Reviewed by Alexander
T
ITLE: Making Nice
AUTHOR: Elizah J Davis
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 10 hours 31 minutes
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
BLURB:
Twins Blake and Bianca Dunlap have always been there for each other, ready to lend support and make sacrifices. Blake can’t imagine a bigger sacrifice than getting along with Bianca’s fiancé, Matt. Matt turns out to be more than the meathead Blake had dismissed him as, but Matt’s best friend, Ryan Everett, is a different story. Ryan seems intent on being an insufferable jerk as often as possible. The fact that Blake is undeniably attracted to Ryan only makes the whole situation more annoying.
Since they’ll all be stuck together for the long haul, Blake is determined to make nice. Unfortunately he overshoots, and he and Ryan end up on much friendlier terms than Blake intended. While he and Ryan agree there’s no harm in having a strings-free fling, that changes when Matt and Bianca find out about it. As more complications arise, Blake and Ryan become more determined to do what it takes to avoid letting them down. But the only way to ensure getting through a joyous wedding and avoiding the questions neither of them wants to answer is to convince everyone it’s something more.
REVIEW:
Making Nice stared off really well, introducing Blake, Ryan, Matt, and Bianca, and setting up their interconnected relationships, and dynamics effectively. Where things got a bit off the rails was Ryan and Blake’s unhealthy relationship. Unhealthy, you say? Yes indeed. Ryan’s amiable personality was pushed to the limit by Blake’s insecure, demanding, and sometimes caustic behavior, which made me like Ryan more and more as the story progressed. To be honest, the tension and angst was sustained through the bulk of the story and near the end, it was getting very tired. The thing that killed me as I listened to the story was that I couldn’t figure out the reason why Blake was so resistant, and demonstrated all of the negative behaviors that he did, the history we were provided just did not mesh for me.
Things like Ryan calling Blake “kitten” was a nice touch, and when Blake stopped berating Ryan for the nickname it was an indicator of the progression of their relationship, regardless of the ups and downs. At one point, Ryan was intuitive enough to notice some of Blake’s peculiarities, and that the realization of Ryan’s attentiveness irritated Blake drove me nuts…seriously. The secrets and lack of honesty between Blake and Ryan was frustrating as well, not only do we need to endure the unhealthy relationship between Ryan and Blake, but also how their relationships with Bianca and Matt became strained.
There was some very clever writing that totally made me relate to the story and characters, such as a scene in the neighborhood coffee shop that featured the “Julies” which made me smile every time I listened to it. I even shared the scene with a co-worker, it was just that funny.
I would have to say that Ferraiuolo made this story as good as it was. The characters were distinctive and consistent, and I must commend Ferraiuolo on his portrayal of the female characters, he managed the feat without it sounding contrived. The pace of the story was perfect, and the narrative voice was smooth, neutral , and appropriately emotive for the various characters. If I am being honest, in addition to Ryan being my favorite character, Ferraiuolo’s portrayal of Ryan’s voice was a thing of beauty, I loved it so much and will keep an eye out for other books narrated by him.
STORY RATING: 
AUDIO RATING: 
(more 4.75)
BUY LINKS:
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