Reviewed by Roberta
TITLE: Paint The Stars
SERIES: Free Fall, Book 3
AUTHOR: Christina Lee, Nyrae Dawn
NARRATOR: James Cavenaugh, Ryan Turner
PUBLISHER: Audible Studios
LENGTH: 6 hrs and 55mins
RELEASE DATE: 3/6/18
BLURB:
Ezra Greene has made a pretty decent life for himself. He has a nice apartment and spends his days doing the one thing he’s always loved – creating art. Despite being somewhat of a grumpy recluse, he’s even made a few loyal friends. When he takes a side job painting a mural at a local holistic center, he can’t help being curious about a certain friendly and self-assured yoga instructor, even if he doesn’t buy into any of that Zen crap. His holier-than-thou family already tried fitting him inside a box, and he swore he’d never be molded into anybody’s belief system again.
For Daevonte Randall, adulthood has worked out pretty well. He’s close to his parents and lives with an awesome roommate. He’s content with weekend hookups, teaching yoga, and taking college courses. What he doesn’t expect is to be so intrigued by the brooding and reserved painter he’s been tasked to stay after hours with at the center. Something fascinates him about Ezra, even after Daevonte’s attempts at flirting gets him friend-zoned on the spot.
As weeks pass, Ezra and Dae get to know each other, and soon their friendship catches fire. But Ezra’s been burned pretty badly before so trust and intimacy has to be earned. Daevonte feels up to the task, but it proves difficult as Ezra continues to keep his emotions in check. Dae’s only willing to wait so long, and when they’re dealt a surprising blow, Ezra needs to decide if love is worth the risk…that is, if it’s not too late.
REVIEW:
I read the blurb and I was pretty intrigued with the premise of the story, so I was willing to give it a go. I’m really glad that I did. I haven’t read the series, so this was to see if you could pick it up and still follow along. You can. I started this audiobook and could follow along and not feel like I missed something. Which I always find to be an amazing and wonderful in a series.
Daevonte…I really liked this character. I like the fact that even though Dae is young…he’s got this great heart. I love that he’s got this wonderful relationship with his family. That they love him and only want the very best for him. I love that Dae has this wonderful sense of integrity and that he’s just such a wonderful character. Dae’s heart is just so full and so wonderful. I loved watching him fall for Ezra. I loved seeing the growth that he had as well. Dae learned so much from Ezra as well as his own growth as a person. I liked that Dae grew up surrounded by love and therefore, was able to give it as well.
Ezra…I actually liked the grumpy recluse. I like that he knows who he is and that he’s really this got this good heart inside of him. Ezra is dealing with family issues…as in his parents aren’t very accepting of his being gay. His sister is perfectly fine with him and I’m really happy to see that. Ezra is also nursing a broken heart from his first and only romantic relationship and it was hard to see him struggling. I liked that Ezra found some really great growth in this story. I just have to say that I really enjoyed him and watching him grow and come out of his shell more.
I LOVED the secondary characters in this book. They were always so damn sweet and wonderful and they had our MC’s backs. I loved that they truly family of the heart. Lucas, Gabriel, Jamie, Conner these guys are core to Ezra’s life and I really enjoyed them being his family and helping him move forward in their own ways. Maria, Dae’s roomie…she was a great female character and a great friend.
The two narrators, James Cavenaugh & Ryan Turner were really awesome. I truly enjoyed having the dual narrators. I’m gonna have to find more of them. I’m really interested in seeing their other work. I truly was taken in by the way that they worked together and it made it easier to fall into the story and just be. I was just do darn taken away that these two narrators gave these rich characters “voice” and did such an astounding job of it.
This was such a rich and warmhearted story. I could barely tear myself away from this audiobook to have to deal with work. I just got so caught up in this beautifully written, well-narrated story and it barely released me when it was over. I didn’t want it to end…yet…it always does. These two authors did such a wonderful job, that I’m looking forward to the next book that these two Amazing Authors put out.
RATING:
