Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Influenced
AUTHOR: Felice Stevens
NARRATOR: Declan Winters
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 9 hours and 23 minutes
RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2022
BLURB:
A million likes vs. one true love.
Bryce Bauman is one half of a famous influencer couple…until his boyfriend dumps him and puts the whole ugly scene online.
Several months later, Bryce is at the end of his rope—he’s lost all his endorsements, along with his so-called friends. Licking his wounds, he escapes to the tiny town of Serenity, Pennsylvania, where he’s surrounded by too much nature and quiet. And…the hot as hell owner of the bed-and-breakfast who makes him think there might be life beyond what’s on a screen.
Matty Wilcox has no time for spoiled brats or social media. He must keep the business running, his grumpy grandfather healthy, and himself deep in the closet. In his little town, there’s no way to come out to his friends and family and have things stay the same, so he’s better off alone.
Except life is complicated now that Bryce is staying at the bed and breakfast—he’s entirely too tempting and not as silly and shallow as Matty first thought. Giving in to his desire could only muddy the waters of the life he’s so carefully built. Any slipup would be dangerous for his business, his friendships, and most importantly, his heart. Besides, there’s no place for small-town Matty in Bryce’s big-city life. The two of them, together, don’t make sense.
Then again, since when does anything make sense when it comes to love—the greatest influencer of all?
From Lambda Literary Award-winning author Felice Stevens comes a sexy, slow burn small-town romance full of heat and heart. And a few groundhogs. And maybe a snake. But it’s a little one…really.
REVIEW:
Bryce Bauman has hit rock bottom. His life and relationship have exploded all over social media. His boyfriend cheated on him with his best friend and that couple exploited his grief and pain. He’s made some bad decisions because he’s been in a bad place. He doesn’t have any family and the only person who has seemed to care at all about him is a psychologist who he meets at a bar when he’s trying to self-medicate with Tequila. When things go completely south, Bryce reaches out to him. The recommended course of treatment is for Bryce to get away from NYC and regroup. The doc has the perfect place – a BnB in rural Pennsylvania. And so Bryce arrives in the rural hamlet of Serenity, where he upends the world of one Matty Wilcox, proprietor.
Matty has had the same best friend/girlfriend, Emma, for 12 years. For just as long, he’s known he was attracted to men. He’s terrified of anyone finding out the truth about him and so they’ve dragged on this relationship on with multiple breaks over the year. But now Emma finds herself attracted to someone who definitely really wants her back and she suspects she knows the reason why she and Matty have never moved forward. She and Matty call it quits because he really does just want her to be happy. Now he’s at loose ends.
Bryce shows up at the BnB with Dr. Rosenzwieg with the goal of recovering and figuring out what comes next. He appears at first to be a spoiled and entitled city boy who expects everyone to cater to him and entertain him while he’s staying for a MONTH at the BnB. Matty is not exactly happy out this. But he soon glimpses Bryce’s vulnerability. Emma is aware of Bryce’s social media fame and soon they are thick as thieves. She’s on Bryce’s side and never did like her ex! Then there is the fact that Bryce seems to be able to connect with Pop, Matty’s grandfather who is in frail after the death of his wife, the death of his daughter and son-in-law and then his own near fatal heart attack. Matty and Pop have been struggling and he’s grateful and a little bit jealous of Bryce’s ability to pull the old man out of his isolation.
When Bryce and Matty go out to the local bar, things seem to go fine until Bryce gets mad and walks out. Before Matty can catch up with him, there is some trouble. Luckily the cavalry arrives in time, but this is another illustration of why Matty has been so afraid to come out. Matty continues to send Bryce mixed signals though. Eventually Matty can’t take it any more and he gives in to his attraction. At Emma’s behest, Matty agrees to have Bryce help with the social media and marketing campaigns for the BnB for six months to try to help grown the business. When other client arrive at the BnB and one of them knows Bryce from his insta fame and seems to want to spend more than a little time with him, Matty gets jealous 😉
Bryce understands why Matty hasn’t come out – either to his friends or his family. When they get the chance to go away together, their relationship becomes even closer. Matty doesn’t see himself fitting into Bryce’s New York life if indeed Bryce wants to return to that life. He doesn’t want to hold Bryce back, but he can’t leave his business, his family, his life and his legacy in Serenity. Bryce isn’t sure what he wants, but the longer he stays, the more he feels at home in Serenity and he’s not sure he even wants his old life and world back. When a blast from the past shows up unexpectedly and tried to pull him back in, it’s clear to Bryce what he really wants and it’s not the fleeting instagram fame and the fickle spotlight.
The character arcs in this book are significant. Matty goes from closeted gay man who has big issues accepting himself to a man who is able to love someone and not hide that part of his life. Bryce reclaims his life and his dignity. Helping Matty with both the business and accepting himself and what he truly desires, Bryce really comes into his own. He is able to make decisions about his future with a clear head. The support and love and acceptance from Matty who isn’t out to use him goes a long way in helping Bryce to become the strong man he is. I loved the realistic way that the author portrayed the reality of a small town and coming out. Things don’t always go smoothly, but it does change and people can grow. Matty does find out who his real friends are and the wheat is separated from the chaff so to speak 😉 The HEA was well earned here.
This is such a good audiobook! Declan Winters is a new to me narrator and I was completely won over by this excellent performance. The voice choices for all the characters were just perfect. Besides the voice choices, the emotional tone was just right – and not only for the main characters. Pop was so spot on – with the gruff and isolated and grumpy old man and his cackling laugh. Bryce was full of energy when he was happy and really conveyed his pain when he was spiraling down after being so mistreated. Matty was so full of fear and doubt. Even when he was so happy spending time with Bryce, the underlying tension of anybody finding out was always there and palpable. Tonya and Emma and all the female characters were so nicely done and believable. I loved them and their good and generous hearts. There were a lot of short scene characters as well – particularly the smarmy ex, the BnB guests, the users and losers who exploited Bryce and the rest of the locals in Serenity and they were all distinctly performed here. Also there is a nice little shout out crossover with Stevens’ Forget Me Not which fans will enjoy 😉 Highly recommended and I hope we get to revisit this little world.
RATING: 
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