Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Perfect Ten
SERIES: Palm Island
AUTHOR: K.M. Neuhold
NARRATOR: Iggy Toma
PUBLISHER: K.M. Neuhold Publishing LLC
LENGTH: 6 hours and 1 minutes
RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2022
BLURB:
A cheeky virgin, a surprisingly romantic bartender, one house, and six months of nothing but fun….
I came to Palm Island two seasons ago, confused about my life and desperate for a change. The island drew me in, but I’m still not sure why.
Maybe it’s time I cut my losses and go back home, back to med school like I always planned.
But when the breathtaking, flirtatious, tattooed bartender I’ve been crushing on for ages offers to let me room with him this off-season, there’s no way I’m leaving now.
I can’t believe I’ve lived here this long without truly appreciating everything the island has to offer: the beauty of its untouched nature, how to catch a wave, the appeal of casual s…well, you know. But Ten seems determined to make sure I experience every last one, and then some.
Will this be the last off-season I spend here, or could this thing between Ten and I be perfect?
Welcome to Palm Island: Come for the sweaty nights and beach parties; stay for the endless swoon and heart-melting romance.
REVIEW:
Ryan (aka Bambi) works in a bar on Palm Island – a resort island off the coast of the Carolinas. He’s been there for a couple of years now – every since the death of this father that put him into a tailspin his first year of Med School. He and his father were a team since his mother died when he was a small child. Losing his father really threw him for a loop and he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life any more. So this little hiatus was supposed to help him figure that out. So far it really hasn’t though. He’s now in his mid-twenties and he’s still a virgin and he’s still not sure what to do. When the season ends, he decides to stay on the island after his roommate leaves.
Ten has been on the island for a while now. He’s a bartender at the place that Bambi works. He’s always kept an eye on the younger man. It’s obvious that Bambi doesn’t like the patrons hitting on him or touching him inappropriately and Ten does his best the keep Bambi on an even keel calling out people who make him uncomfortable. When Bambi tells him he’s not sure what he’s going to do on the offseason with his roommate leaving, Ten offers his spare room. He’s not sure Bambi will take him up on it though given his reserved nature and his shyness.
At the last minute, Bambi decides to take Ten up on the offer. He arrives unannounced to find another of the island residents leaving after what has been an obvious hookup. Bambi is embarrassed but he’s there, so he has to make the best of it 😉 Ten tries to put him at ease after a little bit of teasing. The spare room is great and Bambi thinks he’ll be OK there. He doesn’t usually socialize with the rest of the island locals and pretty soon Ten and Bambi realize that even though they’ve worked together for the past two years and have always been friendly, they don’t really know much about each other. And it turns out they have a lot more in common than they think at the start 🙂
One area where they don’t have anything in common is there sex lives. Ten has pretty much been a casual hookup guy since he moved to the island. He likes to swim and surf and hike in the offseason and he’s decided to initiate Bambi into all the things the island has to offer. This includes branching out to the social circle of the other year round island residents. They start with a bonfire where Bambi has a few new experiences. But Ten is watching out of him so nothing gets too out of hand. Bambi realizes that even though he’s been a stripper to make ends meet which he was in school and has worked in the bar for a couple of years, he is out of his depth with Ten.
When he confesses to Ten that he’s never been kissed, never had sex, nothing, Ten is really surprised. He just thought that Bambi was shy. And when Bambi tells him about the stripping and about this dad and his life before the island, it’s true confession time for Ten too. He’s been on the island for a while for reasons himself 😉 And there are other secrets that he shares with Bambi. They get to know each other over the fall months and things go from roommates to friends with benefits to feals over the course of a few months. Both men struggle with what this means though and what will happen when Bambi has to make a real decision about his future.
Oh Bambi! How much do I just adore you, you sweet thing?! I just wanted to hug the stuffing out of him 🙂 Ten is so protective of him and I just love that about him. Both of these guys are a lot more than they appear to be on the surface. Ten’s past is completely unexpected. And it’s no wonder he’s drawn to Bambi – for so many reasons. He’s also so surprised when he really gets to know Bambi that there is a a lot more to him as well. Still waters run deep and all 😛 I loved the way Ten took care of Bambi not in a dominating way but in a really caring way. He’s happy to initiate Bambi into the world of sex and the fact that he’s developing feeling along the way? Unexpected. But not entirely unwelcome. While he’d never been interested in a relationship before, Ten knows that Bambi is something special and he doesn’t want to screw it up. Bambi is still dealing with a few self-esteem issues and can’t see why Ten won’t tire of him and want to move on since he’s only ever seen Ten do casual. But when the chips are down, it’s obvious that these two care a lot more than they have been letting on and it’s adorable to watch them admit that things have changed.
Iggy Toma does an amazing job narrating this story. His narration takes a good story and makes it just that much better. I loved his performance of the reticent Bambi coming into his own. Bambi questions a lot of things because he’s been so focused on his school and scholarships that he hasn’t really experienced a lot. Ten is definitely the older, wiser and much more experienced man. But his experience isn’t a bad thing. And it’s clear that Ten cares deeply about Bambi even if he doesn’t realize it right away 😉 He was definitely surprised by his feelings and that was so well acted in this narration. Both men were so caring with each other and they were adorable in the awkward moments that inevitably happened between them. I just adored every single thing about this audio and I cannot wait for the next in this series which introduces as whole new group of men who need happily ever afters 😀
If you’re in the mood for a sweet and low angst story with plenty of smexy times and a lovely happy ending, you should enjoy this kickoff to a brand new series from a fan favorite author and narrator. Highly recommended.
RATING:
BUY LINK:
Audible
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