On Board by Jay Hogan

Narrated by Gary Furlong

In On Board, book two in Jay Hogan’s Painted Bay series, we return to the Northland homestead of the Madden family around a year after the events of Off Balance. Judah Madden and Morgan Wipene are happily married and settled into their lives together, and Judah and his brother Leroy are very slowly rebuilding their fractured relationship. Leroy behaved like a real prick in the previous book; Judah had returned home after losing the career he’d worked so long and hard for in spectacular fashion when he keeled over in the midst of a performance at the Boston Ballet, and Leroy had no sympathy or understanding to offer whatsoever. As the story progressed, the author revealed more about the reasons behind Leroy’s horrible behaviour – and in On Board, she redeems him in spectacular fashion. I’m a sucker for a good redemption story – and this is a very good one.

When Leroy met Fox Carmody at a family lunch a year earlier, he took an instant dislike to him. Shortly before this, his mother Cora and Fox’s mother Martha – who also works for the Madden family business – came out as a couple, bringing their families closer together. It didn’t help that Fox is handsome, charming and witty – everything the sharp, grouchy Leroy isn’t – or that Leroy found himself unexpectedly confronted by feelings he’s avoided thinking about for, basically, ever. Their few subsequent meetings didn’t go well either, but fortunately, Fox lives at the other end of the country, on a tiny island several miles off the South Island coast, so despite their changed family situation, they’re unlikely to have much to do with each other.

Or so Leroy thought, until the day he walks into his house after a long day out on the boat to find Fox in his kitchen, calmly making himself a sandwich. Stunned and furious, Leroy listens to Fox explaining that Cora had said it would be okay for him to stay in the house for a couple of months, and apologising for the fact that neither Cora nor Martha seemed to have consulted Leroy on the matter.

Fox is going through a messy divorce and needed to get away from his small home town to avoid the unpleasant gossip spread by his soon-to-be ex-husband, who has not only got the lion’s share of their shared property, but has put it about that Fox cheated on him, when the reverse is true. Devastated by the betrayal, Fox (mostly) turned his back on his old life, sold his business, and made his way up north to spend a bit of time with his mother while he works out what to do next. He and Leroy are like oil and water, but Fox doesn’t intend to stay long, so he hopes they can at least be civil to each other, for the sake of their mothers if nothing else.

It’s clear from the start that the real reason behind Leroy’s animosity is that he’s strongly attracted to Fox and doesn’t want to be. He’s always identified as straight, and the intensity of the pull he feels towards Fox is unlike anything he’s ever felt before; he’s never experienced an attraction like this for anyone, not to any of the women he’s dated, and certainly not to a man – and it scares the crap out of him. And it’s not because Fox is a bloke; despite indications to the contrary in Off Balance, Leroy isn’t homophobic, it’s more that he’s only just starting to admit the truth after years of deep denial – that denial fostered, perhaps, by all the shit Judah had to put up with at school and around town when he was growing up – and has spent so long pushing people away that it’s hard for him to allow himself to be vulnerable and to trust someone enough to let them in.

Although Leroy can still, on occasion, be an arsehole, I came to admire the strength of character he displays as he decides it’s time for him to take a long, hard look at himself and work out who he is and what he wants. It would have probably been for him to hole himself back up behind his walls and continue in his denial, but he makes the difficult choice not to, and that takes real courage. Of course, he doesn’t get it right straight away, but his flaws and mistakes serve to make him that much more human, a character who is not perfect but is prepared to examine himself, face some unpalatable truths and actually work on living his best life.

The romance between Leroy and Fox is a fabulous and chemistry-laden slow-burn that develops organically out of their forced proximity. At first, Leroy tries to avoid Fox at all costs, not ready to face the truth of his feelings and Fox, realising what he’s doing (although not why) doesn’t push and simply does things around the place to help make Leroy’s life a bit easier, like packing lunch or cooking a meal and sometimes helping on the boat. They bond over a shared love of working on the water, over the trials and tribulations of running a small business, and the difficulties inherent in navigating fraught family situations. When Leroy decides he’s ready to explore his newly admitted bisexuality, he doesn’t hold back, deciding to make the most of whatever time he’s going to have with Fox and to experience all the things he’s wanted but denied himself for so long.

The only misstep I can point to in the story is the character of Leroy and Judah’s mother, Cora, whose interfering and manipulation, while it may be done with the best of intentions, is no less annoying to hear about. One other issue I noted while listening is something that escaped me when I read the book; there’s a lot of internalisation and thought-monologuing in the first part of the story especially, and the lack of character interaction for long stretches is a lot more noticeable in audio. Those are my only criticisms, though. Otherwise, On Board is a terrific redemption/bi-awakening story featuring well-rounded leads and a terrific secondary cast, and the audiobook benefits – once again – from a superb performance by Gary Furlong.

There are a few times where his interpretations of Leroy and Fox sound a bit similar, because here, Mr. Furlong is differentiating them mostly by tone and timbre rather than a difference in pitch, so they’re both performed in the same register. But it works well for the most part, especially in the earlier stages of the story where Leroy’s voice has a sharp-edged quality that perfectly matches his prickly, leave-me-alone persona and Fox’s delivery is more smooth and laid back. The stress Leroy lives with manifests itself in a fast, almost brittle manner, while Fox speaks at a slightly slower tempo, and with a warmth that Leroy lacks. Later, as Leroy starts to unwind a bit, I found myself occasionally having to listen out for the dialogue tags, but that didn’t happen very often. The handful of recurring characters – the mums, Terry and Hannah, Judah and Morgan – sound consistent with their portrayals in Off Balance, and I really liked the interpretation of the changing relationship between Leroy and Judah which is an important storyline in the book. There’s a lot of hurt and resentment between those two, and Ms. Hogan doesn’t wave a magic wand over them to make it all better; instead we hear a relationship in progress, one in which both brothers are trying to make it work – and all the emotions that go along with that are skilfully rendered.

It’s not essential to have listened to Off Balance first, but I’d strongly recommend it so as not to miss out on important background information – it’s a wonderful story and the narration is fantastic. The same is true here; On Board is a superbly narrated, sexy and passionate romance combined with a wonderful tale of self-acceptance and forgiveness. Highly recommended.

Caz

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