You Spin Me

I’m attracted to Cal when we talk, but what if we met and one, or both, of us were disappointed in what we see?

Karen Grey
You Spin Me

Format:
ALC. Releases July 30th!

Synopsis:
Some scars go further than skin deep…

1988 doesn’t end well for Jessica Abraham. In just one week she turns thirty, loses her day job, and loses the role of Ophelia to a younger actress. Rallying, she goes after a part at a theater outside of the city, but the director’s plan to hide her beauty behind hair, makeup and wardrobe from Cosmo’s “Don’t” column shakes her confidence to the core.

For the first time in her acting career, she won’t be able to rely on her carefully managed physical charms. Only her craft will count.

On a snowy night early in January 1989, a woman calls into DJ Callihan Alonso’s alt-rock radio show at the end of her commute. He asks her to call back the next night, and the next, just so he’ll know she’s home safe. There’s something about her voice that has him wanting more, but the longer they talk, the closer she gets. Compromising each and every wall he’s built around his heart.

If two lonely people fall in love over late-night phone calls, will meeting face-to-face make them, or break them?

Point of view:
1st person. Alternating between Cal & Jess’s perspectives.

Rellim’s Thoughts:
Karen Grey continues to deliver my favorite aspects of romance in You Spin Me. Authentic and fully developed characters, laughs, tears, sexy scenes, and a wonderful HEA. While the story stands on it’s own – there’s references to events and characters from previous books, the Boston Classics series is best enjoyed in order. (pssst… at the time of this review you can grab the audio for book 1, What I’m Looking For, from Chirp for $1.99)

I loved the contrast of Cal & Jess both being concerned about how people react to their looks versus the person inside but for opposite reasons. Much of Cal’s body was burned in a fire when he was a young child and he’s come to expect strangers horrified or pitying reactions. Jess was “blessed” with amazing genetics which gives her a body many admire but then make assumptions about her based on that.

By calling in to the radio station where Cal is a DJ, they get to know each other and build an amazing friendship that is developing into something more. But both are afraid of what happens next. With the story taking place over several months, I love that Grey gives us a lot of time to get to know them as individuals and as a couple. While it is a difficult road for this couple and there are a few misunderstandings – I appreciated that nothing drags out too long.

I like the way that Grey had Cal & Jess understand, accept, and deal with the challenges that each of them brings to the relationship. Overall a fabulous and enjoyable listen.

Narration:
I loved the book, but the narration is amazing. Vanessa Edwin and Eric Michael Summerer are absolutely perfect as Jess & Cal. They both do a fantastic job with voices, emotions, and accents. Summerer’s DJ voices are particularly spot on and the impersonation of Bobcat Goldthwaite had me rolling. I was completely immersed in the world Grey has created and I want her to write another book for Cal & Jess just so I can hear more of them by Edwin & Summerer.

While I borrowed the ebook through Kindle Unlimited, I received a free advanced copy of the audiobook from the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

About the author:
KAREN GREY is the pen name for award-winning narrator Karen White. A stage, screen and radio drama actor in Boston, New York and Los Angeles in the late 20th century, she started recording books in 1999. Now back in her home state of North Carolina, she shares a home with her family and probably too many pets (canine, feline, avian and reptilian) and continues to narrate audiobooks as well as make up stories.

You can connect with Karen Grey here:

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Newsletter signup: https://bit.ly/KarenGreynews

Narrators:
Eric Michael Summerer is a voice actor and producer whose voice has been heard in countless commercials and instructional recordings.  A graduate of Syracuse University, studying both TV/Radio/Film and Theater, Eric has served as narrator for over three hundred audiobooks, including Elaine Cunningham’s Forgotten Realms: Songs and Swords series, Stephen W. Bennett’s Koban series and Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.  He is an Audie award finalist (for Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End) and an AudioFile Earphones Award winner (for Robert V.S. Redick’s Master Assassins and William Gibson’s Burning Chrome).  Interactive media credits include One Night Ultimate Werewolf, the Dead of Winter Companion App, King of Fighters 2006, and Metal Slug 3D.

In addition, Eric serves as co-host for the top-rated boardgaming podcast The Dice Tower, and is the imaging voice for KLIP, “Classic Hits LA-105” in Monroe, LA.  He also authored The Primary Source Library of Famous Composers, a series of books for children about Classical music.  In his spare time, he loves playing designer board games and attempting the sport of curling.

Eric lives in Simsbury, CT with his wife, and two sons.

You can connect with Eric Michael Summerer here:

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Narrators:
Vanessa Edwin is an award winning romance audiobook narrator, who loves nothing more than a good love story. A classically trained actor, she hails from Seattle, where the long rainy days were made for nurturing her love of reading, drinking hot cups of tea, and dreaming of her next getaway. Summers spent on her family’s farm in Texas gave her a taste for Southern charm. She enjoys a long run, red wine, and spending time with her handsome husband.

You can connect with Vanessa Edwin here:

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