Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Ambiguous

SERIES:  IOU, Book 1

AUTHOR:  Leslie McAdam

NARRATOR:  Hamish Long and Kirt GRaves

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  8 hours and 18 minutes

RELEASE DATE: August 25, 2022

BLURB:

Love is for other people, not for me….

At least that’s what I believed, until I met him. Julian Hill. The most famous rock star on the planet. A music god with untidy hair and the voice of an angel. 

I’ll never be anything but out, and he has very good reasons to stay in the closet. After all, every move he makes is dissected, critiqued, and shared on social media, so he just wants a little privacy. I understand that. Truly, I do. 

But no one makes me feel the way he does, and I’m pretty sure he has feelings for me as well. Which is inconvenient, since his record label just hired me to sue him. Guess I should’ve sorted things out before I kissed him…oops. 

Ambiguous is an addictive MM bisexual romance novel about a fashion-forward rock singer who hates labels of all kinds (except for clothing), a dapper attorney who already has a (fake) boyfriend for a very good reason, and the possibility of love saving the day in a sensually stimulating “opposites-attract” romance story. In addition to the compassionate, big-hearted main characters and engaging, steamy interactions, LGBTQ+ romance fans are raving about the refreshingly honest discussions about homophobia, acceptance, bisexuality, and gay rights, which flow seamlessly into the heartwarming, soul-stirring love story.

REVIEW: 

Leslie McAdam’s Ambiguous is the first book in her new M/M romance series, IOU.  I loved McAdams’ first foray into the M/M genre last year with Undone, which landed on my Best of 2021 List.  She promises great things with Ambiguous’ compelling hook. It features, international, mega rock star Julian Hill who is a lonely, very private man who dares not to conform to society’s expectations about his personal life or sexuality. Jules falls for Sam Stone, an adorkable lawyer ironically hired to “browbeat” Jules into fulfilling his record contract. Sam is mild-mannered and supportive, and his approach to “browbeating” is hand-holding, sweet texts, and sharing space with Jules while delivering bright smiles and kind words. 

Blond hair, blue-eyed, bow tie, and suspenders-wearing Sam is an attorney who just wants to do pro bono work to fight for LGBTQ causes. He’s the grandson of one of the most powerful politicians in California, who is now running for Governor. Sam sacrifices his own needs and desires in order to live up to the attendant expectations, especially as the “token gay” man in the family. 

Jules is a rock god who is exceptionally kind, respectful, and grateful to everyone he encounters, especially his fans. Yet we see that he has some demons. He is lonely and has isolated himself because he wants to hold his authentic self private. He also has a checkered past he’d like to shield from public consumption. His brother Colin is more of a burden than a loved sibling, and their shared childhood involved living as orphans with Jules bearing the mantle of responsibility. Jules feels guilt from the circumstances of his stardom, and his brother Colin begrudges him for his success. 

Jules and Sam are total opposites in appearance and demeanor yet are like yin and yang in terms of their emotions, personality, and values. Notably, both men put others ahead of themselves. Falling in love is a novelty for both of them. Love is not something they contemplated or believed would happen to them.  

Ambiguous’ story is low-angst, yet has enough emotional dynamics to prevent the storyline from feeling flat. Jules and Sam are the keys to this story, and McAdam does an excellent job with them. They both have an air of ambiguity about them, but Julian, in particular, blurs the lines concerning his sexuality and his gender conformity much to the public’s consternation. He refuses to label himself or put himself in a box, yet at the same time Sam points out that Julian’s public identification can help young LGBTQ+ who are struggling.

This raises the question of what do we owe other people? Why do we need to label? Why do we need to make our identities unambiguous to the world? This is a particularly acute issue for public figures like Julian and Sam. The world believes they are entitled to know everything, but are they? Is that the price of fame? McAdam poses that interesting question and examines how both men are taken advantage of by those who claim to love them: ex-boyfriends, brothers, employers, record labels, the voting public, and rabid music fans.   

I thoroughly enjoyed Jules and Sam’s romantic and emotional journeys. They are adorable together, and you can’t help but root for their improbable relationship. Their relationship is the focal point of the story, and McAdam delivers a colorful, emotional portrayal.  In contrast, though, the overarching plot felt a bit too black and white, too easy, while shades of gray would have been more engaging. For example, the relationship between Jules and his brother Colin is critical to the plot and yet felt ancillary. We barely scratched the surface of their history and relationship.  The political subplot and Sam’s family’s adamant demand that Sam fake a relationship for political gain deserve more attention, as do the complexities of his relationship with his mother, father, and grandfather. Instead, these subplots are resolved quickly. Additionally, the side characters felt a bit caricature-ish, although they work well for their roles. 

Notwithstanding these issues, Ambiguous is a sweet romance I unambiguously recommend. The core relationship between Jules and Sam is wholly absorbing, and that is especially the case in the Ambiguous audiobook. The skilled vocal performances of Hamish Long as Jules and Kirt Graves as Sam elevate all the great things about this story.  Graves inhabits Sam; he sounds just like I heard him in my head when reading. Graves is generally a solid vocal performer, delivering intuitive, engaged performances utilizing appropriate pacing, tempo, and dynamics. That is definitely the case here. In fact, his use of dynamics and his intonation work here are excellent – better than what I’ve heard from him before.  Graves feels fully connected with Sam, and therefore his portrayal feels natural and authentic.

Notwithstanding the strength of Graves’ performance, though, he is overshadowed by the barnstorming vocal performance of Hamish Long. I adore everything about Long’s voice. I’ve listened to several of his audios including under his alternate persona, Joe Jameson (Boyfriend Material), and he consistently nails his performances. Here, he perfectly captures Jules and all of his idiosyncrasies and vulnerabilities. He gets the contradictory balance of confidence with anxiety, of player with romantic, as well as Jules’ ever-present heart of gold.  Long’s voice is downright swoon-worthy.  It’s so deliciously precise while also warm and welcoming.  I could listen to him endlessly.  *happy sigh*

Interestingly, this audiobook is delivered in a format I haven’t encountered before: partial-duet narration. What I mean by that is Long is the only one voicing Jules throughout the entirety of the audio, regardless of the chapter.  That means Sam’s chapters are told in duet narration – where Graves is narrating Sam and Long, Jules. However, Jules’ chapters are told in dual narration. Long voices both Jules and Sam. I presume Graves couldn’t pull off a British accent that would approximate Long’s, so Long portrayed Jules throughout. Lucky us – more time to indulge in Long’s lush, sexy voice. Notably, Long’s American accent for Sam is quite good and blends exceedingly well with Graves’ Sam voice. Given the unique format and the prodigious talent of these two narrators, the resulting audio experience is seamless and immersive. 

The Ambiguous audiobook is a rarity.  Grab this gem now.  It’s the perfect combination of a romantic love story with delicious, absorbing vocals. Love.

RATING:   

BUY LINKS: 

Audible  

Amazon