So into You

The PI Guys, Book 2

By: S.E. Harmon

Narrated by: Michael Stellman

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Screenwriter Noah Ashley has a few four-letter words for his agent when she suggests he improve his script by shadowing a PI. Still, because he's an artist dedicated to his craft and she knows where the bodies are buried, he agrees. Then he spends a little time with the gorgeous PI, and suddenly it seems like a really good plan. The PI doesn't seem to entirely love the idea, but Noah has never been afraid to go after what he wants.

PI Drew Rodriguez is used to people depending on him. He's the classic rock for his family. Responsible. Dependable. The classic rock would never succumb to the borderline sleazy temptation of friends with benefits, no matter how sexy that temptation is. Drew is looking for something enduring.

Despite Drew's misgivings, it's not long before they've got all the requisites for friends with benefits going. Friendly, good conversation? Check. Fun times in and out of bed? Check. Hot, electrolyte-sapping sex? Double check. Falling in love? Yeah. About that....

©2016 S.E. Harmon (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press

Loved the writing, humour, and narration

What I enjoyed about #1 (Stay With Me) I also enjoyed this time around. I loved the writing and the humour embedded within it, and the superb narration by Michael Stellman. His voice suited the PI storylines and characters.

There’s conflict throughout this story for both Drew and Noah— between themselves and with others. It’s a gradual enemies to friends to lovers type of story that involves hot and steamy scenes, and lots of them, once they get going. There are some beautiful moments as well as the sizzling chemistry between these two guys.

I especially liked Drew. He comes across as having the same sense of humour as Mac. The wit and sarcasm in Drew's snarky comments about his own situation and that of others had me chuckling throughout. He’s a solid and dependable guy, preferring commitment to one night stands. But from the start of the story his life is in turmoil. His father and brother crash at his place and he later enters an unfamiliar (for him) type of relationship with Noah. They have opposite attitudes to casual sex, but both guys make compromises. They know they have a limited time together, so they just make the most of it while they can.

I liked the connection between Drew and Noah and also with the other characters. The dialogue comes across as natural and real and was superbly narrated throughout by Michael.

Seeing that Mac and Jordan from #1 are still attached at the hip and very much in love was a big plus. It was great that they knew what Drew and Noah were feeling for each other and commented as such.

Several reviewers on Goodreads have commented that this story should have been edited to make it shorter. For me, this story is like a walk in the countryside where you take in the scenery and just enjoy what’s going on around you. Yes, some of the scenes could have been cut or reduced to make a slimline version, but so much would have been lost from the story and characters. Like in #1 there’s a lot of side plots going on involving secondary characters, but this helps to show what Drew and Noah are really like as people and what made them the way they are. My heart went out to Drew because of the way he lets his father and brother treat him and his house.

As with many stories, I had a few moments where I was scratching my head because I was bewildered:

I wondered why Mac wasn’t teamed with Noah at the start as he never seems to do much work for the agency and should therefore have been free.
How come Noah is so wealthy after writing just a few screenplays?
The snooping scene on the boat ended rather abruptly. I felt like there was a chapter or scene missing to say what happened next.
I was puzzled when Sean turns up in Florida unexpectedly and has a key to Noah’s temporary place and then disappears again.
Noah had been in a relationship with Marshall, but was reluctant to commit to Drew because he didn’t do relationships. Was it just the distance that made him hold back at first?
But these are relatively minor points and didn't really detract from my overall enjoyment of the story.

So, if you want a short and quick-paced story, then this one isn’t for you. But if you’re willing to sit back and relax and let these characters perform for you, then you will probably enjoy the interaction between Drew and Noah as they fall in love.

I’ve listened to several of Michael’s stories now and he’s fast becoming one of my favourites. His voice is interesting and husky and makes the story easy to follow. He kept me interested in the scenes and portrayed the characters and their emotions well.

If you loved stay with me you'll love this too!

The blurb tells you that this is gonna be an “enemies to lovers” sort of book between the know it all detective and the smarmy Hollywood guy. What it doesn’t tell you is that they are chock full of snark and sass and lots of barbs.]

When they get over themselves and begin having "personal" times – then it’s also full of hot s*xy times!

**

My feelings on this are pretty much my same as book one. I think the writing itself is good – no grammatical errors, etc. I liked the characters and their humor very much. I love the HEA and catching up with previous MCs. I think the setting is fun and the smexy times were really hot.

What makes this a 3.5 book for me is the fact that it’s really long and doesn’t need to be. I think that a stiff editing would take this from a “good book” to a “great book”. The first 3 chapters could have been shrunk to one maybe even a half a chapter. And this happens a lot.

Part of what makes an excellent book (IMHO) is making every word counts. A reader should have to read each word and be excited to do so. There is a lot of “side information” and time when our MCs aren’t together in this book. In order for that to “work” in a romance the reader needs to be on the edge of her seat and “hooked”. I was skimming through this trying to find the part when our MCs got back together. And it’s a lot of pages. I know that there are a TON of people who really liked Stay with me and that may simply be a matter of taste.

If you loved Stay With Me, you’ll love this as well. It can be read as a standalone but is better in order.

For me this was 3.5 of 5 stars.

Audio

Michael Stellman is a lovely narrator! He’s easy to listen to. Understands pacing and emotion and delivery. He doesn’t do any OTT accents, but differentiates the speakers well enough for the listener. This is a great way to experience this story and I think it definitely adds to the overall experience. Highly Recommended!

5 of 5 stars

Overall 4.25 of 5 stars (rounded up to 4.5)

Great Listen, great story

I enjoyed how the pulled the listener into the story and made you care about the characters. The narration was great as well.

I can foresee myself listening to this story again.

Continuing an Excellent Series

What was one of the most memorable moments of So into You?

I think the moment that was most memorable for me was when Mac moved in with Jordan. A minor moment over all in the progress of the story, and as this is not Mac's story, it's something that is focused on, however seeing Mac and Jordan's story continuing is something I was wanting to see.

What does Michael Stellman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His dedication to each character's voice makes each of the main characters one I will remember.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Fantasy, reality, and when the two meet.

Not worth the time - or money

The idea is nice, and there are some really loveable people around the two main characters, but there is too much noise in almost every sentence, mostly these banal, supposed-to-be-funny thoughts about murdering friends and family in the heads of the two main characters.

I LOVE S.E.HAROM GOT FIRST BOOK AND BOUGHT THEM AL

I REALLY LOBE ALL THESE BOOKS HES A GREAT WRITER BOUGHT THEM ALL LISTEN TO THEM ALL ON VACATION LAYING ON THE BEACH

enjoyable but could have been better

Any additional comments?

This book would have been better if it was shorter and thus quicker paced. I think the whole first hour was just back story, and there continued to be a lot of that throughout the story. I enjoyed the narrator, but he needs to do more to distinguish the characters. A few times I caught myself wondering which character was supposed to be doing the speaking.

Good story. Good narration.

This story was a bit like a soap opera mixed with a sitcom. Much of the narrative had dashes of humor, but the pacing felt like a daytime soap. Will he. Won't he. Maybe it will work.... It was fun.

Anyway, the entire cast of characters was interesting. I would have liked to get to know the main characters a little better. The reader is introduced to the basics of their personalities, but sometimes it felt like Noah and Drew are hiding emotions from the reader as much as each other.

The romantic tension stayed all the way to the end without having to much angst. The resolution was satisfying, but there were enough loose ends to leave room for more stories about side characters.

Overall, this was an entertaining read with interesting characters in a well built setting. In addition to an entertaining story, the narrator, Michael Stellman's, performance added depth and personality to each character's voice.

Glad I stuck with it!

The first half of the book was slow... I almost gave up. I'm glad I didn't, I ended up loving it 😍

A Great Story...

I so enjoy a story in which the author provides a plethora of backstory that endears the primary characters to the reader/listener and Harmon does a great job in this book. Noah and Drew are such great characters and of course I was routing for this pairing. The wit and sarcasm of each character is great and one cannot help but want a HEA. The narrator did a fantastic job bringing this story to life. Great second edition to this series...looking forward to the next installment.