Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: The Veranda
SERIES: Lavender Shores #3
AUTHOR: Rosalind Abel
NARRATOR: Kirt Graves
PUBLISHER: Wings of Ink Publications
LENGTH: 7 hours, 49 minutes
RELEASE DATE: June 4, 2018
BLURB:
Donovan Carlisle helps countless people in Lavender Shores with his skills as a therapist. It seems, however, that his ability to enable others to live their happiest life only works outside of himself. Donovan truly loves his life but isn’t able to find a relationship that satisfies his heart’s craving. Maybe the problem is that the only man he wants is off-limits.
Spencer Epstein came to Lavender Shores to find himself. Instead, he married one of the local town beauties. He’d thought his prayers had finally been answered. Then he met his pregnant fiancée’s brother. It turned out those answered prayers were just cruel twists of fate.
A decade later, after a divorce and the crumbling of all Spencer thought was set in stone, he sees his brother-in-law at a masquerade sex party. He takes full advantage of the anonymity and acts on the desires he’s held at bay all those years.
The problem is those silent and frenzied moments didn’t satiate anything. The fire and heat between the two men only grows as secrets are uncovered, and they must determine if the cost of their passion is too high….
STORY REVIEW:
I enjoyed this low angst story. It was a second chance of sorts but so much more. These men have longed for each other so long that they didn’t even realize they were the missing pieces the other needed. To watch these men realize they had a chance and that they could become whole together was fantastic and romantic and left me feeling so satisfied.
I really liked that I didn’t know this was going to be low angst. There was enough potential for things to blow up that it kept pulling me in. I needed to keep reading to make sure that things went in the right direction. THe tension, the romance, the potential angst all worked really well to keep me interested to the point that I listened to this in one sitting.
I struggled with Erica. I really didn’t like her in the previous books and there was nothing in this book to forgive or explain her prior behaviors. I never really connected with her or felt sympathy towards her, so the parts of the story involving her selfishness were a bit annoying. But they didn’t take away from the romance so I just kind of skimmed past them.
Finally, I do always love how these stories are so romantic yet they have strong undercurrents that add such depth and richness to the character’s and their lives. Each installment is similar enough to be a series, but unique enough to keep me from getting bored. In this case, Spencer had so much to overcome and yet at the same time, he knows who he is and what he wants. I loved the way he went for it and the way these two slowly opened up and made a life that was perfect for them.
So now I just have one question…
WHEN WILL LAMONT’S STORY BE OUT IN AUDIO?!?!?! I am so connected to all the secondary characters that I need the next one NOW!
This story hit the spot for me and I am eager for more.
NARRATION REVIEW:
I like Kirt Graves as a narrator. He does not necessarily do many unique voices but he easily brings these Lavender Shore stories to life. He hits the emotions and the character personalities perfectly. I enjoyed listening to him once again.
RATING: 
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