Narrated by Tim Paige
Off Limits is the first in a new series by Riley Hart – Secrets Kept. Given the premise of this, and of the next book in the series (Pushing the Limits), I infer it will feature romances that are ‘forbidden’ for one reason or another. I admit that my track record with this author is somewhat patchy; I’ve loved some books and have been ambivalent about others, but I liked the sound of this one (guy falls for his ex wife’s brother) and Tim Paige is a reliably good narrator, so I decided to give Off Limits a try.
We meet all the major players in this story in the prologue, which takes place around five years before the story proper. At a family gathering, Ryder Lynwood and his wife Madison announce their intention to seek a divorce, something which will have lasting effects for their two families as well as for themselves. The Lynwood and Hutchinson families have always been close; they do business together, the families have taken holidays together, their children pretty much grew up together, and Ryder and Madison have been best friends forever. But Ryder has, over the last few years, begun to realise that while he loves Mads dearly, he’s never been IN love with her, that he mistook his feelings of deep friendship for something it wasn’t – and also that he’s not sexually attracted to women. A decent man, he tells Mads the truth (and he doesn’t cheat, in case anyone is wondering) and even though she is understandably shocked and heartbroken, they agree to divorce.
After this, Ryder moves to California, but five years later, missing his family and his home, he decides to return. Not long after moving into his new apartment, Ryder starts chatting with a guy on an app. TheDoctorIsIn is funny and smart – and before long they’re messaging each other every day, chatting about everything and nothing, watching movies together, even cooking together – virtually. They both realise there’s something there, the potential for something real between them – but they’re not yet ready to meet in person, both a bit worried that maybe coming face-to-face will take the shine off whatever is going on between them.
In the meantime, Ryder has begun volunteering once a week at the cancer ward of the local children’s hospital, and is surprised when, on one of his visits, he recognises another volunteer as Grant Hutchinson III (aka Hutch) – Madison’s older brother. After a bit of initial awkwardness, they go for coffee together, something that becomes part of their weekly routine after their visit to the ward. Ryder learns that Hutch is now an ER doctor – and that he’s bisexual – and that his relationship with his exacting father is still as difficult as it ever was. When Madison was a child, she had cancer (so the work with children with cancer is something close to both men’s hearts) and, perhaps naturally, became her parents’ entire focus. Hutch was pushed to the sidelines and became a bit of an afterthought; not that he ever resented Mads or wished her ill, but even now she’s cancer free and they’re both adults, whatever Hutch does – or is – is never good enough for his dad. He became a doctor because of his sister – and that’s great – but he should have been an oncologist, not a trauma specialist. Ryder aches for him. It’s obvious that Hutch is a very special person and he can’t understand why Hutch’s own father can’t – or won’t – see it.
It’s clear to listeners from the start that Hutch and TheDoctorIsIn are one and the same, but when the two men find out exactly who they’ve been messaging (and, recently, sexting) it comes as a bit of a shock and their knee-jerk reaction is that they can’t continue to see each other. Thankfully however, they both quickly realise that what they have together is worth keeping and impossible to turn their backs on. They have strong chemistry, I liked them together and their romance is well-developed. I loved how well they communicate and they’re absolutely perfect for one another – but the second half/last third of the book is hi-jacked by their preoccupation with ‘what will this do to Mads?’, and at one point, I got so angry, I had to stop listening.
I get that Madison genuinely loved Ryder and was heartbroken when he realised he was gay and they split. But that was FIVE YEARS AGO. Yet when she finds out about them she acts as if they’ve deliberately set out to fall in love with each other just to spite her. There’s a scene in which one of Hutch’s friends (who I think is one of the leads in the next book) tells him that Mads is spoiled – and I couldn’t help but agree with him. She had cancer, and that’s awful; her parents were obviously deeply worried for her, and she went through a lot. But that isn’t an excuse for how Hutch’s father treated and continues to treat Hutch – as though he’s second best – or for Mads to act as though the world revolves around her. Mostly though – and what had me fuming – was that it was NONE OF HER DAMNED BUSINESS who Ryder is involved with. That it’s with her brother – okay, awkward. But that’s all it is, and she needed to get over herself.
So while I enjoyed the first part of the story, it falls apart in the second and never really recovers. There’s an attempt to inject a bit of tension near the end which doesn’t really go anywhere, and by around the five-and-a-half hour mark (the running time is just under seven hours) I was starting to think it was time to wrap things up. There are a lot of sex scenes that are little more than padding (I like a bit of steam as much as the next person but it really is possible to have too much of a good thing) and ultimately, if the author was going for an angsty, ‘forbidden’ romance, I’m afraid she missed the mark. Maybe it’s me, but I honestly couldn’t see what was so very wrong about a man who has been divorced for five years from having a relationship with his ex’s brother. Awkward? Yes. Wrong? No.
I’ve listened to Tim Paige quite a few times now, and have enjoyed his performances. His voice is dark, smooth and sexy, and he’s a skilled vocal actor who always infuses both dialogue and narrative with appropriate nuance and emotion. He portrays the two leads distinctly, giving Ryder’s voice a lower pitch and darker, slightly gruff note that contrasts well with Hutch’s lighter, mostly upbeat delivery. He conveys their emotional connection very well and narrates the sex scenes confidently, getting into the swing of things without going over the top. His female voices are good, too – although Hutch’s mother sounds a bit whiny – and he does a good job with the two younger characters, Luke –sixteen – and Layla – ten (?), both children on the cancer ward. His performance is a definite tick on the ‘plus’ side of the equation; I may listen to the next book in this series if he’s narrating it and because I liked the character Hutch’s best friend, Isaac, who is one of the leads.
Off Limits was a mixed bag; great narration, a good first half let down by a not-so-good second one, and an unfortunate focus on a character – Mads – who isn’t even one of the leads! I’d hoped this would be full of the sort of angsty goodness I could get my teeth into, but it wasn’t; I didn’t find the ‘falling for sister’s ex’ premise to be a big deal, but YMMV.
Caz
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