Guy is a miss. I can’t remember another Sarina mm story that was so … boring. I almost tapped out with 50 minutes to go because I just didn’t care anymore. New Guy was way too long with way too many unnecessary scenes. And, bizarrely, there were too many critical scenes that happened off page. That Disney vacation where our deeply closeted professional athlete spends two weeks in public with his lover and his lover’s child? Yeah, we don’t experience a single moment of that trip.

There are structural problems, too. Characters appear and disappear at random, whenever it’s convenient for the story. Gavin’s sister? Hudson’s dad? Eustace? When not needed to throw a wrench in the story, off they go, never to be seen again. The Brooklyn organization is hyped up, its inner workings and players described in great detail, and then it’s all basically discarded.

And the MCs? Gavin reads like a doormat and Hudson is so emotionally immature that I have no faith in the sustainability of that “happily ever after” ending. Hudson literally disappears from Gavin’s life multiple times when life gets too difficult for him, and each time, Gavin just stews for a little bit and takes him back, regardless of the emotional trauma inflicted by Hudson. How is that believable? How is that a healthy experience for a child whose father went to work one day and never came home? And don’t get me started on how neither character reads at all like a 25 year old (a 25 year old professional athlete has bursitis? 25 year old jocks drink fancy wine and cook meals in a crock pot?).

Teddy is wonderful, as always. The other narrator sounded significantly older than 25 but was otherwise fine. The story itself is just so disappointing. What a shame.

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10 people found this helpful

Nothing like a good MM coming out story

Hudson.. a closeted (bi or gay) professional hockey player meets a widowed single father who happens to be the new athletic trainer . One chance meeting a bar aligns their lives . Follow the journey of starting over , protecting parental rights and letting go of a toxic father son relationship . I loved how Sarina wrote such a touching story with lots of funny moments , some sad with medium spice not raunchy. Gavin and Hudson discover truth and love with a guaranteed HEA! Narration Was spot on Love Teddy Hamilton and anything the JF Harding narrates . Check this out you won’t be disappointed

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3 people found this helpful

I Ate this Book Up. 🥰🤩💔❤️‍🩹💕

Sarina Bowen does it again. I love her writing; all the feels.
She wrote 1 of my all-time favorite series, Him. This book is right at the top with that, and now, I can't wait for book 2 in this series.

The narration was fantastic. Both Teddy Hamilton (my #1 favorite) and J.F. Harding (a top favorite) has me wanting to listen to it again right now!!!

I read/ listen to books to take me away, and SB Journey Train is always one I'll ride on...

My only complaint is I have to wait for book 2 😉

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2 people found this helpful

It's hard to go wrong with Sarina Bowen

Truth be told, I am tired of Hockey stories from Sarina. However, I am not tired of her characters and plots, so I have to deal!

Let's start with the narration.

If you have to deal with dual narration, then this is about as good as it gets. My first exposure to Bowen's work was the Goodbye Paradise/ Hello Forever series that was so lopsided with Teddy Hamilton and the unlistenable Dake Bliss, thankfully the duos could only get better. Nearly as good as this pairing was Teddy and Christian Fox in Understatement of the year. Teddy and Jacob Morgan are very serviceable, probably best in The Best Men. Back to this book, Harding and Hamilton are very capable, and play pretty well off each other. Hamilton is not at Harding's level for women's voices, but he is so far above the norm, that he seems a Jedi master.

The story is very angsty, lots of curveballs and setbacks. I am not usually a fan of young children as a plot driver - Bowen uses the daughter even more aggressively than in The Best Men. But it works here with the addition of the mean grandmother. With Bowen, reviews mainly nitpick what should have been better as she generally creates a solid story. This isn't her best, to be sure, but there is more than enough to satisfy in a tropey world.

My #1 complaint is that Sarina makes both men too young. We're supposed to believe that Hudson is 25 years old, has been a professional hockey player for 5 years, and has been traded 5 times. He mentions more than once that he is feeling too old for this. Gavin is a couple of years younger and a widower raising his adopted daughter. At 23. And he lands a job with a professional hockey team after working at a college for...a few months? He didn't work for a year after his husband's death. As his job would require a degree, how long could he have worked in the field? An unexpected fail for believability. Both men should have been 3-5 years older.

Anther reviewer rightly pointed out that a lot of time is spent setting up the hockey team dynamics, but skips actual scenes later in the story - only alluding to them, ie the trip to California. Gavin is clearly the lesser character, we spend a lot less time with him over the entirety of the story. That isn't necessarily a negative. Bowen clearly focuses on Hudson. I wish there had been more of the story with Gavin and his father, especially later in the book. Lastly, where in the US is the locker room referred to as the dressing room? I do not understand why Bowen uses that term.

Overall, Sarina creates a workable story that does what too many other MM titles cannot do - feels like you're reading about two men. The story flows, at times a bit imperfectly, but the dialogue is good and I don't feel like all she did was change the pronouns from an MF romance. Bowen's lesser works are still better than most of what is out there. I recommend.

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1 person found this helpful

NOT MY FAVORITE

First of all I have to say that I'm a huge fan of Sarina Bowen, that being said I have to say I was a little disappointed in 'The New Guy'. I can't really identify what I found wrong with it other than it was just lacking.... in something. To be honest I found it a little boring and skipped through a couple chapters. it read almost like a Lauren Blakely book and I refuse to buy those because every single one of her mm books is repetitive and just used up. it's the same book with a different title every single time. Sarina you are better then this. 'Top Secret', 'Him' series, 'Ivy Years' Hello Goodbye', all wonderful books. I just don't know what happened here. JF Harding who is one of my favorite narrators didn't cut it on this book I don't know what happened there either. Teddy, you were great as usual.

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1 person found this helpful

Excellent Narration

The narration on this was A+ as always. The story was well written with engaging characters. You understood their tramas and how that affected their decisions today.
My problem with this story is that I feel like I've heard it before, it didn't totally hit for that reason.
If you've not listened to a lot of hockey or M/M then it will be new and you'll adore it. If this is your go to trope, you may enjoy it but it's not going to bring anything new to you.

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Best HEA ❤️

Tears streaming down my face by that last chapter. Such a great read. Highly recommend.

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to new beginnings

The New Guy is a sweet and sexy workplace romance with a closeted hockey player and the new trainer. What could go wrong!?!

For the most part, everything goes right except for that one big rip your heart out part! You won't be sorry! (He might)

Bowen gives us another feel good and smile our way through romance. Harding and Hamilton bring these men to life in their wonderful narration.

I can't wait for the next in the series.

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I couldn’t get enough of these two!

I love in a story when the two leads meet early, hit it off, and then can’t be together. There is his fabulous resting tension through the first part of the story. Sarina Bowen does that so well with Gavin and Hudson. While they dance around each other, their individual stories are told, and there is this simmering attraction that is so good!

I like that there wasn’t this drawn out denial of feelings, instead they were honest about how they both felt for each other but knew the score. This was one of those stories that every time you thought the stars were aligning there was a roadblock. I wanted this so bad for Hudson and Gavin. They were such a great pairing. I really enjoyed this story and am excited for more from this world.

JF Harding was really great at Hudson. His softer tone wasn’t what I was expecting, but as his first chapter went on, it made me absolutely love the casting! Teddy Hamilton commanded so much passion in his voice as Gavin. He just oozed feelings. This was a fabulous audio!

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I couldn’t stop!!

I listened to this book in 2 days!
The chemistry is amazing! A must read for sport mm readers.

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