Narrated by Shaun Grindell
Garrett Leigh is another of those authors I’ve not managed to get around to reading yet, and once again I’m really pleased to see her novels being released in audio format so I can play catch up! Dream, the first book in the Skins series, is an angsty but deeply romantic story featuring two young men who are struggling to adapt to big changes in their lives – and not always dealing with them well.
Dylan Hart has been in love with his best friend Sam for years, even though he knows Sam isn’t into him “that way” – and he’s been (sort of) content to make a regular third in Sam’s relationship with his girlfriend, Eddie (their story is told in What Matters, although it’s not necessary to be familiar with it in order to enjoy this novel). As Dream opens, Dylan has finally admitted to himself that it isn’t enough for him, and that he needs to cut the ties if he’s to stand any chance of finding the sort of love they have.
Hurting and miserable, Dylan wants to forget, even if it’s just for the night, so he heads for Lovato’s, a club that caters for all kinds of sexual kinks and tastes and where he knows he’ll find what he needs. And he does. A hot, rough sexual encounter with a man who practically fucks him through the mattress and blows his mind.
Angelo Giordano returned to London in order to help his mother run the family business – a delicatessen in Romford – in his father’s last months, and is now, after his father’s death, shouldering all the burdens associated with trying to keep the business and his own head above water. His career as a dancer with the English National Ballet came to an abrupt end during a stint in New York owing to a sudden illness, and the crippling medical bills have left him with practically nothing. His only escape from his health problems, his money worries, the business that’s sapping his energy, are the nights he’s able to spend at Lovato’s having anonymous hook-ups and indulging his penchant for being watched. Something about the slender, blond (and blindfolded) man waiting naked and ready for him on this particular night elicits an unexpected reaction in Angelo; he wants to touch and caress which isn’t what this is supposed to be about – and even though it’s against the rules, he demands to know the guy’s name.
Dylan works as a debt counsellor at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau in Stratford and struggles with an increasingly heavy workload. He’s still missing Sam and Eddie, but that last session at Lovato’s has definitely helped him start to refocus – though now he has to focus on his job; his next client is due in a few minutes and he hasn’t had time to read through the notes from his telephone consultation. But his mind empties when his office door opens to admit the most beautiful man he’s ever seen; who for some reason is scowling at him.
The last person Angelo had expected to see again was the guy he’d nailed so hard at Lovato’s the week before – and certainly not sitting across the other side of a desk ready to discuss his financial situation. At the end of the meeting, when Dylan points out that Angelo has actually come to the wrong office – he lives in Romford and should go to the CAB there – Angelo gets annoyed and as he leaves, he throws out: “Thanks for your help, Dylan, but I gotta say, you did more for me last week when I railed you at Lovato’s.”
He immediately regrets it, realising he’s let his temper and his frustration get the better of him, but doesn’t have the time or energy to go back and apologise. Yet fate throws him a bone when he’s on his way home later that day and spies Dylan getting off the bus; Angelo manages to catch up to him and apologise for his behaviour that morning.
That marks a new beginning for them as they embark upon a tentative friendship which is underpinned by the strong currents of attraction running between them. As they start to build something more, outside of the club and their sexual encounters there (there’s a threesome, voyeurism and a bit of light bondage, if you were wondering about the Steam Factor!), both men have to learn to open themselves up and to trust more than they ever have – and it’s not always easy. When Angelo finally tells Dylan about the illness that ended his career and put him so badly into debt, it’s a heart-breaking story, but Dylan’s reaction is both sweet and unexpected:
“I’m never going to think any less of you when you’re unwell. It’s part of who you are, but it doesn’t define you.”
– and there’s never a sense of Dylan as Angelo’s saviour, because these two take care of each other. As Dylan sees Angelo, so Angelo is able to truly see Dylan, realising that this compassionate, caring man worries endlessly about being able – or not, given his caseload – to help everyone who asks for it and being in danger of burn out because of it.
I haven’t listened to Shaun Grindell before, although I’ve seen his name around quite a lot and I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about any mangled accents seeing as he hails from my side of the pond. I was pleased with the “Britishness” of both the story and performance and on a personal note, this story takes place in areas of London I’m very familiar with and have lived in, so things like the speech patterns, accents and vocabulary were comfortingly familiar. Mr. Grindell’s characterisation of the principals is very good and fits them nicely; Dylan’s accent is like mine – what is usually called Estuary English – while Angelo’s diction is a little posher (although not much) and his manner is a little sharper. Mr. Grindell conveys the emotional content of the story well when it comes to the interactions between Dylan and Angelo, but it took me quite a while to get used to the way he reads the narrative portions of the story; he has an almost a sing-song way of delivery that sounds rather unnatural, and to be honest, I didn’t much care for it. It’s odd that a narrator can deliver dialogue so naturally, but then lose that naturalism in other parts of the story; and although I did sort of get used to it, the juxtaposition was still difficult to listen to.
With that said, I did enjoy the story and liked the central characters very much. Angelo is perhaps a little more well-defined than Dylan, but they’re both an appealing mixture of strong and vulnerable, and by the end of the book, they’ve both come a long way from where they started. Dream wasn’t an unqualified success; there were a few inconsistencies in the story, and as I’ve said, the narration was problematic, but I’m probably going to give another book in the series a try.
Caz
Buy Dream by Garrett Leigh on Amazon
It’s really obvious just from the sample on Audible what you mean about the difference between the narrative and the dialogue. I actually thought about buying this one a little while ago but it was too much for me and I noped out. What a pity because the dialogue sounds good but the rest? Not for me.
Yeah, it’s a real shame, because he’s great with the characterisations and dialogue and emotion. I’ve got the next book in the series for review as well, but I suspect I’ll find the same problem there.
I listened to the sample as well, and had to decline. It sounds like an interesting story, but I cannot abide sing-song narration. Fingernail/blackboard, you know? If you find others by this author without this narrator, please keep us advised?
I think Tantor must have organised a “job lot” as they’ve used him for both this series (Skins) and the Lucky series. There are a few other books by this author available in audio, but they’re from a few years ago and I haven’t listened to them.
I’m not wildly impressed with Tantor’s track-record in selecting narrators overall (unless they’re really established ones like Greg Tremblay, Sean Crisden, Iggy Toma etc.) At least they chose a British one for this, but I honestly wonder if anyone there actually listens to anything more than a short sample before deciding who to use.
It’s such a shame to treat any book that way, especially good ones! Narration is a huge part of the success of failure of an audiobook; it’s kind of the whole point in my opinion. Oh well. If they don’t want to sell me books, that’s up to them. Thanks for putting a new author on my radar, though!
You’d think an audio publisher would know that, but their matching narrators with books seems really hit and miss a lot of the time. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been excited to see a new title on their website and then seen the name of the narrator and thought “nope”.
A friend of mine recommends Garrett Leigh’s Misfits – I haven’t read or listened, but thought I’d mention it in case you’re interested.
I’ll check it out, thanks!
I’m the same way; some narrators are on my ‘no way in hell’ list, regardless of the book. Angela Dawe, you say? Nope, nope, nope!!
I’m not fond of her either. And to your “nope” I’ll add mine – Justine Eyre, Lucy Rayner, Anna Parker-Naples, Mary Sarah and Charlotte Anne Dore, who has the dubious honour of being the only narrator to whom I’ve awarded an F grade in the five or six years I’ve been writing for AG.
I have no idea why Justine Eyre is being used for so many historical romances – her English accent isn’t great and I’ve still not forgotten the title (The Rogue Not Taken) in which she gave a Scotsman an Irish accent. Mary Sarah seems to be Tantor’s HR narrator of the moment – another American with a dodgy English accent. I honestly wonder if whoever is responsible for employing them has tin ears.
No one but a Scot can do Scottish accents imo. I’d almost rather they not try than butcher it. I don’t have the best ear for the various UK, Aussie, and NZ accents, so Justine Eyre is tolerable for me when doing historical romance. The one I don’t get is Sebastian York. He’s hugely popular, but he can’t do any voice but his own. No accents at all, and every character other than the hero sounds nasal and sarcastic. Zachary Webber is ten times more versatile but he works half as much, if that. I keep singing his praises in my reviews on Audible, so maybe soon he’ll start getting more work. I relisten to his books over and over just to listen to him. I’m super excited that the sequel to Getting Schooled is out soon and he narrates the entire book!!! If it’s even half as good, it’ll be delicious.
Well, there are some – James Langton and Derek Perkins come to mind – who can bring the Scottish well (although they may well BE Scots, I’m not sure).
I don’t like the multi-pseudonym thing either. I don’t understand the point of that either. Maybe different publishers want different names? [several narrators] have worked under other names, along with many other narrators. I think sometimes a narrator wants a different name for different types of books. MM vs FM vs YA, for example. I wish someone would publish a list. Now that would be a public service!! Whatever the reason, it’s just confusing to the listener and as you pointed out, it makes it hard to find all of their work.
Hey, awesome peeps. Probably not a great idea to mention narrators pseudonyms, especially in a searchable forum. Not sure if these other folks are open about their pseudonyms, so it might be best to delete the comment, maybe? It can be a really big deal for some people. BTW – i’m totally open with mine (they simply separate mainstream and m/m titles), but I’m usually the exception to the rule.
Hey, awesome Joel! Thanks for the heads up on that, I will refrain from mentioning names in the future in that context. I own something like 5000 audio books, many many of which are yours. Love your work! But do other narrators and recording studios really think we can’t figure it out? Especially when someone like me comes along who has vision issues and now only listens to books, it’s all the more likely voices will be recognized. But I’ll be good, promise!.
PS: any plans to record Stone Cold Foxe? Lots of us are dying for it!