The Happy List by Briar Prescott

Narrated by Joel Leslie and Kirt Graves

Briar Prescott’s The Happy List is book one in her Better With You series that centres on a group of friends who live and work in Boston. I read it back in March 2022 and enjoyed it, so I was pleased to see it getting an audio version, especially with two such experienced narrators at the helm. It’s a warm and funny friends-to-lovers / opposites-attract romance between Grayson – Gray – Quinn, a meticulous planner and workaholic, and his life-long best friend Kai Morgan, who is more of a go-with-the-flow kinda guy.

When the book begins, Gray is reeling from the fact that his girlfriend of two years has just proposed to him in front of a dinner table-full of their friends and family. Astonished and more than slightly horrified, it’s a wake-up call for Gray, as he realises that while he does love Cee, he’s not IN love with her and that they clearly want different things from life. Forced to turn her down in public, Gray flees the table, and knowing he can’t possibly return to the restaurant to face everyone, decides to escape by crawling through the bathroom window. It’s a bit of a squeeze but he manages it, and as he walks through the back street to the main road, he bumps into Kai, who was about to go inside. Gray is overjoyed to see him – Kai has spent the last few years travelling with only sporadic visits home – and they immediately fall into their usual pattern of affectionate teasing and trash-talk. Gray can’t help comparing their easy camaraderie with his relationships with just about everyone else in his life; with Kai there’s no pressure or expectations, Gray can just be himself.

Showing up to Gray’s engagement dinner wasn’t exactly Kai’s idea of a great homecoming, but Gray is his best friend and no way was he not going to be there for him, no matter that little tiny squeeze of his heart at the thought of Gray getting married. Seeing him climb out of the restaurant window wasn’t quite how Kai expected the evening to go, but he’s delighted to see Gray anyway, and they head off in his crappy car to get some food. They pick up their friendship as if he’s never been away; they talk about anything and everything and banter back-and-forth like they’ve always done, and Kai is really glad he’s finally managed to get over the crush he had on Gray he had for years because now they can just be great buddies with no stupid stuff in the way. Kai explains that he’s come back home for good now; that he’s had a great time seeing the world, but that he feels it’s time he settled and put down some roots. Gray immediately offers him his spare room and the alarm bells that start ringing are the first clue that maybe Kai isn’t as over his crush as he thought. But he does need somewhere to stay while he gets himself sorted out, so he accepts Gray’s offer. Eh, it’ll be fine.

The two of them very quickly settle into a comfortable routine – there’s no awkwardness on either part about being in each other’s personal space so much, it all feels normal and very natural. But a night out with Kai’s sister and her boyfriend that devolves into a drunken game of Never Have I Ever is another wake-up call for Gray, who realises how boring and predictable his life is and that, at twenty-eight, he’s never really had what Kai – or anyone else – would call fun. It’s this realisation that inspires him to make his “Happy List” – he’s going to make some big changes, he’s going to have fun, take a risk, do something crazy – “Don’t think, just do” is going to be his new motto.

Briar Prescott has a lot of fun with her tropes here and creates a warm, funny and sexy slow-burn romance full of longing and sexual tension. Grey and Kai have great chemistry, the depth of their mutual affection is palpable, and I loved that they’re so supportive of each other. I liked the way Gray’s attraction to Kai creeps upon him slowly, and that when he realises it, he’s all in. He clearly given some thought to the way attraction works for him – he talks about needing to know someone first – but he’s not at all freaked out that he’s attracted to another man and accepts his new romantic feelings for Kai as a natural progression of their existing relationship.

Kai, though, is somewhat wary. Gray has never given him any indication that he’s anything other than straight, so he’s worried that Gray’s just experimenting, but even so, he just can’t find it in him to say no to something he’s wanted for so long. He’s sure he’s in for major heartbreak but… well, when it happens, he’ll just have to deal with it.

Both characters are likeable and endearing, although Gray undergoes the most character growth throughout the story. Brought up by his older brother Con after their parents were killed, Gray has always tried to do what’s expected of him, subconsciously seeing it as a way of repaying Con for all he did for him. But he’s spent so long trying to please Con, he’s forgotten to please himself, too, and I really enjoyed listening to him coming to realise that he wants more from life, becoming less tightly-wound and more open to possibility and willing to take a risk. Kai has made his life-decisions off page, as he returns to Boston with a plan already in place, but he’s good-natured, full of fun and obviously wants Gray to be happy.

The one false note struck is that Kai’s persistence in believing that Gray is just curious and that what’s going on between them is ‘just sex’ goes on a bit too long, although I did appreciate that they resolve things without a silly argument or break-up.

I enjoyed listening to Joel Leslie and Kirt Graves in Annabeth Albert’s new adult romances, Conventionally Yours and Out of Character, so I was pleased to see them working together again (they’ve also recorded the author’s Project Hero). As you’d expect from two such experienced narrators, the performance is well-paced and clearly differentiated, and the various accents and vocal mannerisms adopted for the characters are consistent throughout. Kirt Graves reads the chapters from Grey’s PoV, and he does a great job of bringing out Grey’s dry, deadpan humour and his confusion and shifting emotions – the scene where he gets jealous of Kai’s date is especially good – his ‘who, me?’ innocence has an edge that could cut glass and has a real bite to it. Joel Leslie delivers Kai’s chapters with a full-on Boston accent and also goes a great job with the humour and banter. He hints nicely at the vulnerability that lies beneath Kai’s confident exterior, making clear how deeply he cares for Gray even when he’s banging out the one-liners. My only real criticism is that he can be a bit breathy at times, and that there were occasions where Kai’s accent was a little too strong for me to distinguish the words fast enough (which I freely admit may be because I’m not used to it). But those minor reservations weren’t enough to stop me enjoying the performance and the story. The Happy List is light-hearted, sexy fun featuring two engaging leads and a charming romance replete with bucket-loads of chemistry. The excellent performance from Joel Leslie and Kirt Graves makes a strong case for experiencing the story in audio – I’m glad I did and am happy to recommend it.

Caz

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Buy The Happy List by Briar Prescott on Amazon