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After the Crash
- A Small Town Hearts Novel
- Narrated by: J.F. Harding
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
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After the Crash
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Summary
Rule number one: Straight military men will always be straight, no matter how much you wish otherwise.
Rule number two: Being a billionaire won’t change that (probably).
Rule number three: The whole thing between you when you were in high school? It was only fantasy.
Rule number four: One-sided fantasy.
Rule number five: God, how great would it be if it was a two-sided fantasy?
Rule number six: Okay, getting off track.
Rule number seven: Hiring your hot high school crush is totally okay.
Rule number eight: If you don’t let your feelings get in the way, everything will be fine.
Marshall Lloyd is about to be very not fine. Not only is his high school crush back in his life, but he’s matured into a gruff, brooding, drop-dead gorgeous specimen of a man who makes Marshall’s wet dreams seem about as exciting as drying paint.
The only problem? Fox Fraser, the individual in question, is straight.
Super straight.
The kind of straight that would make a ruler jealous.
But if what Marshall sees when he looks in Fox’s eyes is to be believed, he’s broken, too. There are scars inside of him that no one notices. No one but Marshall. It’s not wrong to want to help him, is it? To hire him to take care of things around the house so he can get back on his feet? It’s just work. Work that leads to lingering looks. To prolonged touches. To...mmph.
It’s better not to think about it.
Marshall’s fantasies aren’t real. A guy like Fox would never pin him to a wall and do things to him like that.
Maybe.
Probably.
Right?
After the Crash is the first book in the Small Town Hearts series, which features heroes scattered across the rural United States who find love where they’re least expecting it. In addition to explosive chemistry, you can expect sneezing bushes, tea that tastes like hay, and a wet wrestling match that's just boys having fun, Mom.
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What listeners say about After the Crash
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dee Slate
- 30-12-19
Groundskeeping has a whole new meaning!
Enjoyable, low angst story about overcoming adversity - from bullying to PTSD - and creating a new life for oneself.
Marshall and Fox knew each other from high school (Fox saved Marshall from a bunch of bullies). Both men are home to heal (Fox from PTSD, Marshall to confront his past).
I loved the banter, snark and humour in the story, especially when dealing with touchy subjects like PTSD, domestic abuse (Sam). I enjoyed the story.
The narration was so much better than I hoped for! JF Harding absolutely got Fox :). It was so much fun listening to him as Sam when he first mentions 'groundskeeping' as a euphemism. And the scene with the snipes? priceless!
Overall, all the characters are well performed. Loved it!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 22-12-19
🎧 LesCourt Reviewer 🎧
After the Crash by Emma Alcott. This story develops nicely. A good combination of world building and character development. I really enjoyed Fox and Marshall's characters.
The Narrator J.F. Harding did a fantastic job bringing these characters and story to life.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Trio
- 05-01-20
Snarky, Sweet, Sexy & JF Harding is Spectacular!
Opposites attract, gay for you, first time, a wee bit of angst, and a whole lotta sensual and erotic sexy-times, After the Fall is just about perfect! I’m thoroughly impressed, and anxiously awaiting the next book in the Small Town Hearts series by Emma Alcott.
The audio edition is performed by J.F. Harding and he is spectacular. His sweet and nerdy Marshall will melt your heart, and his gruff and growly Fox will melt your… well, your other bits. Fans of Harding narrating MM romances will not be disappointed!
The first thing that struck me about After the Fall was how incredibly clever it is. One look at the précis and you can tell this isn’t your average romance, and Alcott carries that humor throughout the book. The main supporting character, Sam, has just about the best snark ever, and the dialog is creative, funny, and witty the whole way through.
Wonderful characters and a fantastic story, romance fans are going to love After the Fall!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pixiebell
- 25-12-19
Romantic Friends to Lovers
This is the first in a series by a new to me author Emma Alcott, and I throughly enjoyed it.
It’s a slow burn romance between Marshall who has returned to his home town from Silicon Valley to take a year’s sabbatical, and face his past after making his life successful and Fox, who has returned home after being discharged from the Airforce with PTSD, but Fox is straight..until things change.
The characters were really likeable including, Sam, and the author dealt with the serious issues of PTSD and parental abuse in a very sensitive and informative way.
I will definitely be looking out for further audiobooks by this author again.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- headinabook
- 01-01-20
Adorkable and sweet
This first in the series is adorably sweet and has some laugh out loud moments but also deals with some serious issues in PTSD, flashbacks, nightmares, bullying and parental abuse.
The characters are quirky and adorkable all with their own issues that make them a team, a family that together is perfect and invincible. This is the first book I have listened to by this narrator and is the first book I have read by this author and I will be reading/listening others when they come out, her style of writing in insightful and intense yet with enough humour to keep it from being too dark, I found it to be fantastic, a must read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Meph666
- 01-01-20
Wow! Emotional and well narrated
Wow! What an emotional read this is!
Fox and Marshall knew each other in high school but life has gone in vastly different directions since Fox stood up to Marshall's bullies. Fox has serves in the Air Force but come out permanently changed by his experiences and Marshall has come back to town after deciding to take a year off from his multi million dollar tech company.
It is heartbreaking reading Fox's current life and the past that he constantly lives with in nightmares and flashbacks. He's so strong in working through panic attacks and pressures that he has in dealing with people and situations. Marshall appears to him at the perfect time and just sits with him, enabling him to get through that moment and rekindle their friendship. Marshall is perfect in offering patience, acceptance and understanding, never pushing for more than Fox can give. The two end up living at Marshall's new home when Fox is in need of somewhere to live and work to occupy his time and mind.
This is a slow burn relationship with a lot of heat between them when it does spark. The friendship that blossoms is really beneficial to them both as each have a past they want to work through. We even have another character come in that gives Marshall a chance to tutor and Fox the chance to protect and teach. It brings all three people closer together and gives a real family feel. The author really brings to light how tough war is for those who experience it when fighting but especially the possibility of physical and mental disability, and for those around them. It was hard to read in places but so worth experiencing it with the characters.
I cannot recommend this story enough. It's so heartfelt and emotional. Fox's PTSD is hard to deal with on a daily basis and Marshall finds how affected they both will become when they grow closer. I'm excited to see where Emma Alcott will take this series next.
This is the first time that I have head J.F. Harding narrating and I was blown away with how he narrated everything that both men go through in this story. I felt right there with Fox as he was going through all of his PTSD moments and his emerging feelings for Marshall whilst Marshall wants to offer as much support as possible whilst also being there as much as he can for his new student. Definitely a narrator that I'm looking forward to hearing more of in the future after he's done such great work with the characters, emotions and storytelling.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- SC
- 01-01-20
Emotional
A great start to this new series from Emma Alcott, After The Crash shows how you can pick up the pieces after suffering trauma in combat. Fox is an absolute sweetheart struggling with PTSD after serving in the Air Force, he doesn’t get support from his family so when he stumbles across Marshall in his time of need it really changes his life. I think the PTSD was covered very well and I really got the sense of the suffering Fox was enduring trying to cope with what happened.
The romance is super sweet, I loved how Fox just totally owns his feelings and isn’t shy about telling Marshall how he feels. Marshall is an absolute delight and when things take a turn later in the book he really steps up and takes on the new challenge 100%.
I look forward to the rest of this series.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- kindleaddict
- 05-01-20
Compelling listening.
Two differently damaged men with a past history.
One love story for the ages.
One troubled teen, with a heartbreaking life and a hilarious coping mechanism.
J. F. Harding (a new narrator to me) does a really good job of bringing each character to life.
I would definitely recommend this audio.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- BevS
- 19-05-20
On the fence with this one, but JF superb as usual
3.5 stars rounded up for the story, but 4.5 stars rounded up for the narration from JF Harding. His 'Fox' reminded me of Kage from Kage and Santori. Fox had been in the Air Force, but after a disastrous accident whilst serving his country, had been invalided out with PTSD. I honestly couldn't understand why he wasn't undergoing perpetual therapy...and his b***h of a mother, well she was a complete harpy.
'Marshall' was a lovely character, who'd really made something of himself after being badly bullied at Bulrush High school...in fact, it was Fox who'd saved him on one occasion. I think it was fair to say that Marshall may have had a teeny tiny little crush on Fox, which of course would never be returned...Fox was straight wasn't he?
Both men were mentoring a young guy Sam...and I have to say I had guessed who was abusing him. I did have some niggles with the story though, and I'm not sure that I would read anything else from Emma Alcott aka Piper Scott.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- choccygrl
- 06-01-20
Small town boy makes good
Bullied out gay teen leaves, makes a fortune and returns to buy a property in the area. At the same time bully-adjacent (who also saved him one time) returns from his stint in the forces with PTSD. Marshall was a darling the way he dealt with meeting Fox again for the first time since school. After meeting in a bush (it's a lovely heartwarming scene) Marshall invites Fox to be his gardener. Those first tentative steps of Fox settling in and them dancing around each other were lovely.
Once they had sex it slipped a bit for me. There were too many sex scenes and Fox turned into a super confident dominant type in the bedroom, despite having never been with a man before and his PTSD having him questioning everything.
When they weren't getting down and dirty I liked how both characters were portrayed.
I felt some things got lost in favour of more bedroom/kitchen/office/any flat surface scene. Sam seemed to get forgotten about for a while, and Fox relationship with his parents was dismissed with one line--they live in the same town, they will bump into each other, I'd have liked to have seen this confrontation.
Honestly this was heading for a 5 star read but ended up as a 4. Such a shame.
Overall a heartwarming read, with little in the way of relationship angst, and with plenty of heat for those who like that sort of thing. It's not angst free but that comes from others treatment of the MCs and secondary characters and Fox's internal PTSD.
The narrator is one that I haven't heard of but I thought he did a great job.
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