The realism and emotions of this story pour off the pages and straight into your heart. Rick R. Reed does an awesome job of presenting and handling topics that some authors dare to touch and when they do it only surface deep, not Reed though he goes in deep and he takes you with him every step of his way. This story not only captivates your attention the entire book, but it tugs on your heartstrings too. The characters are realistic, easy to relate to and connect with, they are easy to care about too. Jimmy, a former meth head, may have cleaned up his act but his addiction still hangs over his head, he attends NA meetings and continues his road to recovery. He is not proud of things he did while high, but he needs to get past it and remind himself he is not that person anymore. He is in a good place, being healthy, having a job and a place to live. One day, a person from his past, Marc, comes to eat at the dinner he is working at, but Marc does not remember him. Jimmy felt an attraction to him, so after some harmless flirting, he passes him his phone number before he leaves. Marc is older than Jimmy, but he is also at that point in life where he wants to find his special someone to spend time with and he feels Jimmy may be the one and he will give him a go. It was great watching these two get to know each other, they worked despite their age differences, Jimmy was mature beyond his years, his crap childhood forced to him to grow up quickly and then all that followed into his teens. But when Jimmy’s past comes back to haunt him, Marc runs for the hills. I was rooting for these two, both were struggling with inner demons, Marc needed to get over himself and go with his heart, Jimmy, who has been on the right path, needed to grab on to his inner strength. This is unique and beautifully story hits you hard, there are some heart-rending and gut wrenching moments and heartfelt ones. Some of the secondary/support characters were great too, Marc’s coworker Don, Jimmy’s roommate Kevin and his sponsor, Miriam, well done on that clever twist. Rick R. Reed, thank you for another fantastic and emotionally heartfelt story, another that will stay with me for a very long time.
🎧📚🎧 And for the amazing narration, David Allen Vargo is a mega talented narrator and a versatile voice artist. He has a complete understanding of the roles he is portraying, gives each character a voice that fits that character’s persona to a tee, sounding believable and just as I picture the characters to sound. Vargo sets the perfect tone for the story, captures all the character’s emotions and projects them into his performance and has you feeling every single one. He is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to, his performance adds a lot to the layers of this story and enhances it to another level of greatness. Thank you for another exceptional listen.