Holiday Adrien and Jake

Lovely catch up with the guys showing them living their lives together with Jake finally out of the closet. there was also a little mystery to be solved and it although it was short it was a definite feel good book.

I saw another review criticize the narrator for the female voices, and I do concede Natalie's voice does make her sound like a nasty spoiled brat, so different from the interpretation of her in previous audiobooks.

However that only loses one star, as the rest of the voices were not only well done but also actually quite similar to the previous books.

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A Lovely Christmas Tale, ♥ Williams' Performance

This was just what I wanted and everything I needed. To experience Jake being so real with Adrien and to see how their relationship is developing was priceless. Between the Christmas Codas and Kit Holmes describing them together in The Boy with the Painful Tattoo I always had hope for Jake and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I just wanted to see Jake treating Adrien like he deserved to be treated. Like a partner who mattered, not talking down to him and not playing mind games or being physically intimidating. (It is also reassuring to see Jake struggling with all the developments in his life, it helps make him more real.)

The best part was seeing Adrien so happy. He is delightfully funny in this story; his sense of humor is so playful we can tell straight away that he’s feeling more confident and healthy. After all this time I know Adrien so well, like a very close friend, and it has always broken my heart to see his lack of self-confidence and his insecurities dominating so much of his life.

I don’t really believe Adrien needed Jake, or even a successful relationship, to be a whole person but much of his life was about finding a partner and completing that part of himself. Being sick in High School and missing romantic relationships at that age (other than messing around with Rob) left him with a lack of experience and maturity which he needed to figure out. Having Mel leave him due to his poor health was a blow to his self-confidence and I believe his inability to fully commit to Guy was more about Adrien’s insecurities and less about needing the perfect partner. Adrien was never fully in control of his romantic relationships and it was often heartbreaking to witness. Going through this journey with Adrien and watching him develop and grow, I think the timing was finally right. Adrien has his health, a strong family support system, his business is thriving and he is truly confident and can participate equally in this relationship.

I really enjoyed the story too, it was a nice look into Jake being a PI and including Adrien in that part of his life. It was also nice to get some closure with many of the relationships from earlier books. (I don’t love reading M/F fiction but I would like to read Kate’s story, maybe starting off with her new job in Vermont? To see how this all must have felt to her and how she moves on would be very interesting. Hum, maybe a plot bunny for some fan fic.)

It was a beautiful story and a very satisfying progression in the relationship of Adrien and Jake. Yay, Adrien is finally happy :)

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1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable Story

A well written story with and interesting  concept.  The characters are likeable and the narration is very good.

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Narrator ruined it for me

I probably would have enjoyed this book but the fact that the narrator made all the girls sound so cringingly whiny ruined it, I had to stop listening.

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