Goshdarnit

I hate Gregory Ashe a little bit. I had a full day's work to do today, I got up early to do it, and I found a review copy of this in my email. So I FOOLISHLY decided to listen to a little bit while I ate my breakfast.

Thirteen hours later... I had managed to do about one hour's work. And listened to the whole darn book.

So thank you, Greg, for the copy, and curse you for the hours I'm going to need to make up this week. I don't know whether to hope the next book comes out quickly or not. Dratted amazing slow-burn damaged heroes that you write SO WELL.

9 people found this helpful

Excellent !!

First let me start out by saying this book was so refreshing, the story entices you right from the beginning. Both MC's are beautifully flawed. Tean is quirky, offbeat, funny and I suspect is on the low spectrum of Asperger's. Jem a caretaker, codependent and hustler. An all around "good guy" in my book. In my opinion Mr. Ashe offers three-dimensional characters and great attention to detail . Knowledge and actual research done in creating these characters, their work, lives and world make this an absolute delight to listen to. This is my first Gregory Ashe book I've ever purchased. The reason being, J. F Harding . He is a fantastic narrator and a definite GoTo for me. I probably own over half the books he's narrated. I'm positive I would enjoy the other books Mr. Ashe has offered through Audible but to be honest I absolutely will not purchase anymore books narrated by Charlie David, and I'm on the fence with Tristan James. Keep using Harding and I'll keep purchasing your books.

4 people found this helpful

Great start of a new series

This is the first book in a new series by Gregory Ashe. I am a big fan of this author’s Somerset & Hazard series. This book is a little different in tone; it is NOT a slow burn!! GA is known for his torture of his readers with the romance happening over multiple books, this is not that. The book still revolves around a really sad murder mystery, but the relationship between Jem and Tean happens, although complicated by a third presence. Jem & Tean are brought together through Jem’s love for his foster brother. Jem has had a very hard childhood and the bond he has with his brother, Benny, is beautiful. The fact that Jem could love despite all he has been through is a big part of his appeal.

Tean is a “fallen” Mormon (this is set in Salt Lake City, UT) who has “issues” of course. He is very dark, but not like Batman dark, like Deadpool dark. He is fond of spouting negative statistics about most things and is definitely a glass half empty guy. However, despite this veneer, he has a heart of gold and his banter with Jem is priceless. It is obvious Jem is what Tean needs, but things happen. Tean thinks he still loves his childhood secret love who is still in the closet Mormon and has a wife and kids. Like I said, it’s complicated. The mystery is very intriguing and I did not guess the killer because GA throughs a bunch of red herrings.

J.F. Harding delivers another fantastic performance and really brought the story and this romance to life. I look forward to the next audiobook in this series.

I was given a free copy of this audiobook in return for an honest review.

3 people found this helpful

I am excited for this new series

I came to know Gregory Ashe's work through a different series featuring two police officers doing most of the sleuthing. That made sense. When I read this blurb, I was trying to figure out how and why a wildlife veterinarian would be asked to help find a missing brother. I was a little incredulous, but I do enjoy all of this author's other books so I was curious to find out when I was offered an audiobook copy to review.

Jem's missing brother is schizophrenic and a big environmentalist. He is known for going to the Division of Wildlife Resources where Tean works, and making complaints about a number of things, some of which might be a condition of his mental illness. He isn't always taken seriously, but upon his disappearance, it brings Jem to Tean's office seeking help. So I guess it wasn't as big of a stretch as I thought it might be when the two work together to find out what happened to the young man. As usual, the mystery this author created was really good. There were many suspects and who exactly was involved in the taking and murdering of Tean's brother as well as one of Tean's co-workers ended up being a surprise to me.

This author usually creates really good and flawed characters. This series isn't an exception. I don't want to call Tean flawed, necessarily. He is a helpful neighbor and a loyal friend. He is involved with a married detective, waiting for the day for him to leave his wife, though, and he is filled with stories of despair about animals and loneliness. You can tell he is unhappy with his situation, but not really eager about changing it. Jem is a former foster kid with history of being abused. He lives his life conning and blackmailing people the way his foster mother did. There were moments I didn't want to like him, but with his past and his dyslexia, I found there were reasons for his bad behavior. After a fight between him and Tean, I ended up feeling all the compassion for him.

Like this author's other books and series, though, despite the attraction these two main characters feel for each other, their relationship will be hard won. I think both Tean and Jem need to learn to love themselves a little more before they can get a romance off the ground. They have solidified a friendship by the end of the book, and that makes me happy. I definitely feel a lot of hope for them and I look forward to the slow burn in future books.

A quick bit about the narration. I have listened to JF Harding many times and I really enjoy his narrations. Overall the story was a winner for me, I liked the mystery and the dynamics between the two main characters. I hope the next book releases on audio soon, I can't wait to find out what happens next.

3 people found this helpful

Astounding!! I love these two!!

Wow!
Simply, wow!

These two characters are so very different from each other: one a wildlife vet, the other a grifter.

What they have in common is trying to find a missing man: a friend to one, a brother to the other.

The mystery of missing Benny leads them into dangerous territory. As much as this aspect of the story hooked me, what really drew me in was how the two men interacted with each other.

They were awkward, funny, real, and shielded. I kept waiting for secrets to drop, for tidbits of truth to come out & it had me on a wonderful edge.

Tean, the vet, made me laugh with his constant grim statistics. Jem, the con man, delighted me with his quick thinking. Both men held pain in their past, and they slowly, so very slowly let it out.

The two do solve the mystery. The two do get together. Tean does find out about Jem’s past. Do they get past it? In a way.

Are they still together at the end? As Jem said, like two rovers on the opposite sides of Mars.

Can I wait for the next audiobook? No!! I may have to read the next one straightaway!!

Things to watch out for:
1. Tean’s ex/not ex/but is married/and Mormon. He’s a piece of work.
2. Tean’s inability to say no.
3. Jem’s lies & cons.
4. Trivia.
5. SLT traffic.

Great performance by JF Harding, although a few times I had trouble telling Jem and Tean apart.

2 people found this helpful

Another great series.

I was so excited to see JF Harding was narrating another series by Gregory Ashe. I really liked this book. It had everything you’d want in a Gregory Ashe book. Twisty turny mystery being solved by two broken men. I’m rooting really hard for Gem. I cannot wait for the next book.

2 people found this helpful

Another deeply entwined and intriguing story

This story takes you to new places with many new characters the author can continue to introduce us to . Hoping they are around for many future stories now that such a good back story has been laid. Very good and interesting topics, not just a typical gay novel… Looking forward to the next one.

1 person found this helpful

Beautifully narrated by J. F. Harding!

What an incredible breath of fresh air Mr. Ashe gives us with this novel that takes place around Salt Lake City, Utah. We encounter Teancum Leon a veterinarian who works for the Division of Wildlife Resources whose staid life has disrupted a series of disturbing events that start shortly before Benny--a crusader for mother earth--is driven away in a dark SUV. Benjamin Guthall's foster brother Jeremiah (Jem) Berger solicits Tean's help to locate him as it appears a conspiracy is behind his abduction. This book combines so many elements incredibly well! We read of the beauty of the Salt Lake City area where Mr. Ashe invests time and words describing the topography, flora, and fauna. We see two very different men come together and grow through their circumstances, especially their relationship with each other. Each man has experienced and processed life very differently. Tean is a gay Mormon with all the baggage that comes with it including the deeply disturbing relationship he has with a married bisexual Mormon police detective. Jem is an illiterate con man that suffered severe emotional, sexual, and physical abuse as a child. Both find each other and hold on desperately as the mystery unfolds and come to a conclusion revealing greed, manipulation, and corruption.

1 person found this helpful

Friendship and/or Love

There are no easy answers in this Gregory Ashe book. No clear path to happiness. Relationships require time to build and effort to maintain. But it is a meaningful journey and all major actors gain something at the end. Some of the obstacles are convincing - an old love that translates into a toxic bond, sheer lying, and using a person as a means to an end - and some of them remain in place by the end of the story. Work in progress, this friendship. Moving now to the second book in the series.

1 person found this helpful

Slower but still great

This series, after coming from Hazard & Somerset, is definitely a little slower. Though that being said, I still THOROUGHLY enjoyed it. I adore how unique Tean is, and the way he sees things always makes me laugh.