Winter Ball (Winter Ball series book 1) by Amy Lane | Tams Audiobook Review & #giveaway @Dreamspinners @amymaclane @nickjrussovoice

Winter Ball 
Winter Ball book 1

• Written by: Amy Lane
• Narrated by: Nick J. Russo
• Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins 
• Unabridged Audiobook



Release Date:02-23-17
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC


Through a miserable adolescence and a lonely adulthood, Skipper Keith has dreamed of nothing but family. The closest he gets is the rec league soccer team he coaches after work - and his star player and best friend, Richie Scoggins.
One brisk night in late October, a post-practice convo in Richie's car turns into a sexual encounter neither of them expected - nor want to forget. Soon Skip and Richie are living for the weekends and their winter league soccer games - and the games they enjoy off the field. Through broken noses, holiday decorating, and the killer flu, they learn more about each other than they ever dreamed possible. Every new discovery takes them further beyond the boundaries of the soccer field and into the infinite possibilities of the best relationship of Skipper's life.
Skipper can't dream of a better family than Richie - but Richie's got real family entanglements he can't shake off. Skipper needs to convince Richie to stay with him beyond winter ball so the relationship they started on the field might become their happy future in real life!
©2015 Amy Lane (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press
Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon Audio | Audible | iTunes
Tams gives this one 5 stars...
"."
Overall
Performance
Story
What made the experience of listening to Winter Ball the most enjoyable?
Nick Russo's narration, of course. Having not read the book, I can't compare the two, but I was completely engaged with this story from the first minute to the last. Each character had their own distinct voice in the story. 



What did you like best about this story?
It was a different approach for these two supposedly straight guys to become intimate and not question that intimacy. Rather, one questions the validity, if it's just because or if it's something more permanent. And one worries about backlash from his family.



Have you listened to any of Nick J. Russo’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Yes, I have, love his work. This book is as good as any other performances of his I've listened to.



Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No, there weren't really any laugh out loud or tear jerker moments. It was a fantastic story though and I quite liked it.



Any additional comments? 
I do love friends to lovers and gay for you type stories, and this book qualifies under both of those sub-genres. But then it has the equal balance of angst and emotion I've come to expect from Amy Lane. I will say, this story is somewhat tame compared to the usual intense stories Lane likes to churn out. But it's no less amazing. Definitely worth a listen. I was completely engaged in this story from the start, and was actually sad when it ended. I wanted more! I can't wait to dive into the next book in the series. I liked the way Lane created this make shift family for Skipper and Richie with their friends and that lone creepy guy that turns out to be a really nice guy. I really wanted to run Richie's dad over with my car, the man was such an ass hat! Like I said above, it was refreshing to have a story with a slightly different approach to the gay for you trope. The angst in the story was more about work, family and friends, not the fact that they were both guys. From that first awkward hand job, they both knew it felt right even if they didn't want to share what they were doing with the world straight away. 







Amy Lane dodges an EDJ, mothers four children, and writes the occasional book. She, her brood, and her beloved mate, Mack, live in a crumbling mortgage in Citrus Heights, California, which is riddled with spiders, cats, and more than its share of fancy and weirdness. Feel free to visit her at www.greenshill.com orwww.writerslane.blogspot.com, where she will ride the buzz of receiving your e-mail until her head swells and she can no longer leave the house.
Website: http://www.greenshill.com/
Twitter: @amymaclane

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