Midnight Fireworks

By: BL Maxwell

Narrated by: Guy Veryzer

Spencer Cline is tired of being alone, but he also loves his job and works way too many hours. Something he’s not ready to change.

Jake Raines owns his own restaurant and knows what it’s like to put time in to make your business a success. Now he’s trying to learn how to balance the time he works with time to meet someone.

Spencer and Jake are drawn to each other instantly when they meet at a New Year’s Eve mixer. When a wrong number ensures they’ll have a little extra time together, they’re willing to take a chance on each other. Can two workaholics find time for each other in their busy schedules? With a little help from a wrong number and undeniable chemistry, they might.

©2025 BL Maxwell (P)2026 BL Maxwell

Ringing in the New Year

This short hour and seventeen minute audio book was a decent quick listen.

Taking place in Sacramento, CA mainly on New Year's Eve, Spencer and Jake a pair of gay men in their thirties step out of their comfort zone to attend A mixer meant to help find more meaningful connections than just a quick hook up. For one of them the second time is the charm for attending the mixer, the other experiences the best luck ever as they meet walking up to the entrance.

While the majority of the book is centered around the mixer, there is a bit of an extension into to the future with a HEA ending. I wouldn't classify this as erotica but there is a spicy scene so listeners with delicate sensibilities you might want to steer clear as what happens in the bedroom is depicted.

It is a well rounded story with an appearance of an ex and a family member, a good time and an obstacle to overcome.

Narrator Guy Veryzer wouldn't have been my choice to voice males in their thirties. His voice lends itself to grandpa type roles verses young men. It was also a struggle to differentiate which character he was speaking for just by the inflection of his voice. The positive aspects are that his voice was pleasant to listen to and there weren't any annoying tics or distracting back try noises.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Fun and enjoyable New Year's short!

Spencer & Jake

I remember reading this story in the anthology in which it originally appeared and I remembered all of the details from when I read it because it was such a sweet, fun little short story. The characters are funny and relatable and sweet with that instant connection that solidified a friendship as they recognized their growing romantic relationship and feelings. It was fun and easy to see them pair off even in the very short term we have with them because their personalities were incredibly compatible and they had a lot in common. It's really just a sweet story that was created to follow a prompt for a charity anthology, but it was massively enjoyable and it's the kind of story that I wish had been given more. I would have loved to have read more about the characters and giving them more story. I think they deserved to have more than just a mini epilogue that is still barely in the beginning of their relationship. They didn't NEED more but it would have been enjoyable.

I received an authorized copy of this book and am volunteering my honest review. (Dec 2025)

Audiobook Update (Mar 2026)
Narrated by Guy Veryzer

I enjoyed the audiobook, but I felt less enthralled by the presentation the way it was performed with this narrator. It was still a great story, but I feel like I was more engaged with the characters when I was able to create the virtual visualization myself while reading the eBook.

I received an authorized copy of this audiobook and am volunteering my honest review.

Wonderful story!

I absolutely loved everything about this story. The instant connection that these two men had to each other was so wonderful that it made me smile immediately. I was happy that they met each other before it started so that they each had a pull to the other and didn’t really let themselves drift towards anyone else. This truly is the kind of relationship that I love and long for myself. I definitely recommend this book and audiobook to everyone who loves mm romance stories with an instant connection.

Mistakes End Perfectly

I enjoyed the plot.
The men were sweet.
The sister was cute with her interfering.

I disliked the way the narrator drew out words and had his voice rise and lower during certain phrases, but he differentiated his voice from one character to another.

Fireworks

The narration was great. And the love story was good for a short novella. From them meeting on New Year’s Eve during a speed dating event to them planning their lives together even though it was a short time of them being together.