Narrated by Sean Crisden
Better Not Pout is a charming, sexy, May/December romance set during the holiday season, in which a hard-boiled military police officer playing Santa for charity gets stuck in a snowstorm with a too enthusiastic, far too temptingly attractive elf… and discovers that perhaps the best laid plans aren’t necessarily the best plans after all.
Sergeant Major Nicholas Nowicki has spent pretty much his entire adult life in the military, and after twenty-eight years of service, his retirement is fast approaching. He’s spending the final months of his service at the base at Fort End in upstate New York, and as he embarks on his last few weeks, he’s starting to feel somewhat superfluous to requirements; his duties are light and it’s painfully obvious just how easily life at Fort End will go on without him. He really doesn’t want to retire but staying on isn’t an option, so he’s decided to go into partnership with a friend and former colleague who now runs a small business chartering boat trips for tourists in Florida. Right from the off, it’s fairly clear Nick’s heart really isn’t in it – despite his enthusiasm for the warmer weather – but a promise is a promise and he’s never ever gone back on his word… and he has to do something after retirement, so it might as well be this.
Shortly before Thanksgiving, his commanding officer asks Nick for a favour. Her husband usually plays Santa for the local Helping Hand charity centre during their pre-Christmas fundraising period, but this year he’s unwell – so she asks Nick to step in. He’s not especially enthusiastic about the idea, but doesn’t feel he can say no, which is how he finds himself dressed in a too-small Santa costume making his way to the nearby town of Mineral Springs. At the centre, he’s greeted by a smiling, chatty and entirely too upbeat young man dressed as an elf… who turns out to be the charity’s director, Teddy McNally.
Teddy was born and bred in Mineral Springs and runs the Helping Hand with efficiency and good humour. He takes one look at his somewhat grumpy Santa and determines to at least make sure he has a good day – maybe even get him to raise a smile. He’s got his work cut out for him though – Nick is guarded and stalls all Teddy’s good-natured attempts at flirtation, but Teddy is undaunted. After all, anything worth having takes a little work.
At the end of the day, Nick wants nothing more than to get back to base to hang up his Santa suit, and to remove himself from temptation’s way. Teddy McNally is too attractive, too appealing and, at twenty-eight, far too young for him, so in spite of Teddy’s warnings about the worsening weather, Nick insists on finding his own way back to the main road. But fate – and the weather – is conspiring against him, and he ends up getting lost and running his truck into a snow-covered ditch. Trudging back towards down, he’s relieved to see an approaching car… and then not so relieved when he recognises it as the one belonging to Teddy.
There’s nothing for it but to head to Teddy’s for the night, and Nick is surprised when their evening together turns out to be better than he could have expected. They chat, play board-games and just hang out comfortably together, and even though Teddy makes clear his interest in games of another sort, he leaves it to Nick to make a move… and Nick eventually stops trying to resist Teddy’s many charms. He’s too old for Teddy and he’s leaving in a month, but they both know where they stand, and he decides to indulge himself – both of them – for the night. Afterwards, it’s clear that one night isn’t going to be enough, so although they know their time together is finite, they decide to make the most of it without becoming too deeply involved. *sigh* Oh, guys…
The chemistry between the couple burns hot, and there are plenty of earbud-melting sexytimes along the way. But most importantly, the author creates a strong, believable emotional connection between them; in spite of their difference in age and life experience, Nick and Teddy really are made for one another and it’s easy to root for them as a couple. The roadblock in their road to happiness is really more of a small speed-bump in the form of Nick’s insistence on keeping his promise to his friend, and his inability to believe he’s right for Teddy simply because his last long-term relationship was with a younger man who eventually left him. That said, Teddy’s risk-averse nature has a part to play, too; unwilling to put any pressure on Nick in the short time they have together, he fails to see that maybe he needs to stop playing it safe if he’s to stop the best thing that’s ever happened to him just walk away.
I was delighted when I saw Sean Crisden’s name attached to this audiobook. I know he’s narrated a number of books by Annabeth Albert, but somehow I haven’t picked up any of them yet (a situation I intend to rectify asap!). I’ve listened to him several times recently though, and I know he’s a talented, accomplished performer, so I was confident going in that I was in for an enjoyable six hours. Mr. Crisden’s pacing and character differentiation are excellent, his diction is clear, and his voice is smooth and warm and simply gorgeous; listening to him is like being wrapped in the softest of aural blankets. The deep, resonant tone he employs to portray Nick perfectly conveys the image of a large, imposing man with an equally large heart, and contrasts nicely with the higher pitch and slightly faster pace he adopts for Teddy, whose vibrant, bubbly nature means there’s an almost permanent smile on his face and in his voice. The one criticism I can level is that at times, Teddy sounds a little too over the top and comes dangerously near to squeaking – but fortunately, that doesn’t happen very often. All in all, it’s a terrific performance which hits all the right emotional notes and adds much to this lovely, feel-good story.
That whole grumpy-older-guy-meets-younger-outgoing-one storyline is perhaps a tad predictable, but Better Not Pout is no less enjoyable for that. Teddy is adorable and Nick’s solid dependability is the perfect foil to his bouncy enthusiasm; they make a great couple, and their romance is really well done. Add in the superb narration by Sean Crisden and you’ve got a holiday romance guaranteed to give you the warm fuzzies on the coldest of Winter evenings!
Caz
Buy Better Not Pout by Annabeth Albert on Amazon
