A slow-burn romance and more...

I especially liked when Taylor and Frank first got together and the steamy scenes that followed. Their attraction had been building for some years and they were a well-suited couple even with the ten-year age gap.

I had several issues with the murder-mystery plot but won’t divulge these due to not wanting to give away spoilers. I felt young Taylor is portrayed a lot younger than his thirteen-year age and that threw me at times. I also thought he acted out of character with the issue of Frank's bed.

The climax of the story came swiftly. It was exciting, although a little predictable. It also included some unexpected revelations about a couple of characters, perhaps as a lead into book 2.

I always enjoy stories narrated by Nick J Russo. He brought the characters to life and portrayed them well

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strange romance

this novel skips the policework and focuses on the relationship between Frank and Taylor. The problem is: you get one meeting a year. What happens inbetween is left out. This makes the novel distant. There is no arc. You don't get involved with the characters because you are reading a summary.

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1 person found this helpful

Great Listen

Murder, mystery, love.
Everything you want in a book.
I loved listening to this and did not want to stop to go to work.

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Exciting Story, Great Age-Gap Romance

I enjoyed everything about T.M. Smith’s Survivor. Wonderful age-gap, hurt/comfort, and an exciting mystery. I can’t wait to get Rory’s story in Lover.

Nick J. Russo does a marvelous job with the characters, and really keeps up the energy so it builds throughout.

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A good listen

This was a good story. I have to admit I was a little thrown by Taylor and his attitude after they got together—not in a bad way, but it was just strange how dominant he became. Regardless, I really enjoyed listening to them grow together from the first day they met. Narration was pretty good, too.

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wow

this was amazing.. and sexy and i loved this story when i read it and it was so much fun to hear it. very sexy and interesting.. and the narrator did amazing.

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fabulous story and narration

I loved this story so much and loved all the characters. Looking forward to listening to the next one.

The narrator did a fantastic job. He had a very pleasant reading voice, he kept a good pace, he was age appropriate for the characters and he expressed all the emotions wonderfully and brought the story to life. He used different voices for all the characters that were easily distinguishable and suited them all well. It was a pleasure to listen to.

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Really good!

I enjoyed the story, which starts with a tragedy/mystery.
Taylor's parents have been murdered by an unknown person. He is helped by policemen, Frank and Caleb, who were called to the scene and put with a foster family. The story follows Taylor from his pre-teen years to adulthood, chronicling his developing feelings for Frank.
Nick J Russo does a great job with the different characters, he had a wonderful way of portraying Taylor's voice from his young age to his deeper, older self. He was also really good with the character emotions, nothing over the top, just believable. My only niggle were the non narration parts, they were sort of flat, but that's just me.
I would recommend both the story and audiobook without hesitation.

I received a copy of the audiobook for my pleasure with no obligation to review.

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Enjoyable romance with good narration

What did you like best about Survivor? What did you like least?

I like the characters the best. What I liked the least was how all the murder mystery drama all unfolded.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Have the bad guy be caught right away and do away with the murder mystery aspect.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

This isn't going to be a popular opinion, but I enjoyed the scenes where the two MC's are hooking up with other people. I thought it was realistic to see them not putting their life on hold based on possible feelings they had for the other.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Yep!!!!!

Any additional comments?

A complimentary copy of the audio was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Audiobook review:
The blurb for this book really got my attention. I do love age gap, and then you have a sort of quasi incest thing going because Frank was around Taylor for so much of his growing up years, one could see them filling "brother" roles for each other. Obviously neither had those types of brotherly feelings, which is good because once Taylor hit puberty, whew! :)

I thoroughly enjoyed the build up of this story. For those who don't like to see the MC's hook up with people who are not going to be their forever partner, there is on page action for both of them getting it on with other people before Taylor and Frank get together. I personally found all of it hot, and really world building. It helped show who they were as individuals and that they were caring people who definitely had lives outside of each other. Plus, did I mention it was hot? ;)

And oh boy, when these two finally do decide to act on their feelings, not only was the build up to that realistic (I thought), but it was so emotionally fulfilling. I liked these characters and wanted the best for them. So when they had a mature discussion about their feelings I was so happy! They didn't just jump into bed, which would have ruined everything. But they talked, and made sure that if they moved forward, it wouldn't ruin anything. When Taylor admits to having been in love with Frank for years (3 I think), I was just so "aww." Taylor felt mature beyond his years.

As for the murder mystery, I will leave most of that in the spoiler below. Just know the bad guy is caught, though I am not happy with how that whole drama unfolded. I really wish the bad guy had been caught right after the crime and then Frank and Taylor could have lived their lives without the drama. I didn't see the point in the plot unfolding the way it did. But overall, I enjoyed Frank and Taylor. I see them having a happy life together.

And as far as the narration goes, I really enjoyed it. Nick J. Russo did a really good job I thought and propelled this story to a new level. I have only listened to a few books narrated by Russo but that's because of lack of opportunity. ;) He gave each character (especially the women, which is hard) their own unique voice. I love when that happens.

Serious rant below. Includes some semi-serious spoilers.
[Why did the FBI get so involved in this case so much that they placed agents in key areas around these people? Taylor's foster parents had an agent (unknowingly) working as a maid or something in their house for years. Frank's booty call "flight attendant" turned out to be an FBI agent too, and they had known each other for like 9 years! There were so many names flying around I couldn't catch them all towards the end, but another friend of Taylor's turns out to be an agent too. What made this case so special? I didn't fully get it. Yes, there was an explanation but it was hard to keep track because they kept tossing out new names. This aspect of the story would certainly have benefited from reading vs. listening, because I really needed to go back and concentrate longer on the end part.

Also, how dumb was the bad guy in this book to have been arrested just a block or 2 away from the crime scene because of a broken tail light? How is it the police didn't question this guy for being in the area at the time of the murders? Oh, and how inept were they that they didn't even know this guy was using an alias!!!!!! Come on!! The bad guy murderer was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison because the alias he was using at the time had some sort of warrants out for him. I was just so flabbergasted as to the ineptitude of ALL of those involved. You have to wonder how crimes are committed or solved with bad guys and police like this.

The ending of the story with the bad guy is kind of eye roll inducing incredulity, but eh, I rolled with it. :) It wasn't terrible, but could have been better. The guy monologued for crying out loud!! Don't the bad guys know by now that to monologue is to sign their death/arrest warrant? (hide spoiler)]

Story: 3 stars
Narration: 4 stars

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So good!

Story: I loved all the characters the story included! Both the MCs were exquisitely portrayed, with plenty of emotions and angst throughout! Both the romantic plot and the criminal backstory were great and captivating. Awesome all around.
Narration: all the voices and emotions were perfectly done! It was very easy to follow the story and all the characters were unique. Great job from the narrator!

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