Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Interference 
AUTHOR: L.A. Witt
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
PUBLISHER: GallagherWitt Publishing LLC
LENGTH: 14 hours and 32 minutes
RELEASE DATE: December 11, 2024
BLURB:
Disabled veteran Wyatt Miller is out of options. Six months after his eviction, every day is a struggle just to survive on the streets. Sometimes, the only thing that motivates him to move forward at all is his determination to protect and feed his beloved service dog, Lily.
Then a cold snap drives Wyatt to beg a veterinary clinic to board Lily… and puts him on the radar of someone who can’t stomach letting the dog or her owner sleep out in the cold.
On the surface, hockey star Anthony Austin has it all. The fans and cameras see a man with dazzling stats, a fairy tale home, and a red hot sports car. He and his longtime boyfriend are the poster boys for out-and-proud male athletes.
The limelight doesn’t see the cracks, though. His boyfriend has quietly moved out, and nothing Anthony says or does will bring him back. Anthony’s play is starting to suffer, and he’s too miserable to care.
When he sees the man pleading for a warm bed for his dog, Anthony doesn’t hesitate to open his home.
All he has in mind is keeping a man and his dog off the street. He has no idea Wyatt is about to upend his world—and his attempts at reconciling with his boyfriend.
Interference is a 140,000+ word slow burn hockey and military romance. Don’t worry – there’s no cheating!
CW: combat PTSD, dying/death of a parent (cancer), experiences and trauma associated with homelessness
REVIEW:
Anthony is a professional hockey player who just happens to be at the vet with his two Maine Coon cats when a homeless disabled vet is asking for a place for his service dog to spend the night. A dangerous cold snap has come through and his stuff gets stolen and all he has are a couple of changes of clothes and his dog. His very short-haired dog who is not able to withstand this kind of weather. The poor thing is still shivering. The vet clinic staff wants to help and ultimately would allow the dog but not the man to stay, but Anthony can’t let that go. He blurts out that he has a spare room and so he buys some food and take the man, Wyatt is his name after they are properly introduced, and his dog Lily, home with him and his cats, Moose and Bear.
Wyatt cannot believe his luck. He’s been on the streets for 6 months after being evicted. His disability in no way covers any kind of cost of living in Seattle. He’s been caught in the cracks of a system that is not set up to assess the real needs. He kind of got screwed over by the military and again, caught up in a system that failed him for many reasons. He is not one who ants to take charity, but he’s in a bad place and he’s grateful for Anthony’s generosity and kindness.
Anthony is also dealing with some personal stuff. He and his boyfriend(?) Simon play on the same team. They are the first out couple on the same team and their management has made it clear that if this relationship goes bellyup, so will their careers with their current team. But Simon and Anthony are estranged and Simon has moved out. They are keeping up appearances and Anthony is trying to work things out, but it’s not going so good. Simon doesn’t seem to want to meet him halfway or engage the services of a professional counselor. This situation is affecting Anthony’s game as well as his headspace and his home life. He’s actually grateful for the company having Wyatt there in his big house on the lake.
As Anthony’s season goes on and Wyatt stays while his dog is getting better and the weather is so bad, these two develop a friendship. Wyatt is attracted to the gorgeous hockey player because well who wouldn’t be? Despite not understanding hockey, he sure likes what skating does for a man 😉
To complicate all this, a reporter is nosing around and Anthony is concerned that this could end his career. He’s not necessarily ready to call it Simon (as an aside I’m not really sure why not) during the season – at least between them and not for the team’s knowledge. He keeps trying to find a balance and get his season back on track.
Needless to say, this relationship is really over – everything except the funeral really. There are other obstacles for Anthony and Wyatt to overcome once it’s clear that things with Simon are not going to recover. There are painful moments here, but ultimately things work out for the best.
I freely admit that stories about homelessness really tear me up. One of my first reads in this genre was a beautiful story where one of the MCs was homeless and dealing with mental illness and it just about broke me. This is a problem that does not have easy answers/solutions. This country has so many issues with the support (or lack thereof) of veterans in particular. It’s disheartening to know that in the 15 years since I read that first story it doesn’t seem like a lot of progress has been made 🙁 That being said, I really felt like the author presented the situation that Wyatt found himself in with realism. There are so many people that fall through the cracks here. The reliance on private charity and the lack of a social safety net for our most vulnerable is pretty disconcerting. That said, there is no one size fits all solutions to what has become a really massive problem.
The audio of this book is absolutely fantastic. Michael and Lori make a great team. There are so many moments in this story to tear your heart out, but then we get some nice recovery moments too. There are even some funny banter moments in a story that isn’t easy most of the time. It’s a long listen, but totally worth it. That being said, there is plenty of angst and take the CW seriously if that’s an issue. I did like that some people got what was coming to them. Karma. Sometimes you’re lucky enough to see it come round 😉 Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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