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Scratch the Surface

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Scratch the Surface

By: Mary Calmes
Narrated by: Tristan James, Tim Paige
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About this listen

Sometimes things look one way, but when you scratch the surface, there's more than meets the eye.

Jeremiah Wolfe has always done what was necessary to survive. When a rare night off finds him with the chance to make a quick buck, he jumps on it. A meaningless one-night stand is simple and easy, so he steps into the hotel room - as he has many - without expectation. But the man behind the door is a surprise, as is the instant connection that builds along with passion and a glimpse of his heart.

Cameron Gallagher has never been accused of being spontaneous. He's always been the careful one, so inviting a stranger into his bed on the lure of his gorgeous smile and warm brown eyes isn't only out of his comfort zone, it's entirely out of character. Surprisingly, when he wakes in the morning alone, it's not regret he feels, but the need to find the man who held him in his arms all night.

When they're brought back together, each man believes it's more than luck. They feel as though they've gotten a second chance. Sure, love at first sight is just a myth, the stuff of romance novels, but the more they scratch the surface, the more they realize they've got a shot at something lasting.

©2021 Mary Calmes (P)2022 Tantor Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romance Heartfelt
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the story is well written and performed. there are hard topics in the story but I felt they were handled well within the narrative. really enjoyed meeting these characters.

romance that features a plot!

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Corporate accountant Cameron Gallagher is annoyed to be woken up by someone helping his very drunk buddy into the hotel room next door. When he goes into the hallway to remonstrate, however, he is struck by the beauty of the guy helping and can’t stop thinking about the sizzling one-night stand that follows. Jeremiah Wolfe was looking to make some easy escort money but breaks all his own rules with the passionate accountant. Both men try to track each other down the next day and the more Cameron learns about the hard life Jeremiah has led, the more respect, admiration, and love he feels for the man: Jeremiah has always been judged harshly but he’s made it his mission to help others who struggle as he has.

I absolutely loved this rescue romance, which was never condescending or judgemental about Jeremiah.
There were plenty of sassy dialogue, juicy plot lines, and interesting side characters to entertain but the two MCs were definitely the stars of the show, it was great to spend time with them! It was refreshing that Cameron and Jeremiah never played games and they always said what they meant. 🎧 Tim Paige (as Cameron) and Tristan James (as Jeremiah) performed well on the audio, although I think their styles and voices would’ve suited each other’s character more.

Loved this rescue romance!

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I hate criticising narrators, realising that it's just my opinion and others may feel differently. That said, one of the narrators was awful, he honestly sounded like an old third grader reading aloud for the first time. There was no feeling or emotion behind his voice. The other narrator was much better.
The story itself has its challenging parts, there is some graphic stuff and trauma that happens off the page, so be warned.
I found it enjoyable despite the distracting narration, and if I wasn't so taken in by the story it would have been a DNF for me.

Bad narration saved by a sweet story

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Apart from the super heavy topics in one of the characters backstory it’s just Insta love and fluff not much to it I got it for free so I’m not complaining but yeah. The writing was weird they kind of info dumped a lot when any new characters or information came up.

Tw for under age sex work (14) and abuse inside of that pretty graphic for me but that’s a trigger of mine so idk if other ppl will find it as traumatic to listen to as I did so I’ll just say pretty graphic graphic.
A non graphic attempted rape on a character we don’t meet one of the main characters just stop it from happening and the ppl get arrested.
Abusive step dads non graphic.
If I missed anything I’m sorry I was dissociating thro most of it after the first mention of that stuff so plz be safe


Trigger warnings exist for a reason it’d be nice if ppl fucking used them

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Plot/ storyline was okay and they started of as fairly likable characters but then just started to get so cringe and annoying. Oh and the narrator read it like a movie trailer, ugh.
Couldn't finish.

I tried, I really tried...

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