Talk to Me

Sloan Brothers #1

by D.K. Sutton

alternate cover edition of ASIN B07ZTTRXD5

Max

Chase Corrigan is the competition and the reason I can’t sleep at night. How does he beat my customer service numbers—and get the bonus—every month? We’re complete opposites. I’m a people person, and he avoids everyone. Sure, he’s gorgeous with long blond hair and icicle-blue eyes, but I like my guys a little more thawed out. I’m determined to take him down.

All that changes when my plan backfires. I get to know the real Chase and realize why he’s so private. I can’t stop thinking about him. The problem? I’m a casual-type of guy. And Chase Corrigan has serious written all over him.

Chase

Maxwell Sloan is everything I detest in a man. He’s loud, obnoxious, and way too full of himself. He loves being the center of attention, while I just want to be left alone. I’m not competitive, but I enjoy beating Max out of the top spot each month. It also makes me his favorite target.

When Max and I are thrown together on a work project, I want to throttle him. He makes me so angry—and more alive than I’ve felt in a long time. But I’ve been with men like Max before, and I’ll never put myself in that position again. If only my heart would listen.

Talk to Me is a 50,000-word m/m romance with a HEA. It’s the first book in the Sloan Brothers series but can be read as a stand-alone. The book includes a steamy office romance, scheming gamers, and an adorably high-maintenance terrier.

Genres: M M Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT, Gay, Fiction

152 pages, ebook

First published October 30, 2019

About the author

D.K. SUTTON has a background in social work. In her off time from writing, she enjoys crocheting and spending time with her family. As an introvert, she has always been a little awkward (and a lot geeky). Turns out, those are handy traits for a writer. Her Broken series is M/M fiction, full of love and angst, and it challenges the rhetoric around being gay and religious. Her Trials of Love series and Sloan Brothers series are both M/M romance. She doesn't believe in hate and believes that people have a good side within them.

She enjoys writing about slightly flawed characters in compromising situations. She has a passion for writing LGBTQ+ stories, because the world needs more love and inclusion.


Connect with DK Sutton on Social Media
Facebook @dksuttonwrites
Facebook group facebook.com/groups/dkcafe/
Twitter @debraelq

Reviews

[Teal]

DNF @ 9%. The writing style wasn't working for me. It's mostly simple declarative sentences that don't vary much in length, which made for a somewhat staccato effect. Also there was more telling than I prefer. Of course those things wouldn't have been a dealbreaker if only I'd been grabbed by the premise or intrigued by the characters. But I just wasn't feeling it. Honestly, there's nothing hugely wrong with the book -- it might just be a case of me being difficult to please at the moment.

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max and Chase are competitors at Cox Communications, where they both work.
They kind of hate each other. By all means, Chase can’t stand Max by how his furious eyes talk.
He is like a smoldering volcano ready to explode. But who knew how he really was.

Max, a butterfly everybody loves, can’t understand why Chase doesn’t like him.
He likes Chase with his beautiful appearance and even more beautiful long hear. He really wants to know why Chase always wins with ranks at work, so he has a plan. Let me tell you Max plans read pranks are working against himself.

When they have to work closely together Chase seems to thaws a bit. Only shortly because everything Max does drives Chase further away from him. Max is getting desperate.

Chase hasn’t had the best experience with boyfriends and it seems Max is just like his ex.

Oh boy, I loved this story, the painful moments were wonderfully put down.
Excellently developed characters, I loved both adorable men. The whole story was appealing, I enjoyed it very. The secondary characters had all a good place in this story, family, twins, ex-boyfriend, friends, colleagues. Also so with a nice doses of sexiness!

I loved this emotional, well-written story a lot!

[Guy Venturi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Internet cable service requires technician service supporters.

Mac is a common nickname for many men, but not common for people named Hernandez. Listen with Chase at the call center as he receives several customer service calls about technical questions and implied interest in personal services.

Competition for the top Customer Service Representative of the month and associated cash bonus award had always been a given for Maxwell before Chase deposed him, even though Chase was not an easy person to relate with due to being introverted and inflicted with anxiety around people.

Max (Mac) assumed his brother-in-law's identity and account to get a feel for the guy who had taken away his award, but did not seem like it was possible to influence customers with his personality and care. As they got to know each other, opposites attracted them to each other, but misunderstandings challenged friends, family, and even supervisors to solve the hard feelings even as a real plan to solve turnover problems at work and Toby's anxiety issues at home.

[Kendra T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max and Chase are coworkers at a communications company. Max is a player who wants to be the a best at work. Chase is the quiet guy who somehow keeps getting ahead of Max. Max starts off thinking Chase hates him and is obnoxious, but eventually they become friendly and find they really like each other. Chase has anxiety and I loved how Max didn’t treat him poorly because of it or try to change him. They were sweet together and I liked reading about them.

I am voluntarily reviewing an ARC provided by LesCourt Author Services

[Mim Crenshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a 4.5 stars for me. The storyline was interesting and held my interest. There was humor, chemistry, and a slow burning romance that I really enjoyed. The characters I found to be really entertaining; their personalities added to the story. This was a sweet funny romance.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

[lphharrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

TALK TO ME by @debraelq

Whoa! This book was just one that I liked the cover and the story sounded cute enough. Boy was that an understatement. Not only were Chase and Max just so yummy together, but the book dove into what it’s like to have some anxieties and they were super well portrayed. I enjoyed every page and every kiss and every tiny detail of this book. Can’t wait to read more by this author since this was my first!

#onederreadsfivestars

[Elley Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

[DLB2572 · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Impressions Aren't Always Right

This is such a cute and sweet story of miscommunication and wrong impressions. I enjoyed reading this quite a bit.

[Kirsten · Rating 1 out of 5]

This… was pretty bad.
Trickery, instalove, dogs,
hair sex, bad writing.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (11/25/2019)! 🎁

[A Damach · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4⭐

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

i restarted this three times because i just couldn't get past the first few chapters. i also would not want to engage with someone purposely trying to antagonize me at work! i gave it one last go and it read pretty quickly after that. kinda cute, but it felt like a big plot point was just kind of glazed over and everything was perfect after that, which just...didn't really sit right with me.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chase and Max were good for one another, but only when Chase let his guard down and stopped jumping to conclusions and when Max pulled up his big boy pants and learned to sincerely apologize without feeling unjustly inferior. Once they did that they had a clearly wonderful connection.

It took a while for me to really sink into the story because there were quite a few moments that made me pause. Anxiety is no joke at all, but I have to wonder how much Chase was doing to find acceptable coping strategies beyond verging on a shut-in when things would get bad. He was judgmental, defensive, and insecure. None of that had anything really to do with his anxiety. I have family with anxiety and a myriad other conditions so this is in no way shaming anyone, it's just a comment on how little Chase did to manage his issues. His reactions to people based on his past relationship with a self-centered extrovert were absolutely understandable, it was just going too far and preemptively judging others before he did any self-reflection to see how he could create a better life for himself without the crutch of a possibly unreliable partner.

Max's childishness wasn't unlikable, it was just too much at times. The fallout of his actions was absolutely predictable and seemed unimaginative. It wasn't bad or even poorly written, I just wasn't thrilled by how it played out.

Overall though, this story had lovely sweet moments. If there were more depth and less of the back-and-forth that spent way too long on inner monologues and over-analyzing their situation I would have truly enjoyed this story a lot more. What we were given was a good start and I'm hoping the next story improves on the relatively good bones we have in this story.

I'm also interested in the short story that features the other surprise workplace couple we caught a glimpse of. From what I understand, if you sign up for the author's newsletter you can read their story?

[Elizabeth D · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 I liked both Max and Chase, although Max definitely demonstrates some immature behaviour, and Chase really does act like he dislikes Max so much that I can’t totally blame Max for trying to get to the bottom of it. Once they start to actually get to know one another, their perceptions and behaviour immediately begin to change. I like that they spend time outside of work. It’s nice to see Max’s caring side and how he works to lessen Chase’s anxiety.

It doesn’t feel like Chase has only been working there for six months to me (although I guess a really successful, valuable employee can happen quickly, and I suppose if you have a retention problem then maybe six months is longer than I think).

Weirdly (unfairly?) I’m just not that upset at Max for the precipitating event of the “big misunderstanding”. If he’d had a malicious intent or even tried to get really close under false pretences or something…. But really, it seemed like simply a silly thing to have done back before they got to know one another. (But to be fair to Chase, the stated intentions of the event aren’t good, and I guess it could make you anxious about the truth behind other things Max had done.)

I liked the generally supportive friends and family, long-suffering-seeming Ben and Sean (funny reading it after Message Received and seeing how much they screw up their similar situation, lol), and Toby the dog. I feel like we really got the chance to see how first impressions can be misleading and get beneath the surface of both these characters to connect them and find the HEA they both deserve.

[Lora Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have a problem with a writer covering any type of physical or mental illness, but I feel the story would be best served with background history, as well as covering how the person deals with it in the present. There is no mention of when, where, or how Chase was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder - which is what I assume he had based on him asking if someone else had it. There is also no mention of current or past therapy, medications, self-care or relaxation techniques. So is he just walking around, hoping to not panic in public, until he can get home and keep himself shut off from the world? He hated when his parents and ex-BF got angry for him not "trying to fix himself", but based on how he was portrayed in this story, there was no indication that he HAD ever tried. So him running away from relationships didn't help his case or make me sympathize with him (this coming from a person with GAD).

Max was bit childish at times, and didn't always think about the big picture in advance, but not to the point of not being likeable, IMO. I actually liked him a lot, and when Chase let his guard down, I liked them together. I was disappointed that there was clearly another MM couple before the end of the book, but not only were they not revealed in this book, the next installment isn't going to be about them; the next book is about Max's younger gay brother, who didn't feature in this prominently enough to spark my interest in a story about him.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talk to Me by author D.K. Sutton is the first book in The Sloan Brothers series. This book is told in dual pov and really allows you to see into both character’s minds. I did like that. There is a ton of angst in this book. Almost too much for me in places.
Max works as a cable rep for the last two years. He is crushing on his competition Chase. Max is a friend open guy who people like. He can be insensitive I found and thoughtless sometimes. But for the most part, he is really endearing.
Chase is the opposite of Max. he is super sensitive, prickly and wants to be left alone. He has no friends at work and does really great at his job which he takes great pride in. He thinks he doesn’t like Max, but the more Max tries to get Chase to see him the more Chase thinks he might actually like Max.
Overall good storyline. Opposites attracting and falling in love. What I was not keen on was how many times Max was insensitive or how many times Chase jumped to the wrong conclusions. There was a lot in this book, I wished that was not done. A few were good but after that, it felt old to me. They are great characters and I am glad they did find their happy ending.

Three Red Stars

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and found the main characters likeable and easy to root for. Max starts out as a jerk but it’s very temporary. Chase suffers from anxiety and the author does a good job of realistically portraying his issues without making him appear weak or frail or damaged or someone to be pitied. We get to see the strength in him as he works to adapt to his environment and address his needs. Watching the way Max reacts to and cares for Chase is a great device in building the relationship and I also loved Toby’s part in that.

I was amused by the call center jobs as I have a friend who works in the support center for our cable system’s internet division and so many of the elements of the job discussed here are things I have heard him talk about including the 15 minute time limit for calls.

The support of the families was a nice element of the story as were the friendships and Chase’s realization of what he had around him.

This is a sweet story and an easy, quick read. Enjoyable and uplifting.


*I voluntarily read an ARC and this is my objective review *

[Amy Dufera - Amy's MM Romance Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

DK Sutton's Talk to Me is a sweet co-workers romance.

Chase is the socially awkward worker who never likes to talk to his co-workers. When Max decides to get to know the man as a way to figure out why Chase is so successful in his job, he doesn't expect what happens.

As Max gets to know Chase, he finds he actually likes and understands the man.

The author discusses social anxiety with care and understanding. Knowing people who suffer from this issue, I found it to be very well done.

The writing style kept my interested throughout, with some fun side characters and a fast pace. Max and Chase are highly enjoyable characters who each complement one another wonderfully. I enjoy that despite being an jerk at the start, Max soon changes his feathers.

Talk to Me is just perfect when you're in the mood for easy and sweet. This DK Sutton read is a quick, light read.

[Patricia Hoffstaetter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new author to me & I really enjoyed reading this sweet, slow-burn MM romance with a “enemies to lovers” undertone. I found the plot well-paced & written with some good research & great sensitivity towards social anxiety. The characters are quite well-developed & interesting, although one of the characters (Maxwell aka Max) is inclined to be a bit self-centered & starts off by being a jerk towards another character (Chase) but he does redeem himself.
There is: friendship, a caring family, some drama, jealousy, schemes, opinions, rumors, humiliation, competitiveness, intense dislike, confrontation, strange attractions, obsession, memories, anxiety, verbal banter, protectiveness, discovery, misunderstandings, emotional turmoil, compromises, contentment, some steam & a satisfying conclusion.

[Edga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max and Chase go from workmates, to enemies, and then to lovers in this romance read.  Both are likeable characters , although it took me a while to warm to Max. He was somewhat over the top, and totally triggered Chase's anxiety problems.

 When the pair did finally get together, they found that they were well matched and that their chemistry was hot. I loved the way in which the story unfolded from then on, especially as Chase's confidence grew. There is some miscommunication, however, after much grovelling on Max's part, all's well that ends well.

 Overall, its a pretty well written story, with some drama, ups and downs, romance, and indecision (on Chase's  part). There's a hint that there may be another story to tell in this world, would definitely like to read.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing

I bought this book because it seemed like it could be more interesting. I hadn’t expected to be pulled in and unable to put it down. It’s a story of two coworkers who compete for the top spot in the company. As they break down their walls, they realize their mutual attraction.

I was immediately drawn to Chase. He initially come off as cold and antisocial, but as you get to know him, he’s a sweet loving man who has severe anxiety. As well as trust issues from a previous relationship.

The author does an amazing job of making this character alive and real, and not a running gag. It’s a beautiful story with a satisfying ending. I would love to read more about these characters.

[Lydia]

DNF 42%

They had a miscommunication which made Max sound like a total dick. But then Chase gaslit himself into ignoring the miscommunication and they get past their whole history of competition and hating each other and move into dating without ever clearing anything up. I’m sorry but how do you go from thinking someone is a dick to getting a hard-on at work because they touched your hand?

I don’t like when characters move too fast with no logic behind their actions.

And there were some other editing issues too, like in the first scene we meet Chase he is just getting to work, then he says he has to leave because his break is almost up? And some passages that switch from first person to third and back.

Not for me.

[Pontiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max wants to get back on top in his customer service job. Time and again, Chase beats him out for #1. But he seems to hate Max, and is cold with everyone else.

In Chase’s head, people will judge him because he has anxiety. His last boyfriend was insensitive and now Chase won’t let anyone in. He sees Max as the same as his ex.

But, once they start working together and sort through some misunderstandings, they find their attraction is undeniable. Max still messes up, Chase still doubts, until they can meet in the middle.

Interesting viewpoint on people with anxiety, and the regular challenges they face. Good read.

KU

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Came across as very young adult

I was expecting something more in depth, with Chase's anxiety disorder and Max's aversion to commitment, but it was practically 'does he like me?' at recess. I don't remember if their ages were given but they seemed very young in outlook. Chase was harder to like than Max, who was actually quite sweet, especially with his dog.
There was a good supporting cast, and I particularly liked Ben and Sean whose book, Message Received, I have also read today.
I did like Max and Chase and I wanted them to be happy as a couple, and I hope we see more of them in the rest of the series.

[Audrey Pott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, the storyline was well written, kept me interested, all characters captivated me and a slow burn sweet romance. Max was a one night stand kind of guy and Chase had anxiety attacks, I liked how DK dealt with the problem that anxiety can cause, very insightful. I can’t wait for the next in this series and I hope Sean and Ben will get theirs.

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book for my honest opinions of which I’m under no obligation to do so. I honestly recommend this book.

[Denise GremoryKohta · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an enjoyable read!

I enjoyed Max and Chase's story so much. Anxiety is real and there are different levels and different ways it affects people and, as the author showed, animals too. I thought the talk with Cameron was a needed part of the story. Sometimes you don't see the whole picture until you've spent some time out of it. What a hecking trip the Sean and Ben thing is and yes I love Dylan and I'm totally helping him make it a thing. Added bonus I can actually write it here lol. If only we could get Ben and Sean's story. It screams to be read.

[Rachwithheadinabook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very likeable, slow burning, enemies to lovers story about two very different men. Max is confident, loud and a jerk at the beginning of this book but not for long as he gets to know his annoying to him, work colleague Chase. Chase is Max’s complete opposite, he is quiet and wants to be left alone, he suffers from anxiety which has been portrayed realistically.

The book is well written, with good pacing, some steam and a good happy ever after. It is the first book by this author I have read, I am sure it won’t be the last. An enjoyable read.

[MN Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Co-workers to enemies to lovers. Chase is new at work and not the nicest guy to his coworkers. Max is now #2 at work and everyone loves him...but Chase.

Max doesn't understand how Chase beats him every month for the top spot, but he does. He does things he shouldn't and then they become friends and that does not end well.

But growth abounds for both MCs and I really enjoyed how they ended up.

There were some grammar and other writing issues, but I was able to ignore that for the most part.

[Amanda Large · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk To Me is a steamy office romance, grumpy/sunshine romance. That has an MMC with anxiety and an MMC who pushes all his buttons. I absolutely love them and their dynamic. Max and Chase are polar opposites, but in this case, it makes them a better team. My favorite scene would have to be when Max called in after their fight and said, "I've broken something, and I'm not sure how to fix it." That conversation was cute, Max definitely needed to grovel.

The only thing I would change is I wish there was more.

[Elaine Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk to Me is an “enemies to lovers” book. Max secretly has a crush on Chase but thinks that he doesn’t like him. Chase doesn’t interact with anyone and thinks that Max is picking on him. Once they get to know another they start liking each other. The book is sweet, easy to read, with some jealousy, and all the characters in the books are likable. This is the first book I read by D. K. Sutton and I enjoyed it.