Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Long Game

AUTHOR:  Samantha Wayland

NARRATOR:  Michael Ferraiuolo

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  10 hours and 29 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  April 25, 2023

BLURB:

You can’t change the past but you can choose your future.

Jack Chevalier is determined not to let his past define him. He keeps his head down and works hard. He’s not sure how he’s ended up with such great friends, but he’s grateful. Especially for the one man who’s always defied his expectations.

Grady McDonnough has been on his own his entire adult life. He’s got acquaintances and colleagues and a bachelor pad where he can order take-out to his heart’s content, and that’s enough. Sure there are things he misses, but he wouldn’t trade being his true self for anything.

Trust has never come easy for Jack, but Grady’s been the exception from the moment they met. Now they’re close. Hold-your-hand-when-you’re-upset kind of close. All-their-mutuals-think-they-should-be-a-couple kind of close. But both men have pasts coming back to haunt them.

Can they let their guards down and allow their relationship to blossom? Or will they keep one another at arm’s length and lose the one thing they both desperately want—love?

The Long Game is a stand-alone 100k word MM friends-to-lovers romance full of familiar faces helping two clueless friends build their family-of-choice and reach their HEA. While all of Sam’s books take place in the same universe and many characters appear in more than one book, The Long Game can be read as a standalone.

REVIEW:

Note:  This book takes place in the same universe as many of this author’s other Moncton Ice Cats universe books, so there are spoilers aplenty here for the previously published books.  I recommend them all, but you can read this one as a standalone.

Jack Chevalier has kept his friends – including his best friend Grady – at arm’s length for the years that he has known them.  He’s convinced that because of his past, he’s not worthy of them and still seems shocked that they care about him. This includes the Ice Cats hockey players, the owner and manager of the team but most especially Sergeant Grady McDonnough of the RCMP.  He is sure that someday Grady will have to cut ties with him.

Grady McDonnough has been in love with Jack Chevalier since he first laid eyes on him at the bar where Jack worked – over four years ago.  When he came to the rescue after a run-in at the bar and they kissed in the back room, Jack told him he wouldn’t make a good friend for Grady and he should forget about him.  Of course Grady did not forget about him.  He did find out a bit about Jack’s past and he in no way holds it against him as Jack was definitely as much of a victim as anyone in the scenario that he found himself in – and he doesn’t even know the half of it.  He vows to always be there for Jack no matter what.

When Jack’s past comes back to haunt him, Grady is there to lend a hand.  And Jack is scared and happy to have Grady on his side and looking out for him.  He has to confess why he is scared.  Grady vows to watch out for him and make sure that he is safe.  He will make sure no one hurts Jack again.

Then Grady’s past shows up in the most unexpected way and both men are thrown for a loop.  They have been spending all their free time together supporting each other through their struggles and even sleeping at each other’s places for comfort.  Everyone else is able to see what they are not – including some pretty street smart teenagers 😉  Oh, and all their mutual friends 😀  As things get more convoluted and Grady and Jack come to rely on each other even more, Jack finally realizes that there is nothing he can tell Grady that would make him walk away.  He still needs some reassurances from his friends, but he finally settles on understanding that Grady will never give up on him.

For his part, Grady is just stunned at the turn of events.  His former single life has been turned upside down with the arrival of unexpected family that he thought he’d never see again.  And Jack is there for him making sure that he knows that he will support whatever Grady wants to do about that situation also.  He’s not sure exactly what has happened, but it looks like he and Jack just might get everything they’ve always wanted in the strangest way possible.  But they are there for it and their many surprising friends are there for them – including some other blasts from the past that show up unannounced 😉

I really really loved this story.  From the first scene in the bar where Grady spots Jack, I was invested totally invested.  This is a long book and totally worth the time invested.  I really hated Grady’s family and what they had done tp Grady and the other kids.  Sad to know there are so many out there who do the same and the homeless shelters are full of those who have been abandoned – statistics don’t lie 🙁  Jack’s mother was a bit of a pill, but I grew to love her and her spunk, especially when Jack or the kids were threatened.  Rupert and Callum and their brood as well as Travis and Barnaby and Rhian, Garrick and Savannah are all along for the ride and there to support Jack and Grady and help them on their way to acknowledging what has always been between them – love and acceptance.  Even Mike and Alexei get in on the action in a wonderfully supportive way 😀  The new characters are amazing – especially Colt and Sam.  Grady and Jack are hilariously clueless and this is the slowest burn with the most UST in this series – I mean four years of pining??

Michael Ferraiuolo is the perfect narrator for this book.  There are lot of voices and accents and a variety of tender and tense moments for him to sink his metaphorical teeth into.  The ages range from teenagers to “mature” women and he hit each note beautifully.  Grady and Jack are wonderfully performed as two men who care deeply for one another and don’t want to risk their friendship for the promise of something more.  Jack’s feelings of inadequacy and just not being good enough for Grady because of his past are convincingly portrayed.  Grady’s reluctance to push Jack and risk losing his best friend – man the guy had the patience of Job – was palpable.  Finally Maman Chevalier was a real corker.  Her personality came sparkling through in this audio and her interaction with the young characters was just priceless.   Highly recommended!

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:  

Amazon

Audible