Til Death Do Us Part

Vows, Book 1

By: Addison Albright

Narrated by: David Gilmore

Henry and Sam Miller-Greene are living the dream. They love their careers - which afford each of them opportunities to travel to exotic locations - they love their home, Sam's caring family, and each other. They disagree on the subject of adoption, but are fully committed to each other in marriage ...'til death do us part.

The dream is shattered when Henry's plane crashes and he's presumed dead. But four people - Henry, two other men, and a child - survive undetected on a remote, small, and insignificant island. Will Sam and Henry's love be able to survive as well?

Henry fights to endure in harsh conditions, never knowing when disaster will strike. Sam struggles with his loss, but, with help, moves on with his life. Will Sam be able to put aside his new love when he reunites with Henry?

©2016 Addison Albright (P)2017 Addison Albright

Til Death Do Us Part

'Til Death Do Us Part (Vows Book 1)

I previously read this book but jumped at the chance to listen to the audio. When I had originally read it, I cried, a lot. But, I knew going in what to expect and let me tell you that didn't make a difference at all! I cried while listening to this audio just as much, if not more than when I read it. And since I do most of my listening while driving, that's a little awkward!

Henry and Sam had a happy, successful life surrounded by Sam's family. They're both professors, working at the same university. Their careers and experience are important to Henry and the others' survival after the plane crash. This story moves between the present tense of Sam finding out Henry's alive, to flashbacks of what's happened over the past 5 years. I'm not typically a fan of flashback storytelling, but I thought the author did a fantastic job with this story. And I loved seeing the different perspectives. We were able to see Sam and Henry trying to move on with life and both men in completely different situations, trying to make the best of what life gave them. I loved both Sam and Henry and felt for both characters.

The other characters in this book really help make it as enjoyable. Sam's family, the elderly couple on the plane, Garret and then his family and Devon and his family. And of course, Buddy. These characters are so well done.

The narrator is David Gilmore and he did a fantastic job bringing this story to life! He had an easy to listen to voice, kept a good pace, expressed appropriate emotions. There were no weird pauses in his narration, which is important when listening to an audiobook (in my opinion). The narrator gave characters individual voices which made it easy to listen to, he wasn't just reading a story.

Considering the subject matter of this book, it's pretty low in angst which I enjoy. There's a HEA, also something required for my reading. Whether you decide to listen to the story, or read it, I think this book is one you shouldn't miss!

Overall: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story: 5 Stars

3.5 Stars

I love deserted island survivor stories.

Told from both Henry and his husband, Sam’s, points of view the story covers both the hope that the survivors will one day get off the island and back to “civilization”, and the devastation of loss when the love of your life goes down in a crash and is missing and presumed dead.

I appreciated the greater delineation made by narrator David Gilmore for the chapters that begin with a flashback scene, so the listener could tell easily what was past and present. I do feel that the flashbacks, while providing history, did sometimes drag down the momentum of the story though.

I loved most of the nuances of the story and how it was filled with humor, emotion and hope. While the day to day island life was a bit mired in minutiae some of the time, I appreciated the author’s obvious research. My biggest issues were that the dialogue was a bit stiff at times, and things came a bit too easily to everyone. I felt like the resolution of the relationship angst was a little too quick, and I would have liked to have seen the resolution between Sam and Nash.

One thing that was far more obviously awkward to me when listening rather than reading is the change from first person POV for Henry to a third person POV for Sam or others.

Regardless, David Gilmore narrates the story decently, adding character voices that are easily discernible. Though his pacing is a little slow at times, his timing is good, and enunciation clear. I would have liked to have heard a little more emotion in the performance, but all in all the narration is solid, if not particularly exceptional.

Okay narrator with a unique storyline

I enjoyed the team effort that Henry, Garret, and Devon - even Buddy - made on the island. I thought it was well thought out and the storyline there really drove the story. I didn't really like the narrator all that much. He didn't seem to have much emotion as he read. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was telling the story and there were weird places where the point of view changed from 3rd person to 1st person. I wish we could have seen more of Sam and Nash to really get a better feel for their relationship. All I really know is that Buddy stole the show!

Decent story, could have been great

The narration just okay for me; some decent inflection but the voices are not too different except the kiddo. I’m pretty picky when it comes to vocal performers and this one wasn’t one of my favorites. It was hard to follow the flashbacks and going from Sam to Henry in present day while listening. I had to pause the book at each change to wrap my head around where the story was headed. That may have been easier to keep up with if I had read the book instead of listening.

I thought I read the synopsis of the story but I’m not sure I got it. I was surprised by the plane crash…and the story of each of them after the crash. I don’t know that I was fully prepared for the sadness of the book. Sam’s recovery was particularly hard to read. I didn’t like the Nash twist and honestly probably wouldn’t have read/listened had I known that was a possibility.

I really liked hearing about the time spent on the island. Their time there was a little too easy having an abundance of food and water. They go through a couple of struggles but not as many as I would have thought for the time spent there.

This story takes place over a long period of time and I know it’s hard to cover that much time and not have a novel that’s 1,000 pages in length but it seemed like there were holes in the story. There was a lot of detail about some things and others were glossed over. I’m assuming there was a settlement from someone about the crash but that was never mentioned. We didn’t have too many details about Nash which I see may be covered in his book.

Overall, I think this is a decent story. The angst was actually pretty low for the plot and things worked out both on the island and in other parts of the story pretty perfectly for the main characters. There was sadness, just not the all-consuming grief I was expecting at the beginning of the book.

I'm guessing better to read than hear

While I enjoyed the storyline, it was extremely heard to listen to. Narrator sounded like a grandpa and spoke too slowly. The tone always seemed extremely serious, lacking emotion. Because the author's verbiage tended toward the rational and formal, the narration fed into that and really ruined the experience. I've put it on my list of books to read in the future but would never listen to it again

droll and dragged

I had to force myself to finish this. it started out okay...but between the jumping from present to past from Henry to Sam...I found myself bored and dozing off from time to time.

Outstanding story with a huge emotional punch!

Addison Albright totally sucked me in to this story from the very beginning, and holy cow she did not let me go for even a second until the very end. I loved the characters, the storyline, and pretty much everything else about this book…so I’m not even going to wait until the end of this review to let you know this was a 5-star read for me.

My heart broke over and over again for both Sam and Henry. Even knowing they’d have another chance in the end from the blurb, watching them both go through this heart-wrenching separation was tough. Seeing what they each went through also made me think what would happen if I was put in that same situation, and the thought of it is frankly terrifying. It made me feel so much for Sam, not ever having received any kind of true closure.

I loved how Henry kept focused virtually the entire time he and the others were stranded, and how he remained strong for the child that was stranded with them. It was uplifting to see how he, Garrett and Devon all worked together…the three of them seemed like a good representation of the spectrum of attitudes you would expect to see. Garrett, the ultra-calm, super level-headed guy who is the consistent voice of reason; Devon, the impatient, sometimes impulsive and hot-headed one; and Henry-torn apart by missing Sam, wondering what his disappearance is doing to his husband, and yet putting on a brave face and using his knowledge to help keep everyone alive…while becoming immediately attached to Buddy, the small child (a baby really) who was marooned with them.

The love between Henry and Sam is so deep that it makes it incredibly hard for Sam to move on-taking him years to finally do so. And just when he’s about to take a huge step with someone else (Nash, a sweet man who you’ll wind up feeling so much for), everything gets turned upside down again.

Between the intensity of Henry and his companions trying to stay alive on a deserted island, the heartbreak Sam goes through thinking he’s lost Henry, and finally the upheaval once they are reunited…I absolutely could not put this story down. It was utterly captivating, and made for an amazing read. Even though for the majority of the story Sam and Henry are apart, the way it is told-with the chapters before the rescue starting off with a flashback to a point in time in their relationship that lines up with the time from which Henry’s flight crashes (so for instance day one in their past is the day they met, in the present is the day the plane goes down)-is unique and keep you thoroughly invested in the story. It lets you learn about how their relationship starts and develops while at the same time showing how they deal with the present-day situation, and ultimately enforcing and reinforcing their utter devotion to each other.

You already know, but this was a 5-star read for me, and it’s also going on my Top Recommendations list. I highly recommend this story for any M/M romance fan, and while there is not much intimate content (and honestly, this story works very well with the small amount it does have), it is still meant for readers 18+ for adult language and some light intimate scenes. I really did love this story, and I can’t wait to keep reading the series—especially to find out what happens with Nash!

The narration: This is the first audiobook I've listened to with David Gilmore as the narrator. He does a good job with the mechanics of the narration, voicing an evenly paced, smooth story. The voices he uses for the characters to me didn't fit with what I already had in my mind from reading the story (well, with the exception of Buddy), and were not always consistent to my ear for each individual character. Even so, I still got that punch in the feels with the emotion of the story.

Great Premise Rough Execution

The premise is so strong that I was riveted to this story, and I don't regret reading it. I am disappointed the emotional tension and payoff was not capitalized on anywhere near the way it coulbabe. Also, I really didn't like the recording. The narrator sounded far away like we had a bad connection over the phone, and nd so many of his intonations sounded like questions even if they weren't. There were moments when the emotional impact of the story started to shine through and I really wish the author had taken the time to bring them to vividly to light.

Book Description Does NOT Do This Book Justice

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book is truly a tale for the ages. How true love prevails! Doesn't matter that the two of the main characters are gay. I would also recommend this book to someone who is gay friendly but not sure they want to read the genre because of sex scenes. The book talks about having sex or male gratification, but doesn't go into details.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I couldn't really pick a favorite character. The book is very well rounded for each character. I guess if I had to pick one it would be the baby.

What three words best describe David Gilmore’s voice?

Mr. Gilmore was not the best reader but he has certainly not been the worst. It took me a while to get used to his voice and I didn't have to listen to it in segments like another reader.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The REAL Survivor!

Any additional comments?

I have already bought the box set (just because I'm kinda cheap and could get 3 for 1) even though I already got this book. I think you will be very happy with the book if you buy this one!

Terrible narration

Sadly this book was diminished by the narration which, strangely, was fine apart from the dialogue which was delivered in a robotic fashion. There was also no differentiation between character which was confusing. The story itself was good until the last few chapters which were unsatisfying in terms of resolving the events and emotions etc.