A sweet historical gay romance

I have been waiting for this book to get an audio release for a long time and grab it the moment it went live. Keira wrote a beautiful romance between two wartime buddies during WWII. Their past was written in flashbacks chapters and you can really feel the bond between them built over bootcamp and fighting together. It’s a low angst and sweet story and John Solo did an amazing job narrating it. He brought the gung-ho and cocky exterior of Cal to the tee.

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3 people found this helpful

Amazing!

Keira Andrews is one of my favorite authors.
I read this story a while back and quickly fell in love with the characters!
I love military stories and this one was well done!
John Solo is fast becoming a favorite narrator of mine.
His portrayal of Jim was fantastic and so believable.
I love the hopeful glimpse we get into the future of Jim and Cal.
10 stars all around for me!!

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2 people found this helpful

Narration elevates an already amazing story

I grabbed the ebook when it was on sale a few weeks ago knowing the audio was coming. Depending on how much you're paying for credits, it still may be less expensive to purchase the book and utilize whispersync discount pricing.

Wow! I'm already a fan of Keira Andrews' work, but this is a whole new level of storytelling. This is ALL. THE. FEELS. What I love most is that Andrews uses historical events, laws, and attitudes of the time period in a realistic and relatable way. Jim and Cal are humans in their triumphs, faults, and love. I felt fully immersed in the war in a way seldom found in romance novels.

I'm not a fan of switching back and forth between time frames (alternates between active service in WWII and post-war life in Tivoli, New York), especially with the added alternating of character POV's. However, I think the juxtaposition of Jim and Cal's developing friendship with their later romantic relationship adds an interesting depth to the story that wouldn't have been achieved otherwise.

As with all Keira Andrews stories, we get an HEA.

John Solo does a spectacular job here. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but he has this almost "radio announcer" affect to his voice, without being an over the top caricature. It gives an added immersion into the time period I'm not sure any other narrator would have achieved. Cal & Jim each have their own definitive sound and you always know who is speaking. Even secondary characters have particular and consistent voices. Perfection.

Trigger Warnings (possible spoilers):
[While she isn't egregious, Andrews does detail war with necessary reality & historical accuracy including death, fear, mutilation, racism/ethnic slurs and what we now would label PTS. This book is set in a time when homosexual acts were a crime and people's language, attitudes, & behavior reflect that.

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2 people found this helpful

all the words

I just finished the audio of this fantastic journey. I never talk about a book's plot, just how it made me feel. It had all the words and all the feels...not all good but necessary for the story. And it's an epic story of love in a time when there was so much evil in their world. Historical romance in a time of war, innocence, evil, denial, ignorance.....we've come a long way. Hot!! Trigger for those with war PTSD, a bit of graphic violence related to war. I'm dreading this book hangover with no regrets. Excellent narration.

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2 people found this helpful

good romance

good romance but if your sensitive to racism and racist slang nrom ye olden days I would stay away I couldn't finish it it was just everytime they refer to the Japanese or Japan it's in very derogatory ways

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I love Keira…

… but, honestly. I was a little bored with the flashbacks to the war. I understand it was a tool that was necessary to ultimately drive the narrative, but it got a bit tedious for me. Still a good read and the narration was absolutely top notch. I just don’t think I’ll want to read it again, tbh. But, Keira, still love ya. ❤️

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I loved it!

Great book, great narration. Keira Andrews is my favorite writer, her book always get me!

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A thorough immersion

A lengthy story of war, love and loss. A rough era to be gay in. Achingly tender with so much confusion of sexual identity. I became immersed in the story, past and the present. The narration is very good even with a few slips out of character. No harm in my opinion. There was a timeline fopa at the end but I didn't judge the quality of the overall work on it.

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Ol’ fashioned love story

Loved listening to the differences in time frames between 1942 and 1948. A tale as old as time about the love that two men can share for each other.

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very sweet and savory!

I’ve been eyeing this romance for a bit and finally told myself to listen to it and good golly it’s so good. There’s just something about the friends to lovers trope that hits the spot.

I really liked the pacing and the fact that the horrors of war weren’t sugarcoated. I also enjoyed the flashbacks who h normally aren’t something I like but they really added to the story!

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