Life Lesson by Kaje Harper - Audiobook Tour, Review & Excerpt

AUDIOBOOK TOUR

Book Title: Life Lessons Author: Kaje Harper

Publisher: Self-published rerelease Narrator: JF Harding

Release Date: December 02 2021

Genre: Mystery/Contemporary M/M Romance

Trope/s: murder-mystery, in the closet, modest age gap, single parenting

Themes: hurt-comfort, closet-getting-tight, MC in danger

Heat Rating: 3-4 flames

Length: 8 hours and 47 minutes

It is the first book in the Life Lessons series. It does not end on a cliffhanger but a HFN.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Audible, KU and Paperback

Audible US | Audible UK

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Mac's three goals: keep Tony safe, catch the killer, don't come out.

Blurb

Tony Hart's a dedicated teacher, though he's not much older than his high-school students. Between his profession, a few good friends, and plenty of books, he's content with his quiet life. Then the murdered body of another teacher falls into the elevator at his feet, and Tony's life becomes all too exciting.

Jared MacLean is a homicide detective, widowed father to a young daughter, and deeply in the closet. But from the moment he meets Tony's blue eyes in that high school hallway, Mac can't help wanting this man in his life. Mac's not out ― can't afford to be out ― but Tony makes him want the impossible.

Mac isn't the only one with their eyes on Tony, though. As the murderer tries to cover their tracks, Mac has to work fast or lose Tony, permanently.

(This is a rerelease of the 2011 original with light editing.)

Lindz' Audiobook Review:

What could go wrong when your three goals are to keep a supper cute teacher named Tony safe, Catch the person that killed a teacher not liked by many and not let anyone else find out your deep in the closet and don’t plane to ever come out…well i am glad you asked.

You will find out when listening to this audio book for Mac a homicide detective those are his three goals and he will do anything to accomplish them. Unfortunately luck isn’t always on your side even when you deserve it. No matter how hard he tried once Mac meets Tony a young teacher with a passion to educate and give a voice to his students in a safe way Mac just can’t seam to stay away. Especially with him being Mac’s number one murder suspect at first glance.

How does Tony end up on the murder list you ask? Well the body of the person literally falls into the elevator with him after school one day. Tony obviously find the older gruff law man attractive, to bad he’s straight or so it might seem. Especially when Tony runs into Mac and his daughter when he is spending the day with his nephew. But then something changes and Tony discovers not everything is what it seams on the surface. Just like the detective learns that the killer has been closer to Tony then anyone would have guessed all along.

In the end these boys get the HEA they are looking for, even if it might not seam ideal for most people, how it ends works for them. They will both learn that life’s greatest lessons are those you learn with others and that true love is worth sacrifices.

The audio for this book was done Narrator JF Harding. He is one of my favorite male Narrators. He is able to create unique voices for each of his characters making it easy to distinct what character is talking easily. His vocal acting is top notch and he has a voice you could easily listen to for hours. I flew through this audio book with almost no breaks and it felt like no time had past at all because of how well he is at narrating and the flow of the well written story that Kate Harper wrote. I look forward to enjoying more work from both of them in the future.

Rating: 5 Stars

Lesetiger's Review:

Life Lessons was my first book by author Kaje Haper and it really hooked me. I loved her entertaining writing style. The story had me hooked from the beginning. Tony is a teacher who accidentally stumbles upon a dying colleague in the school building in the evening who has been attacked with a knife. Mac is one of the investigating detectives on this case.

When Tony receives notes with warnings over the next few days, it awakens a protective instinct in Mac.

Tony and Mac are two very opposite but totally likeable characters. Tony is out and he knows what he wants and he doesn't like to be told much either. Mac, on the other hand, doesn't see a way to come out because he's afraid of the reaction and losing the respect of his colleagues, and it probably wouldn't go over well within the family either.

I found the case exciting as there are some twists and turns that I didn't expect.

What I also really liked was the development of their relationship. My heart bled for Mac because of his past and I can absolutely understand his apprehension about coming out. The story captivates with a realistic development of the relationship. And as you listen, you can immediately feel the attraction between the two. But does the relationship stand a chance if one of the two doesn't want to come out because there is too much at stake for him?

JF Harding is a fascinating storyteller and is one of my favorite narrators. His voice is amazing and he has a brilliant way of bringing the characters to life. He narrates the emotions expressively and he is totally listenable for long periods of time because he reads in a varied and captivating way.

Highly recommended and I look forward to hearing more from Mac and Tony.

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Excerpt

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.”

About the Author

I get asked about my name a lot. It's not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty-five years*), although mostly for my own entertainment. I write M/M romance, often with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi, paranormal… I also have Young Adult short stories (some released under the pen name Kira Harp.)

After decades of writing just for fun, my husband convinced me I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out in May 2011. I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published, including Amazon bestseller The Rebuilding Year and Rainbow Award Best Mystery-Thriller Tracefinder: Contact. A complete list with links can be found on my website "Books" page at https://kajeharper.com/books/.