Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: The Sunny Side

SERIES:  The Model Agency, Book 1

AUTHOR: Lily Morton

NARRATOR:  Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 11 hours and 37 minutes

RELEASE DATE: June 11, 2023

BLURB: 

Jonas Durand is successful, rich, and controlled. He owns a prestigious modelling agency and has the world at his fingertips, but a turbulent childhood has taught him to be focused and never deviate from a plan.

Dean Jacobs threatens that stance. He’s one of the world’s most sought-after supermodels, but he’s also laidback, lighthearted, and free in a way that Jonas has never quite managed.

Dean has always been interested in Jonas, and has never made any secret of his admiration, but from the beginning, Jonas put him in a neat little box labelled, “Don’t touch,” turned the key, and never looked back.

However, the universe seems determined to thwart Jonas’s plans. Over the course of one hot summer, the two men come together, and Jonas’s well-ordered life becomes something a whole lot wilder.

Moving from the glamorous worlds of London and Paris Fashion Weeks to the sleepy South of France, Jonas finds himself liberating partridges, chasing his supermodel, and falling in love.

From best-selling author Lily Morton comes a romantic comedy set in the fast-paced and snarky world of modelling. This is the first book in the Model Agency series.

REVIEW:

Le sigh.  Eleven hours and thirty-seven minutes of Lily Morton/Joel Leslie bliss.  It really doesn’t get much better The Sunny Side, a stellar audiobook featuring the lovely rom-com romance of sunshiney, ever-endearing model Dean Jacobs and the grumpy, too serious, french accented (le sigh again) Jonas Durand, head of Dean’s modeling agency.  

Apropos of its title, Morton’s The Sunny Side is a delightful, low-angst, sunshiney romance that will have you laughing, smiling, and feeling warm and happy all over. I adored the cameos, references to other connected characters like Uncle Oz, Eli, and Gideon, and of course, the important appearances of Asa, Dean’s step-brother, and Jude, Dean’s once-hookup, fellow model, and now friend. And, of course, Caden and the deliciously, sarcastic Mal. Interestingly, Mal comes across with less bite here, which is consistent with Caden’s tempering of his personality. Morton subtly but thoughtfully reminds us of the connections between the characters in this fictional universe.

Dean seemed like such a throwaway one-note character before – we meet him all the way back in the Mixed Messages series where we see him as a doped-up, fly-by-night rooming with Jude.  This of course, only scratches the surface of who Dean is. The Sunny Side occurs after her three previous series, and Dean has changed and matured over time, especially since the people and circumstances around him have changed. Morton really digs into his character here, tying back to what we know of him and seamlessly weaving it into this wonderful, complex character with a heart of gold, a smile that can stop traffic, and an attitude that the best of us should hope to emulate. Jonas is a ferocious protector, and I loved how he first and foremost protects his models and how they absolutely respect and adore him for it, even though he comes across as stern, uptight, and closed off.  

Perhaps the loveliest part of the story is Jude and Asa’s son Billy and Jonas’ daughter Ruby, and how Dean is so natural and caring with them. He’s similar to Jude to some degree, but the ultimate message is that he brings joy and happiness to those around him. While he may have trouble reading due to a learning disability, that does not define his intelligence or worth. In fact, he’s highly sensitive, unendingly kind, and generous, a total free spirit who is also fiercely loyal, perceptive, and protective.  

Morton’s prose is (typically) unquestionably superb, but Leslie really shines here. He’s a phenom with nuanced accents and fully embodies larger-than-life personalities without making them over-the-top or unrelatable.  Case in point: the fabulous Malachi Booth, who gets a lot of airtime in The Sunny Side. Leslie’s portrayal of Mal is perhaps my favorite of all of the many Morton characters he’s brought to life.  Mal is all vitriol and vinegar and doesn’t suffer fools.  But that’s just his porcupine shell.  Beneath it he’s sweet as honey and loyal as the day is long for that select group of people he loves.  It’s a duality that’s hard to balance and extremely difficult to get right, but Leslie does it with aplomb.  He nails Mal’s snarky attitude and sardonic wit, effectively contrasting it with moments of sweet dedication for those select few, like his farmer husband Caden and BFF Dean.  (NB:  Mal and Caden’s romance is featured in Spring Strings and is simply sublime in audio.)

Morton gets Dean and Jonas exactly right, and he throws himself into the story like the rock star narrator he is.  Dean’s personality can come across as one-note, but there’s so much more to Dean. Still waters run deep.  Leslie can pull all this texture to the fore, letting us see Dean and understand him.  Similarly, Jonas could easily become a caricature. Still, he avoids that trap through his exceptional intuitive understanding of Morton’s intentions for her characters and his full arsenal of vocal tools that he wields convincingly to great effect here.  It’s a consuming, astounding performance that elevates a best of 2022 book into a must-have, repeat-listen audiobook.  I give The Sunny Side audiobook my highest recommendation.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

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