Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Charlie Sunshine

SERIES: Close Proximity Book 2

AUTHOR: Lily Morton

NARRATOR:  Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 7 hours and 54 minutes

RELEASE DATE: January 14, 2022

BLURB: 

Sometimes love is a lot closer to home than you think. 

Charlie Burroughs can’t keep a man. All he wants is a good relationship like the ones he sees his friends having, but none of the men he picks ever work out. Despite him trying to be the perfect boyfriend, the men are either threatened by his looks or his epilepsy or a combination of the two. It’s lucky that he has his best friend, Misha, to turn to. The two of them are closer than peas in a pod and fiercely loyal to each other. He can’t imagine his life without Misha in it.

Misha Lebedinsky is the complete opposite of his best friend. Being the support system for his mum and twin sisters leaves Misha with neither the time nor the inclination for a relationship. Quick and frequent hookups are his favorite means of communication, and any other pesky emotional needs he has are met by Charlie, whom he’s devoted to. He lives a life of happy compartmentalization with no intention of ever changing. 

All of this changes when the two best friends move in together. Being in close proximity means they suddenly start to see each other in a very different light. But Charlie struggles when his drive to be the perfect partner clashes with the fact that he’s in love with a man who knows every little thing about him. And even if he can get past that, can a relationship ever work with a man who’d need a dictionary to tell him what love means? 

From best-selling author Lily Morton comes a love story about a sunny librarian who has relationship written all over him and a cynical banker who doesn’t even have it in his blurb.

REVIEW:

Charlie Sunshine, the second book in Lily Morton’s excellent Close Proximity series, is a veritable ray of sunshine.  Ms. Morton takes her ever-successful formula of snark + swoon + steam to bring to life the lovely story of Charlie Burroughs, a passionate librarian who is dynamic, a bit naughty, and desperately searching for forever love.  Boyfriend to boyfriend he goes, always trying to be the perfect partner and yet always finding the relationships fall short.  He’s too beautiful, his epilepsy is too much to deal with … it’s always something, and it always leaves Charlie alone.

Charlie doesn’t realize he needn’t look elsewhere, nor is he ever alone.  Since childhood, he has had Misha – his best friend, a gorgeous, intelligent, loyal, sexy banker who’s already in love with him.  Misha, for his part, is equally oblivious to his feelings for Charlie and Charlie’s feelings for him.  Anyone with eyes in their heads can see the deep, abiding love between Charlie and Misha, but they have blind spots as big as the sun itself and don’t see what’s right in front of them. 

Ms. Morton’s writing strengths lie in many areas, which is why her stories are so well-balanced and across-the-board superbly crafted.  But here, we see her exceptional skill at developing authentic, relatable, strong connections between her characters.  The close bond between Misha and Charlie is established right out of the gate.  It’s easy for us to see that Charlie and Misha are already in a relationship, one of the most refreshingly honest, healthy, and supportive ones I’ve seen depicted.  They get everything they need from each other and prioritize the other over everyone else.  The only thing missing is the non-platonic, physical attraction and sex. 

If you’ve read book one of this series, the sublime Best Man, or Gideon from the preceding Mixed Messages series, you’ll recall meeting Charlie before.  He, Jessie (Best Man), and Eli (Gideon) were roommates.  However, Jessie has now moved in with Gabe and Eli with Gideon, which precipitates Charlie’s moving in with Misha at the beginning of Charlie Sunshine. Living together in close proximity is what finally throws the doors wide open on Charlie and Misha’s very not platonic attraction to each other.  Every sexy, sensual, naughty, lustful thought and feeling makes them realize that sexual attraction is not only present but undeniable.

Charlie Sunshine’s beautiful best friends-to-lovers romance is utterly fulfilling. Charlie and Misha together exude a sense of “rightness”, of things being just as they should.  You’ll know right away when you meet them that they slot together like the last two pieces of a puzzle.  Watching the two men figure that out is humorous but also quite touching.  Misha thinks he knows everything there is to know about Charlie, yet once they begin living together, it becomes clear to Misha that there are parts of Charlie he doesn’t know.  Those are the things Misha desperately wants to learn but also the things that scare Charlie the most. 

In an interesting dichotomy, Misha was forced to take up the mantle of responsibility for his mother and two sisters at a young age when his beloved father died suddenly and unexpectedly.  The pain from that drove Misha to close himself off to anything that would put his heart at risk of further loss and hurt.  But Charlie was already on the inside, and he’s the one person Misha couldn’t and wouldn’t shut out. 

That dynamic, which has worked so well for them in allowing Misha to mourn and heal, support his family, and give Charlie support and comfort concerning his epilepsy, is ironically the primary wedge standing between these two oblivious men realizing they are in love and belong together in every way.  Charlie doesn’t want to burden Misha and doesn’t believe that Misha wants to be settled with anyone.  He also believes he needs to be the “perfect” boyfriend but can’t be if Misha knows all his imperfections.

I adore this complex love story, and Joel Leslie is the perfect person to channel it through his exceptional narration.  His voice has a chameleon quality to it.  When I began the Charlie Sunshine audiobook, I heard Misha’s voice and said, “oh! that’s the voice he uses for Asa” (from Ms. Morton’s Deal Maker).  But shortly after that, “Nope, it’s close but not the same”.  Mr. Leslie can put so much texture into his voices that he captures vocal nuances that distinguish one character from the next. In doing so, he infuses the story with the complexity that mirrors the multiple, often conflicting, feelings of Charlie and Misha.

As usual, we get Ms. Morton’s crisp, snarky, clever banter and dialogue within an overarching narrative that overflows with detail and complexity, told through her trademark crisp, evocative, snarky tones. Mr. Leslie narrates all of Ms. Morton’s books, and the synergy between her content and his vocal performance resonates. Mr. Leslie’s vocal choices are spot on, as are his choices in cadence and intonations.  He delivers Ms. Morton’s story naturally and authentically.  You feel like you are having a cup (or two) of tea with a friend who’s regaling you with a fascinating, swoony, sweet, and sexy story that you’ll follow with rapt attention.  The almost eight-hour running time flies by, and my attention never wavered.

The Charlie Sunshine audiobook, like Best Man before it, showcases the perfect marriage of Ms. Morton’s superbly crafted story with Mr. Leslie’s engaging vocal performance.  It’s an all-around absorbing romance that checks all the boxes and I highly recommend you give it a listen.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Audible  

Amazon