The Imperfection of Swans

By: Brandon Witt

Narrated by: Kirt Graves

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Kevin Bivanti's dream is to open a wedding dress shop, a place with the stunning gowns to make every bride-to-be feel adored. At 38, he quits a successful advertising career to buy an old brownstone in a trendy Boston neighborhood and to make his dream a reality. When one of his cosigners drops out, fate intervenes, ushering in Casper James, who hopes to open his own bakery. With Casper willing to take the risk, their ambitions meld into a wedding dress and wedding cake boutique.

Extensive renovations to the brownstone, an affair with his ex-husband, family drama with his mothers, and the anxiety of significant life changes push Kevin to the brink of a nervous breakdown. In the midst of stress and uncertainty, Casper becomes more than a business partner, a mutual attraction that adds another layer of intensity and risk.

With their dreams on the verge of reality, Kevin and Casper must find the courage to face the stress of managing their attraction, the gamble of a new business venture, and the resurgence of Kevin's personal demons.

©2015 Brandon Witt (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press

Perfection

If you could sum up The Imperfection of Swans in three words, what would they be?

Beautiful real, mesmerizing

Any additional comments?

This was an incredibly beautiful, real story. The narration from Kirt Graves brought the story to life and I was mesmerized. Mr Graves does a wonderful job with the pacing and really adds to the structure of the story.

Kevin has a secret that he has been dealing with his whole life. As far as he is concerned he has it under control. When opening a new business and the possibility of a new relationship brings everything to the surface he realizes just how not in control he is.

Casper is finally making his dreams come true, he is opening his own bakery and has fallen for his new business partner. The stress of the business brings to light that not all is right with his partner but Casper isn't going to stop fighting to make all his dreams come true.

The author does a wonderful job of layering in the realities and struggles with the love and family. And the narrator brings you into the story and makes blocking out the real world easy to do. The characters teach us the beauty in the imperfections.

Great story

Brandon, I loved the story very much. Please keep writing, keep living your dreams.

Your newest fan
Ryan

A beautiful story

Would you listen to The Imperfection of Swans again? Why?

Yes. It is beautifully written and a great story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Imperfection of Swans?

The scene in the Gym when Kevin gets a panic attack over another woman that he recognizes has the same thing he does. It is very dramatic and sad.

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

Kirt has a smooth almost mesmerizing voice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and I almost did!

Any additional comments?

The Imperfection of Swans is a sweet, heartfelt story of a man with a secret. He dreams of having a wedding dress store, finds the perfect location and with the help of his family he jumps to start his dream.
Casper has a dream of a bakery, and when he finds out, Kevin needs an investor and has the perfect space for his shop in the brownstone they become, partners and friends.

I love characters, and I love how Kevin's family is so tight and helps Kevin so much. I love each of his mom's, and I also fell in love with Casper. I liked how there was some romance mixed in with the emotional topic, yet the sex was sweet and mostly off page so that it did not overpower the story but expressed the feelings of the two men,
Brandon wrote such a beautiful, heartfelt story. I liked at the end how it had the dedication to his inspiration and told us it was based on his best friend. That made it more real and inspirational. Brandon shows that self-image is very real and also something men deal with too. I hope this story reaches some men and women dealing with eating disorders and shows there is hope and help.

Superb!

One of the most moving, insightful, and hopeful stories I've read (or rather, listened to ;-) in a long time. I couldn't help falling in love with Kevin and Casper, and being pulled along on their journey together. I'm so glad this book was written. Yes, it was a love story, but it was so much more . . . . That it was based upon a close friend of the authors, the real Kevin, made it all the more poignant and triumphant, and it was lovely to hear Kevin's letter to us at the close of the story. Thank you, Kevin, for sharing your experiences with Brandon Witt, and through Brandon's superb pen, with all of us.

This book has it all: Wonderful characters you can't help feeling close with, a beautiful and sensitively written story, and all read to perfection.

Beautiful story, beautifully narrated

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would absolutely recommend this book to a friend. It is a slow burn, which in my opinion is so much easier to have in audio.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Imperfection of Swans?

Kevin is a character that will stay with you.

Which scene was your favorite?

Kevin's visit with the therapist...had me laughing and crying at the same time.

Any additional comments?

The narration is beautiful!

Wonderful

New to me author, Brandon Witt has been on my TBR forever. I enjoyed the audio book very much. It will not be the last I read of Brandon

loved it

kirt graves brought this book alive. loved it and the end note from kevin was awesome.

A saga of strength

I liked the overall premise of the book. The passages about Kevin's "illness" were affecting but there were a few "beating a dead horse" moments for me. I enjoyed the family dynamics and enjoyed the gentle pace of the book. kudos to the beautiful cover model for bravery.

Brandon writes a beautiful story

Brandon captures the scent and flavour of life as he delves into the emotions of living and loving as a flawed human. Enjoy the fantastic narration and exquisite characterisation. But most of all look into the hearts of those living with a secret and having the courage to let someone know.

Sincere and more polished

This author grows with each endeavor. I was expecting sentences to be used with prepositions to end them and storyline holes, but this one skirts most of that and tries to tell a story that is much larger than the framework might support. As with one of the two central characters, the author seems to more often expect a positive outcome from what he calls "fate." It is charming and endearing. The characters have weaknesses and lapses in individual analytical thinking that test verisimilitude; I always thought "well, that's possible. I wonder if, in those moments of personal thought, I was pulled away from what might have been a deeper connection to the personalties of narrative. The characters cry a bit too much for my taste but not as much as in those supposedly LGBTQ "romances" written by middle-aged, straight, female writers with too many feline friends around the keyboard. These are male characters who happen to be gay. Their truth rings resonant for me, I can breathe with them. I will be glad when gay characters no longer put a book in a category with a circumscribed readership, their are a lot of primarily straight human beings of both sexes who could get a lot out of reading this book.