Life Lessons is just the second book I’ve read by Kaje Harper and now I want to read all of her books! It’s also the first book I’ve listened to performed by JF Harding. I’ve seen his name recommended numerous times in several Facebook audiobook groups so I was happy to get the chance to review Life Lessons.

The ebook is a reissue of one published many years ago and I believe this is the first time it’s been released as an audiobook. The blurb says it received “light editing.” I never read the original version but I can tell you that nothing about this story felt “dated.” Many older romance stories (M/F in particular) that have been recently produced in audio, which I’ve listened to, have been horribly out of date. If I didn’t already know that Life Lessons was originally published in 2011, I wouldn’t have been able to tell while listening to the audiobook.

The story and audiobook performance were excellent. It’s one of those books that really sucked me in and didn’t let go. Mac is so deep in the closet that he’s sure he will never come out and yet when he meets Tony, he just couldn’t resist knowing him better – in all the ways.

There’s suspense, mystery and murder and, of course, romance; more than enough of all of those to keep me fully engaged with the story. There are more books about Tony and Mac in this series, re-releasing soon, but they get a decent HFN in Life Lessons. The author’s website says that books 2, 3 and 4 are also coming out in audio and I’m looking forward to listening to them.

Note: if you visit Kaje Harper’s website you will find several free stories for this series that fit in between the full novels.

Reviews for Kaje Harper

Reviews for JF Harding

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Tony said after a pause. “You’re not the only person trapped in the closet. All those guys in the military, stuck with don’task, don’t tell; other guys with macho jobs or religious families. Lots of guys are doing it.”

“But you don’t want to,” Mac acknowledged.

“It wouldn’t be my first choice, no. I’ve put a lot of effort and pain into being out so I wouldn’t have to hide. But I do want you, and I know that comes on your terms.”

“They’re not my terms,” Mac protested.

“Whatever. It comes with being secret and hiding whatever we have together. The question is whether that’s better than not having anything together.”

Mac wanted to shout that of course it was, but he bit his tongue.

Tony looked at him hard. “The other question you have to ask yourself is whether you want to take the risk. No matter how careful we are, you may get caught. A wrong look, a note in your pocket, someone tracking down your cell in an emergency; there are lots of ways this could come out in the open. It’s not a problem for me. But is that a risk that you want to take?”

Mac opened his mouth to say yes, and hesitated. How have I come this far this fast? He’d been willing to cut away anything in his life that risked his daughter Anna or the job. And sex had never been that important. But this wasn’t about sex; it was about Tony. And Tony had somehow become too important to cut away. It might hurt less to give up breathing.

“There’s never been anyone I could go to, to just be myself. I’ve never had a lover, or even a fuck-buddy. I thought I could live without that, but now… I don’t want to. Even with Mai, I wasn’t… I couldn’t relax completely. With you, I’m just me.”

“Yeah.” Tony smiled at him. “That’s part of being gay, you know. It’s not just who you want in bed. It’s who your emotional relationships are with the other twenty-three hours of the day, whose arms you want around you when life hands you shit.”

Life Lessons Series

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