Infamous by Jenny Holiday

Narrated by Michael Fell

Rock Star romances really aren’t my bag and that, together with the unappealing front cover of this one, would have been enough to make me pass on Jenny Holiday’s Infamous without a second glance. BUT. One of my fellow AAR reviewers absolutely raved about the book when it came out towards the end of 2017, so when I stumbled across it at Audible, I thought I’d give it a go. And I’m SO glad I did, because it’s wonderful; sweet, sexy and gorgeously romantic, featuring two strongly drawn, attractive principals, a colourful secondary cast and the sort of HEA that is guaranteed to give the listener a serious case of the warm fuzzies and all the feels. Narrator Michael Fell is new-to-me, so I’ll admit to a little trepidation, but I needn’t have worried – he delivers a strong performance that was sufficiently engaging as to enable me to get past the few minor problems.

All Jesse Jamison has ever wanted to do is make music. Well, that and be on the front cover of Rolling Stone – and he and his band, Jesse and the Joyride are steadily making a name for themselves. Unfortunately however, while Jesse is hot, charismatic and extremely talented, he’s also something of a loose cannon, and his latest PR disaster – being photographed kissing someone other than his popular supermodel girlfriend – is the last straw for his manager, who promptly dumps Jesse and the band. Jesse has just boarded the train that will take him home to Toronto from Montréal, where he’s been visiting his sister and his nephew, when he sees the photo online and gets the bad news. He promptly decides to commiserate by consuming as much of the refreshment cart’s alcohol as possible, and invites the attractive man with whom he’s been chatting to join him.

The “baby silver fox” as Jesse mentally dubs him (he might be grey-haired, but can’t be more than thirty-five) is paediatrician Doctor Hunter Wyatt, who works at the Toronto Children’s Hospital. He’s had a bitch of a day, too, having just learned that one of the kids in his care will be unable to get the transplant he so desperately needs. Hunter isn’t averse to drowning his sorrows in the company of a charming, attractive, almost-famous rock star – although he has to keep reminding himself not to crush on the straight guy. Hunter has not long since ended an eight-year relationship with a guy who wanted to keep one foot in the closet; he wouldn’t admit publicly to being gay or to the nature of his relationship with Hunter. As the journey comes to an end, Jesse impulsively gives Hunter his contact details – and goes off to continue his bender.

But he knows he’s got to find the band a new manager and that if they’re to have any chance at the sort of success he’s always dreamed of, he’s going to have to change. He approaches Matty Alvarado, Canada’s most famous artist manager, and suggests a deal. If he’ll agree to take them on, Jesse will be the model client. He’ll sober up, go where he’s told to go, be seen with whomever he’s told to be seen with – and under no circumstances will make it known that he’s bisexual. Matty makes it clear that Jesse Jamison is a “brand” and everything he does has to be on message.

Two years later, and Matty has delivered on his promise to get them signed to a major record label and Jesse and the Joyride is one of the biggest bands around, with two successful albums under its belt and a North American tour coming up. Jesse has held to his side of the bargain, too – no drunken binges, no scandals… for a rock star, he’s squeaky clean. Out of the blue one day, he’s surprised to receive an email from Hunter Wyatt asking if he would consider visiting one of the children in his care – and Jesse is only too pleased to go. It’s the start of something that will change Jesse’s life.

Okay – this is a romance, so I don’t really need to tell you where things are headed, but… *sigh* the journey is beautiful and totally swoonworthy. This is slow burn romance at its finest; Jesse and Hunter are attracted to each other, yes, but it’s subtle and low key with none of that overdone mental lusting that is prevalent in so many romances these days. Jesse and Hunter embark on a genuine and strongly founded friendship, one that grounds Jesse, curbs Hunter’s workaholic tendencies and provides the sort of companionship and emotional closeness neither of them has ever experienced. And in spite of their very disparate professions and lifestyles, the friendship is completely believable. Both are dedicated and hard-working, and quickly they become indispensable to one another; they talk to each other about everything (well, except the one thing Jesse can’t reveal), they come to rely on each other and have each other’s backs in a way that’s just wonderful to see. Both recognise that they have something truly special – but Jesse’s Faustian pact means he can never be more to Hunter than a friend, not if he’s to continue on the career path he’s set out for himself. The roadblocks strewn in the path of true love may be predictable, but fortunately for the listener, Ms. Holiday doesn’t stretch things out unnecessarily and the eventual HEA is immensely satisfying – with quite a few lump-in-throat moments along the way.

Narrator Michael Fell seems to be a relative newcomer to audiobooks, with just fifteen titles to his credit at Audible, but he acquits himself more than creditably here in an engaging, well-paced performance. He differentiates well between the two main characters and between the various secondary characters and bit-parts, and although his female voices aren’t great, they’re not terrible either; fortunately, there are only a handful of female characters in the story and they don’t have a great deal of dialogue. He has a nice line in “teenage squee” – when it comes to portraying Avery, the superfan Jesse visits at Hunter’s request – and the bed-bug obsessed band member, Billy, is a hoot. Most importantly though, Mr. Fell really zeroes in on the emotional heart of the story and imbues his performance with all the tenderness and longing Jesse and Hunter feel for each other.

Infamous proved to be an extremely enjoyable listening experience and is one I recommend wholeheartedly. It’s one of the best romances I’ve listened to in recent months, and I’m sure I’ll be re-visiting it in the not too distant future.

Caz