His Mossy Boy [Being(s) in Love]

By: R. Cooper

Narrated by: Christopher Patton

A Being(s) in Love Story

Years ago, a very intoxicated Martin nearly died in the woods outside Everlasting, and a beautiful creature saved him, although Martin’s done his best to forget it. He spends his time in a haze of weed as he avoids his emotionally abusive mother - and the way he feels about men. Martin is already a weirdo in his isolated small town; he doesn’t need a sexuality crisis, too. He’s a mess, but someone - or something - always seems to take care of him, usually a tall, sarcastic deputy by the name of Ian Forrester.

No one knows much about Ian, which is how he and his family prefer it. Ian has resigned himself to a lonely life keeping his secrets and guarding his forest. It’s safe to dream of Martin, because Martin never remembers Ian helping him. Besides, Martin barely speaks to Ian, so nothing can ever grow between them. Right?

But with the dragons - and the magic - back in Everlasting, suddenly anything seems possible, even a happily ever after for two men who never expected one....

©2017 R. Cooper (P)2018 Dreamspinner Press

Ugh narration!

I liked this story. Yes it was lengthy but I think it made sense for the characters. However, for all its length, I still felt like the world building lackedq a little bit and the character development was too slow. It just left me feeling flat.

That said, I’m not sure if that was the story or the awful narration. The long pauses where normal speech or reading would not have them were frustrating! They kept taking me out of the story. Why, why did the narrator do this? Just be warned. By the time the end rolled around I was waiting for it. It wasn’t until after I realized I didn’t necessarily want he story to end but the narration. It’s sad because the narrator had decent voices and actual reading when he wasn’t stopping all the time.

Wear earbuds and be prepared to blush. A lot.

Would you consider the audio edition of His Mossy Boy [Being(s) in Love] to be better than the print version?

In a way, yes, the audio book is better. First, Christopher Patton has a PERFECT Martin voice. All of Martin's mumbles and sweet little noises are conveyed with talent and respect for the character. Second, reading texts between the characters is sweet and kinda sexy; hearing those texts read aloud is a whole other level of steamy.

What other book might you compare His Mossy Boy [Being(s) in Love] to and why?

Little Wolf is my favorite book of R.Cooper's Being(s) in Love series, and it is a terrible audiobook. The narrator reads like a 7 year old being taught to read aloud for the first time. His pauses and inflections make absolutely no sense and deter from the meaning of the sentence he "recites" like a bad slam poet. If you've heard it, I'm sorry, but please give His Mossy Boy a chance. His Mossy Boy is a shiny beacon of what romance should be read like.

What does Christopher Patton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is Martin. It's adorable.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I blushed. Repeatedly. This book is a challenge to listen to in public.

Long and Winding Road

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not really. Just too long and it seemed to take forever for any action to move the story forward.

Would you recommend His Mossy Boy [Being(s) in Love] to your friends? Why or why not?

You just asked that question above.

Have you listened to any of Christopher Patton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Chris Patton is a fantastic narrator but I don't think he was a good choice for this book.

Did His Mossy Boy [Being(s) in Love] inspire you to do anything?

Fall asleep I'm afraid.

Any additional comments?

Its such a shame. I wanted to like this mostly because of Chris Patton. And its a shame I would've rather have heard him narrate the final (?) Adrien English story - So This is Christmas because while Kale Williams did a good job with the Monet Murder series you couldn't tell who he was speaking for in the Adrien English story. I finally gave up and I finally gave up with the Mossy Boy story. Wish I could've switched the narrators to the other book and I think things would've been much better.

what's up with all the randomly long pauses!??!

great story but weird long pauses all over the place. the voice for Martin was perfect.

Struggling to finish

I tend to lean towards this type of story mythical people and human love. However. This was very slow and lost my interest very fast. I kept listening hoping it would get better. When I was on the 2nd part I invested to much time in the story to stop. It was a struggle the story line was interesting. However. Would have been felt like 5 -10 hrs of it was nothing but words filling up a book. I do not think I will get any more from this author.

great read

this is a good story about two misfits finding each other. Lots of pining and self doubt before the happy ending.
content warning for emotional abusive parents.
This story follows almost directly after the authors book Treasure for Treasure, but I read it first and still enjoyed both.

Best. Narrator. Ever.

Christopher Patton brings Martin's adorably awkward and sweet personality to life in the most perfect way. His voices for everyone and in every situation are so real that I could FEEL it. I'm disappointed this is the only book he's done. The only downside to the narration are the slightly-longer-than-they-should-be pauses. But after I got used to it I didn't mind so much, I'd much rather have that than a terrible narrator.

The story is quite long at almost 21 hours but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and interaction we got of the characters. Everyone's personality felt solid and fully developed, no shallow stereotypes. I'd definitely recommend this book, and it's one of my absolute favorites. I've listened to it 3 times already since I bought it and enjoyed it just as much the second and third times.

A full 10 stars :P

Amazing.

R Cooper is one of my favorite writers. Her characters do not follow the done-a-time-or-sixty tropes. It’s very refreshing. Would highly recommend.

Slow-burn, emotionally charged story

I received a free copy of this audio book, but am in no way affiliated with the author, prod company, or the narrator. I am a longtime R. Cooper fan, and have purchased both versions of the His Mossy Boy ebook. The Beings in Love series is one of my favorites, I re-read them all of the time, and look forward to each new addition. However, I am very new to audio books since my attention span for listening to someone speaking is very narrow. For this reason, I stick to audio book versions of stories I'm very familiar with. I can lose focus and still know what is happening.

With this in mind, I thought that the narrator is a wonderful job with Martin, Ian, and the Everlasting cast of characters. Especially in scenes set in Cuppa where several characters contribute dialog. The storyline has a lot of emotional implications for the main characters, especially Martin, which Christopher does a wonderful job of bringing to life. As another reviewer mentioned, hearing the text exchanges really adds another level of impact, especially Ian's.

Others have mentioned the story length. This is an element of R. Cooper's stories we fans expect and embrace. But honestly, the character and emotional arcs that Martin and Ian have to go through are not something that can be rushed without cheating both the characters and the readers/listeners. Ian from a lifetime of warnings, rules, and cautions pushed on him and Martin on two different fronts: his sexuality and breaking away from a lifeline of emotional abuse and manipulation. How do you condense that down to a shorter novel or a novella? The story moves through a natural pace, and I think that does the content handled in the story more justice that a quick-and-dirty version.

One final item: the Beings stories are shared world and mostly standalone, but you do get more out of each story when you read the other stories in order, if only for the world-building element. However, for His Mossy Boy, some of the context around dragons and Zarrin's case is best understood if you also read/listen to Treasure for Treasure.

VERY Good Book...but

I really enjoyed this book however I don’t think it needed to be so long. Some of it was just fluff but I can honestly say it did not detract me from the book.