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Defined by Deceit

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Defined by Deceit

By: A.E. Via
Narrated by: Aiden Snow
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About this listen

Life isn't always fair, and that's something that Llewellyn Gardner knows about firsthand. His life was on the fast track until one night of extreme passion changed everything. Now eight years later, he's still living with the aftershocks of that night. Everywhere he turns or runs, there's another reminder. What the hell do you do when you try to drown your demons only to find out they can swim?

Shane Smith, Jr., owner of Smith Construction, could see the emotional turmoil within his new employee - it's why he hired him. There was something about the gorgeous, misunderstood man with the overly expressive eyes that came to their small town with a past no one was willing to overlook. Shane could see the good in Llewellyn, and those eyes of his were a clear window to his soul. Shane wasn't going to let the man live a future of solitude because his past had been plagued with deceit.

Llewellyn wasn't sure what to think about Shane. After years of protecting himself from being tricked twice, he was now faced with worry again. What would happen to him if Shane didn't believe his truth and walked away? Llewellyn wasn't sure he'd be able to survive being left alone. Again.

Contains mature themes.

©2015 Adrienne E. Via (P)2021 Tantor Romance
All stars
Most relevant
Love Llewellyn and Shane, both great characters. Awesome story, will make you cry, make you angry and at the end you'll be happy 😊. I Love the narrator.

Love the story

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This book made me cry. A lot. I loved it so much and I don’t think I’ve ever been so heavily invested in a HEA. The narration was spot on, so much emotion. 5 stars for me.

Absolute tearjerker

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Llewellyn Gardner is a top sportsman and high academic achiever in high school, winning prestigious architect prizes three years in a row. His boyfriend, Moss, has always begged him to keep their sexuality and relationship under wraps, not wanting to risk his parents’ condemnation. One dreadful night, Moss (17 yo) and Lew (18 yo) are caught having sex and Moss betrays Lew, accusing him of rape and landing him with a 10-year sentence. Prison is tough but returning to his hometown is even tougher. Shane Smith Jr. runs his own construction company and he looks beyond the headlines and gossip to see something decent and good in Lew.

AE Via doesn’t shy away from hard topics and this is a powerful and harrowing love story about a falsely accused and imprisoned man. Having paid his non-existent debt to society, it was doubly heart-breaking to see how hard it is for Lew to rehabilitate, but I thought the negative town reactions were pretty understandable. I think it’s pretty unlikely Shane could “just know” Lew was decent, but it was an amazing story and spicy romance nonetheless. I do want to flag that AE Via seems to focus a lot on stereotypically ‘manly men’ and how men should ‘man up’—I’m not sure I agree with the messaging. 🎧 Aiden Snow is always a strong audio performer and his voice suits the characters and the heat level.

Powerful and harrowing but hot romance!

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good story, great performance.. it was a sad beginning, but loved how it grew (bit quickly) but no massive drawn out drama!
hopefully a book on Ace is coming 🤞

great listening

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This book made me cry real tears, made me laugh out loud, and loved.

Heartbreaking, heart-warming

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I don’t even know what to say! I couldn’t stop listening. Listened in one sitting until 2 in the morning. I was crying by chapter 3, the angst was a killer but all worth it for the HEA. A must read!

5 star read

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Loved everything about this story. The beginning was gut wrenching, but the beautiful ending made up for it. Listened twice, back to back. Love Aiden Snow & even more that he narrated all of the characters.

Loved This Story!

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What a well written story.
The emotional ride this writer has written had me in tears.
Well worth listening to.

What an emotional roller coaster.

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I like feeling good when I listen to books but the beginning message me feel angry. It was worth it though.
So emotional and sweet, I wish I had more people like these in my life.

Loved it and hated it a little!

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What an incredible heartfelt story. So well written by the talented author and voiced by the amazing narrator who provided distinct voices for all characters and all the in-depth emotions. This story explores the life of a man wrongly convicted to cover up another man’s cowardliness for not been able to admit out loud that he’s attracted to the same sex. And how rough things after release and trying to fit back in with society with a label on your back. So well written that I couldn’t turn off, and credit to the amazing narrator who had me in tears with this man as he struggled through. Beautiful HEA, but does the highlight the difference that having people believing in you can make to the outcome. Highly recommend.

Wow, Amazing heartfelt story & equally amazing narration.

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