Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Until You
AUTHOR: Briar Prescott
NARRATOR: Devon Ryder
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 8 hours and 43 minutes
RELEASE DATE: September 28, 2023
BLURB:
I’m the first one to tell you I have issues.
Trust issues.
Family issues.
Probably a few others I haven’t discovered yet. Which is why I prefer to keep my life as simple and uncomplicated as possible.
Until him.
Blake McAdams barrels into my life and refuses to leave. He’s relentlessly optimistic, sexy as hell, annoyingly persistent, and…wants to be friends? Because…he thinks I’m interesting?
Yeah, I’ll pass. Thanks.
Only, somehow, we end up doing just that.
And then that friendship evolves into something more, and suddenly, I find myself navigating a completely foreign territory: a relationship.
But Blake has his own issues, and once those clash with mine my simple and uncomplicated life? Turns into anything but.
REVIEW:
Until You, Briar Prescott’s latest standalone, is a labor of love and it shows. This is far and away the best story Prescott’s produced to date. The writing is crisp, precise, and inspired. She nails Jude and Blake, making them vivid and relatable, and portrays them authentically and consistently across the narrative even as their attitudes develop and change. This story is absolutely heartbreaking and yet also completely reassuring with a solid HEA. Interestingly, Prescott writes this story all from Jude’s point of view (except the epilogue). Single narrator POV can be challenging to convey the full experience of both characters, but Prescott seemingly has no trouble with it at all. The magic in this story is our shared experience with Jude as we learn things right alongside him as events unfold. We feel his emotions acutely, but also can appreciate Blake’s point of view.
Devon Ryder is a new to me narrator and he does a laudable job on the Until You audiobook. He can focus on Jude’s character due to the single POV, which helps for continuity, and he portrays him well. He also does a nice job with Blake and the other secondary characters, and he consistently distinguishes between them. Ryder’s voice is gritty with a slightly nasal tone. It works for Jude, and actually matched how I heard Jude in my head while reading. Ryder is clearly invested in his narration and provides dynamics and nuances in his delivery.
That being said, this didn’t feel like a “performance”, but rather a narrator reading a book to the listeners. I didn’t get that full-bodied sense of him acting the parts, nor did he sink into the characters such that he disappeared and all I heard was Jude and Blake.
Overarchingly, Ryder’s interpretation of Prescott’s brilliant story is on point so the audiobook is an excellent way to consume this poignant, memorable romance. Until You is one of the best books of 2023.
RATING: 
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