Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela
AUTHOR: Felicia Watson
NARRATOR: Jeff Gelder
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2012
LENGTH: 9 hours, 12 minutes
BLURB:
Logan Crane’s life changed dramatically the day a blind fit of temper resulted in him accidentally injuring his wife. Although he’s now in an abuser counseling program, Logan cannot face the real source of his unhappiness: he’s always been attracted to men but has refused to accept it since witnessing an act of violence.
During his therapy, Logan meets Nick Zales, a counselor at a shelter for victims of domestic violence. Nick is understandably suspicious of Logan despite an immediate attraction to him. Logan feels the same attraction and faces a critical internal struggle as he finds himself falling in love with this enigmatic man.
Both men are haunted by unacknowledged ghosts and abuse in their pasts. How can they help each other heal if they continue to ignore their own wounds?
REVIEW:
I loved this story. It was different. Important. It really highlighted that everyone does deserve a second chance and a chance to be heard. Even the ones who majorly screws up. And Logan screwed up royally, there is no doubt about that, no excuses. It wasn’t okay then, and it’s not okay now. But more than that, that single moment shouldn’t be the ones that described or define him either. I loved how Felicia Watson didn’t make excuses or sweep it under the rug. Logan really had to work for forgiveness. Work to change and to accept himself.
Domestic abuse is not a new topic. I know I’ve read many books with survivors of all kinds of abuse. However, this time we follow the abuser instead of the victim. This is not something I think I’ve come across before, at least not this defined. Sure, Logan might not have been the worst abuse out there, the systematic and cruel and who got off hurting others. But he was no angel either. He had issues, secrets, and anger that just kept building and building. Until the one day he just flew apart and injured his wife in the process. It might have been mostly accidental, but it didn’t change the fact that he did hurt her, scared his kids and ended up in counselling for anger management in an abuser counselling program. Where he meets Nick, a counsellor that pushes every button he has and making him think of things long buried.
I believed in Logan’s journey. We were there for every step, watched and felt his struggles and how he tried to change, to do better. And more, it felt genuine. He wasn’t just going through the motions to get back with his wife and kids. Sure, in the very beginning he did that, but gradually that changed. He changed. I loved him and Nick together, their romance was a sweet one, slow-burn until that one day where it all just exploded. I loved how this story and these characters all felt credible to me – well except for Trudy the therapist. I couldn’t stand her, she was too judgemental and unprofessional to be a therapist. But then again, those most likely exists too.
This beautiful book was narrated by Jeff Gelder and I have to say that he’s not my favourite narrator out there. It wasn’t always easy to follow the POV switches as he only used the one voice and tone for the entire book. Gelder read the book, start to finish, he didn’t add any emotion into it, even the arguments and shouting were read in a dull-like tone. In this case, the story carried him and sadly he didn’t really do anything to enhance or elevate the listening experience.
Now, this audiobook was produced back in 2012, so it’s got some years on it. The story and characters are very much current, but the production of the book was not. I’m soo thankful that today’s audiobooks don’t have that musical interlude before every single chapter, and that said chapter don’t begin with “Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela. Chapter X” (or some derivative thereof). Because man does that have the power to drive me absolutely bonkers, not to say distract and detract from the story the listener should be immersed in.
I absolutely loved this story. It was beautiful, honest and refreshing. While the narration wasn’t the best – far from it – I still would recommend listening, or reading this book. It’s a story that deserves more credit, attention and love.
RATING: 
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