Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Better than Beginnings
SERIES: Better Than
AUTHOR: Lane Hayes
NARRATOR: Nick J. Russo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 10 hours and 46 minutes
RELEASE DATE: November 15, 2022
BLURB:
Matt Sullivan knows he met someone special the night he spots the sexy man on the dance floor. However, he doesn’t know his life is about to change forever. First of all, Matt is straight. Okay, maybe not, but he doesn’t think falling in love and spending the rest of his life with a hotheaded, unapologetically fabulous diva is an option.
Aaron Mendez is confident, smart, and very comfortable in his skin. He knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to go for it. And though he might have reservations about falling for someone newly out of the closet, no one has ever looked at Aaron the way Matt does.
Navigating a relationship has its challenges, but both Matt and Aaron are willing to deal with difficult parents, holiday blues, and learning curves. They know their happy ever after is worth fighting for and that true love is better than good.
No/low angst, sexy fun! This collection of short stories follows the lives of Matt and Aaron from my first novel, Better than Good. The end of one chapter is the beginning of a whole new story, from ordinary everyday life to an engagement, a wedding, and more. This collection is dedicated to Matt and Aaron fans, and those who believe that the real love story happens after the first “I love you”.
REVIEW:
Note: While this is Book 5 in this series, it’s not required that all the previous books be read before this one, despite there being some spoilers for other books in the series. However, I would recommend that you listen to/read Book 1, Better than Good in order to understand how Aaron and Matt got together in the first place. This book is a compilation of stories the author wrote as gifts for her readers revisiting this special couple.
Matt Sullivan and Aaron Mendez did not have an easy time getting together. Matt was in law school and had only dated women before he is gobsmacked by the gorgeous Aaron at a gay club. Aaron doesn’t want to be anyone’s experiment or secret. After several false starts and some missteps, they have finally gotten together. Now comes their real life.
As the initial stories unfold, Matt is still living with his law school students and they are getting ready to finish school and study for the bar. Aaron and Matt are happy with their relationship, but Aaron is still not sure this is it for him. He’s been through several relationships and while he believes that Matt is sincere, he’s not sure yet that this Matt is the “the one”. Only time will tell 😉 He attends Matt’s graduation, but he doesn’t interact with Matt’s family as Matt hasn’t come out to them yet and they don’t know that Aaron exists yet.
As Matt and Aaron continue on as a couple, there are a number of firsts for them here. The first time Matt meets Aaron’s family is especially poignant. Aaron isn’t worried, but Matt certainly is. Aaron’s family is pretty traditionally Puerto Rican and Catholic but they have a fabulous gay son, so how is his lawyer, bi, All-American athlete boyfriend going to go over?
Then there is Matt’s mother’s willful obtuseness when it comes to to Matt and his BOYFRIEND. Matt waits for some time to tell his family about Aaron – and his mother is not having it. She glosses over anything Matt tells her about his boyfriend and keeps trying to insinuate that they are just friends/roommates. I really got sick of her TBH, but I’m sure this is how many parents react when their children don’t follow the planned life they have set out for them.
Some of my favorites in this collection are the first Christmas and Aaron’s very rigid traditions 🙂 and of course their engagement. It reminded me of another favorite series in which one partner screws up the proposal several times before getting it right. It’s a good thing Matt has good friends to help him see the light and figure out what he should do. I also loved how both Matt and Aaron’s friends where always there for them, supporting them and helping them. The wedding planning and of course the wedding were icing on the cake! As Matt and Aaron move on with their lives, it’s clear that this is a once in a lifetime love for these guys.
Nick Russo is one of my favorite all-time narrators and he has narrated some of my all-time favorite books 🙂 Here, once again, he give an outstanding performance of a the many vignettes that make up this audiobook. I loved his choices for Matt and Aaron and they are totally consistent with this series. Matt is a bit clueless and Aaron is his fabulous self. Their many friends and family are distinct and hit just the right notes. Fair warning, there is a LOT of sex in this book and Mr. Russo did a fantastic job of making sure that the scenes did not get repetitive or stale. Fabulous job and a wonderful revisit of favorite characters. Highly recommended for fans of this series especially.
RATING:
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