Realize

Men of Hidden Creek Season 4, Book 2)

By: Susan Hawke

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

"What we have can’t be faked."

Max Jackson’s life is pretty close to perfect - except that he’s secretly in love with his straight best friend and roommate. He’s got his dream job and a family he secretly pretends are his own. But they aren’t...no matter how much he might wish it were true.

After the tragic death of his wife, Parker Wilson didn’t have time to wallow in grief - not when he had two young children to raise. He’s not looking for romance or a new partner. He doesn’t need one anyway...he has his life-long buddy Max to help him through every struggle.

When Parker loses his job and can’t afford his daughter’s pricey insulin, Max suggests fake marriage for insurance coverage. Since he’s already a second parent to Parker’s cute kids, it should be easy...until the marriage becomes a little too real.

Welcome to Hidden Creek, Texas, where the heart knows what it wants, and where true love lives happily ever after. Every Men of Hidden Creek novel can be enjoyed on its own, but keep an eye out for familiar faces around town! This audiobook contains dad jokes, a pair of kids that will steal your heart, and more heat than a Texas summer.

©2019 Susan Hawke (P)2019 Susan Hawke

Realize will melt your heart! 💖

This Review is for both E-book 📖 and Audible🎧 formats. An ARC was provided free, by LesCourt for the e-book and the audible I purchased. The opinions expressed are solely mine. 💋

The book: Realize: Men of Hidden Creek S.4 Bk.2
• Susan Hawke - author
• Nick J. Russo - narrator
• 269p. KU • 7hrs 48min Audible • Contemporary • Standalone • Happily Ever After • In A Series • Third-Person Narrative • Dual POV •

The romantic theme:
• Best Friends • Hurt/ Comfort • "Gay for You" • Demi-sexual

The read:
• Heavy Tones, BUT Not Heavy Angst • Good Pace • Made Me Smile • Sweet and Endearing • Sexy

SteaMMy Swordplay:
• 3 out of 5⚔⚔⚔ - I have a whole new appreciation for Ferris Wheels!😍

Story ingredients:
• Grief • Fake Marriage • Witty Banter • Illness • Adorable Children •

MC#1 is...
• Parker • Single Dad • Superhero Geek • Hot • Sweet • Straight?

MC#2 is...
• Max • Parker's Best Friend • Solid Fam Ties • Strong • Devoted to Parker's kids • Gorgeous Hunk • "raging, flaming, totally homo type of gay at the glittery end of that (Kinsey) scale." - quote from Max himself


This was a joy to read and listen 🎧 to. Thanks to the writing style of S Hawke, that I geek out over on the regular, and the narrator doing such a good job, I was immersed in the story without coming up for air til, "The End."

The characters drew me in and I became a part of the moving landscape, able to feel and experience every high and low, happy, sad, jubilant, and exquisite emotion as my eyes 👀 and ears👂took in each word.

Max and Parker's friendship spanned decades, and Max's family treated Parker as one of their own since he had no family, save his two small children, Cindy and Teddy.

Though Max and Parker were the MCs, Teddy and Cindy stole the show and completely melted my old lady heart.💗 Add in two precious furbabies, a quirky Aunt with pink hair and mad fort building skills and you have one wonder-filled story.

Even though this is part of a series, it definitely can be read on its own.

4.75 forever-family-stars✨✨✨✨•✨

An emotional connection was required

Max and Parker were each anothers rock from childhood. When life changed drastically for Parker, Max stepped up and didnt hesitate to be his shoulder of support.
As their needs changed, so did their relationship and for Parker , an emotional connection was what he required most.
This is a fantastic, slow burn, best friends to husbands/ lovers story with adorable children and great supporting characters.

The narration was great and each character was brought to life well, even the children.

Sweet friends-to-lovers romance

I'm still fairly new to the Men of Hidden Creek series, having only listened to the first audiobook in this series's latest season, but that certainly didn't take away from my overall listening enjoyment of Realize, the second audiobook for season four. Written by Susan Hawke and narrated by Nick J. Russo, this was a sweet story about two best friends--one who loses his wife and the mother of his children and the other who steps in and becomes the greatest source of support for his best friend and his two godchildren. But this is also more than just a friends-to-lovers story. This is also a story about family and friendship and overcoming the odds for as long as someone has your back.

After losing both their house and his wife to a horrible fire, Parker Wilson and his two children, Cindy and Teddy, were taken in by Max Jackson, Parker's best friend. Three years later and the two twenty-year-olds have created a true home for the now eight-year-old Cindy and six-year-old Teddy. When Parker loses his job--and along with it his health insurance--he isn't sure how he can afford to pay for Cindy's expensive diabetes medication. The one possible solution? That Parker and Max get married so that Parker and the kids can get on Max's health plan. It shouldn't be too difficult to be fake husbands, right? But what if one--or both--of them starts wishing that what they shared was real?

Susan Hawke, as usual, never ceases to bring me in with her beautifully written love stories, and she's done it again with this Men of Hidden Creek contribution of hers. Aside from the heaviness in the beginning of the book, this is a fairly lighthearted read with Max and Parker working like a well-oiled machine when it comes to taking care of Cindy and Teddy. There's Parker trying to figure out his sexuality, but there isn't any unnecessary drama attached to it, thank goodness! With Nick J. Russo doing yet another stellar job as narrator, the story is truly brought to life and made for one of my favorite listening experiences this year. Realize is an audiobook not to be missed. Five stars! ♥

Best friends to lovers Realize

This book started out with so much tragedy, such heartache was heartbreaking. Parker and his kids needed love to rebuild and Max was the perfect person for that. This is a heartwarming romance filled with adorable kids, family silliness, cute moments, a few life lessons, and of course all the love. It was a very enjoyable listen made better by Nick's narration.

Heart melting

I love single parent, best friends to lovers and some hot chemistry between the characters. This has it all!!!
No unnecessary descriptions of surroundings
Good dialogues
Well described characters that’s developed in to realistic personalities
Steady building of the storyline with a HEA

Narrator:
Clear pronunciation and read with feelings

4 stars overall

awesomeness

Great book in the series. Had me tearing up in the end. Love that you can read out of order but still hear about characters from each one.

Loved all but

So the girl does a baking contest and the boy does the cowboy thing? I really did not like this sexism, even though I understand some of it.

Sweet story with fantastic narration

I really enjoyed this story overall. It has a great set up and I loved the characters. I found it through the narrator, Nick J Russo, who’s narration I love. I particularly loved his voice for Teddy. It’s rare that I hear narration for kids that’s not way over the top. I thought this hit just right.

I loved the demisexual realization and a good friends to lovers/ fake marriage trope. I agree with some of the reviews, there wasn’t a lot of tension or conflict and yes, the fair went on a LONG time and dragged a bit. And yeah, Max’s family wanting an actual wedding and pretty much insisting it would be real soon was a little hard to buy into. But I loved the mutton busting and the dogs and the kids and the sexual awakening and I LOVED the ending. And I loved that Parker’s wife was mentioned positively and they gave that relationship respect.

Max & Parker

I’m a recent convert to the Men of Hidden Creek and I’m two books in and can’t wait to listen or read more! I knew I was going to absolutely love this book because not only is Susan Hawke a favorite author, but the narrator, Nick J Russo, is as well! Throw in fake relationship and friends to lovers trope and I can’t get started on this audio any faster!! I really loved Max and Parker’s story and it started off with all your emotions coming to the surface. Nick did such an amazing job making me feel so present in the story! I loved the way that Max stepped up to help his best friend with his children after Parker’s wife died. He was an amazing friend to Parker and support system to his kids. After he gallantly offers to marry Parker to help supplement the gap in his health insurance for Parker’s daughter, I couldn’t help but get excited in where this was going. Would Parker would find out he was in love with Max as much as Max was in love with him? Would Parker get so hung up on labels and identifying his sexual identity he couldn’t allow himself to feel the same for Max? Would these two men take their friendship to the next level and become lovers? Their story truly had it all that hit so many high points for me and the narration really sold the story for me. Nick J Russo did a fantastic job confirming why he’s one of my favorites! If you’re looking for an amazing listen with a fake relationship, friends to lovers, first time gay, and a set of precocious kids than look no further than here! Max and Parker are going to give you the sweetest HEA you could hope for, just have a tissue handy!

Like all Hidden Creek books, this can stand-alone.

all the feels

📖 Story comment: Sweet story with relatively low drama and a good pace. The two MC's are likeable, the kids are adorable and the extended family offers a good support network. Overall an easy listen and enjoyable story.

🎧 Narrator comment: Nick Russo has done a terrific job bringing the characters in this story to life. From the heavy emotions that come with loss to the excited joy of kids hyped up on sugar he bought the life and love of this story out in every word. He suits the characters, has good cadence, inflections and intonations and it was easy to distinguish the characters from each other - overall an enjoyable listen.

----
📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough [3⭐] • 5 enjoyed it [4⭐] • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]
----
⚠️ I received a copy of this book at my request, it has in no way influenced my review.