First Impressions by Jay Hogan

Narrated by Gary Furlong

New Zealand author Jay Hogan’s début, First Impressions – the first book in her Auckland Med series – is an enjoyable, sexy antagonists-to-lovers romance with a bit of crime drama thrown in. It’s the second book of hers I ever read back at the end of 2018, and I’ve since become a really big fan. I’ve read all her books (but one) so when the author told me she was going to be putting the series into audio I was really excited – and her choice of narrator was the cherry on top. Gary Furlong is a terrific performer and a personal favourite, so I was really keen to get started!

Following a tragic event which sent him into a downward spiral of drink and depression, Los Angeles-based ER doctor Michael Oliver relocated to Auckland on a two-year exchange program, and is now a resident at Auckland Med. He’s been in New Zealand for six months and he’s having a great time – he loves his job, he’s made some really good friends and is more than happy with his regular array of hook-ups and the variety of bed partners on offer. He’d been in a relationship at the time his professional life in the US went pear-shaped, but after that went sour, too, he’s decided he’s not really a relationship kinda guy anyway.

He’s out clubbing, making a move on the hot young guy he’s decided is going to be his for the night when his plans are interrupted by a police raid, and he finds himself face-to-face with six-foot-four of gorgeous, snarky cop, an angsty German Shepherd glued to his side. Michael likes what he sees but also senses disapproval coming off the guy in waves, and that naturally puts his back up; he attempts to flirt, just to piss the guy off, but he’s having none of it and quickly shuts Michael down. Before either of them can say or do anything else, shots are fired, and officer and dog race off to try to stop the shooter getting away.

K9 officer Josh Rawlins doesn’t have time for the arrogant, mouthy – though attractive – guy checking him out, but can’t help being reluctantly impressed when he jumps in to help an officer who has been shot, managing to keep him alive until the paramedics arrive. Everything about Michael Oliver screams “player”, the sort of man Josh normally avoids at all costs, especially since his last long-term relationship ended after he discovered his partner had been cheating on him almost the entire time they were together. So, no – no matter how attractive the doctor is, or how much he seems to know how to push Josh’s buttons, Josh is determined to keep his distance and stay focused on being a good dad to his eleven-year-old daughter. The problem is that fate seems determined to keep throwing them together; following the raid on the club, Michael is attacked and warned not to cooperate with the police attempts to find the shooter, and Josh finds himself offering Michael house-room at his sister’s (she lives just down the road from Josh) while his sister moves in with Josh and Sasha.

After this, the men agree to call a truce to hostilities, and after an explosive kiss, to explore the attraction that’s been burning between them since the night they met. They have terrific chemistry and things get steamy pretty fast; they agree to a NSA fling, but somehow things move past “casual” quickly and both men soon find themselves in the middle of something neither of them had bargained for.

I really liked both characters, and their relationship is well-developed, despite the insta-lusty beginning. This is something Jay Hogan does really well; her characters often fall quickly into lust with each other, but then she carefully transforms that lust-fuelled relationship into a deeper emotional connection so that by the end of the story, there’s never any doubt that these people are in love and in it for the long haul. Josh and Michael certainly have a lot of sex – and Michael is surprised to discover how much he comes to love the way Josh makes him feel safe enough to just… let go – but they also talk and laugh and hang out enjoying each other’s company, opening up to each other in a way they haven’t done to another person in quite some time, each of them feeling comfortable enough to allow himself to be vulnerable. And as they get to know and like each other more and more, they have to confront their first impressions of each other and maybe admit they were wrong. Josh doesn’t think Michael can do relationships and Michael has convinced himself he’s not cut out for anything long-term… but maybe – just maybe – there’s a chance they do actually want the same things after all?

There’s a strong secondary cast here, too – Josh’s daughter is a believable eleven-year-old and their relationship is well-written, as are the friendships between Josh and fellow cop Mark (whose story is told in book three, Up Close and Personal) and Michael and the snarky, femme and totally fabulous ER charge nurse Cam Wano (whose story is up next in Crossing the Touchline) – Cam is a force of nature and takes no prisoners; it’s easy to see why he’s become a firm favourite with fans of the series.

One of my few criticisms of the book is that the crime drama subplot surrounding the club shooting is spread a little unevenly throughout the story. It sets up the Josh/Michael proximity element nicely but then disappears for a chunk of the middle of the book before resurfacing near the end. I also wish Josh had told his homophobic parents where to go way earlier than he did, and I had some issues with Michael’s actions near the end, which were hurtful and a tad over dramatic.

Despite those reservations however, I enjoyed the story and the characters, and I powered through the listen in just two or three sittings, spurred on by a barnstorming performance from Gary Furlong. He hasn’t adopted a full-blown Kiwi accent here, instead going for something a little more “neutral” but obviously antipodean, and to my British ears it worked very well indeed. Michael is American so there’s no problem distinguishing him from the other characters by virtue of his accent, and Mr. Furlong differentiates equally well between the other major characters, too, so it’s easy to pick out Josh, Mark and Cam. I was pleased to hear that he didn’t go over-the-top camp with Cam; he’s a highly competent healthcare professional who rules his ER with a rod of iron, and it would have been hard to believe that had he been portrayed him as some sort of stereotypical queen. Mr. Furlong always voices female characters well, his pacing is good and he conveys the emotional content of the story really well, expertly realising the connection between the two leads – and let’s just say you might need a bucket of ice on hand during the sex scenes ;)

First Impressions is a thoroughly enjoyable listen featuring two engaging but flawed leads, a well-rounded supporting cast, and the vibrant, laid-back New Zealand setting makes a refreshing change. Gary Furlong delivers a warm, insightful performance that definitely takes the book to another level, and I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the next in the series in 2021.

Caz