Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: You Again

SERIES:  Men of Olympus, Book 1

AUTHOR:  Dianna Roman

NARRATOR: Michael Dean

PUBLISHER:  Wild One Press

LENGTH:  11 hours and 3 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  August 19, 2022

BLURB:

One man looking for love in all the wrong places. Another always in the wrong place.

Brokenhearted and love-scorn, Johnny finds himself forced back into the dating pool by his overbearing mother and meddling best friend. Is it fate, interference, or a dating app glitch that keeps pairing him with his complete opposite, a handsome brick mason with a smile that makes bad decisions worthwhile?

While Aiden is seemingly perfect inside and out, Johnny is a realist. There’s no way that man’s peanut butter goes with his clumsy, nerdy jelly. If only he could convince his libido and the determined brick mason that he’s not on the market, he could get back to his safe, solitary life.

Aiden wants more than just being a pretty face and a night of fun after years of fumbling through encounters that never went deeper than the surface. When he meets Johnny, something behind the skittish photographer’s snarky facade speaks to his wanton heart. There has to be a reason they keep crashing into each other in more ways than one. Maybe attraction isn’t supposed to make sense and love, even less.

An MM romcom about the ripple effect of broken trust and learning to love yourself before you can love another.

Triggers & Warnings: self-body-shaming, a discussion about biphobia, adult language, consensual sexual content

REVIEW:

Dianna Roman’s latest MM romcom, You Again, is a lighthearted My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Bridget Jones Diary, opposites attract love story of Johnny and Aiden. Johnny is a hot mess (yes, he’s the Bridget Jones in this scenario) from a large, (lovingly) intrusive Greek family who’s reeling from a bad breakup after he discovered his boyfriend was cheating on him.  Now, Johnny is too scared to embrace love when it shows up on his doorstep (or restaurant dining table, as the case may be – more on that later).  Aiden is a gorgeous, burly, brick mason with a heart of gold who’s tired of hookups, jaded about casual dating, and is looking for “the one”. He’s ready to settle down, but has just about given up hope of finding that perfect person for him. Roman fascinatingly counterpoints these two very different men to effectively and impactfully demonstrate the complexities of love, the power of forgiveness, and that good things – like love – do indeed come to those who wait, and are willing to put in the effort to make a lasting relationship work.  

Roman’s title You Again, perfectly captures not just the plot of this romance, but subtext as well. The obvious reference is to the thrice serendipitous (*gasp* Fate!) dating app setups that have Johnny and Aiden repeatedly getting matched for blind dates. Every time Aiden shows up at Johnny’s restaurant table, or vice versa, it’s “you again”.  The premise is funny, but it also poignantly shows how painfully conflicted both Johnny and Aiden are about developing a relationship. They both want and yet don’t want to keep meeting like this. They fall more for each other every time they meet and get further attached.  But then, every time, Johnny pushes Aiden away, leading to yet another painful goodbye.

The reason for Johnny’s skittishness and resultant callous treatment of Aiden’s feelings due to his mixed messages, is Johnny’s emotional trauma from his breakup with his ex-boyfriend Lance.  Lance demoralized Johnny at every turn, breaking down Johnny’s self-confidence and destroying his self-image. Johnny’s toxic relationship with Lance tore apart not just Johnny’s belief in himself but also in love itself.  

Much of the humor across the narrative comes from Johnny’s self-deprecating comments (including some self-body shaming about a “certain” body part that’s a bit OTT silly, undercutting the very real, serious pain Johnny’s in). Johnny simply can’t believe that anyone could ever want him, even if they appear to in the beginning. Every time he sees Aiden and feels those feelings of love he so desperately does and simultaneously doesn’t want to feel, you can hear Johnny internally speaking to Lance, convinced that it’s you (Lance) again.

This internal dialoguing dovetails perfectly with Roman’s deft weaving of the story of Johnny’s past relationship with Lance, from the excellent beginning to the horrible betrayal at the end, into the narrative by cleverly interspersing notes from Lance to Johnny between the chapters.  It creates a parallel journey to that of Johnny’s current developing relationship with Aiden.  We see the juxtaposition of the similarities and (vast) differences between the relationships, along with a clarity that Johnny only belated gains.

The story starts a bit campy, almost too over descriptive, and Johnny’s OTT, flamboyant Greek nerd personality reflects off the equally vivid, almost caricaturish description of his redheaded best friend, Bitsy.  Her portrayal didn’t feel quite right to me.  She is an intelligent, loyal, loving woman, but comes across as a ditz who is obsessed with eating. Even her nickname Bitsy makes us think she’s ditsy. Later in the book, though, her character settles into a place that feels more authentic.  

Aiden has a calm, reassuring presence that soothes Johnny and tempers his frenetic defensiveness, but Aiden’s presence in the story also causes the narrative itself to settle down. Johnny gets greater context, and despite his adorable/irritating, endearing/frustrating shenanigans and erratic, borderline crazed behavior – which persist throughout because that’s who Johnny is – the instances become less outrageous and more plausible.

My appreciation for this story and Roman’s writing prowess increased as the story progressed.  Then about halfway through, it was like the puzzle pieces slotted into place and the story locked in.  I found myself all in with these two charismatic men – especially dream-guy Aiden *swoon* – and entirely in love with their love story.  You Again isn’t perfect, just like its characters aren’t perfect (although Aiden comes pretty damn close). But I adore it for all of its complexity and flaws. 

Roman brings in Michael Dean to narrate You Again, and it’s a solid, effective choice. Dean is always good, usually great, and is particularly superb at nuance – both in his intuitive understanding of the characters and in his interpretation and delivery. He throws himself into his vocal performances, inhabiting the characters and showing off his vocal chops through excellent intonation and inflected phrasings, dynamics, and emotional investment that creates a connection with the listener.  You Again shows all of this in play.

However, while Dean delivers a skilled performance here, it’s not his best showing. Oddly, he seemed to struggle with how the characters should sound. In my head, I hear Johnny as more of a twink type with a higher-pitched voice, but Dean uses a lower-pitched, deeper timbre which, to me, didn’t fit Johnny. Additionally, Dean’s speed of delivery feels too slow. My read of Johnny is a bit more frenetic, and that doesn’t quite come across. I think a tenor pitch paired with swifter pacing would better reflect Johnny’s attitude and personality. 

Johnny is a complex character that evokes conflicting emotions in the reader.  At times, he’s downright unlikeable, and you want to reach into the story and smack him upside the head. Dean’s great with the translation of complicated, multi-layered characters like Johnny, and gets Johnny mostly right.  However, in conveying Johnny’s sarcastic, self-deprecating commentary and insensitive treatment of Aiden, Dean sometimes goes a bit too OTT, and Johnny comes across as bitchy, rather than as a man hiding his pain and vulnerabilities behind a prickly exterior. Dean does a better job with Aiden’s voice, which works as is, although I would probably have made it lower and deeper especially given his physical description.  Dean seems to hit his stride around the same time the story does because he settles into that deeper timbre later on and more consistently distinguishes between Aiden and Johnny, who at times, especially in the beginning, sounds similar to Aiden.

The You Again audiobook clocks in at over 11 hours of listening time, and despite my quibbles, I had no difficulty engaging with the story or the audio.  In fact, by the time the ending rolled around, I was left wanting more and eager for the next story featuring Graham and Dami. As a side note, I think Dean interchanged the voices for Graham and Dami, too, giving Dami a deeper, almost dopey voice and Graham and higher, almost twink-type voice. I actually hear them in the reverse – Dami higher and twinky and Graham lower and gruff. We don’t get a ton of time with them in this story, but that was my initial impression.  I’m curious to see who narrates Tough Love and how they interpret those characters.  

One thing I commend about Roman’s approach to her audiobooks is that she gives great consideration to what vocal actors are right for the role rather than sticking with the same narrators from book to book. That practice actually diverges from most authors’ approach of sticking with the same narrator for a full series.  Generally, I tend to fall into that camp, so it will be interesting to see what choice Roman makes for Tough Love.

I hope you give the You Again audiobook a listen. Notwithstanding the opportunities for improvement I noted, it’s still an immersive experience, and the characters leave their mark. I found myself thinking of Johnny and Aiden’s bumpy, complicated journey to love long after I finished listening, which is the hallmark of a well-crafted, enjoyable story.  I have now read this story twice – once on the text alone and once through audio – and I can attest that second exposure to this story augments everything great about it, and enhances your understanding and appreciation for Johnny and Aiden, and Roman’s thoughtful, impactful storytelling.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Audible 

Amazon