Narrated by J.F. Harding
Kaje Harper’s Life Lessons (first published in print in 2011) is the first in a series of four books that follows high school English teacher Tony Hart and widower and deeply closeted homicide detective Jared Maclean from their very first meeting as part of a murder investigation, through the ups and downs of their relationship to their eventual HEA in book four. I enjoyed the story, the characters, the burgeoning romance and the narration very much indeed (it’s J.F. Harding – duh!) and am very much looking forward to listening to the other books in the series when they’re released.
It’s Friday night and Tony Hart is working late, pretty much the only teacher still in the building at Rooseman High. He’s on his way out when he realises he’s left something up in his third-floor classroom; tired and limping because of a sprained ankle, he decides to take the creaky elevator rather than the stairs. When the doors open at his floor, a man stumbles backward into the car, pushing Tony against the wall. Annoyed, Tony pushes back, wondering if the man – a fellow teacher – is drunk – but then he sees the knife sticking out of his chest. Momentarily paralysed with shock, Tony realises that the pounding he can hear isn’t just the beating of his heart – it’s the sound of someone running away. He hears the door at the end of the hallway swing shut, but by the time he sticks his head out the elevator door, whoever it was is gone.
After being questioned by Detective Jared MacLean, Tony spends an unsettled weekend before returning to school on Monday to intense curiosity on the part of his students. He expects life will settle down soon enough – until the next day, when he returns at his classroom to find a threatening note – “keep your faggot nose out of things that don’t concern you” – on his chair. He tries to convince himself it’s not the killer, that it’s just a stupid prank – but he can’t. He calls Detective MacLean and asks him to stop by to take a look, and is heartened by his genuine concern, feeling just a little better knowing he can call on him for help. The fact that Mac is absolutely his type – big, confident, muscled – has nothing to do with it. And even if it did, Mac’s straight.
Except… he isn’t. Mac’s deeply in the closet and has no intention of leaving it, making do with the odd trip to Vegas when he needs to scratch that itch. Being a widower and a single parent is the perfect cover as far as keeping his secret is concerned, and as the story progresses his situation is revealed to be complex and quite heartbreaking; he can’t risk coming out at work and needs the job in order to support his little girl, but the long hours he works mean he can’t look after her. Anna lives with a cousin, a religious bigot who doesn’t allow Mac in the house because he doesn’t share her faith, and he doesn’t get to see Anna as often as he’d like.
But it is what it is; Anna is well cared-for and he’s making it work as best he can. But he’d reckoned without meeting Tony Hart, whose tousled dark hair, piercing blue eyes and sweet smile captivate him from the very start – and who, for the first time ever, has Mac thinking about what it might be like to have someone in his life, someone he can truly be himself with.
Fate conspires to throw Tony and Mac into each other’s paths yet again and they start to become friends, each of them trying hard not to think about his attraction to the other and keep things simple between them. But everything changes when Tony and his best friend are the victims of a hit and run (and his friend dies). It’s clear the killer has Tony in their sights – and Mac is determined to do whatever it takes to keep him safe.
I really enjoyed the combination of police procedural and romance in Life Lessons, and the author gets the balance between plot/action and character and relationship development just right. Mac and Tony have terrific chemistry and although the events of the story take place over just a couple of weeks, there’s the feel of a slow-burn to their romance, which I liked a lot. I will say, though, that the first sex scene, with its ‘I’ve-got-a-concussion-my-bestie-just-died-and-I-feel-like-shit-but-I-want-out-of-my-head-so-let’s-bang’ – thing did make me roll my eyes. I sort of get it, but shagging with a head injury is surely inadvisable at best and dangerous at worst!
Tony and Mac are decent, likeable guys whose flaws make them that much more human. I loved Tony’s quiet strength; he knows who he is, he’s kind and helpful but no pushover, and Mac is so intent on doing the right thing for those he cares for that he’s lost sight of the fact that he deserves to have a life, too. It’s clear that his decision to remain closeted has taken a toll on him and I really felt for him. His inner conflict and struggles with his feelings are very well written. I appreciated the way Tony is so supportive and never pressures Mac into coming out so they can be together; he’s willing to compromise and to be patient, but he makes it clear that he wants more and that their being together in secret isn’t something that’s going to work for him forever. Life Lessons ends with a strong HFN for Mac and Tony, which feels absolutely right for this story and left me eager for more.
J.F. Harding delivers a practically flawless performance (I noticed a couple of mispronunciations, but that’s it) that brings the story and characters vividly to life and makes for a terrific listening experience. The pacing is spot on and his portrayal of the two leads is just right, the gruffness and resonance to Mac’s voice expertly describing his world-weariness, and contrasting nicely with the lighter, livelier tones used for Tony. Mr. Harding narrates expressively and hits all the emotional beats in the story; the back-and-forth between Mac and Tony is perfectly timed and laced with sexual tension and affection, and their connection comes through really strongly. The various secondary characters are equally well represented and easy to distinguish from one another; the two young children in the story (aged four and five) sound really cute! It’s a wonderfully engrossing performance that captivated me from beginning to end and elevates this already enjoyable story to another level. Book two can’t come out soon enough!
Caz
Buy Life Lessons by Kaje Harper on Amazon
I loved this, Caz, I hope we don’t have to wait too long for the rest of the series to be recorded.
I did, too – I’ve already listened to it twice! I’ll definitely be pouncing on book 2!