Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: On the 2
AUTHOR: Felice Stevens
NARRATOR: Matt Haynes
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 8 hours and 24 minutes
RELEASE DATE: August 9, 2023
BLURB:
First rule of riding the subway:
Don’t talk to strangers.
Don’t even look at anyone.
But what if they’re grouchy and gorgeous and you’re sitting right next to them?
I always did like a challenge.
I want to turn that frown upside down, but he barely looks at me.
I take a chance and poke the bear, and to my shock, he plays along and growls back.
The more we meet on the train, the more I realize he’s not the uptight grump I first thought. Then one night, there he is—in my world, in my space…his tongue in my mouth.
Mind blown.
But I’m no fool. A man like Nash Roman doesn’t date a guy who sells suits at Macy’s. Nash is prep school and Ivy League, and I’m night school while working two jobs to pay bills. Nash is fine wine, expensive restaurants, and handmade suits, and I’m beer, corner takeout, and a lucky find at Goodwill.
What am I—street-smart Ethan Moreno—doing, playing in his world? This man is older than me, way richer than me, and has already made it clear he doesn’t believe in love. I should walk away. Instead, I’m falling for him. Hard.
Nash couldn’t care less if his father doesn’t think I’m good enough or if people gossip because we’re so different. I need to trust in him and us, but I’ve been burned before.
And just like the Uptown Number 2, sometimes you have to travel a different route to get to the final destination: Forever.
REVIEW:
Nash Roman is a financial analyst who likes to use his commute on the 2 train to catch up on his Financial Times reading 🙂 He lives in a nice condo in Brooklyn and he takes the 2 train every day to his job. On one particular morning, a younger man sits down next to him and disturbs his preferred solitary journey. He’s shocked because the guy is so gorgeous. He’s also quite chatty. They could not be more opposite. Nash likes numbers – they are clean and predictable – unlike people who are messy and unpredictable 😉 As you might imagine, Ethan (his erstwhile seatmate) works in the men’s department at Macy’s Herald Square flagship store. He finds people fascinating 🙂 He manages to goad Nash into a conversation that is so far from Nash’s comfort zone, but he can’t seem to help himself. Post this conversation, Nash finds himself thinking about the man and then reluctantly hoping to see him again on the train sometime.
It seems that Ethan had noticed Nash before and was looking for an opportunity to talk to him. The summer months of lower ridership made it possible. When he spots the open seat again the next day, he goes back for more. Thus begins their morning chats on the 2 train. Nash can’t figure out why he can’t get this guy out of his head. He’s bisexual and it’s not like he hasn’t been attracted to and slept with men before. He doesn’t date or have relationships though. Ethan is intrigued by Nash and he loves sort of forcing him into conversation 🙂 Then after Nash has a particularly stressful evening, they end up at the same bar and run into each other in the men’s room. Nash has had a couple drinks and he just snaps and kisses Ethan. He can’t believe he did that and when he sees Ethan with someone, he leaves. He’s is feeling really off-kilter and so he avoids his usual train for a couple of days. He didn’t ask permission and he knows that Ethan has had a breakup with a douchey cheating ex who is still trying to get back with him and he feels terrible about it.
Much of Nash’s stress comes from having issues with his world-renowned doctor father who is trying to run his life after he’s taking a very prestigious position at the same hospital where Nash works. He had cheated on Nash’s mother and left them on Thanksgiving when Nash was a kid. He never made any attempt to do anything except pay child support and now all of a sudden he wants to be his father? Um, no. Nash is not interested. Also his wife is much younger than Nash – literally half her husband’s age. He doesn’t hold anything against her, but he’s not going to be part of some happy family now after what he went through. He’s got a booty call in Julia, one of the lawyers at the hospital and he’s got one friend – Alex – who is a doctor who works under his father. Other than that, he lives a pretty solitary existence. Suddenly he’s tired of being alone. The one person he’s interested in spending time with is Ethan. So he breaks down and asks. He’s got no idea what he’s doing, but he just feels better when he’s with Ethan.
Nash hasn’t a clue what he’s doing. He’s never dated anyone. But Ethan deserves to be treated well. He’s got his own family issues with his parents moving to Texas. He had a sister who passed away and they wanted to get away from bad memories and also they didn’t know how to react to their gay son. Nash’s mother had died and he was angry with her for many years, but he’s been alone a long time. They are both a little unsteady at first. Nash is so far out of Ethan’s league as far as he knows but Nash couldn’t care less that Ethan put himself through college and lives mostly paycheck to paycheck. He wants to support him in his job and he clearly has plans. He also wants to make sure that his ex leaves him alone. Ethan’s landlady also is looking out for him. And she likes Nash right away 🙂
The real surprise is that Nash begins to realize that maybe he needs to let go of the past. He does his best to bring Ethan into his world without pushing him or making him feel like he’s not in the same world as Nash’s friends. They are all really nice guys and enjoy meeting Ethan. Ethan’s friends are also great and Nash finds that maybe they can really make this work. When his father announces some big news, Nash is furious at first. But then being with Ethan and seeing his friends have families and realizing that being alone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, his eyes are opened to what he might be missing if he continues down this path of anger and resentment of things that can’t be undone. And if Ethan is beside him every step of the way, well things can only get better, right?
I really enjoyed this story of two very different men finding what they need and want in each other. Nash is a very buttoned up guy. He’s not had an easy life with his parents splitting up and his father cheating and leaving his family behind when he was still a small child. Yes, he went to good schools and has a good job, but his neglectful father now trying to take charge/butt into his life at the the same hospital where he works is on his very last nerve. Ethan is an initially annoying ray of sunshine on Nash’s morning commute from Brooklyn to his job in Manhattan. Ethan is younger and also he’s got a totally different outlook on life. He’s still making his way and he’s driven to succeed. I loved what a good friend, tenant, co-worker and boyfriend he was! The supporting characters were great – I loved Gladys and Pete! Nash starts out wound so tight he probably squeaked. Ethan was just what he needed to pull him out of his very tough shell he’s built as a result of his early life. Diana was a lovely breath of fresh air and she and Ethan were seriously sweet together. It was nice to see Nash and his family move forward with good things for everyone.
Matt Haynes did a great job with this book! His performance was top notch. Ethan was bright and light. Nash was tight and a bit dark. Thankfully they both changed a bit and opened up more as the book went on. I could listen to this book again and again. So many lovely scenes and moments. Real emotion and so well done! A great marriage between this author and narrator yet again. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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