Narrated by Michael Ferraiuolo and Nick J.
Russo

Rebound, book one in L.A. Witt’s Pucks & Rainbows series, pairs a twenty-something hockey star with a forty-something cop and ex-marine, both of whom have recently ended long-term relationships with abusive partners. Naturally, both men bring a lot of emotional baggage to the table, so maybe a no-strings rebound fling is what they both need, a simple distraction while they deal with all the other stuff going on in their lives and sort themselves out. It’s a well-written – if slightly predictable – story featuring two engaging leads that takes a realistic look at the issue of domestic abuse in gay relationships and the perceptions – personal and public – that come with it.

When Officer Geoff Logan and his partner
Laura are called to a disturbance at a local restaurant, Geoff is surprised to
recognise one of the parties involved as up-and-coming hockey star, Asher
Crowe, centre for the Seattle Snowhawks. While Geoff and Laura wait for
back-up, Geoff talks to Asher about the fight and learns Asher had just broken
things off with Nathan – his long-term , physically abusive boyfriend – having
deliberately chosen to do so in a public place in the hope that Nathan wouldn’t
make a scene… which obviously didn’t turn out as Asher had hoped. Geoff, who
has very recently ended a six-year relationship with a man who manipulated him
emotionally for years, sees something of himself and his own situation in
Asher, and after seeing him safely home, tells the younger man to call him if
Nathan ignores the warnings he’s been given to stay away and offers to check up
on him at the end of his shift – an offer Asher gratefully accepts.

As a hockey fan, Geoff is well aware of who
Asher is and, if he’s honest, has had a little bit of a crush on him for a
while. Okay, so Asher is a lot younger (there’s an age gap of around nineteen
years), but he’s smoking hot – and a guy can look, right? Yet there’s more than
attraction propelling Geoff’s instinct to make sure Asher is safe; it twists
something inside to think of this physically strong man so rattled that he
flinches at an unexpected noise or touch, and he finds himself opening up to
Asher and telling him something of his own experience with an abusive partner. The
abuse was never physical, but Marcus, who was very well off, used money to
control Geoff – even using his children as a way to get what he wanted, both in
and out of the bedroom. In fact, since Geoff left Marcus, Geoff’s kids have
been in something of a sulk; completely unaware of what Marcus was doing, they
were very attached to him and haven’t forgiven their dad for the split and the
huge difference it’s made in their lives.

The frisson of attraction running between Geoff
and Asher is apparent very early on, but both are cautious, believing they’re
not ready for another relationship so hot on the heels of the ones they’ve just
got out of. But as they start to hang out together and get to know each other
better, the chemistry between them heats up and they give into their mutual
attraction, telling themselves they’re just two guys blowing off steam and celebrating
their new-found freedom.

This is a relatively ‘quiet’ story where
nothing bonkers happens and the focus is firmly on the romance and the
characters working through all their issues and figuring out how – and if –
they can make a future together. And those issues aren’t trivial. Aside from
the fallout from the abuse they’ve suffered, Geoff’s relationship with his kids
is shaky and although he knows he’ll have to tell them the truth about Marcus
sometime, he just can’t find a way to tell them that the man they’d thought of
as a second father never loved them and was just using them as a way of
exerting control. He also suffers from PTSD from his time in the military,
which sometimes manifests in restless nightmares, and worries about how sharing
a bed with him when he starts flailing around could affect a man who has been
repeatedly knocked around. And Asher, who lives his life under the media
spotlight, has to contend with the hyper-masculinity of the sporting world and
having everything he says and does doubly scrutinised because he’s the only out
gay player in the league.

I did wonder if perhaps the author had
given these two just a little too much to contend with, and I felt that a
couple of things were wrapped up perhaps a bit too neatly, but otherwise, I
enjoyed the story a lot. Geoff and Asher are really good together and good for
each other; they generally communicate well and I liked the way the author
subtly plays with the power dynamic – Geoff has age and experience on his side,
Asher is younger but has more money – and how the age gap just isn’t an issue. She
develops their relationship well, showing their growing affection and respect, and
their love and support for one another, even when they’re still struggling with
leftover deep-seated insecurities. There are some fabulous secondary
characters, particularly Geoff’s partner, Laura, and Valerie, his ex-wife (with
whom he’s still on good terms), and I appreciated the ‘no big deal’- ness of
the diversity in the story. I wasn’t wild about the Eleventh-Hour crisis, but
it made sense in context, and ultimately made the HEA that much sweeter.

If I’m completely honest, Rebound isn’t a book that needs two narrators. Michael Ferraiuolo
and Nick J. Russo have both recorded a lot of L.A. Witt’s work, and are extremely
skilled performers who are more than capable of creating two different voices
for the leads, effectively portraying the secondary cast and differentiating expertly
between all of them. But hey – who am I to turn down the chance to listen to
them both in the same audiobook? (I’m not that stupid!) Mr. Ferraiuolo performs
the chapters from Geoff’s PoV and I honestly can’t think of a single thing he
could have done differently or better. His female voices are good, I liked the
way he found and conveyed Asher’s strength and vulnerability, but best of all,
his interpretation of Geoff was just wonderful, bringing out his humour, his
warmth and his big-heartedness. Nick J. Russo narrates the chapters from
Asher’s PoV, and like his co-narrator, pitches Asher’s voice a little higher
than Geoff’s and also performs the secondary characters well, giving all of
them distinct characterisations so there’s never any confusion as to who is
speaking in any given scene.

I wrote this review back in August after
listening to an early review copy provided by the publisher, which had some
very significant production issues in Mr. Russo’s portion of the narration –
namely very frequent and very long pauses in both narrative and dialogue that made
it hard to listen to. I mention this now because Rebound was temporarily withdrawn from sale while the issue was
fixed, and as of 22nd October, has been re-released. So if you
purchased it when it was released in August, you should now be able to go back
and re-download it to get the corrected and republished version.

Both narrators deliver excellent
performances that delve into the emotional heart of the story and pull
listeners right along with them. Rebound
is a lovely story about two people regaining their lives and finding their
true selves again, and is highly recommended.