Love Me Louder

By: Christina Lee

Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine

Noah Dixon is damaged goods. After an accident leaves him physically scarred and emotionally vulnerable, dating isn't in the cards, so he throws himself head-first into his retail job. When he's obligated to attend his best friend's engagement party on Fire Island, it dawns on him he's about to spend yet another weekend feeling totally invisible and alone among a swarm of gorgeous men.

That's when the idea of an escort comes in.

After Will Crossen was forced to put his theater major on hold in favor of two jobs to tackle his ailing mother's hospital bills, he tells himself becoming an escort isn't that big of a deal. It's just another form of acting, right? He doesn't expect his newest customer to be the cheery, overconfident sales associate he avoids like the plague at his day job. Talk about awkward. But what happens on Fire Island stays on Fire Island...especially when a smoldering attraction sparks into flames. But between their jobs, Will's massive familial responsibilities, and Noah's vulnerabilities, they don't stand a chance unless they find a way to let love speak louder than their demons.

Contains mature themes.

©2018 Christina Lee (P)2019 Tantor

Great story and narration!

Truly enjoy this beautiful love story between two beautiful souls! All around I was just smiling so hard!

Wow

This story is the best love story I’ve read/listened to. You fall in love with each of the characters and then fall in love with their romance.

Sweet story

I always love me some unexpected sweet MM romance. And this one is about respect, acceptance and connecting to someone special. I am enjoying this author.

My melting heart!

I LOVED this one.

We all have insecurities and Noah has them ten fold but what I admire and love is that he dosnt let them control his life. He does let them run wild in his head.. but who dosnt. He is afraid of love and thinks he isn’t worthy because of how much emphasis is out on physical appearance— and he is correct on that one.

Will comes right along and makes his way under all Noah’s defenses.

Super good read!

I should hate it - but I love it!

This story has assembled so many of the things I don't particularly enjoy in contemporary romance - assumptions, misunderstandings, and fish net stockings. Instead, like Macbeth's witches, Lee manages the right recipe to make all these things work - adding in physical scarring, insecurity, family obligations and drag queens. Will is so endearing as he fumbles his way through growth and understanding to find love. Noah takes a bit longer, his journey has been mentally taxing and he is filled with deep rooted feelings of inadequacy and guilt. But he does take the first steps to propel the story to motion by reaching out to an escort agency to help him get through a party weekend with friends.

This is a slightly rough story that ultimately makes the listen more worthwhile. It is hard to imagine how Noah lives in Manhattan from this job at a Pottery Barn style home store. Having been in city retail, I noticed a lot of holes in that aspect of the story, but nothing too egregious. Much like television, there is a lot of license with how people in NYC live. What really matters here is the story, and where this story works is that Lee focuses a lot on feelings, without wallowing in said feelings. These guys have been through the wringer, and they have their defenses, and their lonliness - as well as things that bring them joy. In other words, they often feel like real people, where too often the men in these stories are the stuff of fantasy.

I think the narrator was under appreciated in some reviews. His clear, dry delivery kept this story on track with discernible character voices. Had a Joel Leslie with a lot of vocal antics been the narrator this story would have slipped into complete farce. Sometimes, what the story needs is a steady hand. Levine does that here beautifully.

My primary complaint is the overuse of the misunderstanding/ what I should have said style plot. Lee manages to make it work, but I think she still could have reached her payoff with fewer trips to: I guess he doesn't want me like that.

This is definitely a recommended title.