AUDIO REVIEW: 'Moment of Clarity' by Karen Stivali
Title: Moment of Clarity
Series: Moments in Time #3
Author: Karen Stivali
Narrator: Robert Nieman
Published: May 6, 2015
Release Date: August 22, 2016
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Anna Sikorska
Genre: Contemporary Romance; New Adult
Length: 3 Hours and 53 Mins./115 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; College; Coming Out; Angst: Light; Friends to Lovers; Family Drama; Novella; HEA; Audiobook
BLURB:
Spending the summer together on Fire Island brought Collin and Tanner closer than ever, but back in their conservative college town, challenges confront them at every turn.
As they search for their new normal in their old environment, Collin's brother Sean surprises them with help when they need it most. But when word about their relationship gets out, trouble erupts with friends and family. When Collin's relationship with Tanner becomes an issue in his brother's custody battle and Tanner struggles with his feelings for a heartbroken Wendy, Collin wonders if everyone he cares about would be better off without him in the picture.
In order to save them both, Tanner must make it clear to Collin that their love for each other is all that matters.
REVIEW:
In Moment of Clarity, the third installment in the Moments in Time series by Karen Stivali (which should be read in order to fully enjoy), Collin and Tanner’s summer has come to an end and the two find themselves back at school.
They spent their last week of summer break at Tanner’s mom’s house and Collin is anxious to get back to the dorms so he and Tanner can have some alone time together.
Unfortunately their happiness at returning to school is met with a setback that results in them living in their school's’ gymnasium while their dorm is being renovated.
It could be weeks before they're allowed to move back in and Collin and Tanner are bummed!
Then Collin gets a call from his brother, Sean, who makes him an offer Collin just can’t refuse; and reconnecting brings many feelings to the surface for both of them.
But their joy is quickly overshadowed by a surprise visit from Laura, Sean’s soon to be ex-wife.
Collin and Tanner are taking advantage of some alone time when Laura catches them in a very delicate position. What ensues is a tremendous fight between the three.
She is vicious in her remarks, leaving Tanner visibly shaken.
At this point in the story I felt a shift in Collin and Tanner’s dynamic. Up until now Tanner has been portrayed as the strong one, even supporting Collin when his family disowned him. To see Collin kind of “man up” and finally become the support system Tanner needed was refreshing.
Here, the narrator - Robert Nieman, brilliantly portrays the anger and spite of Laura while at the same time conveying the impassioned pleas of Collin.
I began to feel hopeful as Collin took on the role as caretaker and protector. And he did not disappoint!
Having been rocked by Laura’s anger, and with Tanner drawing into himself, they’re both forced to leave Sean’s home with nowhere to go.
In another twist Collin turns to last person he thinks will help them - Wendy.
Here again Nieman does an excellent job of voicing the despair and anguish that Collin and Tanner both feel at the hands of Laura and their sudden lack of any living arrangement.
Karen Stivali does a wonderful job in telling these two boys’ story. Throughout the series we get to see how their friendship evolves into young love. We see how Collin struggles with accepting himself and how he deals with adversity from his family and friends.
Tanner and Collin have really grown through the three books, with Stivali’s talent for making her characters shine! They are young and human, make mistakes, and of course: Learn from them.
I feel Collin's change the most. He truly comes into his own. He stepped up, in this story in particular, with how protective he is of Tanner. It’s almost as if their roles were reversed.
There’s family drama and blatant homophobia on campus to deal with. There’s even a moment in the story where Collin contemplates bowing out of his relationship with Tanner to let him have a chance to be happy with Wendy, sacrificing his own feelings. That drove me a little crazy that Wendy was even still in the picture!
I can happily say that Collin and Tanner do get their HEA but they definitely work for it.
All in all the Moments in Time series is a definite must read! It’s a wonderful journey of self-discovery and the power of friendship turned to love.
If you enjoy your college boys and young romance, I promise this is the series for you!
As with the previous installments I am eagerly awaiting book four. Even though it is about Collin’s older brother I hope we get to see little glimpses of Collin and Tanner along the way. Just to see how they’re doing.
I highly recommend the audio version of the entire series. Robert Nieman is brilliant! He breathes such life and heartfelt emotion into Stivali’s stories.
An audiobook copy of Moment of Clarity was provided to Kimmers’ Erotic Book Banter, by Dreamspinner Press, in exchange for our fair and honest opinion.
Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies, and fictional British men. She's also the multiple award-winning author of contemporary and erotic romances. She writes novels about love...like real life, only hotter. Karen's lifelong fascination with people has led her to careers ranging from hand-drawn animator, to party planner, to marriage and family counselor, but writing has always been her passion. Karen enjoys nothing more than following her characters on their journey toward love. Whether the couples are m/f or m/m, it’s guaranteed that Karen's novels are filled with food, friendship, love, and smoking hot sex—all the best things in life. When Karen isn’t writing (and often when she is), she can be found on Twitter attempting witty banter and detailing the antics of her fruit-loving cat, BadKitteh. She loves to hear from readers (and other writers), so don't hesitate to contact/follow/like her at:
