Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Strings Attached
AUTHOR: Riley Hart
NARRATOR: Iggy Toma
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 8 hours and 1 minute
RELEASE DATE: February 2, 2022
BLURB:
I spent college worrying about responsibilities and earning my teaching degree, so before graduation and moving to Atlanta with my best friend, Ross, I figure I deserve a little fun. I’ve never been with an older man, but the guy at the bar grabs my attention and doesn’t let go…for multiple rounds, all night long.
The next day, when Ross introduces me to his dad, the last thing I expect is for him to be my hookup from the night before, in town from Atlanta for his son’s graduation.
The best thing would be to pretend it never happened, which is easier said than done. The more I talk to Harrison, the more I like him. We enjoy teasing each other, spending time together, and despite how successful he is, we both know what it’s like to have nothing. Neither of us wants a relationship, so when Harrison suggests a no-strings-attached fling, it’s perfect.
But between bills, worrying about Mom, and wondering how I thought I had what it takes to be a good teacher, Harrison’s always there, even when it’s hard for me to accept help.
Falling for Harrison wasn’t part of the agreement.
I don’t know how to trust, there’s a seventeen-year age difference, and he’s my best friend’s dad.
No strings attached has never been so difficult, because I’m pretty sure I want to be tied to Harrison for good.
REVIEW:
Riley Hart’s Strings Attached recreates an experience I had last year upon reading her riveting M/M sports romance, The Endgame. Then, I remarked that she took the trite closeted professional athlete trope and turned it into something fresh and different while still capturing all of the aspects of that trope that work so well. She recently did that again with Off Limits, and, lo and behold, she’s done it again here.
Strings Attached is an age-gap, best friend’s father romance between Logan and his best friend Ross’ father, Harrison. I expected this story to revolve around the forbidden nature of their seventeen-year age gap relationship and to involve a whole lot of skulking around to keep it a secret from Ross. But, refreshingly, that is not the story Ms. Hart tells. Instead, we get a thoughtfully plotted, incisive view of a young man, Logan, who’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He staunchly refuses to accept any help and certainly won’t contemplate opening himself up to love. He doesn’t have the time, and he’s not willing to take the risk of heartbreak.
Logan’s deadbeat dad comes and goes from his life, leaving heartbreak and destruction in his wake each time. Logan’s takeaway from his relationship with his father, who he wants to hate but is too generous of heart and spirit to do so, is that: 1) Logan cannot rely on anyone because they’ll just leave, and 2) if Logan isn’t good enough to make his father stay, he’s not good enough to make anyone else stay either.
Now, Logan tries to balance competing aspects of his life: his new dream job as a sixth-grade English teacher, his staggering college loan debt, which requires him to work two jobs, his self-imposed responsibility to save his mother from her own poor choices concerning his deadbeat dad, and ADHD. The portrayal of Logan’s ADHD is spot-on accurate, right down to the ADHD meds that kill his appetite to the point that he often forgets to eat. It’s a highly challenging condition to manage even in the best of circumstances, and Logan’s situation is quite far from ideal.
Enter Harrison. He’s the perfect answer to a problem Logan didn’t think he’d ever be able to solve. Ms. Hart does an excellent job developing both of their characters with depth and authenticity.
I also adored how Ms. Hart developed Ross’ character, especially in relation to his father, Harrison. They are fascinating in their own right and their backstory plays a critical role in Harrison and Logan’s relationship. Ms. Hart depicts a beautiful and honest father/son relationship full of mutual respect and love. It’s not only one of the best I’ve read but it’s also treated very differently than most others I’ve encountered, especially within this trope. Ms. Hart adeptly weaves that father/son relationship into the background of Harrison and Logan’s relationship and I think that is one of the key components in making this story so unique and compelling.
Watching Logan struggle and flail and refuse help to the point of stupidity is beyond frustrating at times, but it’s a critical part of his character and his journey. It also allows Harrison to be the white knight, but in a way that is respectful of Logan’s boundaries and wishes.
Iggy Toma’s voice provides the perfect counterpoint for Logan and Harrison’s characters. As always, Mr. Toma easily and consistently distinguishes between their voices, imbuing them with emotional complexity. Mr. Toma’s voice is naturally deep, a bit gravelly with an air of (almost) nonchalance to it. It’s a seemingly straightforward delivery that hides beneath it the nuanced characteristics of each character that then comes out through his intonations, emphasis, and pitch.
The most significant distinction between Logan and Harrison’s voices is the lower register Mr. Toma uses for Harrison. It carries a weight to it that reflects his maturity and age. You hear a bit of jadedness in his tone, reflective of his life experiences and the knowledge that things are often not easy. Mr. Toma gives Logan a higher-pitched voice that he delivers more quickly than Harrison’s voice. It carries energy that reflects Logan’s younger age, but even moreso, it parallels Logan’s ADHD- driven runaway thoughts. You hear frustration beneath it which captures Logan’s constant struggle to not only focus, but to handle everything all on his own.
I adore Mr. Toma’s voice because of its contradictions. It sounds superficially simple yet masks extreme depth that shows itself across the audiobook as the nuances of the characters and their journeys play out. He throws himself into his vocal performances in an arresting way, grabbing our attention and immersing us in the experience of the story.
String Attached provides a detailed, thought-provoking view of an improbable age-gap relationship that resonates through Ms. Hart’s text alone. However, when Mr. Toma’s gorgeous voice is layered on top of the excellent source material, you get an engrossing audiobook that will have the eight-hour listening time fly by. Highly recommend.
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