In Another Life & Eight Days (Lily’s Review)

Title: In Another Life & Eight Days
Author: Cardeno C., John Solo (Narrator), Nick J. Russo (Narrator)
Publisher: The Romance Authors, LLC
Release Date: July 26th 2016
Genre(s): M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: 3 hrs and 40 mins
Reviewed by: Lily G Blunt
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: Overall 4 stars out of 5
Blurb:

In Another Life 

At age 18 Shiloh Raben is tired. He no longer has the energy to deal with mean classmates, inner doubt, and fear of familial rejection, so he takes a razor to his wrist. When he wakes up in the hospital, Shiloh meets Travis Kahn, the EMT who saved him and didn’t leave his side.Travis is handsome, smart, and funny – the type of guy Shiloh would never be brave enough to approach. But his near-death experience has an unusual side effect: The life that flashed before his eyes wasn’t the one he had already lived but rather the one he could live. With visions of a future by Travis’ side, Shiloh will find the strength to confront his fears and build a life worth fighting for.

Eight Days

Childhood family friends Maccabe Fried and Josh Segal have always gotten along despite having nothing in common. Maccabe is an athlete with dreams of playing professional baseball. Josh is an aspiring architect with dreams of being with Maccabe. Despite all odds, both dreams come true.Maccabe and Josh fall into a long-distance romance, which is everything Josh thought he wanted. But after years of hiding from the world, Josh wants to bring their relationship into the open. When Maccabe refuses, Josh is faced with a tough decision: stay with the man he loves or live the life he deserves. No matter the choice, somebody’s bound to get hurt. Thankfully, in the season of miracles, there’s always hope for a happy ending.

Two well-written novellas, two superb narrators, a hot cover, and all at a very reasonable price.

In Another Life – 4.5*

This is a fabulous and cleverly-crafted story that ran me through a range of emotions. I laughed, I cried, and I swooned as I listened to Shiloh’s and Travis’ story. As often is the case with CC we are treated to insta-love, but keep with it if it’s not your thing. It all works out wonderfully in the end. It’s a story of second chances but sort of in reverse. The only thing I wondered about was the make-out scene in the hospital bed. Not very professional. Luckily they weren’t interrupted. Excellently narrated by John Solo and his character voice for Travis was just hot and lovely.

Eight Days – 3.5 (4* for the early part of the story)

I liked the premise of this story—eight snapshots of a relationship that just happened to coincide with Hanukkah celebrations over several years. I enjoyed the early chapters with Maccabe and Josh, but the reason behind their split and the lack of contact for seven years was a little flimsy. The separation hardly seemed to affect Maccabe, but then all of a sudden he feels he has to do something to put it right. I’m glad Josh had tried to move on with his life, but my heart hurt for him because he hadn’t really managed it. I can understand why he was reluctant to have Maccabe back at first. The final chapter was a let down. I was hoping to see Maccabe come out to their families and admit he was in a relationship with his best friend. Instead we get an extended family scene with banter/arguing and only a brief glimpse at how Josh and Maccabe are together. So for me although the idea of the story was good and it ends happily, I would have liked a slightly different ending or an extended story with more scenes. Nick narrated the story very well, although a little fast at times, with distinguishable voices and the right emotions.

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