Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review – Wood, Screws and Nails by Piper Vaughn and Kade Boehme ~ Audiobook narrated by Paul Morey

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Aaron Costa allows his parents to talk him into spending the summer remodeling their lake home so that they can sell it at a good profit. Since he owns a construction company and can take the time to do this, he happily agrees. When he realizes his usual helper isn’t able to come along, he sees this as an opportunity to bond with his son, Julian Julian asks for his college roommate, Malachi, to accompany them since he knows Malachi has worked in construction in the past and needs to save money toward tuition and books for their senior year.

Malachi feels like his dreams have come true when he gets the job and then meets Aaron. The sexy, older man exceeds all of Malachi’s expectations, and if his gaydar isn’t broken, he expects that he and Aaron have a lot more in common than a love of working with their hands. The two quickly become friendly, and when Julian starts to find excuses to do other things, Malachi and Aaron are forced to spend even more time together.

Despite the age difference, Aaron finally succumbs to his lust for this sexy young man who he’s come to care for, and the two create amazing chemistry together. Paul Morey does an excellent job of narrating the story and vocalizing their interactions. Aaron’s major concerns about the age difference continue to bother him, though, and the fact that he’s never told Julian that he’s gay could be a major problem as well. He’s never even come out to his own parents, so speaking to Julian is very difficult for him, but he figures it’s his own business and what Julian doesn’t know can’t hurt him.

Unfortunately, one day Aaron and Malachi decide to fool around on the job site, and as readers/listeners might expect, Julian walks in on them. What follows is awkward and embarrassing, and in the aftermath, Aaron has to struggle to find a way to communicate with his son and to let Malachi go.

I enjoyed the audiobook version of this story, though there were quite a few scenes that seemed very trite and totally anticipated. In other words, there was nothing outstanding about the story, but it was a sweet romance and should appeal to those M/M romance readers/listeners who enjoy a hot age-gap romance. I’ve rated the story 3 stars with a boost of .5 for the narration.

The cover art by Paul Richmond is a good representation of the story, depicting the naked back of a young, muscular man wearing a hard hat and work gloves and holding an electric drill.

Sales Links:   Dreamspinner Press    Amazon

Audio Book Details: Buy It Here

over Artist Paul Richmond
Narrator Paul Morey
Length 4 hours and 30 minutes
Categories AudiobooksPiper VaughnKade BoehmeHard Hats by Piper Vaughn
Book Type Audiobook, Other Formats eBook