A Hundred Thousand Words

By: Nyrae Dawn

Narrated by: Sean Crisden

Tobias Jackson grew up in Coburn, a town where the gay population equaled exactly one: him. Add that to the fact that his dream guy was his best friend's jerky older brother, Levi Baxter, and it made hooking up virtually impossible.

Now home from college for winter break, Toby is a different person. He left Coburn for San Francisco, where he wasn't the lone gay guy and the only black kid in town. And yeah, he took advantage of what the city had to offer.

Apparently Toby isn't the only one who's changed. Levi's not acting like the self-centered guy with all the answers that Toby remembers from growing up. Oh, and Levi's realized that he's bisexual, which makes things a lot more interesting.

Heading back to college, Toby doesn't expect to meet up with Levi again, despite him being in med school not far away. A surprise visit from Levi blows that assumption out of the water. As they spend more time together, Toby sees Levi as more than just the fantasy; he's complicated, unsure, and real. But if Toby can't get out of the past and find the words he keeps locked inside himself, he'll lose his chance at Levi for good.

©2015 Nyrae Dawn (P)2016 Tantor

Loved it!!!

Why did the story have to end? Why is there not a full series of books on their love. OMG I can't wait to read again.

Loved it

I really loved this book! It was such a great coming of age, NA, the flaws of the MC were so believable and realistic that it easy to relate to him and feel his struggles and heartache. It was beautifully written and I couldn’t stop listening once I started. The narrator did a great job with these guys and it was good to hear him after it’s been so long

Everything gelled so well in this novel!

What I enjoyed most about this novel…
Steamy / Easy-to-read / Tragic / Entertaining / Complex characters / Page-turner / Romantic / Realistic / Funny / HEA / Fantastic audiobook narration

❤

My Top Favorite Moment is from Audiobook chapter 39:
Tobias: “I was a dick.”
Xavier: “Dicks can be fun.” 😉

❤

Cover design: there are multiple covers floating around for this novel. My favorite is the one with the up-close headshot of cover model (aka Tobias) with his arms behind his head.

❤

Main characters:
Tobias and Levi

Supporting characters:
Chris – Levi’s younger brother and Tobias’s best friend
Tobias’s dad
Chris and Levi’s parents
Xavier – Tobias’s college roommate

❤

Ratings:
Overall ★★★★★ Everything gelled so well in this novel unlike my reading experience for Charade, the only other novel of Nyrae Dawn’s that I’ve read so far.

Performances ★★★★★ Voice actor Sean Crisden knocked the ball out of the park with his narration. He did so well making all of the characters distinct vocally.

Story ★★★★★ I got a lot of uninterrupted listening time with Tobias Jackson while doing two loads of laundry at the laundry mat early last week. I felt fully invested intellectually and emotionally as Tobias had to figure out how to connect better to his seemingly depressed father in addition to his deepening attraction to his best friend’s jerky older brother Levi Baxter. Having a secret relationship proved to be difficult for them both as time went on, but initially their secrecy felt necessary. Although Tobias began to know Levi in a new light and consequently learned Levi’s perspective on past shared events with Chris, he knew his best friend wasn’t quite ready to do the same. Chris had always been jealous of his older brother Levi and still had such a contentious dynamic with him.

As Levi and Tobias grew closer, Tobias became a supportive rock regarding Levi’s medical school crisis while Levi helped Tobias to open up emotionally and stop guarding his heart, a protective habit he’d developed when his mom abandoned him and his father when he was a young child. A serious event forces Tobias and Levi to come clean to Chris. That didn’t go over well, of course, but the fallout had a positive impact. It forced Tobias to fight to keep and establish a new and healthier relationship dynamic with all 3 important men in his life.

Great listen!

One of my friends ran across this book and after listening, they recommended it to me! I’m super glad I gave it a shot! It’s well written, sweet, and I liked the characters a lot. The narration was also great!

Wow wonderful story and great narration!

First book I’ve read by this author and it was great. Amazing story that makes you think about what’s important in life and love. There’s a little angst but it’s worth it and you won’t be disappointed in the ending and epilogue !!!