Audio Review: Newton's Laws of Attraction by M.J. O'Shea - Narrated by George Somerset

Title: Newton’s Laws of Attraction

Author: M.J. O’Shea

Narrator:: George Somerset

Run Time: 4 Hours, 57 Minutes

At a Glance: Only because of M.J. O’Shea’s brilliant writing was I able to get through this Audiobook.

Reviewed By: Amy

Blurb: Rory was Ben’s oldest and best friend until senior year of high school, when they confessed they’d harbored feelings for each other all along. They enjoyed only a few months of happiness until Ben chose closeted popularity over true love… and he’s regretted it ever since.

Eight years later, Ben is out and proud and teaching art at the same high school he graduated from. When he learns the chemistry teacher is retiring, he’s excited to meet her replacement until he finds out the brand new teacher is none other than Rory Newton—the first love he’s never quite gotten over. Despite a painfully awkward start, it doesn’t take Ben long to realize he’ll do whatever it takes to win Rory back. But it’s starting to look like even his best might not be enough.

Review: M.J. O’Shea’s writing is so incredible. This story is simple and sweet, and starts out by showing childhood friends Ben and Rory going through puberty; then realizing they have fallen in love. The tentative touches and unsure nature of their sexual relationship is kept sweet and innocent, just like them. What you also saw was how young Rory and Ben were. You saw how peer pressure can simply destroy something beautiful. At a young age, we are not as equipped to handle confrontation and do the right thing. We think we would do the right thing, or at least hope we would, but we all know that happily-ever-after doesn’t always start at sixteen. Looking back, Ben sees how trivial being liked by his new teammates was, but at sixteen…it was overwhelming, and he destroyed that young love.

Eight years later, you again meet Ben, the better version of Ben. He is out and working at the same school he grew up in. You encounter Ben the day the new Chem teacher, and his old love, Rory, strolls back into Ben’s life. Again what M.J. O’Shea succeeds in is making Ben and the audience relive Ben’s mistakes by seeing throughout the second part of this story the hurt that lives in Rory. O’Shea proceeds to have these two characters dance slowly around their continued attraction.

I adore everything about this book.

Narrator: Unfortunately, however, George Somerset was NOT the right choice for Newton’s Laws of Attraction. Only because of the author’s brilliant writing was I able to get through this book. Somerset’s voice put me to sleep. He was monotone and whispered half the time. It actually grated on my nerves. I stayed with it only because I hadn’t read the book and really loved the story, and I wanted to know what happened to these characters.