A long amazing listen

I had heard great things about this book when it first came out, and I promised myself that if it ever came out on audio, I would snag it. And I did. More than a month ago. I love long audios, but anything over ten hours requires a dedicated commitment. I’m happy to set aside the time, but I want to make sure I’m rewarded for my effort.

I was with this book.

From the beginning I was sucked in to the story. Tyler is a damaged soul. He’s also been in love with Josh since, like, forever. Josh has been in love with Tyler’s brother Ryan. Ryan is firmly in the closet. So, yeah, some pretty f-ed up crap is going on. Josh is thirty-five, and although he and Ryan broke up almost twenty years ago, he’s pined over his first love for all these years. He’s had many relationships, but none ever was as good as the memory of Ryan, and none has lasted very long. He comes up to a cabin in Wisconsin to get over Ryan for good. He kind of has to – Ryan’s brother Brad is marrying Josh’s sister Rachael. Their families are going to be connected forever.

What Josh doesn’t expect is to run into a different Chadwick. It’s not Ryan he finds, but Tyler. And their first meeting doesn’t go well. Like Tyler almost drowns. Josh also discovers quickly that Tyler isn’t as healthy as he might otherwise seem. The young man is an actor who is so petite he’s been taking teenage roles even though he’s twenty-six. He’s been shooting a fantasy film so he has blue hair – hair he’s promised his brother Brad that he’ll cut before the wedding. He’s embarrassed for Josh to find out his secret so soon after they meet, but there’s nothing to be done. Actually, several secrets although one has become very public. Tyler needs to come across as responsible and settled. In a family huddle, it is brought up that he needs a steady relationship. And who does everyone recommend? Josh.

Now, Josh’s motives didn’t necessarily make sense to me at first. Yes, he feels connected to Tyler, but being a pretend boyfriend to a movie star is a big ask. I love the fake boyfriend trope, but I feel both sides have to have strong motives for getting involved in such a high stakes game. In the end, though, the story worked. Josh and Tyler go through a lot, not the least is Tyler’s psychological issues. He went through hell as a teenager and he bears the scars – metaphorical and literal. His relationship with his father is problematic to say the least.

Josh’s family situation is more stable, but his father still holds out hope that Josh will find a nice suitable partner to settle down with and have children. He’d prefer Josh pick a woman, but as long as the person is successful, he’ll be happy. Some Hollywood actor with a reputation for trouble? Completely unacceptable. Except by now Tyler and Josh are truly entrenched in their fake relationship and those pesky feelings are becoming real.

There is a lot going on in this book – from marriages to stalkers to porn videos. At first I wondered if the story would drag at points, given it was nineteen hours. I never felt that way, and was never tempted to jump ahead. I enjoyed the deep dive into Tyler’s psyche, and found myself cheering for his healing. Now, another person can’t heal someone. Only that person can save themselves. Can those around them help? Hell yes. Josh was just such a person. There was also depth with his character as he faced the end of his obsession with Ryan.

The story was so strong, I was pulled into it completely. I followed, desperately hoping Tyler might resolve some of his issues and hoping Josh would get his head out of his ass. There were moments of humor, moments of sadness, and moments of enjoyment. I love Seth Meyers so that cameo was great. Time flew and I was almost disappointed to have the story end, but was pleased I was able to pick up the next audio – Ryan’s story – and dive back in right away.

Interestingly, there are other point of view characters. Yes, most of the chapters are told from Josh or Tyler’s point of view, but Purvi (Tyler’s assistant), Rachael (Josh’s sister) and Cynthia (Tyler’s mom) also get to share their insights. I enjoyed those snippets and it didn’t slow the pacing at all. Finally, there was Patrick. Poor Patrick. I really want him to get a happy ending.

Michael Ferraiuolo narrated this story and he was a brilliant choice. He brought the story to life seamlessly and I love his voice. I always enjoy his performances and this one was no exception. I’m so glad I made the commitment and am now only left asking why I waited so long? Ah well, off to read Ryan’s story, Daddy Issues.

2 people found this helpful

Wow.

Where do I even start? I was apprehensive when I saw this book is 19 hours. Will it hold my attention? Won’t I get bored?

I shouldn’t have worried. This book captivated my attention. It’s one heck of an emotional roller coaster ride.

Lynn Van Dorn didn’t sugarcoat the character flaws, she wrote detailed struggles with mental health with sensitivity. The trials weren’t sugarcoated either.

The evolution of the MCs relationship was something to look out for. They fit so well together, two broken pieces but somehow, they go together just right.

There are parts which were hard to listen, so take a break, but keep on keeping on. This story is rich. It’s full of drama, but also full of lessons to be learned.

Michael Ferraiuolo was brilliant in this book. He gave each characters life. He voiced each character distinctly and brought out the emotions into a different level.

1 person found this helpful

Great

This was a really great audiobook.
I really enjoyed listening to it.
I can’t wait to listen to more of this series.

1 person found this helpful

Good...

This was a good story, and the narration was excellent. The reason I didn't rate it five stars is that there was just too much smut. Smut scenes always take me out of the story. One or two are fine, but there was quite a few in this, and the story would probably be quite a bit shorter without them. I like longer stories, I just wish it was more focused on plot and less on smut.

Bloody brilliant!

This was such a great story. I fell in love with Tyler, such a snarky, bright young thing. All the while a hurt, young man lay underneath. Josh, such a lovely man, with the patience of a saint and a glutton for punishment dealing with 2 Chadwick brothers and being roommates with a third one.
This is a poignant story of hurt, self doubt and some mental health issues. These may sound heavy, and they are, but the story is told with dignity, love and humour, helping to make this a lovely and ultimately, HEA story.
The narration was soooo good!!
Michael Ferraiuolo did a magnificent job - Tyler had the right snark, irreverence; Josh, solid and dependable; Ryan - a bit 'holier- than-thou'. I could go on. The point is that each character had a distinct voice - awesome listen!

Much too long and honestly exhausting...

***Audio Review ***

I'm throwing in the towel at 56%. I have nothing at all against Michael Ferraiuolo as a narrator [in fact he's narrated some of my fave audios], but even he must be getting fed up of announcing that he's wherever he is at whatever time and date it is before every single chapter...it's exhausting!! 🤯...at least in the book you can ignore that part in every chapter. I said in my book review that the story was waay too long, and there's no better example of that fact than in this audio production. It's not Michael's fault, it's the story. Sorry Michael.

***Book Review ***

I picked this up after much touting on Facebook...an absolute whopper of a story. Much too long [but no skimming on my part], and I'm sure a decent editor would have chopped at least a couple of hundred pages from it, but for all that, it was very well written with minimal typos or niggles, and there were some really funny and touching lines…especially from Tyler. 4.25 stars from me.

The story has two of my fave tropes…fake boyfriend and friends to lovers, although I have to be honest here and say that in common with some other reviewers [whose names I'm actually familiar with obviously], I was sorely tempted to abandon the read as it seemed to be taking forever and I was getting nowhere fast e.g. 40% in, and we’d only gotten 2 weeks along in the fake relationship between Tyler and Josh...it was a pedestrian speed romantic read. There was a lot of filling in of details…too much for me actually, which let you know what one or other was thinking/doing while the chapter you were currently reading was devoted to the other MC. The whole thing between Josh and his former love Ryan [Tyler’s older brother] was annoying as hell, and someone seriously needed to give Ryan a good kick in the privates for his piss-poor treatment of Josh, and Josh needed to stop being a doormat for Ryan and finally stand up for himself.

Things I liked :

Brad [Tyler’s middle brother]
Purvi [Tyler’s PA and bestie] and the texting between her and her boss
The banter between the good Dr Rosen and his blue elf
Tyler's waspish tongue and snarky remarks
The whole ‘I had such a crush on you when I was a teenager’ thing…yes, there may have been a little insta-love in there too, but at least Tyler and Josh had a little history, and the fake relationship thing which clearly wasn’t…they were undoubtedly head over heels for each other after only a couple of weeks.

Things I disliked :

The jury’s still out on Ryan...he did some good things but he was still a pig sometimes
Tyler’s evasive mum and ‘dad’, and his abusive treatment towards Tyler
The conversion therapy centre and what happened there [let’s hope the ruddy place gets shut down]
Josh’s father, a complete cretin...ooh and the dreaded David of course
The fact that the story was 500+ pages long, when I’m sure it could’ve been condensed into a lot less.

I’m not going into full, frank and meaningfuls about the story…if *I* can read 500+ pages, so can you but I will say that there are trigger warnings about self-harming and abuse if you need to look out for those. As for me, I’ll definitely be reading further work from this new author, but some friendly advice...get some guidance about what to leave in and what to chop from an editor before your next epic tome....or you know, just employ that editor to sort it for you.

AMAZING

Just plain fantastic
Great narration
Great characters
Great story
Great sex

I’m definitely going to finish the series

Childhood Crush and the Falling Star - Fake Fiancé

This is an excellent story with complex characters and a fake romance that becomes more real the more that Tyler and Josh get to know each other as adults since Tyler was only a teenager the last time they saw each other at the Lake.
I only took off a star because I'm squeamish and this story involves cutting, which is fine, but there's one scene at the beginning from the book which involved too much blood for my liking, though once I got past that, the rest was captivating as I wanted to know more about why the guys are both so emotionally wounded. This is a slow burn, and there are ups and downs, but I was rooting for Tyler and Josh to make it in the end.
Michael Ferraiuolo is one of my top ten favourite narrators and he does an excellent job of bringing the story to life, which is why I was able to stay engaged with the story in spite of feeling slightly squeamish to start with when an accident happens involving Tyler, Josh and the dock of the family lake house.
Highly recommended for lovers of secret crush, fake relationship stories.

Damaged and Dysfunctional

This is an incredible story. It is full of flawed, dysfunctional people, secrets, trauma, abuse, sexual tension, and love. Some moments are laugh out loud funny, others are heart-wrenchingly painful. Tyler's description of what happened to him at the gay conversion camp is particularly heinous. However, through it all, Tyler and Josh help each other heal from past wounds and prior lovers. It's a long road, but well worth the journey. I absolutely loved the ending!

Warning: This book/audiobook has all sorts of triggers, including self-harm, rape, child abuse, and domestic abuse.

The narration is fantastic, with distinct voices for each character and wonderful expression of emotion.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook through the author and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

WOW

wow! I was super eager to get my hands on this book and then pretty nervous to start it and it was just as intense as I imagined but also just as good! I loved how realistically flawed the characters were and how she didn't hesitate to smooth them out for the sake of the reader. It was raw and emotional and very impacting.

Michael Ferraiuolo is a narrator I don't get enough of in my life. He always is a joy to listen to and I felt like his narration really amp the emotional impact of this book up to a whole new level.