Carrie’s Mini Review of this September audio/holiday novella! TL;DR? “Fun”!
Narrated by Greg Boudreaux
To be home for Christmas, they must bridge the distance between them.
Charlie Yates is desperate. It’s almost Christmas and his flight home from college has been delayed. For days. Charlie promised his little sister Ava he’d be home for her first holiday season since going into remission from leukemia. Now he’s stuck on the opposite coast and someone else grabbed the last rental car. Someone he hasn’t even spoken to in four years. Someone who broke his heart.
Gavin Bloomberg’s childhood friendship with Charlie ended overnight after a day of stolen kisses. With years of resentment between them, they don’t want to be in the same room together, let alone a car. But for Ava’s sake, Gavin agrees to share the rental and drive across the country together.
As they face unexpected bumps along the road, can Charlie and Gavin pave the way to a future together?
If Only in My Dreams is an entertaining holiday novella originally published in print in 2015, but only recently released on audio. I admit having Greg Boudreaux in the narrator’s chair was a big reason I picked this up, and overall I’m glad I did. There are enough tropes in place here to keep most readers happy, including enemies-to-lovers, only one bed, second chance romance, and maybe one or two others. The reason for the estrangement is understandable, but the vehemence of Charlie’s initial anger is less so. But thankfully, as he and Gavin claw their way through bad weather to get home, they finally have a chance to clear the air.
Greg Boudreaux handles all the voices and emotions with ease, giving the kind of performance I’ve come to expect. I especially appreciate the way he conveys the emotions of the two main characters. Gavin and Charlie are both full of anger, sadness, fear, and regret, but also love and hope, and Greg makes the listener feel each one.
The novella moves a little slowly at first as the author doles out the backstory in dribs and drabs, but the pace picks up nicely after the first 20%. And if it gets a little overly sweet at times? Well, it is a holiday novella! If Only in My Dreams isn’t breaking any new ground, but it’s a fun way to spend a few hours, especially with the excellent narration by Greg Boudreaux.
Carrie
Buy If Only In My Dreams by Keira Andrews on Amazon
