Best Chance

More than Friends, Book 6

By: Aria Grace

Narrated by: Michael Ferraiuolo

Book 6 of the More than Friends gay romance series

Vinnie is happy as a bartender at Ray's and not looking for anything serious to complicate things. He has great friends and a simple life. When Chance comes into his bar, he brings more than just memories of the summer they spent together in high school.

©2014, 2015 Aria Grace (P)2015 Aria Grace

second chance

a sweet 2nd chance at love. chance and Vinny are just precious. they find one another again and after some misunderstandings, make it work.

Excellent episode in a wonderful series

I've got no idea why I didn't post my review for this one, but (like all the episodes in this series) it's excellent.

The audiobook is performed beautifully by Michael Ferraiuolo.

Sometimes your second chance is your Best Chance

Two guys, Vinnie and Chance who'd fooled around one summer when they were in high school meet up again after 8 years. Chance is a widower with a kid. Chance's marriage had been falling apart before the kid due to his innate but unaccepted homosexuality. Vinnie is a bartender that's never met anyone who's measured up to his high school lover.

When they get back together after all that time it's like Kismet. Chance is finally willing to admit who he really is and Vinnie is thrilled to get a second chance at Chance but an almost laughable miscommunication derails their relationship.

While I liked the characters and enjoyed their dynamic together, the trite miscommunication that provides the main dramatic tension was ridiculous. I hate it when TV writers over-use this "If only they'd talk" style of tension to seemingly endlessly delay the reveal and the happy ending. In print it's even worse.

The story is satisfying and has several charming scenes that make it a worthwhile read but I do wish more art and thought had gone into the construction of a more reasonable main plot line conflict.

Michael Ferraiuolo does a good job in his narration giving distinctive voices to the various characters and he even manages to keep his women's and children's voices from reaching a level that bothered me.

*** Note: I received a copy of this audio book for free in exchange for an honest and impartial review as part of a GoodReads M/M Romance groups Don't Buy My Love event***

Best Chance

A second chance book between the two main characters Vinnie and Chance. They were each others firsts in High school until Chance decided he "wasn't gay" and ended up dating and then marrying the high school cheerleader. Vinnie and Chance meet up years later in the bar Vinnie is working at. Chance isn't sure about giving Vinnie a second chance once he finds out Vinnie isn't sure about having kids. Vinnie has no clue why Chance wont give him another chance. Once they actually communicate with each other it all comes together. It seems like Communication was the key in making their relationship work. This book was good. I like when the characters have a chance to get back together after a time away from each other for whatever reason.
Narration - Michael did a good job for each character and used enough emotion to make this story sound believable and keep you interested in it.

Chance - chance. The characters name should not be Chance in a second chance type book.. LOL.. My review sounds kind of ridiculous when I read it back to myself.

M/m contemporary

I've read many of this authors books before as well as audiobooks. This was an audiobook. It's was a m/m contemporary story. Old school friends find each other again, miscommunication nearly ends their relationship before it can re kindle. I'll be reading more from this series.

Good story about second chance romance

Where does Best Chance rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I enjoyed it although it probably wasn't my favorite in the series, it was cute and sexy story about young love revisited

Who was your favorite character and why?

I really like Vinnie. He knew who he was and what he wanted

What about Michael Ferraiuolo’s performance did you like?

I enjoyed the personality he put in his characters. Tony's heavy accent really gave you the idea of what he may look like!

If you could rename Best Chance, what would you call it?

If not Best Chance, maybe Second Chances

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Vinnie Takes a Chance

Best Chance is another book by Aria Grace in the More Than Friends series. Excellent series and an excellent book. This time Ms. Grace takes on gay couples and parenting.

Chance and Vinnie are old school friends who experimented with sex. Vinnie discovered his sexuality earlier whilst Chance went on to marry a woman and had a child. After Chance' wife passes he meets up with his old flame again.

Once the two of them work out their issues their flame burns even higher. I think that it is wonderful that Chance' and his toddler son Carter both want Vinnie to join their family. Vinnie, a reluctant parent finds having them both in his life is with it. I'm glad Vinnie took a chance on Chance.

Sweet romance about second chances

Any additional comments?

Note: I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author in return for an honest review.

I’ve read or listened to all of the More than Friends books so I went into this knowing what type of story I could expect. I enjoyed the audiobook and would recommend it easily to someone in the mood for a sweet romance about two men given a second chance at making their relationship work.

Story Pros:
This is a novella, so the events have to happen quickly and insta-love is a regular theme in similar books. What I loved about Best Chance is that the characters already knew each other, though it had been years since they’d seen each other. Because there had already been a relationship of sorts prior to the start of the book, the speed at which they fall, both into bed and in love, didn’t feel forced at all.

I really enjoy the secondary characters and their relationships with Vinnie and Chance. The small sub-plot about the two supporting characters fit well into the overall arch of the story and added a bit more depth to the novella.

Story Cons:
Ok, so I only have one but it’s kind of major. Without giving away spoilers, the big secret that Chance keeps from Vinnie didn’t sit right with me. Not that it didn’t work for Chance’s character, but I felt like most people in his position wouldn’t have omitted it when telling someone they used to know about their current life. Though I understand why after a comment from Vinnie, Chance would pull back from a relationship with him, I was put off by the fact that Chance wasn’t honest from the start about it. Because of this, the major conflict is only a slightly different take on the dreaded miscommunication situation. It doesn’t ruin the story but it definitely let me feeling a little off about it.

Narration:
Michael Ferraiuolo hits it out of the park with this one. I loved his voices and found that I could tell which character was speaking just by his voice. Though he’s not the best narrator out there with the sexy scenes, there was definitely enough heat in his voice to keep me in the moment. Plus, at no point did I cringe at his pronunciation of a word, which has become a huge issue for me with other audiobooks.

All in all, I’d give Best Chance in audio a 3.75 rating. The store is a solid 3, good and solid but not mind blowing or something I’ll listen to again and again. The narration is a 4.75, not perfect but pretty close.

as great as the ebook

The story is always full stars, because if I wouldn't like the story as ebook, I wouldn't listen to the audiobook.

The performance from the narrator is also very important for me. I can't listen to a lot, because my English as a non-native-speaker isn't so perfect to follow a whole story over hours, when the narrator speaks too fast or too sloppy. Normally I have to SEE the person, who is talking to me in English. Michael Ferraiuolo is one of the top 5 narrators for me, I can listen without break and have no problems to follow.
I'm just not yet finish with the book, but I listen enough to give a review.

PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!

To my ratings:

5* - very very good
it's like an A+

4* - very good and will be often re-listening
it's like an A

3* - it's more then a one-time-listening.
it's like a B

Take a chance! :-)

What a lovely sweet, short romance!!! It’s the story of Chance and Vinnie. Chance had been in love with Vinnie since high school while Vinnie was enjoying his single life as a bartender. He was jes’ fine enjoying bar hookups as he had missed out on an opportunity for a steady relationship with Chance, the guy who he had liked and messed around with in high school who disappeared after they fooled around. But guess who reappeared and was at Vinnie’s bar years after? Need I say? Well, I’ll tell you anyway: Chance.

Soon we learn that even though Chance had been in love with Vinnie since high school, he was too afraid to act on the attraction, and went on to marrying a woman and having a child – a cozy arrangement that doesn’t interest Vinnie.

There’s some angst and misunderstandings, then they finally communicate – which leads to their delicious, wonderful HEA. These guys are sexy! And Michael Ferraiuolo, the narrator, did a wonderful job with the audiobook.

4.5 stars, Baby! 4.5!

Kudos to you, Ms. Grace. These stories get better and better.

***This audiobook was provided to me by the author through the DBML Program in exchange for an honest review. ***