Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: The Real Deal
SERIES: Palm Island
AUTHOR: K.M. Neuhold
NARRATOR: Iggy Toma
PUBLISHER: K.M. Neuhold Publishing LLC
LENGTH: 2 hours and 46 minutes
RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2023
BLURB:
Of all the places in the world I expected to see Real Wilson again after 15 years, the ferry to a gay vacation island was not one of them.
I thought I had one chance to kiss him, and I blew it. We were 16, and I was an idiot. But now, here he is, standing right in front of me, looking at me with that same expression of awe and adoration that I never lost my addiction to.
We have a week together on Palm Island, but there’s no way that’s going to be enough.
The locals are quirky, the dress code is more than a little lax, and I’m determined to prove to him that this is more than just a vacation fling…it’s The Real Deal.
Don’t miss this sweet, steamy, quirky prequel to The Off-Season Series, where the only thing wackier than the island legends are the locals themselves.
*This short story was previously published as part of the Your Book Boyfriend’s Boyfriend Giveaway. But it now also includes two additional Palm Island Prequel bonus scenes that you won’t want to miss!
REVIEW:
Full disclosure: I had not read this novella when it was first released and have listened to all of the books in this series before listening/reviewing this one so I was already familiar with all of the Palm Island locals 🙂
Real Wilson is headed to Palm Island for a week’s vacation. He’s on the ferry from the mainland to the island when he spies his former best friend. They had been besties and when they were 16, but when Real tried to kiss Flynn, Flynn ran away and then his family moved away and they never say each other until now. Real had assumed that Flynn was straight and that’s why he freaked and fled. Now here they are, personal trainer and photographer in the same place for a week.
Real and Flynn both have some explaining to do – although Flynn of course needs to come clean about why he ran and why he never reached out. And it turns out that they now both live in NYC. So they agree to try to meet each other where they are now. But it turns out that each guy is still carrying a torch for their former bestie. Neither of them have had any long term relationships in the intervening 15 years. Of course the chemistry heats up and they rekindle a friendship and so much more 😉 They are taking in by the island vibe and the pull that the locals insist comes from the original owner who built the place for his long time love.
The locals are introduced to Real and Flynn as they explore the island. They are a bit bowled over by the public nature of well everything. They cannot believe some of the stuff they witness, but they just kind of shrug and go on 😉 And they discover that they have a lot more in common than they think and that just maybe there is a second chance for them.
This is a super sweet, low angst, second-chance at love for two former long lost best friends. It’s nothing earthshaking – just a cute story of two guys who find each other again after a long separation and discover new things about each other. The epilogue is short, sweet and adorable and sets up another potential romance 😉 There are also two additional scenes that were fun, but will only make a lot of sense if familiar with more of the series regulars.
Iggy Toma does a fantastic job narrating the story and the additional scenes. His consistency with all of these characters is amazing – because there are a LOT of them. We are still waiting for a few of these men to get their HEAs, so hopefully they will be forthcoming. If you’re a fan of this series, you’ll enjoy this little amuse bouche which will add a little more fun to this Island paradise 🙂 Recommended.
RATING: 
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