Title: Smoky Mountain Dreams
Author: Leta Blake
Narrator: John Solo
Publisher: Self-Published
Run Time: 14 hours and 46 minutes
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: Smoky Mountain Dreams was done a truly just turn by John Solo. With rich pathos and nimble characterizations, he made this story shine.
Reviewed By: Sammy
Blurb: Sometimes holding on means letting go.
After giving up on his career as a country singer in Nashville, Christopher Ryder is happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee. But while his beloved Gran loves him the way he is, Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. Even when he’s center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.
Bisexual Jesse Birch has no room in his life for dating. Raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother, he doesn’t want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn’t want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.
Review: I am no doubt in the minority when I tell you that this story was not one that left me with any extreme reactions. Rather, it was just a bit down the middle for me. While I felt this was a sweet romance between two nearly polar opposites, and rich in emotion, I simply had a difficult time remaining focused throughout the rather lengthy story. There were times when I wanted to push Jesse to be truthful with Christopher, to realize that he was putting their relationship in danger by keeping Christopher from really sharing the burden he carried. However, I also saw the need for both men to take things slowly, particularly given that Jesse came with not only the emotional burden of his wife laying in a vegetative state but two kids to boot. I can only say that I never really latched onto this book emotionally. Instead, I kind of floated through it and found myself wishing that it had moved a bit faster in places. Therefore, I have chosen to focus solely on the audio review of the body of work, and that, I must tell you, was outstanding.
John Solo is a brilliant narrator. He literally made this novel sing on more than one level. From the variety of voicings to the pacing and incredibly vibrant narrating style, Mr. Solo brought these characters to life and gave what is an admittedly long novel just enough variety to keep one’s interest. I loved the gentle twang he gave to one of the older characters in the novel, and the deep and sexy voice he chose for Jesse. Christopher was done with a younger tone—such a lovely juxtaposition between these two men’s voices—which made the intimate scenes truly spectacular.
I felt this narrator mastered the ability to switch between voices and narration so well. Not once, in what really amounted to a mammoth task of vocal narration, did Mr. Solo slip up or even allow for his variations in tone to seep into the narrator’s voice. It was always distinct from the other characters. I can tell you that after nearly fifteen hours of narration, that is very impressive. But what it really came down to was the way in which John Solo gave life to the characters simply by dropping the pitch of his voice or slowing his pace and allowing for the uncertainty to creep in to the voices of both Jesse and Christopher. You could literally hear them stumbling about, trying to find the right words, trying to be honest and yet not give too much away for fear they might be rejected. I was drawn in to this story solely because of the rich variety John Solo managed to put into each and every character in the novel, and there were many, to say the least.
Smoky Mountain Dreams was done a truly just turn by John Solo. With rich pathos and nimble characterizations, he made this story shine.
You can buy Smoky Mountain Dreams here:
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