Reviewed by Lisa
TITLE: Family Man 
AUTHOR: Marie Sexton, Heidi Cullinan
NARRATOR: Colin Darcy
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 7 hours, 40 minutess
RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2018
BLURB:
Sometimes family chooses you.
At 40, Vincent “Vinnie” Fierro is still afraid to admit he might be gay – even to himself. It’ll be a problem for his big, fat Italian family. Still, after three failed marriages, it’s getting harder to ignore what he really wants.
Vinnie attempts some self-exploration in Chicago’s Boystown bars, far from anyone who knows him. Naturally, he runs smack into someone from the neighborhood.
Between working two jobs, going to school, taking care of his grandmother, and dealing with his mother’s ongoing substance abuse, Trey Giles has little time for fun, let alone dating someone who swears he’s straight. Yet after one night of dancing cheek-to-cheek, Trey agrees to let Vinnie court him and see if he truly belongs on this side of the fence – though Trey intends to keep his virginity intact.
It seems like a solid plan, but nothing is simple when family is involved. When Vinnie’s family finds out about their relationship, the situation is sticky enough, but when Trey’s mother goes critical, Vinnie and Trey must decide whose happiness is most important – their families’ or their own.
REVIEW:
I originally read the first edition print version of Family Man in 2013. And although I liked it, like other books from that publisher, I hated the formatting so I put it aside and never bothered with it again until I saw Dreamspinner had released the audio.
Vinnie comes from a huge, traditional, Catholic, Italian family. He’s been married three times and after the third divorce hasn’t bothered with even dating again. Doesn’t even really think about being with anyone else until he’s repairing the garbage disposal for a married gay couple and realizes the closeness they have is what he really wants.
Trey lives with his grandmother and mother as well as works two jobs and attends college classes. He’s years behind his peers because he has to work. All his family’s assets have been lost to his mother’s addiction. He doesn’t date because he’s been pressured too many times for sex and he wants to wait for sex until he finds someone special.
Vinnie and Trey have known each other for years. Trey’s grandmother has been a fixture in the neighborhood since she was young. Trey spends time in Vinnie’s family restaurant whenever he can. So when Vin starts to allow himself to admit he’s attracted to men, he definitely notices how physically attractive Trey is.
The guys start off slow with “non-dates” then progress to dates, keeping their physical contact to a minimum as Trey has a no sex rule. During their courtship, they manage to keep respecting each other’s boundaries with one drunken exception.
I really liked how Vinnie & Trey took their time to get to know each other & be sure before actually having sex with each other. I felt like that added a lot of depth to their romance. I also like the found family theme and loved how Vinnie’s family all pulled together to help Trey and his family. I think this is a great comfort read and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys romances with age gaps, slow burn, friends to lovers, and low sex content.
This is the first time I’ve listened to anything narrated by Colin Darcy and I found it enjoyable. I thought his voice for Trey was spot on yet was slightly confused by the voice for Vin because it sounded to me like a strange mix between Italian and southern.
RATING: 
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