Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Rare
AUTHOR: Briar Prescott
NARRATOR: Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese
PUBLISHER: Podium Audio
RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2021
LENGTH: 9 hours and 14 minutes
BLURB:
One summer changes their lives forever….
Alex Ellison is well-educated, rich, and good-looking. Too bad the ingredients of success haven’t mixed too well for him, and instead of having the world at his feet, Alex has, once again, landed himself in a hot mess of trouble.
The community service his father arranges for him in a wildlife center on the other side of the country comes as a bit of a nasty surprise, though. Being shipped off to middle-of-nowhere, Oregon, is not Alex’s idea of the perfect summer vacation. What Alex never expects is to meet Noah Price. He never expects to be noticed and understood. He never expects to feel valued and special. He never expects to fall in love.
Everything is not what it seems, though, and love that feels invincible turns out to be anything but. But love finds a way, and when Alex and Noah unexpectedly cross paths years later, they will have to risk it all for the love they both deserve and so desperately need.
REVIEW:
Briar Prescott’s Rare, her second full-length novel following her extremely successful debut book Project Hero, is a well-written, emotionally impactful story of Alex Ellison and Noah Price finding and fighting for their love in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Like Project Hero, Rare showcases Ms. Prescott’s impressive skill at spinning out a captivating story, even at such an early point in her writing career.
Rare is indeed rare for the LGBTQ+ social commentary that serves as notable subtext to this love story. The unusual premise focuses on a critical issue that easily escapes people’s consciousness. I’m not going to tell you what it is because one of the joys of reading this book is the organic unfolding of the mysterious challenge Alex and Noah face. It’s Noah’s big secret and I’m not giving it away.
Rare starts slowly, but I encourage you to stick with it. The story will reward you for it. The first third of the book provides a lot of detail about Alex’s travel to Oregon to do community service at a wildlife center run by Noah’s Uncle, the circumstances surrounding it, and the early parts of Alex’s stay there. Ms. Prescott appeared to be setting us up for a story focused on rich, bad-boy Alex and his journey to redemption and recovery, with falling in love with Noah as the transformative part of that journey. What we get, though, is the story of Alex and Noah’s romance, Noah’s burden, and its impact on their ability to stay in love and make it work. In that context, the early detail is too much. It weighs down the narrative and distracts from the excellent love story Ms. Prescott tells in the latter two-thirds of the book.
That being said, understanding Alex, his scars, and the genesis of his deep sarcasm and jaded life attitude are important to our understanding of, and connection to, him. In the audiobook, Iggy Toma narrates Alex and perfectly captures Alex’s presence and attitude. Mr. Toma uses a matter-of-fact delivery that deceptively delivers an enormous amount of emotion. We hear irritation, sarcasm, and rebellion, but also the seemingly contradictory dejectedness, loneliness, and vulnerability. Mr. Toma delivers the perfect blend of confidence and insecurity that spot-on captures Alex. As usual, Mr. Toma’s pacing is absolutely on point, never rushed, always thoughtful, and apropos for the emotion and dialogue being conveyed.
Rare contains more angst and a heavier feel than Ms. Prescott’s other works. If you’ve read the blurb, you know that Alex and Noah’s love is interrupted. They fall in love, are separated, and then get a second chance many years later. As such, a low hum of dread, of waiting for the other shoe to drop, thrums beneath the surface of Part One of the book. We know what’s going to happen, but not the how and why. We are fully invested in Alex and Noah by the midpoint of Rare, so knowing the break-up is coming does nothing to soften the blow. Mr. Toma gives Alex a fully invested, authentic portrayal, capturing all of these complex emotions in his delivery.
Alex is the sole POV for Part One of the book. In Part Two, we finally get Noah’s POV as voiced by Alexander Cendese. In my view, Noah is the pivotal character in Rare and Ms. Prescott has created a fascinating character in him. Noah’s history and burdens are very different from Alex’s, but he experiences similar pain, isolation, and disappointment. Unlike Alex, though, Noah doesn’t hide his feelings behind humor or sarcasm. Instead, he folds in on himself and tucks all of his emotions away when it all becomes too much. He’s a beleaguered, isolated soul, and we hear his beaten-down spirit start to war with his desires in Part Two.
In this light, I’m ambivalent about Mr. Cendese’s narration. He is undoubtedly a very talented, experienced narrator who knows how to deliver a memorable vocal performance. Indeed, his performance in Rare is expressive, conveys emotion, and clearly and consistently distinguishes between Noah and Alex (when voicing Alex in Noah’s chapters). However, I don’t think Mr. Cendese conveys the right energy for Noah. Noah is a man carrying a staggering burden. He’s introverted, has been overprotected, and his life is not his own. Therefore, I would expect his voice to have a beaten down, resigned quality with slow delivery. While Mr. Cendese gets the emotions right, his delivery is generally too fast, and the tone, intonations, and pitch are too bright and energetic. They just don’t fit Noah, in my opinion.
Overall, Rare provides an intriguing, meaningful, engaging read and the narration elevates it. Since Mr. Toma narrates most of the story, my quibble with Mr. Cendese’s narration is somewhat minimized. I certainly recommend the book, and I am confident you will enjoy how the audiobook, on the whole, complements it and helps bring Alex and Noah’s impactful story to life.
RATING: 
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