Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Fandom
SERIES: Famous
AUTHOR: Eden Finley
NARRATOR: Iggy Toma
PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio
LENGTH: 8 hours and 42 minutes
RELEASE DATE: June 22, 2021
BLURB:
Denver: Everyone remembers the night the boy band Eleven broke up. Hearts shattered around the world, including my own.
I made a mistake, and I’ve been avoiding bandmate Mason Nash ever since.
At first it was hard, but 18 months ago, he made it easier by leaving Hollywood and disappearing.
When Eleven reunion talks start, I’m against it completely. I could really do with the publicity, but I don’t want to face Mason again. I’m sure he won’t want to see me either.
Mason: I don’t miss LA or anyone in it. Not even the guys from Eleven. So, when they turn up on my doorstep talking about reunions, the last thing I want to do is hear them out.
I hold strong, too. Until my eyes land on Denver Smith. My ex-best friend.
Two and a half years ago, he ghosted me, and I still don’t know why. I want answers – I miss him – but I don’t want to let him back into my life if there’s a chance he’ll walk away again.
Contains mature themes.
REVIEW:
Note: This is book 3 in this series and contains some spoilers for Books 1 and 2. That being said, it can be read as a standalone, but I recommend the first book 🙂
Denver Smith is on a reality show he doesn’t want to be on. But he risks becoming irrelevant after the breakup of boyband Eleven and his subsequent ventures. So he signs on to something he has little confidence in. He throws parties and dates starlets to keep his name in the tabloids per his manager, but he’s not happy. He really messed up the last night of the final Eleven tour – just before the announcement of the groups breakup and he’s missed his best friend, Mason Nash, another member of Eleven who has left Hollywood after his solo album tanks.
Mason has run home to Montana, back to his family and hasn’t been in touch with anyone for 18 months. But then Harley Valentine (the MC of Pop Star, book 1 in this series) decides that it’s time for Eleven to get back together 🙂 But nobody’s talked to or seen Mason. Denver spill the beans on his location after a drunken dinner and Mason is none to happy to see his old bandmates. Especially when the paparazzi then start harassing him and his family. So he runs back to Hollywood to hide out at Denver’s place.
Denver is happy to see his best friend and unhappy that things are so tense between them. When they finally get to talking about what happened, Denver has a big confession to make to Mason. Mason isn’t exactly ready to hear what Denver has to say, but he’s glad they are at least trying to work through things. And he discovers some very disconcerting things – like how jealous he gets when anyone else gets up in Denver’s business 😉 Seems like maybe he’s not so unaffected as he’s been pretending to be 😀
In the meantime, Harley continues to try to convince the guys to sign with his record label and get back together. Blake’s got a booming movie career going so scheduling will be difficult. Ryder and his boyfriend need to schedule around Ryder’s daughter’s schedule as well. And Mason isn’t t all sure that he wants to get back into the business that chewed him up and spit him out once already. Denver just wants to be with Mason, but he can’t go back to being poor and he doesn’t want to leave the only business he knows. And when an unexpected event throws everyone off-kilter, old wound and losses cause Mason to really look at what he wants from life. And he’s not sure that even Denver can hold him together.
Oh Eden Finley, you got me! I didn’t expect this one to get to me so much. It’s rare that I cry while listening to a book, but this one accomplished it and I was surprised and shocked at the plot twist here. Unexpected doesn’t begin to cover it. I don’t want to spoil any of this story so I’m not going to go into any particulars. Just let me say that this one will really tug on the heartstrings. Mason and Denver have their own baggage. Denver’s childhood and subsequent upbringing leave him in a vulnerable position. I think far too many people will relate to his feelings of never being enough and that’s the reason why everyone always leaves him 🙁 Mason’s being ghosted by his best friend, subsequent loss of his career and his high-tailing it back to Montana make him reluctant to even consider going back to Hollywood – the place that used him up. But when he needs to get away from the press who have found him at his remote home, his immediate reaction is to go to Denver, his former best friend. When they begin to get back to themselves, it’s clear that there is so much more that they need to work through. Denver’s confession of his feelings for Mason open his eyes to what might really be a possibility. He has always loved Denver as his best friend, but he’s now aware of much more. And he also is aware of how much he has overlooked about their relationship. It’s NOT the same as his relationship to the other guys in Eleven, but he’s unsure how to deal with it. He now realizes how much he hurt Denver and Denver now realizes how much he hurt Mason by abandoning him when he his career was tanking and he had nobody to count on. But their friendship and ultimately their love for one another allows them to really be honest with each other and open themselves up to possible heartbreak.
Iggy Toma did a masterful job with this narration. I was alternately elated and devastated in this story. Denver’s vulnerability an need for Mason were palpable. The grief and loss portrayed here and the profound sadness and inability to deal with the world at large were so well performed. One of my very rare 5-heart ratings. This is the best book in this series – so far 🙂 Highly recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Audible