Syncopation by Anna Zabo

Narrated by Greg Boudreaux

Anna Zabo’s Twisted Wishes series centres around the four-person rock group of the same name which, in this first book, is poised to make the big-time. Book one, Syncopation, is a really enjoyable, very sexy story; the band members are all interesting and clearly drawn, and the author does a great job of describing the claustrophobic atmosphere of life on the road, the thrills and utter exhilaration of live performance (and the exhaustion that follows) and the dedication and hard work that have got Twisted Wishes to this point in its career.

When the book opens, however, the band has hit a rather large snag. Their drummer has just quit following a public row between him and front man Ray Van Zeller, and a video – together with screaming headlines like DRUNKEN VAN ZELLER ATTACKS SCHMIDT AS TWISTED WISHES IMPLODES – has just hit the media sites. The band’s manager, Carl (who it’s clear from the outset, has it in for Ray for some reason), wants Ray to take the fall and blame the fight on an alcohol problem he doesn’t have, but Kevin’s departure leaves the band with a far more pressing problem. Just weeks away from going on tour as a support act to a major band, they’re without a drummer – and need to find one asap.

Zavier Demos was at high school with Ray – although he’s a couple of years older – and went on to study at the Julliard School of Music. He’s made a career as a professional percussionist, but resigned from his most recent post when the orchestra’s conductor – whom Zavier was sleeping with – started to make demands he wasn’t prepared to meet. So he’s between jobs when he sees the call for auditions for a rock drummer for Twisted Wishes. He’s kept tabs on them over the years and been to a few gigs; he’s seen how Ray has, over time, built something truly special, and decides to audition. The irony is that he turned Ray down when he asked Zavier to join his band when they were in high school – and now here he is thinking of joining them anyway.

The auditions haven’t produced anyone Ray thinks is up to the job when Dom, the band’s guitarist, quietly announces they have one more person to see. Dom’s been with Twisted Wishes since the beginning and has been Ray’s best friend since high-school; he knows all about Ray’s crush on Zavier Demos and how hurt he was by the other man’s dismissal all those years ago, which is why he doesn’t tell Ray who their final candidate is until the last minute. Ray is totally unprepared to see Zavier again after so many years, but not so surprised to see he hasn’t changed much. Still gorgeous and sexy AF, still oozing confidence and still hugely talented, he nails the audition and is booked for the tour.

At first, Ray is almost resentful – the band needs Zavier and Ray hates that they do. Plus the damn man is playing hell with his libido, and he hates that, too. But during the weeks of rehearsal that follow, Ray realises that Zavier has changed; he’s still arrogant and kind of an arsehole, but he’s also incredibly supportive of Ray and his decisions, and obviously respects his talent. A friendship gradually develops between the pair at the same time as their sexual attraction reaches boiling point. (Seriously, the chemistry between these two is explosive!) Ray is surprised to discover a need to hand over control – which fits in exactly with Zavier’s desire to take charge, and Zavier is only too happy to show Ray the intensity of the pleasure to be found in submission. I’m not that much into BDSM/kink in romances, but it’s very well done here with an emphasis on consent and caring which makes the emotional bond between Ray and Zavier very easy to believe in.

I loved the story, although it does have a couple of flaws that knocked my grade down a bit. Firstly, Carl is a bit of a one-dimensional villain. He insults, belittles and humiliates Ray at every opportunity, to the point where Ray is so beaten down that he starts to lose confidence and self-belief; in fact, he gets Ray to a point where his reaction is almost Pavlovian in that he doesn’t even have to hear Carl speak to feel like shit. I also found it a bit odd that a manager would be so openly hostile and unsupportive, especially considering the band’s growing success, but the real problem was that I didn’t feel like his motivations were fully explained. We do get an explanation, but considering everything he put Ray through – especially the events near the end, where Carl’s actions endanger Ray’s life – it was somewhat anticlimactic.

The supporting characters of Dom and Mish are three-dimensional and thoroughly likeable, and I’m really looking forward to their stories (Mish is awesome!) but this is Ray and Zavier’s show, and their relationship worked for me on just about every level. In the first part of the book, the author develops a wonderful, sexually-charged friendship based on mutual respect and real affection as well as attraction, and then explores the depth and intensity of their connection through their sexual relationship. Zavier is aromantic, and one of the things Anna Zabo does well is show the couple talking about that and the negative reactions Zavier has experienced in the past, and then they have Ray doing a little research about aromanticism because he wants to fully understand. I’m not aro, so don’t feel I can really comment on the rep in the story, but I know Mx. Zabo is an author who takes care to get these things right, and Ray and Zavier find something that works for them. Ray admits he’s in love with Zavier, but there’s never any question of his wanting something Zavier can’t give or of his being short-changed in the emotional department, because while Zavier may not be in love, he cares deeply for Ray, misses him when they’re apart, trusts him unreservedly and is intensely sexually attracted to him. Potato/potahto? Maybe. But it works.

The narration by Greg Boudreaux is absolutely spot on, and anyone who’s listened to him before will not have expected anything less than the superb performance he turns in here. There are a large number of scenes that feature the four band members, and all of them are immediately and easily identifiable aurally, even Ray and Zavier, whose voices are close in pitch, but very clearly different in timbre. There’s a rich, smooth quality to Zavier’s voice that perfectly fits his urbane, polished persona, and a slightly gruffer edge to Ray’s that provides a nice contrast. Dom and Mish are equally well-differentiated, their voices slightly higher in pitch; and Carl sounds exactly like the complete d-bag he is, his voice permanently laced with nasally scorn. As always, Mr. Boudreaux gives 110%; he gets thoroughly into the heads and under the skin of the characters, and his performance considerably enhances the depth of the connections between them, and expertly conveys the tenderness and intensity of the relationship between Ray and Zavier.

I really enjoyed Syncopation in terms of both story and performance, and can’t wait to listen to Dom’s story in book two, Counterpoint. If it’s as good as this one, I’m in for a treat :)

Caz

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