Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Fall for You
AUTHOR: Felice Stevens
NARRATOR: J.F. Harding
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 7 hours and 27 minutes
RELEASE DATE: December 9, 2023
BLURB:
Carson Ballard isn’t only lactose intolerant—he’s intolerable.
No wonder his assistant quit on him without notice.
Okay, okay, he has a right to be angry at me for dumping an armful of sticky breakfast plates on his head.
It was an accident, I swear.
But now I’m out of a job—not that I’m any good at waiting tables—and Carson’s mother is offering to hire me.
There’s no way I can work for him.
I may be from the sticks, but Davis Turner is nobody’s fool.
Not anymore.
I refuse to be Carson’s next victim.
Something will turn up.
I’ll take anything.
As long as I can hide away in the city, where my ex can’t find me.
Except my bank account is at rock bottom and rent is due.
I’m running out of food.
And time.
I guess I have to work for Carson.
He’ll be my boss—nothing more.
I can keep things professional.
There’s just one little problem.
Carson may not be as horrible as I thought.
He’s trying so hard to right the wrongs of his father and brother, who left him with a mess most people would walk away from.
But Carson Ballard isn’t most people.
And he won’t accept defeat.
Damn you, Carson.
Why do you have to be so nice…
so generous…so wickedly funny and so, so sexy?
You’re offering me a future…if I can ignore the mistakes of my past.
You’re an impossible man who’s making everything possible.
How can I not fall for you?
Fall for You is a low-angst, high-heat MM romance about a closet romantic who doesn’t know the difference between a zip file and a zip-lock bag, and a computer whiz masquerading (and failing) as a waiter who has trouble holding onto his plates…and his heart.
REVIEW:
Carson Ballard has returned to New York City from London after the death of his brother and father. They were in charge of the family law practice and it turns out they had been helping themselves to the assets under their control as estate and trust attorneys. UGH! It’s an old family firm founded by Carson’s maternal grandfather and because of his love for his mother and also because of the terrible way his brother and father treated him because he was gay, he’s determined to save the firm. By himself. Except of course that is impossible. He’s going through assistants like socks.
The morning another assistant quits, Carson meets his mother for breakfast at their favorite local diner. The waiter, Davis, is new – not their usual. He’s well – not good. Davis doesn’t appreciate Carson’s demeanor and perhaps his service reflects this. But when Caron ends up covered in food, well it’s the last straw. Davis is fired. This is so not good. Carson’s mother Patricia recognizes something in Davis though and she wants to give him a second chance. Not as a waiter though.
Turns out Davis didn’t want to be a waiter. But he’s run off to New York after a job/affair gone bad. He’s basically hiding and can’t use his former boss as a reference – since he’s the one Davis is trying to avoid. But when things get dire and other options aren’t panning out, Davis calls Patricia and shows up at Carson’s law office just as another assistant walks out while trying to really screw Carson over. Davis ends up saving the day. Davis actually has a degree in Computers and Political Science and has worked as an assistant before. He can do this. He can help Davis out of this jam.
The more Davis learns about why Carson is driving himself so hard, the more he comes to realize that Carson isn’t the entitled jerk he believed him to be. His mother has always been his champion and she still is. He’s determined to prove that he is not the weak and defective man that he was portrayed as by his homophobic family members. That determination has left him little time for a personal life. Carson’s put all this pressure on himself to fix everything – despite none of it being his fault. He left his career in London to make things right for the clients that his brother and father took advantage of. He’s got a real uphill battle given the bad publicity and the oversight from the state. He’s determined to prove himself though in spite of what everyone else tells him about it not being his responsibility to do so.
Davis ends up being very good at the job. He actually finds the work interesting and Carson encourages him to really consider a career in law. He’s even willing for the firm to pay for Davis’s schooling. As they grow closer, the attraction between them also grows. But Davis has a bad habit of falling for the wrong guy. Is this just another in a long line of bad decisions when it comes to men? And Carson is his boss.
There are a number of obstacles to overcome though. Davis’s reluctance to date his boss, Carson’s ex showing up, Davis’s past making an unexpectd appearance, overprotective parents, you name it. Carson can be very persuasive though 😉
Oh what a great way to start off this year’s audio book offerings! J.F. Harding was a new to me narrator with a favorite series that I reviewed in audio over the last couple of years, but his Audible catalog is only about 10% LGBT romance to date, so I haven’t listened to a lot of his work. But he is so very very good in all the performances I’ve heard to date. This one is another winner. Carson is a rather bitter and surly guy. He’s got a real chip on his shoulder because of how he was treated by his deceased father and brother and Mr. Harding’s portrayal of this embattled Carson was just perfect! Davis doesn’t have very high self-esteem at the beginning. But Carson’s belief in him and his reliance on him gives him the boost he needs. He starts off pretty subdued, but ends up really coming into his own. The voice choices by this narrator were spot on. The emotions and ups and downs of this relationship were exceptionally done here. I can’t wait for more of Mr. Harding’s work. This is another example of a great combination of a terrific love story from Ms. Stevens and a lovely audio performance by Mr. Harding. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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