Audio Review Tour and Giveaway: Falling Down by Eli Easton, Performed by Michael Stellman

03 May of 2019 by ButtonsMom2003

Story: 5

Narration: 5

5.0Overall score

Wonderful, Angsty, HEA.

Falling Down By Eli Easton, Narrated By Michael Stellman

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Released: April 17, 2019

Publisher: Pinkerton Road LLC

Cover Design: Tiferet Design

Synopsis

Josh finds himself homeless at 18, but he has a plan. He’ll head north on the bus to New England and spend October there for his mother’s sake. She always talked about going to see the fall leaves someday. And when the leaves are done and the harsh winter comes, Josh plans to find a place to curl up and let go. It will be a relief to finally stop fighting.

Mark spent his life trying to live up to the tough swagger of his older brothers until he pushed himself so far against his nature that he cracked. Now a former Marine, he rents a little cabin in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where he can lick his wounds and figure out what to do with the rest of his life. One thing was clear: Mark was nobody’s hero.

Fate intervenes when Josh sets up camp under a covered bridge near Mark’s cabin. Mark recognizes the dead look in the young stranger’s eyes, and he feels compelled to do something about it. When Mark offers Josh a job, he never expects that he’ll be the one to fall.

The snow is coming soon. Can Mark convince Josh that the two of them can build a life together before the flurries begin?

Trigger warning: Suicidal thoughts

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

Wonderful, Angsty, HEA.

This must be my week for reading angsty books as this is my second one in a row. ? I love a good angsty story with an HEA and this one is fantastic. While I have a couple of other audiobooks in my library performed by Michael Stellman, this is the first one I’ve listened to. His voice was absolutely perfect for this story.

Josh is a homeless teenager whose mother has just died. He’s despondent but decides to go to New England to see the fall leaves like his mother always wanted to do. He ends up under a bridge near Mark’s cabin.

Mark is a veteran of the Marine Corp where he served in Afghanistan. He’s always felt like an outsider in his family; he’s not the macho guy his brothers are and his time in the Corp didn’t change that. He’s finally come to terms with being gay but there’s no way he can admit that to his family.

This story grabbed me from the beginning and broke my heart. Fortunately, it has an HEA but let me tell you, getting there was not easy. This is probably the most painful story I’ve ever listened to and at the same time one of the most beautiful.

Mark takes Josh under his wing, hiring him to help him paint a house he needs to get finished. The two grow closer together and become lovers. Josh has a very sensitive soul and he begins to feel close to the old woman whose house they are painting.

The book carries a warning for suicidal thoughts. Sometimes I think warnings are over done for books but I think it was appropriate for this one. If you’ve ever felt depression, and wondered if life is really worth hanging around, be forewarned that this story may be too intense for you.