Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: In Step
SERIES: Painted Bay, Book 3
AUTHOR: Jay Hogan
NARRATOR: Gary Furlong
PUBLISHER: Southern Lights Publishing
LENGTH: 10 hours and 16 minutes
RELEASE DATE: August 16, 2022
BLURB:
Karma. You reap what you sow, and Kane Martin isn’t looking for forgiveness.
But the arrival of Abe Tyler in Painted Bay has Kane dreaming of the impossible. The sexy silver fox choreographer is determined to pull Kane out from the shadows, but Abe’s career isn’t about to shift to Painted Bay, and Kane’s life is in neat little boxes for a reason.
A past he isn’t proud of.
A family he’s walked away from.
A job he doesn’t deserve.
A secret he’s ashamed of.
But life’s dance can make for unexpected partners, and learning to trust and keep up with the footwork is the name of the game.
Two steps forward, one step back.
It takes two to tango.
REVIEW:
In Step is the third book in Jay Hogan’s wonderful Painted Bay series. Kane Martin and Abe Tyler’s relationship is beautiful but heartbreaking at times. Abe is a friend of Judah’s (from book one Off Balance) and Kane we met in book two, On Board. Kane bullied Judah in high school, but Cora chooses to help him anyway when she finds him living in his car. Leroy gives him a job on his boat and a place to live.
We get another redemption story in this book. In the previous book, On Board, it was Leroy’s. This time, it’s Kane. We don’t like him, and neither does the town, knowing how he treated Judah, but as we see his true remorse over his bullying and learn more about him and his horrific past, we sympathize with his isolation and loneliness.
Abe is a choreographer, in town to help Judah orchestrate a recital for Terry’s daughter Hannah’s dance class. He’s a free spirit, never wanting to stay in one place for too long … that is until he meets Kane. His attraction to Kane flares from the minute he lays eyes on him, and it’s undeniable that Kane feels the pull as well. Kane’s self-flagellation for his bullying of Judah makes him feel he’s not entitled to love, though, but Abe’s having none of it, and the pursuit to get Kane to acknowledge his feelings and acceptance of Abe is on.
As usual, Ms. Hogan delivers a well-written, complicated, emotional story that balances humor, heat, heaviness, and a HEA. Her world-building is top-notch, particularly her descriptions of Painted Bay and all of its sights and sounds. The book is sexy and surprising and overflowing with multi-layered, endearing characters. It’s an overwhelmingly good, impactful story that is very well-rounded in its coverage and emotions. There’s a lot of pain and heartbreak in this story, but it’s not all angst or doom and gloom. The story features the happiness of Judah and Morgan and Leroy and Fox, and humor as well, especially through the latter couple. It balances the mood well, and Hogan delivers a resounding feeling of found family that provides the heartwarming to equalize the heartbreaking content.
Admittedly, the bully romance is one I struggle with, but Hogan’s superb at characterization and she gets Kane and Abe right. Most notably, she doesn’t try to change Kane or make people (like us) forget. But she creates empathy and understanding that facilitates forgiveness and even happiness that Kane’s life takes a turn for the better in Abe’s capable hands and through the love for each other that they finally embrace.
Gary Furlong is a superb narrator, and the synergy he has with Hogan is remarkable. It’s clear he gets her writing and what she’s trying to accomplish. There’s an intuitive understanding of her characters and stories that shines through in the mesmerizing performances he delivers on her audiobooks. In Step is yet another example of that phenomenon. He knows how to tell a story and does that here in an absorbing and impactful way. Furlong excels at bringing complex characters to life because his vocal toolbox is extensive. He gives nuanced performances relying on his extensive skills to vary tone and timbre, dynamics and pacing, to capture each individual character and their idiosyncrasies, yet always as part of the larger story arc.
I highly recommend the audiobook of In Step. To be honest, given the premise, I didn’t expect to like this story as much as I did. But I really shouldn’t be surprised. What Hogan and Furlong deliver is what they do best – a wholly absorbing audio experience of a complex, compelling romance, here amidst the colorful small town of Painted Bay.
RATING: 
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