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    Strings Attached
    Strings Attached
    Strings Attached
    Audiobook10 hours

    Strings Attached

    Written by Nick Nolan

    Narrated by Luke Daniels

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award Winner in Gay & Lesbian Fiction

    Adolescence is a hazardous way of life for 17-year-old Jeremy Tyler; his father died in a mysterious accident when he was a child, and his mother has since descended into alcoholic hell and forced rehab; that’s when he’s sent from the Fresno slums of his childhood to the posh estate of his overbearing great aunt Katherine and her censorious husband7mdash;liberated from an economic prison, only to land in an emotional one—and is overwhelmed by the change. It’s not easy for him to fit into the upper crust, particularly because he’s trying to hide how much he’s attracted to other boys. Jeremy’s story of breaking free from the strands of dishonesty, deceit, and self-doubt has its parallels to the tale of Pinocchio, but Nolan’s take is totally contemporary: think the TV series The OC—girls with mean cheekbones, well-built guys with snotty attitudes, and Jeremy in the role of heartthrob Ryan Atwood. He’s a good-looking kid, with a sleek swimmer’s physique—and the swim team’s champ is out to get him. He dates one of the smart-set girls in an attempt to keep his hormones at bay—but that doesn’t do him much good. Nolan’s debut novel is a kitchen sink of genres—coming of age, coming out, mystery, romance, erotica, even a dash of the supernatural—that add up to an impressive story about the passage from boyhood to manhood.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateNov 27, 2012
    ISBN9781469200958
    Strings Attached
    Author

    Nick Nolan

    Nick Nolan was born and raised in Los Angeles, the city he has haunted for over two decades. Working nights and weekends selling furniture to put himself through college, Nolan went on to direct a group home for homeless and abused LGBT youth. During his scant spare time, he began writing. Inspired by the works of writers like Armistead Maupin, Paul Russell, and Paul Monette, he penned his debut novel, Strings Attached, the first in a planned trilogy. Shortly after its release, Strings Attached was named the 2006 Gay/Lesbian Book of the Year by ForeWord Magazine, hit #1 in Gay Fiction on Amazon.com, and spent nearly a year in that genre’s Top 10. Two years later Nolan’s second thriller Double Bound won Book of the Year awards for Gay/Lesbian Fiction by both ForeWord Magazine and ReaderViews. Nick, his partner and their two beloved dogs divide their time between their home in the San Fernando Valley and their cabin high in the mountains of California. A third novel is expected soon.

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    Reviews for Strings Attached

    3.5/5

    56 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Loved it! I listened to book 3 first by accident, so I kind of know the plot line. Still I can’t stop listening. I love Luke Daniels!
    • 4/5
      Teenager Jeremy Tyler leads a challenging life. His single mother is an alcoholic, and he's often left to take care of her. But when he comes home to find her almost dead, he knows this time things need to change. Not only do the doctors say rehab is his mother's only option, but he's not sure how much longer he can be her caregiver. He's due to finish high school soon, and he'd like to at least have the chance to attend college.

      With Jeremy's mother reluctantly agreeing to rehab, Jeremy finds himself whisked away to the home of a rich great aunt whom he doesn't remember ever meeting. But when he arrives, he finds that life with Aunt Katharine might just be exactly what he needs. She dotes on him and provides everything from clothes to a new haircut to advice on how to fit in. Though with that advice comes a clear message: a Tyler needs to be perfect in every way and nothing less is acceptable. Which is the one thing that makes Jeremy's new life bittersweet. If his great aunt ever found out his one flaw, would she disown him? Would he lose everything? And is that worth denying himself true happiness?

      --

      A charming and interesting story. Jeremy is a surprisingly resilient young man considering the upbringing he had. And although life in Ballena Beach is much different from what he had in Fresno, he quickly adapts to his new surroundings. It's all the forces moving around him that create the conflict in this story.

      While I enjoyed several of the side characters, I did find the character of Jeremy's uncle confusing. It's Jeremy's story, so maybe it didn't seem important--but there's no real indicator of his motivation. All of the secrets he kept for all of these years? Why? It just seemed a bit strange. But again, maybe we as readers are not really supposed to understand.

      Overall, this is an easy read. It's got some comedic moments as well as some sad ones too. Entertaining enough to get you through a rainy afternoon.
    • 5/5
      Jeremy Tyler, seventeen years old remembers neither the wealth into which he was born, nor his father who died two years after he was born, all he knows is a life of poverty living alone with his alcoholic mother, a life of missed meals, tattered clothes and little love. But the day he comes home from school to find his mother collapsed and near death's door is the day everything changes for him. With his mother facing a six months recovery in hospital he finds himself sent away to be cared for by his wealthy aunt in her luxury villa on the California coast near Los Angeles.He steps immediately into a life of privilege and promise, loved, adored and guided by his aunt, and with the help and support of Aurthur the family butler, his natural good manners, pleasing disposition and unspoilt charms blossom. He quickly makes friends at his new school, and proves himself a valued member of the swimming team.But not all is plain sailing for Jeremy. Questions arise concerning his uncle Bill, is he all he seems, can he be trusted? Of more immediate worry though is Jeremy's sexuality, despite his strange fascination with boys he refuses to accept that he is gay. The openly gay Carlo, his first real new school friend, is convinced Jeremy is gay too, but Jeremy sets out out prove himself with a steady girl friend - despite the arousing fantasies he has centred on the handsome Cody, his swim team companion. But Jeremy still has a lot to learn about other people and himself; he will discover who can and who can't be trusted, and who his real friends are, who is true love is, and who he himself really is.Strings Attached is a charming read, based on the traditional Pinocchio tale, is itself a delightful fairly story in which in typical fashion our hero comes triumphantly through all his trials and troubles. A fairy story complete with fairy-godmother Aurthur the gay butler, and the wicked all consuming uncle Bill. It is filled with interesting and well developed characters including the self-centred jock Cody; the two gossipy and often catty girls who take Jeremy under their wings; the fabulous and flamboyant Carlo, the beautiful Mexican boy who hopes to win over Jeremy; and the seemingly perfect Aurthur, Jeremy's guide and guardian, alway with the right answers, always in the right place at the right time.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, a well written book that is hard to put down, a book that is full of surprises, a book that is fast moving and wastes no time stating the obvious but moves ahead quickly yet cramming in much detail and interest along the way, but above all an involving and very touching tale - highly recommend.
    • 1/5
      This is billed as a coming-of-age/coming-out mystery. This is actually nothing more than a gay teenage romance novel. The mystery plays only a small part in this book and is poorly developed and seems thrown together as an afterthought. It had good reviews, and I expected a well written novel. It was not. Thankfully it was free from Amazon.
    • 3/5
      A retelling of the classic Pinocchio tale but in this case the strings are metaphorical, the main character is a GAY teenager rescued from an alcoholic mother by a manipulative and wealthy Great Aunt who never had a child of her own. It's a combination coming of age, rags to riches, possible murder mystery all rolled into one! Enjoyable read.