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Scratch the Surface

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Scratch the Surface

By: Mary Calmes
Narrated by: Tristan James, Tim Paige
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About this listen

Sometimes things look one way, but when you scratch the surface, there's more than meets the eye.

Jeremiah Wolfe has always done what was necessary to survive. When a rare night off finds him with the chance to make a quick buck, he jumps on it. A meaningless one-night stand is simple and easy, so he steps into the hotel room - as he has many - without expectation. But the man behind the door is a surprise, as is the instant connection that builds along with passion and a glimpse of his heart.

Cameron Gallagher has never been accused of being spontaneous. He's always been the careful one, so inviting a stranger into his bed on the lure of his gorgeous smile and warm brown eyes isn't only out of his comfort zone, it's entirely out of character. Surprisingly, when he wakes in the morning alone, it's not regret he feels, but the need to find the man who held him in his arms all night.

When they're brought back together, each man believes it's more than luck. They feel as though they've gotten a second chance. Sure, love at first sight is just a myth, the stuff of romance novels, but the more they scratch the surface, the more they realize they've got a shot at something lasting.

©2021 Mary Calmes (P)2022 Tantor Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romance Heartfelt

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All stars
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I enjoyed the story, it's a stress free listen from start to finish. The story and characters were enough to keep me engaged throughout. The only negative was the narration. The narrator that voiced Cameron was great (5 stars) & I would have preferred that he'd voiced the entire book. The narrator that voiced Jeremiah was a let down for me (3 stars) and so I had to give the narration an over all four stars.

Nice story, easy listen

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I read this tale and loved the book, but the audio didn’t transition well for me. I couldn’t get on with the narrators and their voices didn’t work with the characters they were portraying. If you like the narrators you’ll likely love the story - it was pure romance with a little bit of a side story but basically all about Jeremiah and Cam and it was just lovely.

Works better as a book

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I liked the book. Both MCs were very likeable. There's a review that I feel creates an unfair image of the book. Ordinarily, I say to each his own. We each have our own likes and dislikes. But some parts of the review I believe were made to make the book sound as bad as possible. In the book, Jeremiah wasn't a "hustler who was looking for tricks in a hotel." An acquaintance who was an escort asked Jeremiah for a favour. The favour was to have drinks with a man but if Jeremiah wanted more he could negotiate with the client. I won't spoil anything by saying how he met Cameron.

Cameron asked Jeremiah if he was a hustler and he said yes but you discover later that wasn't really true but because of his backstory he said yes. Yes, they spent the night together but it wasn't 'instalove'. Though there was attraction, neither expected to see the other again in spite of wanting to. When they do get the chance to speak they decide to see eachother to see where things go. They don't become committed after one night. They continue to see eachother because of their attraction, as people generally do when they meet someone they are interested in. The attraction and deepening feelings are discussed later in the book. As an aside, I've known people who moved in together after a few weeks and were still together years later.

As for the "mash up" of working with a troubled youth who had been a kidnap victim, Jeremiah is working on a masters degree in social work and needs to be licensed to go farther than the part-time work that he does at a centre for troubled youth, which is how he met the kidnap victim. To make ends meet, Jeremiah also works as a restaurant manager. There are many people in society who have more than one job. There are also people who work to put themselves through university. Jeremiah working with troubled youth is his dream job and he works at the restaurant to make ends meet.

Cameron's situation is also not unusual. He is a businessman who is close to his family and underestimates his own personal worth. I don't know why the reviewer had a negative attitude towards the character.

In my opinion, there were no mash-ups or confusion. The story wasn't difficult to follow or understand. Even before knowing the full backstory of both MCs it was easy to follow.

The other review described Tristan James as having an unnecessarily sarcastic tone. Tristan James has never been my favourite narrator but I thought his narration was ok and I knew who was speaking each time. As for the sarcastic tone, I feel it was warranted because of Jeremiah's backstory and how he is dealing with the people from his past and his situations in the present. The other narrator, who is supposed to be Kirt Graves but doesn't sound like him based on his other narrations, was good. I liked both narrators in the book. Overall, I thought the book was a good story and an easy listen.

NOTE: I usually don't have this type of response to someone else's review, but I wanted to respond to what I believe to be an unfair review of the book. We all have different likes and dislikes. We're all different people with different perspectives but I believe if you're going to leave a review you should be accurate about what you're reviewing, especially if you haven't finished listening to the book. I tend to think that most if not all authors work hard on their craft and it would be a disservice to be insulting without accuracy. I have left a few negative reviews but not for the sake of being insulting. I'm aware that reviews and ratings can have an effect on how well a book sells so I try to be mindful of this. A bit long-winded, I know.

Enjoyable book

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This is my first dual narration and I have to say that I really enjoyed it! I sped up the speed to 1.2 and have found that really works for me

Scratch the surface

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Not only do I love these two narrators, their voices do something to me, make me feel all squishy inside, especially Tristan James, but then there were Jeremiah and Cameron. And wow, do they have something incredibly special, real and brutally honest from the outset.

This story had me hooked and staying awake far too late because I couldn't let go! The dual narration brings each of the characters to life and blends seamlessly so you know who you are listening to and are totally absorbed at the same time. Jeremiah and Cameron's lives could not be more different and yet there is so much about these men that calls them together, the lure is impossible to resist and they bring something the other needs. Their love, understanding and devotion to one another is so incredibly heartwarming that I thought mine might burst from my chest. This is a keeper, they are keepers. I am going to find some more Mary Calmes books now!

Just wow!

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Tristan James is very am dram and stilted unfortunatel, although he has a lovely voice. The other narrator is excellent. The story is sweet.

Narration not so great.

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This book isn't sure what it wants to be. It begins with hustler Jeremiah who is looking for tricks at a hotel, and then ends up spending the night with a man named Cameron. I thought then that the book would be an instalove ...but then the story twists then, and gets bogged down with Jeremiah's other jobs because, as it turns out, he's a social work grad student who works as a restaurant manager, and at a mission for troubled teens...and one of the troubled teens was the victim of an abduction...But..... Then we have Cameron...and his story is a whole other kettle of fish. And after I night of hot sex these guys are 'in a committed relationship'. WTH!! It's like the author had a bunch of stories and ideas for backstories and mushed them together. There's no linear narrative, and I have no idea what the story wants to be. it's a mess.
Tristan James narration is really disappointing here. It sounds like he's phoning it in, i couldn't differentiate the characters he read, and the tone was a bit cheesy and unnecessarily sarcastic. Tim Paige was better, but with 2 hours left I was just so confused and bored with the below par writing that I dnf.

This story is a mess

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