Under the Boardwalk

By: Felice Stevens

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

Beneath the famous Brooklyn landmark, love is hidden but not denied: All his life, Alexi Kharpov has dreamed of traveling to unknown exciting places instead of working at his family’s frozen custard stand on the famous Coney Island boardwalk. Every year is the same until a gorgeous man picks a spot in front of his stand to sing, captivating him with his beautiful voice. After two summers of listening, it might finally be time for him to cross that boardwalk and take a chance.

Opera singer Cameron Maxwell has traveled the world, but the sight of the beautiful man serving custard to tourists touches his heart like nothing ever has before. A summer fling might be exactly what he needs to put his problems out of his mind, but the last thing Cam expects is to want the summer to last forever.

It’s a season of discovery for both men who learn to dig deep within their heads and hearts to decide whether secrets old and new should remain buried, or if love is too important to keep hidden under the boardwalk.

©2017 Felice Stevens (P)2018 Felice Stevens

Good listen

I really enjoyed listening to this Audio book. Felice Stevens and Nick J Russo are a great pairing. The characters are really brought to life by the very talented Mr. Russo.

Such a sweet listen!

Alexi and Cam are so sweet and I just love their story. I couldn't help but fall in love with these characters. Felice Stevens made such an sweet story that i just couldn't stop listening. Then to have Nick J Russo doing the narration just made the story even more amazing. I just love the way he brings this story to life and I just absolutely love it.

I liked this a lot.

Under The Boardwalk is my first Felice Stevens book/audio; I listened to the audio without having read the book.

I enjoyed this story. It's a nice coming of age/coming out story. Cameron Maxwell has been singing under the boardwalk for a couple of years and at the same time Alexi has been serving custard at his family's stand. They've been admiring each other from a far but neither took the step to talk to the other…until they do.

Alexi isn't out to his family and, while he wants a relationship with Cam, he isn't ready to let his family know that he's gay. Cam is willing to wait under Alexi is ready to tell his family.

This is a sweet story about a summer fling that turns in too much more. Alexi has to deal with his family (his father in particular) and Cam has a health crisis to deal with. Cam helps Alexi figure out what he wants to do with his life and gives him the courage to come out to his family.

Nick J. Russo's narration is very good. He does a great job with the voices and accents so that it's easy to tell who is speaking. I've listened to a couple of other books he's narrated and I enjoy his voice.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

That was good!

A light feel good story. A little angst, but not too much. The setting so richly described, it’s almost a third character. Both MCs have humanly nervous, unsure, apprehensive moments, but they each rise to meet the challenges before them, some internal, some external. And of course, the HEA our romance hearts demand.

I often steer away from shorter books, but this one was perfect. It didn’t feel like anything was missing or cheated because the book is shorter.

Nick is not my favorite narrator, but he is good. I trust that he’s going to give me voices I can listen to, get the mood of every scene, and come through on the emotional or spicy bits. He even takes a not terrible stab at a Russian accent in this one.

This listen is worth your money or a credit.
I’m going to look for more Felice Stevens books.

Romance on Coney Island set to music

A coming of age story steeped in culture and the sights and sounds of New York. This author writes about what she knows, life in multi-cultural NYC. This is the story of two young men who watch each other for an entire summer season near the Boardwalk on Coney Island.
Alexi - of a conservative Russian family works at his family's frozen custard stand. He can't wait to have enough money to travel, to go somewhere and see the world. He doesn't feel that he can possibly come out in light of his conservative family and homophobic attitudes.

Cam, a singer, and musician, on the other hand, has done plenty of traveling and is now is looking for stability and to settle down. More than anything he wants to make connections.

These two young men watch each other for an entire season before making contact the following year. In the meantime, the attraction between the two silently grows. When they do finally connect and their relationship develops, they realize that despite their love, they want entirely different things from life.

You can count on a satisfying conclusion and this story is no different.

After reading the story, listening to the performance of narrator Nick Russo adds an entirely different dimension and allows for increased appreciation for the personalities of main and secondary characters. Mr. Russo is one of my favorite narrators and a strong motivating factor when making a purchase decision.