Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Luca

SERIES:  Gentlemen of Emerald City

AUTHOR:  L.A. Witt

NARRATOR:  Michael Ferraiuolo

LENGTH:  8 hours and 14 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  June 21, 2021

BLURB:  

Ethan

Hockey season is over, and that means one thing – returning home to my empty condo. With nothing to distract me from this loneliness, it’s going to be a miserable summer.

Then I hire Luca for one night.

At least, it was supposed to be one night.

Luca

Ethan isn’t like my other clients (not that I have many these days). He’s nice. He’s genuine. He doesn’t treat me like I’m here to earn my pay.

When he asks me to make this a regular thing for the summer, my wallet doesn’t leave me much choice.

But I’m pretty sure my heart isn’t supposed to get involved.

Gentlemen of the Emerald City

Luca is book one of Gentlemen of the Emerald City, a sexy series centered around the high-class, high-dollar gentlemen of Seattle’s most exclusive escort service. Each book is full of snark, sass, and sweetness, and like any Emerald City client, you’re guaranteed a happy ending.

REVIEW:

Ethan’s team is home from the playoffs 🙁  He’s not looking forward to a lonely summer in Seattle.  His teammates will either be busy with their own families and taking a much needed rest or they will be elsewhere visiting their hometowns for the summer which leaves him at loose ends.  One of the other out players recommends a discreet escort service and Ethan decides to give it a go.  But when Luca, the escort he requested, shows up, he’s not at all sure he can go through with it.

Luca has upped his prices at Emerald City escort service.  He needs to make some serious bank to make a dent in his student loans, medical bills, etc. and driving for Uber/Lyft just isn’t going to go make it.  Working around his class schedule, this seems to be his best option.  As soon as he gets to Ethan’s, he knows he’s a hockey player – that build doesn’t lie.  And sure enough, he is a member of the local pro team.  Luca’s had some not great experiences with another hockey player and so he’s a bit on edge.  But then it turns out that Ethan is just about the sweetest guy he could ever hope to meet.  And although their first meeting does not go as planned, they find themselves wanting to spend more time together.

Ethan has the idea that if they are exclusive for the summer, he can just pay Luca and he can just concentrate on his classes and spending his free time with Ethan.  They even manage to get away for quick trip.  As they grow closer, Luca and Ethan share more of their individual stories with each other.  It’s clear that they really do like and respect each other and the sex is off the charts 😉  But as the off-season draws to a close and Ethan is going to have to go back on the road and Luca will need to decide what he wants to do next, neither man wants to give up their relationship.  But what can they do? Especially when there could be a potential problem with one of Ethan’s teammates and also Luca’s family.

I really enjoyed this story of a lonely hockey player and the escort he connects with through an app 😉  As someone who traveled a lot for work, it can be difficult to keep up relationship when on the road all the time.  Unlike Ethan, however, I relish not having anyone in my space after catering to unrelenting clients during the week 😛  But Ethan really wants someone to share his life with.  Ethan is such a sweetheart – which we get from the very beginning when he’s uncomfortable with his first encounter with Luca.  It take him a bit to warm up to the idea, but then he begins to get to know Luca.  Their relationship is more of a friends with benefits at first – albeit Ethan paying for those benefits.  But the more time they spend together, the more apparent it is that Luca is everything Ethan has always wanted in a boyfriend.  And luckily for him, the same is true for Luca.  He cannot get over how respectfully Ethan treats him.  And how much they enjoy the same things.  In fact, Ethan has seemed more interested in the real Luca than any of his past boyfriends have been.  He’s grateful to Ethan for the ability to pay off his debts and take a breath.  They were adorable as they kind of dances around each other without sharing their true feelings until push comes to shove 😀  Luca was worried about his family and Ethan and how things would look, but luckily his feelings from Ethan became clearer and he could make the right decision.

As usual Michael Ferriauolo does a great job narrating.  There are a lot of teammates, family members, friends, etc. to voice in this one and all were distinctive.  And Luca’s voice was perfect!  I’m looking forward to more in this series – particularly in audio.  Recommended particularly for fans of Pro athlete stories 🙂

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Audible