Author: Amy Lane
Narrator:: Paul Woodson
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Run Time: 2 Hours, 39 Minutes
Rating: 5 Stars
Blurb: Every dreary day, Zach Driscoll takes the elevator from the penthouse apartment of his father’s building to his coldly charmed life where being a union lawyer instead of a corporate lawyer is an act of rebellion. Every day, that is, until the day the elevator breaks and Sean Mallory practically runs into his arms.
Substitute teacher Sean Mallory is everything Zach is not—poor, happy, and goofily charming. With a disarming smile and a penchant for drama, Sean laughs his way into Zach’s heart one elevator ride at a time. Zach would love to get to know Sean better, but first he needs the courage to leave his ivory tower and face a relationship that doesn’t end at the “Ding!”
Review: Well…I’ve learned that I’m not a big fan of audiobooks. I’ve tried several, and for whatever reason just cannot get into them. I AM, however, a HUGE fan of Amy Lane – and I completely adored her novella Going Up – so, I decided to give this one a try, and I am so glad I did!
I’m sure most of you have read one or more of Amy’s books (if you haven’t, please fix this immediately), so you know how much humor, and heart, and fire it takes to read one of them. Her writing is amazing, and needs an amazing narrator; Paul Woodson hit it out of the park!
Zach is incredibly lonely, just going through the motions of his life, when Sean literally falls into it. The way that their love affair unfolds is but one of the many reasons to love this story. It is so touching and heartfelt and funny. And, you Gambling Men fans will love the surprise of seeing a particular couple make a few appearances! ;)
Going Up has such wonderful, multi-faceted characters – our MCs, Zach and Sean being the most prominent, obviously – and Woodson does a great job of bringing them to life. From steady, businessman, Zach, to his wonderfully vibrant assistant, Leah, to the quirky, charming and lovely Sean…it was such a pleasure to listen to this book. The inflection, tone, and pacing were all fantastic. I was laughing out loud in all the right places! Classic Amy Lane gems like this one were read perfectly:
“Sean chuckled and it was such a warm sound, Zach wanted to just pull it over his head and around his toes and huddle in it.”
I checked to see if this narrator had done any other M/M romances, and it doesn’t appear that he has. I hope Dreamspinner has the opportunity to sign him on for some other works – because I, for one, would certainly give them a listen!
You can buy Going Up! here:
Thanks for the kind review! I am currently recording a new audiobook for Amy Lane, THE WINTER COURTSHIP RITUALS OF FUR-BEARING CRITTERS (that’s a mouthful, eh?). However, it will be under a different name. Keep an eye out for it!
Although I don’t have other M/M romances out, I did narrate a very well-written novel, MINIONS OF THE MOON by Richard Bowes, which won the Lambda Award and tells the life story (with a slight supernatural bent) of a man coming to terms with a difficult childhood and growing up homosexual in a 1960s Irish-Catholic Boston family. One of my best works, though not light & fun like GOING UP.
Thanks again, and look out for COURTSHIP RITUALS etc. by Amy Lane (under narrator Philip Alces) sometime this fall!