Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Trusting the Elements
SERIES: Never Too Late
AUTHOR: Elle Keaton
NARRATOR: Steve Balderson
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 5 hours and 44 minutes
BLURB:
There’s nothing like a near death car accident to open your eyes. Otto Proulx decides surviving was a sign; he’s being given a second chance to claim the life he wants to live. For the past few years he’s been hiding in the shadows, vague texts from a troubled ex-partner keep him at home along with his general lack of luck in the romance department. This is his last chance, he’s certain, this time he’ll meet the man for him, the one he’s sure is out there somewhere.
Greg Trainor runs a specialty kite shop and helps his friends out when they ask. That’s the kind of guy he is, if somebody needs something, they call on Greg. He’s a big guy and no genius, but he’s dependable. So…yeah, when he sees a car precariously perched on the side of the road, he stops to help out; it’s what he does.
One night of passion leads to…several more and suddenly both men are searching around to define what they have together. Neither wants to scare the other off and neither wants to ask for more. Will the two men be able to set aside their fears and create a family together, trusting the elements are in their favor?
REVIEW:
Otto is on the hunt for a possible new location to expand his business. But while he’s on his way, he has a bit of trouble. Luckily a really nice guy with a truck stops to help him and get him on his way to his destination.
While he’s out getting some food and drink after his near miss, he just happens to run into said good Samaritan. Greg introduces himself officially then and they grab dinner together. The mutual attraction and chemistry lead them to spend the night together. And thus begins one of the best weekends of either of their lives. They have fun together, have smoking hot sex and generally seem to firing on all cylinders. There are some funny moments – particularly around the owner of the property that Otto is in town to view. Otto really likes Greg but he’s not sure where this is headed and then he has to return home.
Otto returns home and he’s a bit freaked out by his ex who continues to text and frankly harass him. He also has some thinking to do about the shop and the future of his current location as well as the potential new one. He misses the easy camaraderie with Greg but he doesn’t want to overstep or make assumptions. Meanwhile, Greg has received some jolting news and has to make trip to his hometown. Both guys really miss the other and eventually they get back in touch and try to figure out a way forward.
Greg and Otto both have issues from the past that they are forced to deal with. Greg’s estranged family provides a lot of drama that he really doesn’t need – especially while he’s got a lot on his mind with his business and the local festival he’s involved in. Otto’s ex continues to try to worm his way into Otto’s life and it’s becoming a real problem. Thankfully there are good friends who support both men as they work through their respective complications. There were some tense and shocking moments, but the climax and resolutions were very realistic and welcome.
I actually liked this story quite a bit. This is only my second book by this author, but I do like her storytelling style. I felt like I got to know both of the main characters quite well. I also like Blaine (Greg’s best friend) and Angel (Otto’s friend and employee) a lot. I thought they added a lot to the story and portray found family quite nicely. This was my first book narrated by Steve Balderson. I’m a bit on the fence about his narration. At times he was spot on At others, it sounded like he was reading the story for the first time and the pauses and interpretation of certain sentences was just completely off. I do hope there will be other stories in this series as I really liked the characters and setting.
RATING: 
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