Reviewed by Morgan
Title: Too Stupid to Live
Author: Anne Tenino
Narrator: Tobias Silversmith
Series: Romancelandia #1 / Whitetail Rock #3
Heroes: Sam/Ian
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 7 hours, 19 minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: March 25, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: It isn’t true love until someone gets hurt.
Sam’s a new man. Yes, he’s still too tall, too skinny, too dorky, too gay, and has that unfortunate addiction to romance novels, but he’s wised up. His One True Love is certainly still out there, but he knows now that real life is nothing like fiction. He’s cultivated the necessary fortitude to say “no” to the next Mr. Wrong, no matter how hot, exciting, and/or erotic-novel-worthy he may be.
Until he meets Ian.
Ian’s a new man. He’s pain-free, has escaped the job he hated and the family who stifled him, and is now—possibly—ready to dip his toe into the sea of relationships. He’s going to be cautious, though, maybe start with someone who knows the score and isn’t looking for anything too complicated. Someone with experience and simple needs that largely revolve around the bedroom.
Until he meets Sam.
Sam’s convinced that Ian is no one’s Mr. Right. Ian’s sure that Sam isn’t his type. They can’t both be wrong . . . can they?
Review – Book: Wow! I had forgotten how wonderful Anne Tenino is as a writer until this re-read/listen I did this year.
In order to fully appreciate this, you have to go back to the free read – Whitetail Rock. There we are introduced to Jurgen, Sam and Nik and then the sequel, The Fix, for our first glimpse of Miller and Ian.
(Here are my reviews of The Fix and Whitetail Rock.)
But… technically you can understand what’s going on if you haven’t read them…
In any case, Sam is a big, obviously gay, gangly, dork who stands over 6 feet tall but is terribly thin no matter what he does. He reads romances voraciously and has a running commentary in his mind about how life mirrors various romantic tropes. In his case, he considers himself Too Stupid To Live… the hero/heroine who always opens the door in the haunted house, chases the dog in the storm, explores the basement when there are mysterious noises…you get the idea.
He meets Ian, Jurgen’s cousin, at Nik’s party and falls instantly in lust. But Ian is a player, closeted, and … well… kinda mean. He tells Sam he’s not attractive and gives him the brush off. But later… well, something changes and Ian gives Sam some attention that leads to super hot smexy times. Now, neither man can forget the other, but neither knows how to navigate this “relationship” – whatever form that may take.
Ian is the broken, tragic hero. He needs to do a lot of self exploration before he can be worthy of our hero – Sam. Luckily he has Jurgen and a therapist to help him – or he’d really mess things up!
**
This is an hysterical, sweet, super HOT and very touching story. Full Stop. All the angst (well – except for a bit at the end) is about the relationship and the two finding their way to each other. I LOVE that. Love that the bulk of this really is about the romance.
It’s hard to like Ian – and the first time I read this I don’t think I saw his appeal. Now, years later, I can see the turn around for what it is and just how awesome he is. Sam is easy to love, though you want to strangle him at times, as well.
In any case – this is a wonderful story- truly romantic and with some amazingly hot smexy times thrown in to make things even better.
Overall Impression of Book: 5 of 5 stars – It was amazing!
Review – Audio: Tobias Silversmith is a new narrator for me, and I didn’t quite love his performance. His dialog was delivered well and he had a great grasp of emotion. I liked that he attempted unique voices for the characters but his pacing on the non-dialog portion seemed hurried and flat. His voice is a little breathy and nasally so it wasn’t as pleasing as some of the other narrators in the genre. It’s still a good way to listen to this but it wasn’t my favorite.
Overall Impression of Audio Book: 4.5 of 5 stars – I loved it!
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*
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