Summer Son

By: Anna Martin

Narrated by: R. L. Davis

Ellis Broad never imagined he would end up a single father before he turned 29. Then again, most of his expectations for the future evaporated when his husband of three years filed for divorce, leaving Ellis as their six-month-old son Harrison's only parent. After the divorce Ellis hides, working from home on his small graphic design business so he can be a full-time dad. He succeeds until Zane Hadlin stumbles into his life.

Zane is everything Ellis desires and everything he fears at the same time. A former gang member from the wrong side of the tracks, Zane turned his life around after his older brother was killed in a shooting. Now an artist, Zane shows Ellis a path back into the world and all he's been missing out on.

The only problem is, Ellis's ex-husband hasn't quite gone for good, and his digging into Zane's past could drag up secrets no one is prepared to deal with.

©2014 Anna Martin (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press

new to me story

Any additional comments?

There are several things I liked about this book. It's the first time that I've read about a divorce and custody battle between two men. It gets into the biological links and legal issues with using surrogacy. Also, one of the main characters is Egyptian American so that adds to the diversity. Even though he was born in America, he still has to deal with being though of as an outsider, a terrorist even. The love is super sweet. The best part for me was the baby. He definitely pulled my heartstrings, and I loved seeing the love interests interact with him. Awww.

Good

Good to listen to sweet and loving to get to know this character in this book

Sweet family story

I’ve been a fan of Anna Martin’s ever since I read Signs a few years back. So when I came across this audiobook I needed to read it. Summer Son is definitely on the fluffier side of the scale but not overly so.

Ellis Broad is trying to start over with his six-month old son Harris. Having recently been dumped by his husband he’s not really looking for someone new. He’s not looking at all to be honest. His life is Harris and making their new lives work. But his best friend convinces him to go out one evening… an evening where he just happens to meet Zane.

Ellis and Zane's relationship seemed a bit too easy and too quick. They went from first meet, to serious relationship in one breath. In the next they were living together and fighting Ellis' ex for custody of Harris. Way too much insta-love to be really believable. Especially considering that Ellis had a young son. Their relationship was a bit too easy. There was no real building to it or a solid foundation, it just suddenly was.

Then there was Zane's past. After all these years it suddenly comes back to cause trouble – and his pas as such was a too far-fetched for my liking. Mostly it all added up to cause drama for the sake of it, as a plot device. It didn’t feel genuine for me.

On the other hand, this audiobook was mostly uncomplicated and a quick and nice read or listen when you are in the mood for something sweet. And if you, unlike me in this case, don’t overanalyse it and take it for what it is – it’s definitely worth the read. And you will have a good time with these guys and the family they’ve created.

Summer Son seems to be the only audio book R.L. Davis has recorded and it was very well done. It wasn’t always perfect but it was definitely enjoyable. He has great pacing and enunciation and, my personal favourite, he adds feelings to his narration – he lives it. I loved his accent for Linda the lawyer, it was great and added so much to the feel of the book.

However, there were a few noticeable issues with the audio recording itself. Re-takes are a fact of life or at least in the recording business (wouldn’t it have been great if you could have re-takes on other things as well?) but I digress, anyway there are always re-takes and parts or sentences were re-recorded, but in this audiobook they were at times painfully obvious. Where the tone and voice didn’t match the rest of it. It’s strange to have part of a sentence sounding completely different from the rest. It’s not a huge mistake, and it’s also a fairly common one, but it’s something the listener will notice.

All in all, I did have a nice time listening to this book, and would love to listen to more by both Martin and Davis.

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

Warm and charming

SUMMER SON was a delightful "gay dads" story, replete with heartwarming father/son interaction, romantic sexytimes between the protagonist and his love interest, and a tiny bit of peril in the form of a jerk of an ex-husband. Very few complaints about the storytelling, besides the use of Zane's former last name in legal documents, which could have put his life at risk. No attorney worth his/her salt would potentially undermine their own case by doing something so foolhardy. But perhaps that was the point, after all?

R.L. Davis' performance of the book was incredibly well done. His Zane voice had the right amount of husky sexiness as described in the book, and his female characters were a hoot. My only complaint with the performance was more of an editing issue -- there were several points in which the narration was re-recorded and it was inconsistent, sometimes in the middle of a paragraph or bit of dialogue. The effect was jarring. The same went for chapter introductions, although that wasn't as jarring as having what sounds like a different voice popping in at different points in the story for a sentence or two. I don't know if Mr. Davis literally called in his performance there? Otherwise, he did great and the sex scenes were steamy, steamy, steamy.

Great book

Any additional comments?

Ellis is one of the first gay men in New York to get married when the state approves same-sex marriage. He’s also one of the first gay men to get divorced. Shortly after he and his ex, have a son, Harrison, they split, leaving Ellis to raise his biological son by himself.

Zane is a former gang member turned art student who meets Ellis through mutual friends. Though he is haunted by traumas in his past, in his heart he yearns for stability and family.

Ellis and Zane have great chemistry right from the start. But, Ellis is wary of involvement so quickly after becoming divorced and Zane is fearful of exposing Harrison to his dangerous past.

This is sweet book by Anna Martin covers some interesting “ground breaking” topics like gay marriage, divorce, and parenthood. The relationship between Zane and Ellis is sexy and touching, but the relationship between Harrison and Zane is truly heart-warming.

I really enjoyed this book. A little bit of angst. A little bit of realism. A little bit sexy. A lot of warmth and tenderness.

(Anna is the same author who brought us Tatoos and Teacups, another wonderful read.)



Audio:

RL Davis is a new narrator to me. I thought he did a nice job. There was some voice inflections (I really liked his New York accent!) and good handling of the emotions. All in all he really added to my enjoyment of this story.

4 out of 5 stars

Writing/Editing 5
Romance 4
Sex/Heat 4
Storyline 4.5
World Building/Characterizations 4.5
Audio 4

Overall 4.33 of 5 stars

Excellent slice of life

Highly recommended to anyone that appreciates a story about love that is not full of mortal danger, risky car chases, shoot outs, & over the top angst. I thoroughly enjoyed following these people throughout the first summer of baby, Harrison’s life. I was happy
to indulge myself with this treat.

Summer Son

Summer Son is worth the money and the listening time


This book is of the time in my hometown of New York City and what is possible when you BELIEVE!!!!!!!

Bright, Happy Story

Summer Son was a bright, happy story of love and family bonding. With a fun cast of characters and a few emotional moments, the story was a sweet read on a sunny afternoon. Narration was good. I'd recommend this to mm romance fans.

This was originally reviewed for the Guilty Indulgence Review Site.