M4M

By: Rick R. Reed

Narrated by: Wesley Landry

Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Three great stories. One great love.
VGL Male Seeks Same

Poor Ethan Schwartz. It seems like he will never find that special someone. At age forty-two, he’s still alone, his bed still empty, and his 42-inch HDTV overworked. He’s tried the bars and other places where gay men are supposed to find one another, but for Ethan, it never works out. He wonders if it ever will. Should he get a cat?

But all of that is about to change…

NEG UB2

Poor Ethan Schwartz. He’s just had the most shocking news a gay man can get—he’s been diagnosed HIV positive. Up until today, he thought his life was on a perfect course. He had a job he loved and something else he thought he’d never have: Brian, a new man, one whom Ethan thought of as “the one.” The one who would complete him, who would take his life from a lonely existence to a place filled with laughter, hot sex, and romance.

But along with the fateful diagnosis comes another shock—is Brian who he thinks he is?

Status Updates

Ethan finds himself alone once more and wonders if life is worth living, even one with a cat. Via a Facebook friend request, an old nemesis appears, wanting to be friends. Ethan is suspicious but intrigued because it seems this old acquaintance has turned his life around…and the changes just might hold the key to Ethan getting a new lease on life…and love.

©2023 Rick R. Reed (P)2024 Rick R. Reed

Ethan and Brian

The storyline includes a romance but I see it as being about Ethan navigating his life. His inner monologue is snarky, self-recriminating and flagellating, by turns, funny and, at moments, a bit dark. His loneliness is more than evident. Meeting Brian and muddling through to a real relationship is awkward and hard, but they make it. The second half of the book stunned me. Ethan's navigation of this new phase of his life is hard. You can feel his emotions so strongly. I was surprised to see 'Bubbles' reappear as the strength and help he needs.
Bravo Rick Reed!
Highly recommended author

Audiobook: Excellent narrator

Really interesting and unique

This was a unique listening experience, I thought the narrator did quite a good job giving voice to Ethan’s story. This feels like a very modern tale and I liked how it is told in kind of vignettes of different points in Ethan’s life. Ethan’s loneliness at the start is clear and the author shows how hard it can be navigating relationships in the modern world. But things turn promising for Ethan when he meets Brian but life has a way of shaking you up when you least expect. So, it was pretty devastating when Ethan get his diagnosis, he’s HIV positive. The narrator is especially strong during this section, you really feel his shock which results in his lashing out against Brian. The middle section is quite sad, and I would have loved a bit more for Brian. I liked the time jump and picking up Ethan’s story almost ten years later, lonely again but I loved that we end Ethan’s story in a positive way, when he takes a chance on a name from his past, with Ben.

Interesting if somewhat sad

premise. I enjoyed this story though it is a bit sad, it is very much relatable. I liked that the characters were older and I enjoyed their quirks though Ethan was a bit hard to like through the first and even 2nd part though you really feel for him the 3rd part redeems him. I also like how it dealt with some heavy issues without being preachy, narration really brought the story to life.

Sad at times, but well worth the listen!

This listen made an impact on me. To imagine what it would be like to go through everything that he goes through. This author does a fantastic job job with the storyline!

Loved It

I loved the stories, every novella interesting and heartwarming in their own way. The first story was my favorite, I love the "You've Got Mail" trope and here it was very well done. The second and third stories were very good as well and overall this was a captivating listening experience. Not exactly a romance IMO, it was definitely a love story throughout the years. Narrator did an amazing job, his voice made this story even better for me. I am looking forward to more stories from this author/narrator team.

Journeys with Ethan

This is the first book of many I've read and enjoyed by Rick R. Reed where I listened to the audiobook before reading the book. It was an interesting change and I think it worked well for these interlinked stories as we follow Ethan through the ups and downs in a period of his life. The first book was wonderful, particularly if you are of a certain age, that like Ethan didn't grow up surrounded by the social media environment younger people take for granted. As an older person who decides to try to become someone he's not, we get some humor but also see the deeper insecurities and hurts Ethan goes through in his quest to find romance. The second book turns darker as Ethan discovers he's HIV+ and we feel his anger, pain, confusion and suspicion. We also see him discover new uses for social media that are empowering and that he approaches with more understanding and expertise than in the first book. Finally, in book three Ethan reconnects with someone again using social media and things begin to fall into place. I loved taking this journey with Ethan through his romantic, health and social media journeys and Wesley Landry captured every nuance of the characters' feelings and growth beautifully. Now, I'm off to read the book and enjoy Reed's story that way.

Interesting Collection of Novellas

This is an interesting story made up of a collection of novellas. There were a few parts that didn't work well for me but I did appreciate the overall story and I really enjoyed the narration by Wesley Landry.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

Loved getting to know Ethan!!

So this book is a bit different from others by this author. We are basically following Ethan through his journey in life. I really liked that this book is told entirely from his perspective and we get to know him and his feelings well. The story is poignant, very real and relatable, and there is romance for Ethan. I also really like that most of the characters are a little older. It makes for a nice change.

A life story

This is story told over different times from the character’s life. He faces a ton of obstacles and battles loneliness. It seems to end on a positive note.

Life throws curveballs at you

I’m beginning to think that I am glutton for punishment by jumping into any Rick R. Reed head first, knowing he’s going to tear me apart every time. The depths of which he dives into, never sugar coating his words, opening the listener’s eyes and heart to the realities of life.

When I initially began this audio, I was a little skeptical about the narrator chosen. But, between the storyline and the events that were happening, not only did my skepticism drizzle away but didn’t really make any difference. This was one of those books that are just great in their own right.