Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Dear Mr. Brody

SERIES: For Him, Book 3

AUTHOR:  A.M. Johnson

NARRATOR:  Kirt Graves and Tim Paige

PUBLISHER:  Tantor Audio

LENGTH:  9 hours and 90 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  March 29, 2022

BLURB:

Parker,

I never meant for any of this to happen, to fall for you. It doesn’t matter that we’re both adults, or how much we want this to work. The college policy is clear. I can’t see a way around this without one of us getting hurt. If I would’ve known who you were when we met online, I would have never pursued a relationship. I’m new to all of this, and besides my daughter, getting to know you has been the best thing to ever happen to me. But I can’t make you hide again. I won’t. It’s not fair to either of us.

Deepest regrets, Donovan

Dear Mr. Brody,

You’re right, we are adults. I’m twenty-four years old, and I think I can decide for myself what’s best for me. If this is about you losing your job, I’ll walk away. But if this is you trying to protect me, then you’re an idiot. I want you. I care about you. My past isn’t an issue. What we’re doing . . . it isn’t the same thing. If we have to hide, so be it. I’m not ready to let you go.

Your Lost Boy, Parker

REVIEW: 

Dear Mr. Brody is the third book in A.M. Johnson’s excellent For Him series.  The books are standalones, but the experience is much better if you read them all in order since the characters are connected and the story is sequential.  Wilder Welles (Book 1, Love Always, Wild) is one of the best-selling authors of Asher Lowe’s literary agency.  Asher and Ethan’s story is told in Book 2, Not So Sincerely, Yours, and the male lead here, Donovan (Van) Brody, is one of the Asher Lowe literary agents.  This story picks up two years after the end of Not So Sincerely, Yours.

Van’s life is in flux, both personally and professionally.  After his marriage falls apart, he explores his bisexuality for the first time.  This is at the same time as he’s starting a part-time job as an adjunct professor of creative writing at a small, local college. Twenty-four-year-old Parker Mills, one of his students, is not only an extremely talented writer, as Van discovers in class, but Parker is also a first-class flirt, and his flirtations are directed at Van.

Through a confluence of circumstances, Van and Parker find each other through an online dating app and, of course, unbeknownst to either of them because they’re using fake identities. They embark on in-app messaging as their alter-egos (using their respective middle names) while at the same time corresponding via email as professor and student about Parker’s creative writing assignments for class (Dear Mr. Brody, …).  Later, they move to sexy texts as well. 

The sexy times between Van and Parker are seriously hot, their characters endearing, and the storyline addictive. It’s low-angst, highly enjoyable, and very well written.  We also get nice cameos from prior series characters, and we get to know Marcos, Parker’s flamboyant roommate who will star in the next and final book in this series, Forever, Con Amor. 

Johnson’s story of forbidden love is deceptive in its seeming simplicity. The dual tracks of Van and Parker falling for each other anonymously over a hookup app while simultaneously falling for each other in person is a fairly standard plot device (that I happen to adore).  But Johnson uses it effectively here in a way that seems somehow different.  She packs in textured, complex character journeys, including personal demons and family issues that play out in the background but have significance to the story. Johnson balances this well, never dipping too deeply into the angst pool or pulling the focus from Van and Parker’s relationship.  

The audiobook of this multi-layered story enhances our engagement with the characters and immerses us in their romance.  Kirt Graves and Tim Paige narrate here as they did in book one, Love Always, Wild.  Paige handed over narrating duties to Aaron Shedlock for book two, Not So Sincerely, Yours, and book 3.5, the novella To Whom It May Concern.  Graves consistently narrates throughout with solid vocal performances, yet, ironically, Paige and Shedlock have impressed me more.

There’s nothing ostensibly wrong with Graves’ performance here.  It’s invested and emotionally connected.  Graves uses his easy-going demeanor with its characteristically rough-edged sound to voice Parker.  His voice is higher pitched with a lighter timbre than Van’s, which makes sense given the age gap.  His narration tends to sound disinterested, almost bored at times, but here, it seems livelier than usual, and it works for Parker. The pacing is a bit too steady and moderated for Parker’s youthful energy, but it’s a minor complaint in the grand scheme of an otherwise solid vocal performance. 

The most significant difference between Graves and Paige is in the intonations and inflections of the words and phrases.  Paige narrates Van, and his smoky tones fit how I pictured Van.  It’s smooth and steady, yet he varies the intonations he uses and variations on pacing to inhabit Van and fully deliver his emotions and feelings. It’s a dynamic performance with a deliciously sexy voice that shows strength and vulnerability.

I recommend the Dear Mr. Brody audiobook. It’s an engaging story brought to life by two skilled narrators. For the best experience, listen to the whole series in order. All audios are excellent and having the backstories of Wilder, Anders and Ethan, in particular, will fill out your understanding of Van and Parker’s heartwarming romance.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

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