Jilted: Jaren

The Foster Brothers, Book 1

By: Nora Phoenix

Narrated by: John Solo

USA Today best-selling author Nora Phoenix kicks off a new contemporary gay romance series with the story of a tattoo artist who finally has a shot at winning the heart of the one man he never thought he could have.

Years of pining.

Years of keeping his distance.

Years of lusting after Jaren, the one man Reid couldn’t have.

Because Jaren is straight.

Worse, he’s engaged to Reid’s sister. In other words: He’s off limits. Impossible.

But a day before the wedding, she calls it off, leaving Jaren with nowhere to go.

So what’s a man to do? Well, offer Jaren a place to stay, of course.

A shoulder to cry on.

A bed to sleep in.

And maybe someone to share that bed with?

Jilted is the first book in The Foster Brother series, a contemporary MM romance series about four men who chose to be brothers. It has hurt/comfort, found family, bisexual awakening, first-time gay, and a guy who finally realizes that what he wanted most was right in front of him the whole time.

©2022 Nora Phoenix (P)2022 Nora Phoenix

Wonderful Story & Listen🎧 Enthralling & Heartfelt

Nora Phoenix continues to wow me with another amazing novel and a wonderful start to a new series. I love how much heart she puts into her books and how her words give you all the feels and make the emotions pour off the pages and into your heart. Her characters are realistic, easy to relate to and connect with, they are easy to like and care about too. Each book in this series will feature a different Foster brother, I loved the camaraderie between the brothers and the backstory of how they wound up becoming brothers, brought together by life circumstances, having them bond and have each other’s backs to get thru hardships and horrible situations, forming a brotherhood and becoming each other’s family. This first book is Jaren’s story, and it is the day before he is supposed to marry Bridget, he is staying at a hotel to keep with the tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding. But it turns out the wedding will not happen, Bridget calls it off and instead of her delivering the news to Jaren, it is her brother, Reid, who comes to deliver the news. Jaren did not even think Reid liked him, but he had it all wrong, Reid liked him in more ways than he should like a straight man. Jaren put a lot of money into this wedding and this cancellation is going to cost him more, his place to live and possibly his job. Reid hears him out and is a lot more understanding than his sister. Jaren accepts his offer to stay at his place and the two become good friends and when Reid confesses his feelings, he is happy it does not scare Jaren away. This is a beautifully written and plotted romance between two fabulous characters, a gay man who is confident in his own sexuality and a straight man who is accepting and found it easy to fall in love with him. I loved how everything played out in this book, and I am looking forward to hearing the rest of the brothers’ stories. Nora Phoenix, thank you for another amazing story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 And for the amazing narration, John Solo is an entertaining storyteller and a versatile voice artist. He has a complete understanding of the character he portrays, gives each a voice that is a perfect fit for that character’s persona, sounds believable in every role he plays and just as I picture the character to sound. I love how he takes each role and makes it his own, also love how much heart he puts into his work as he captures the character’s emotions, projects them into his performance and has you feeling every single one. Thank you for another fabulous listen.

It was nice but…

It was a nice and sweet story, but it was too sweet. Too easy. That’s current day. The prologue was interesting and definitely not sweet. After that, I was expecting something more challenging that had me rooting for them. I was disappointed.

Found family

I'm a sucker for hurt/comfort + found family. I enjoyed the complex feelings around wealth and perceived happiness in this one. I'm looking forward to starting the next book in the series.

Know Yourself

I love the way the Jaren learns that he hasn't really been himself and needs to discover who he is. Of course his self discovery is full of surprises. I also like how Reid is there to support Jaren from the beginning as he comes to understand what is really going on.

Great start to a new series

Love this story! My heart broke for Jaren a few times . Can’t wait to listen to the rest of the brothers get their happy ever after!

Great

This was so go. I enjoyed the storyline it was interesting and enjoyable. The characters are a great match. This was a first time with a little hurt / comfort and John Did a stunning job with the this story. Amazing Listen.

Spectacular!!

I absolutely adored this entire story! The reading of the story was spot-on as well! I was a little miffed in the middle because it seemed to be going too slow for me but it all worked so well together I can’t wait for the rest of the books!

Heart Warming

This series features four men who were once foster kids. They met at a group home and, without foster parents, decide to take care of each other. Each book is about one of the brothers falling in love.

It’s the night before Jaren and Bridgid’s wedding. Reid, Bridgid’s brother, is forced to deliver the news that she is calling off the wedding. Not only does Jaren lose the love of his life, he has no place to live because he sold his apartment to pay for his half of the wedding and the furniture she picked out for their shared condo she gets to keep. To make matters worse, her father owns the company she and Jaren work for; now he’s out of a job.

Jaren’s foster brothers are as supportive as possible. But after seeing him sleep on his brother’s couch, Reid talks Jaren into temporarily moving into his apartment. Jaren starts confiding in his new roommate and realizes he hasn’t been honest with himself or his fiancé.

Reid confesses his long standing feelings for Jaren and allows Jaren to decide what he wants on his own timeframe and terms.

Heart warming. Excellent narration!

Not what I expected

I read and listen to a lot of Nora’s books, but this one disappointed. It felt dull and predictable.
And the narrator sounded bored and uninspired about the story.

The story lacked Drama and Block twists

The narration was fine The story was boring. It lacked A connection because there was no OMG moments