Mr. Uptight by Felice Stevens

Narrated by Kale Williams

Reading the synopsis for Mr. Uptight, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s one of those “oops, the guy I had wild monkey sex with all last night is my frenemy/best friend’s little brother/new boss” rom-coms – and to an extent, you’d be right. But while the story certainly does start out with one of those typically awkward morning-afters, it doesn’t take the cutesy, kooky path and instead opens out into a deeply emotional story about two men who don’t (think they) like each other very much learning to reassess their opinions of both each other and themselves.

Jude Staubman and his best friend’s brother Mason have never really got on. For years, Mason was the annoying little brother, and then he grew into the annoying little brother who continually needed extricating from his latest fuck-up – and even bailing out of jail on one occasion! He’s an irresponsible party-boy who gets by on his good looks, quick wit and charm; in short, he’s everything the sensible, serious-minded Jude isn’t… which makes the stupid crush Jude has had on him for years even more stupid. So waking up – naked – in bed with Mason the morning after his sister’s wedding is something Jude wants to pretend never happened. Along with whatever they got up to the night before.

Mason Reiner knows Jude – and his brother – think he’s a total screw-up who doesn’t take anything seriously, but after working abroad for a number of years (the last three of them as PA to an incredibly wealthy property developer) he’s decided it’s time for him to come home, put down some roots and show the people that matter to him that he’s changed, that he’s no longer that immature, wild kid everyone remembers and is ready to build a career. He knows it won’t be easy, especially when it comes to proving that to Jude and his brother Doug – who run a successful advertising agency together – but he’s absolutely determined to do it if they’ll give him the chance. Knowing Jude, it’s going to be a hard sell.

So. The morning after, Mason isn’t surprised when Jude immediately puts distance between them – emotionally as well as physically. They were both drunk and he knows that Jude would almost certainly never have gone to bed with him had it not been for the copious amounts of tequila they’d consumed – but he still can’t help hoping that maybe there is a chance for something to develop between them. Those hopes, however, will have to be put on hold because a bigger problem looms. The happy couple – Mason’s brother Doug and Jude’s sister Ilana – are about to depart for their one-month honeymoon trip to Europe, when Jude and Doug learn that Jude’s assistant has to quit her job at very short notice due to her husband being suddenly relocated to the other side of the country. Mason immediately offers to step in while Jude finds a replacement. He’d already spoken to Doug about joining The Company, and this will give him the perfect opportunity to start learning the ropes.

Jude is sceptical – but he also knows Doug won’t be easy about going away with them down a key staff member; so he agrees to check Mason’s references – which are impeccable – and just like that… he has a new assistant. One he will absolutely keep his hands off of.

The romance between these two total opposites is a wonderful mixture of sexy and sweet, funny and tender, and as I’ve come to expect of this author, it’s peppered with deeply emotional moments of introspection, reflection and realisation. Mason is outgoing and open-hearted; he’s not afraid to be himself or show emotion, where Jude is tightly wound and introverted, and his inexperience with relationships means he doesn’t know how to show his feelings. Becoming his family’s caretaker and provider at a young age – when his mother became ill with MS – meant he became entirely focused on his studies, holding down whatever jobs he could to supplement their meagre income and bringing up his younger sister single-handed. His life revolved around his responsibilities and Ilana – and even though he’s delighted for her and Doug, he’s having trouble letting go now she’s married. So much of his identity is tied up in Ilana, he isn’t sure who he is or what use he is any more – incredibly poignant realisations that are real lump-in-the-throat moments. Like Mason, Jude is at one of life’s crossroads and he’s going to have to choose between carrying on as before, with his work consuming even more of his life and energy and becoming more and more lonely, or opening up to new possibilities and learning to live for himself.

Jude and Mason are complex, three-dimensional characters whose differences – in the tradition of the grumpy/sunshine trope – are complementary in the best way. I enjoyed the story very much, although things got a little repetitive in the second half, and Mason’s ‘secret’ felt like a total contrivance just to provide a bit of tension near the end. Plus – it was… really odd.

There are also inconsistencies in some of the background detail. It didn’t make sense to me that Jude’s assistant would be working directly on campaigns, for example, and I had to wonder why, when The Company is described as one of the hottest, trendiest agencies in NYC, they weren’t using Instagram in their campaigns, but the rest of the story and the development of the romance between Jude and Mason is so beautifully done that those were merely tiny niggles I was able to mostly ignore.

As I’ve been on a bit of a Felice Stevens glom lately, I’ve been on a Kale Williams one, too, as he’s narrated quite a few of her audiobooks. I enjoy listening to him; his smooth, velvety tones are easy on the ear and his ability to find the emotional heart of a story is something I always appreciate and look forward to. His performance in Mr. Uptight is very good indeed; well-paced, clearly differentiated and strongly characterised, and I was impressed with the way he captures the essence of both leads. There’s not a great variation in pitch between the two voices, but Jude’s clipped delivery works really well to paint him as, well, uptight, and to reveal the hurt he’s trying desperately to hide, and Mason has what I often term ‘a smile in his voice’, a lighter tone and spirited delivery that are a perfect match for his natural humour and generosity of spirit.

Mr. Uptight is a lovely feel-good story featuring strongly-written, relatable characters – and I enjoyed it a lot, despite my criticisms. Kale Williams’ warm and engaging performance really enhances the connection between the protagonists, and if you’re looking for a story that’s short on angst but long on emotion, it’s certainly worth a look.

Caz

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