Sense of Place

Thomas Elkin Series, Book 3

By: N.R. Walker

Narrated by: Nick Russo

Re-released 2018 edition. Re-edited. No new content added.

Book three in the Thomas Elkin series.

Designing homes is easy. Finding home is something else entirely.

Thomas Elkin and Cooper Jones finally have the support of their families, and their love grows stronger every day. Now living together, they think nothing can stand in their way.

But there are outside influences trying to pull them apart.

Cooper encounters a man, closer to his age and with connections high up the property development chain, who wants Cooper as his own. Tom encounters discrimination and a hidden agenda from a fellow senior partner who's trying to take him down.

No matter what the world throws at them, Tom and Cooper are the real deal. Age differences aside, Tom has finally found his sense of place. His one true center, his home.

©2014 NR Walker (P)2019 NR Walker

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a terrific series with two strong main characters and one I can see myself listening too over and over again.
Although each book is relatively short, together the three make for an entertaining and emotional adventure.

Nick Russo does a fantastic job bringing the story to life.

perfect ending

The perfect conclusion to the series!
Cooper & Tom are amazing, both in their own way, and I loved to see them growing closer and falling in love since book 1.
And the audio was great. I love Nick J Russo and his voice range. Tom's voice was dreamy, so sexy.

***This is not a standalone story***

One of my favorite series...

3.5 stars for the narrator.

4 stars for the story.

I love this series. The simplicity of the telling of the everyday life of Cooper and Tom is probably what makes it work so well. There is nothing over the top about these books. It is all about the relationship between the two men from starting from the very beginning and so on. I enjoyed the moments we get to see them just be. I loved watching them grow into more. This series will probably remain one of my all time favorites.

Heart-warming conclusion

This is my favorite series. I have read it so many times but now to listen to it with Nick Russo’s narration brings it to life. I know I will listen to this over and over again.

love this!

Tom and Coop have moved in together but it’s not all roses and wine for the couple.
Coop is on a new project that literally takes all his time and patience. Tom has to diverge from his normally not so “in your face” stance and make a stand for himself as Cooper’s lover.

On the family front, Tom’s ex is still not exactly supportive and there are problems on the job as well.

When Tom makes a wild decision that ultimately affects both he and Cooper, it’s Coop’s mother who ultimately gives him the best advice yet as to how to handle Cooper.

**

I ADORED this final installment to the Thomas Elkins series. It was romantic and sweet and sexy.

NR Walker found a way to make us really believe that these guys have what it takes to be a long term couple and not just a hot May/December affair.

The final “sense of place” that they achieve is so well-won and touching… I just loved it.

Because of that last bit, this series remains one of my comfort reads when I want to be immersed in that happy place with the couple who you just know will be together forever.

5 of 5 stars

Audio

Well, I just can’t say enough positive things about Nick J Russo’s narration. He is just so good! I think what I appreciate most in this series is his ability to slow things down when the emotions get really high and how he’s able to move things along when the story picks up again. It’s very much like a person would do if reading it and makes it all that much more enjoyable to listen to.

Highly recommended!

5 of 5 stars

I love this series!

Adding Audio for January 2021

Nick J. Russo did a fantastic job of capturing the attitude of both characters in this series. Listening to it again after reading it years ago just made me love it and these characters even more. This is an absolute must-listen series.
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Original Review from 2015
Sigh...I hate that this series is over but I'm sure I'll read it again and again.

These 2 are just so awesome - I think the most perfect quote from the book is at the very end...

Tom smiled like I’d never seen him smile before. “You really are kind of awesome.”
I rolled my eyes. “For the love of God, Tom. I’ve been telling you that for six years.”

Gah! I love Cooper Jones - It really is a Cooper Jones thing!

The witty banter continues. We fall in love a little bit more with Tom and Cooper with every line read.

As with every other NR Walker book I've ever read, this is an absolute must-read. These boys just make you smile and feel really good.

So good

Love this series, absolutely perfect. All you want is more more more ... and it’s masterfully narrated for a very enjoyable listen.

Perfect in every sense of the word!

Sense of Place is the third and last novel in the Thomas Elkin series. When we meet up with Tom and Cooper again, they are settling in together and living life, drawing and loving each other. They are such a wonderful and loving couple it warms your heart. They are solid; they've done the whole getting together and the meeting of the families part. But say the tranquility that lasts. This time troubles comes at work, and dealing with the ensuing issues isn’t always easy or straight forward. I love how they tackled the problems together, well mostly. There was some drama, but it was credible and not overdone. It made me believe in them so much more.

Nick J. Russo was made to narrate this book, this series. They are the perfect match in every way. He brings these characters to life like no one else could. His voices match them perfectly, from the more playful Cooper to more calm and rueful Tom. I loved every second of this book but one moment that I really enjoyed were the scenes with Cooper’s brother. When they were playing around, I could really see them in front of me. The sibling rivalry – the playful kind was fun. Every character in this series was alive in a way I find few characters are. Russo made them crystal clear, bright and shiny.

With this story walker has created a timeless series, one that will stand the test of time. It is fun, sassy and beautiful and Russo made it even more so by giving them a voice. It’s a series I’d recommend in a heartbeat. Sense of Place was the perfect ending to this great series. So while I've had an absolute wonderful time with these guys, this story feels complete. I know Tom and Cooper are off living their happily ever afters.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Great series all around

I really enjoyed the final book in the Thomas Elkins series. Frankly I’m someone who likes a bit more angst, and found this to be a bit predictable. Still worth the credits and I recommend it.

Maybe this last one should have been dual POV?

For some reason this audible had no sound on my Kindle Fire so I had to listen to it entirely on my mobile 😡. The Audible rep tried to assist but could only refund me. Just a quick note of my troubles.

Anywho, I have enjoyed listening to Nick J Russo perform the Thomas Elkin series as a whole but this last one felt incomplete. The first two installments the POV from Tom only was done well enough to carry those stories without Cooper's POV but for some reason this last one the absense of a duel POV took away my complete enjoyment of this series. The fact that the last chapter does have Cooper's POV reinforces my thoughts on this.
I think it's because I feel that the biggest issues that were threatening Tom's and Cooper's relationship were happening so much off page that it feels as if we didn't get the full scope of things. I would have love to see how Cooper reacted to Xavier's advances when they were alone and even Tom's own issue with Robert felt like a shark swimming around.....(queue the Jaw's theme).....but when Robert finally struck (calling in a meeting and accusing Tom of evil deeds) it kinda fizzed out and became a non issue - although it did galvanize Tom to make decisions about his employment for the better.

Spice was good, but to me it seemed like on page Cooper is a selfish lover, Walker never showed him pleasuring Tom...there weren't many scenes but in the scenes we saw it was only Tom pleasuring Cooper. I am sure it happened off page...so this is a mild disservice to the reader/listener. Book 1: 5 stars, Book 4: 4 stars, Book 5: 3.5 stars. Nick J Russo 5 stars in all 3. I think I would listen again, just not any time soon!