Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Just is Not Enough
SERIES: The Charlotte Socials
AUTHOR: Haleigh Falcon
NARRATOR: Liam DiCosimo
PUBLISHER: Tantor Media
LENGTH: 5 hours and 46 minutes
RELEASE DATE: December 9, 2025
BLURB:
Kaden
I’m a little anxious, I’m aware of the fact. I’ve done my best to maneuver through life with minimal effects from it. Although, it does make it hard to meet guys. My track record hasn’t been the greatest in the relationship department. I stopped believing in love and soulmates, no matter how many times my sister tried to convince me Mr. Right was out there. Then one night, one party, changed it all. There’s only one problem; he’s straight. Just my luck, he’s off limits . . . until he’s not.
Luke
No relationships and stay focused on my goals. That was the plan, and it was working for years, until he came along. This man is the most adorable and alluring person I’ve ever met. Everything about him draws me into his orbit. I’ve never been attracted to a man before, but I cannot resist him. One-night turns into something much more than I ever expected. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him. His happiness is of utmost importance to me, until protecting him takes precedence.
Content Just Is Not Enough is a low-angst MM romance. If you love a possessive/protective MMC, hurt/comfort, and bi-awakenings, then come meet Kaden and Luke. Possibly triggering subjects such as non-demonstrative family unit, aggressive/violent behavior, and stalking are present.
REVIEW:
Kaden, a dentist, and Luke, a chef who is about to open his own restaurant, meet at a party where they were basically wing-manning their siblings. The siblings do end up with each other for the evening and Kaden and Luke are “observing” from the bar where they have a really great conversation. Kaden is attracted to Luke and shockingly Luke (who Kaden assumes is straight) seems to be equally interested in Kaden. They have a quick “encounter” and that’s that.
Luke can’t forget Kaden, but he’s got a restaurant opening that he is working towards and that is taking up his time. He also doesn’t know Kaden’s last name and he isn’t ready to tell his brother about his attraction to Kaden yet. He manages to figure out where Kaden’s dental practice is and makes an appointment. He also pleads his case for dinner. He manages to convince Kaden to go to dinner with him and they have a great time. Kaden is still a little bit reluctant because he had a “boyfriend” in dental school who was closeted and then dumped him and told him he was straight just before graduation, leaving Kaden brokenhearted. Eventually Kaden shares this with Luke and Luke swears that he would never do anything like this to him and they declare themselves.
Luke persists and Kaden agrees to keep seeing him. They are very compatible and seem to really have a great time together. Luke opens his restaurant and Kaden and his friends go to visit a few weeks later. During this visit, someone from Kaden’s past shows up. This throws a fly in the ointment, but Luke is there for Kaden.
This is apparently the debut novel from this author which I was not aware of and frankly would not have guessed. I saw this in audio and I really like this narrator, so I wanted to review that version. I was not disappointed. Liam DiCosmino is a great performer and does a wonderful job with this story. There is a fairly large cast of characters and the voice choices and delivery of the emotional highs and lows made the impact of this story even more enjoyable. Each characters is distinctive and easily identifiable which is really helpful. I also really appreciated that lack of drama for Luke recognizing that although it hadn’t happened before, he accepted his attraction to Kaden immediately. There is a little bit a delay from their initial meeting to their first “date”, but that was due to outside life/work circumstances more than anything else. Once they start seeing each other though, their relationship builds fairly quickly. Clearly they like each other a lot, so that didn’t bother me. Neither is interested in pursuing anyone else, so this makes sense. They are exclusive and they continue to share their small amount of free time together. Even though it seemed a little bit fast to the declarations of love, I believed their connection wholeheartedly. I didn’t love the “twist” late in the book but mostly because I thought it was unneeded tension that was resolved a bit too easily. I really enjoyed Luke’s extended family and his cat 😉 Kaden’s family were absolutely delightful! I’m really looking forward to the next book and I hope this author/narrator duo continue going forward. This is a very good marriage of talent that I’d really love to listen to more of. Recommended.
RATING: 
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