Saturday, October 27, 2018

Audio Tour: Frankie: Unforgettable by Felice Stevens (Review + Excerpt)

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FRANKIE: UNFORGETTABLE
MAN UP SERIES, BOOK 3
FELICE STEVENS
M/M ROMANCE
AUDIO RELEASE: 08.29.18
Frankie Cover
Cover Design: REESE DANTE
Photographer: Wander Aguiar
Cover Model Andrew Biernat
Narrator: Kale Williams

BLURB
Frankie

No one understands why I love him.
Why I need him.
Why I took him back.
But they don’t have to.
I know.
Despite the hurt and the heartache, I see beneath his skin.
And I’m different now.
No more Flirty Frankie.
My dreams have changed, and so have I.
I’m stronger.
I believe in myself.
And I’m a hell of a lot smarter than a year ago.
Now it's his turn to show me the man he really is.
To prove it.
I've always loved him.
But that's not enough.
I need to learn to trust him.

Aaron

No more excuses.
No more chances.
I make this right or lose him for good.
I have to do this.
No one has ever believed in me but him.
No one has ever wanted me but him.
I can’t let him down.
I won’t.
I can’t let myself down.
I’m trying, but it's so damn hard.
No matter what they throw at me, I’m stronger.
And I’m going to make it.
I’m on my way.
With Frankie by my side.
I can see the future.
I have a future.
Us. Together.
Forever.

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EXCERPT
“Still no luck?”

I set a cup of coffee in front of Aaron and stood across from him at the small kitchen counter. He’d come over to my place early to use my computer and had been job hunting for hours. When Aaron got out of jail, he’d wanted to move back in with me, but I said no. The past few months, I’d let him stay over more often than not, but he still had his own place. I was being careful.

“No, I fucking can’t even see straight anymore. I need a break.” He rubbed his eyes, then took a sip and let out a gusty sigh. “Thanks, babe. Hits the spot.”

The endearment sent a warm glow through me. In our joint therapy sessions, Aaron and I discussed his dislike for showing affection and how that made me feel unappreciated. Since he’d been back, he’d made the effort. It might not seem like much, but to me, it meant he listened and that my feelings were important to him.

I put on my most positive face for him. “Something’ll turn up. What about that one at the new supermarket that opened last week on Cross Bay Boulevard?”

He grimaced, his face darkening. “They said they didn’t have openings. But they still got the sign up in the window, ya know?”

I did know. And it worried me. Aaron had been out of jail for months now and had yet to find anything. And as much as I saw him trying to work through his anger issues, I worried he might slip and bring us back to that ugly place of last year.

“You want me to have Austin ask Rhoades? He’s got so many businesses, I bet he can find you something.”

“No,” he responded with an angry snap. “Your friend hates me. I don’t need no favors from him. I’m gonna do this on my own.”

“Okay, okay. It was only a suggestion.” He stood, and God help me, I couldn’t stop that involuntary jerk of my heart when he walked around the counter to stand in front of me. I hated seeing him defeated and sad.

“I know it was.” He reached out and cupped my jaw, his palm rough and warm against my face. I wished every one of the doubters could see these tender moments between us instead of remembering the old Aaron. “I’m not blaming you. My problems are my fault.”

I put my arms around him, hugging him close. “We both were at fault. But now we can do better. I want to show everyone the person I remember from when we first met. Smart, funny, sexy.”

He palmed my ass, bringing me flush up against him so I could feel the hard ridge of his dick against my stomach. “Sexy, huh? I’m only sexy for you.…You know that, right?”

“Mmhmmm.” He got me ready in no time flat.





3.5 Stars overall

I have very undecided feelings about this book. On the one hand, I think the author did a great job with writing this book. I think the story follows along well from the previous books and I like the premise and how the plot plays out for Frankie and Aaron in this one. But personally, I found Frankie as a character to be annoying. He irritated me most of this book. And I am not quite sure if that has to do with his character or if it boils down to the narration and the narrator's voice for him. I might have liked Frankie better being read than listening to it.

Aaron is the underdog at the start of this book. We hear vague references as to things he has done in the past leading to where he’s at now. Everyone dislikes him, judges him and looks down on him for his actions. But at about 60-70% in, he finally grows on you... You learn his reasoning behind what happened and how he grew up, and what happened while he was in jail. I really appreciate how much he grew as a person during the course of this book.

I also think this is my least favorite narration for the first three books in the series. The narrator did a good job with the storyline and characters and pulling us in. I just think the mix of everything between the characters themselves, their personalities and their voicing just threw me off a bit and I wasn’t really impressed, so it was just ok for me.


                                               Felice Stevens Logo
Felice Stevens has always been a romantic at heart. While life is tough, she believes there is a happy ending for everyone. She started reading traditional historical romances as a teenager, then life and law school got in the way. It wasn't until she picked up a copy of Bertrice Small and became swept away to Queen Elizabeth's court that her interest in romance novels was renewed.

But somewhere along the way, her reading shifted to stories of men falling in love. Once she picked up her first gay romance, she became so enamored of the character-driven stories and the overwhelming emotion there was no turning back.

Felice lives in New York City with her husband and two children. Her day begins with a lot of caffeine and ends with a glass or two of red wine. Although she practices law, she daydreams of a time when she can sit by a beach and write beautiful stories of men falling in love. Although there is bound to be some angst along the way, a Happily Ever After is always guaranteed.

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