Narrated by Shaun Grindell

Whisper is the second book in Garrett Leigh’s Skins series, and in it, we move away from London and into the West Country – specifically to the farm and horse sanctuary run by Joe Carter and his family. It’s a gentler, less-angsty story than Dream (the first book in the series), but although it’s certainly not without drama and the characters aren’t without their problems and hang-ups, I wasn’t as invested in the story or characters as I was in Dream – and I’m not sure if that was due to the issues I had with the narration or because of the story itself.

Harry Foster is the brother of Rhys (who
continues to have the occasional hook-up with Dylan and Angelo from Dream), and is a highly successful and
sought-after physiotherapist. His blog – on which he’s dubbed himself “Holistic
Harry”- has a six-figure following, he has a full roster of clients and has
recently signed a book deal, but the trouble is that not only is he tired, he’s
lonely, his deadline is looming and he’s way behind with his writing. His agent
suggests he goes on a writer’s retreat; that he holes up somewhere quiet for
the next couple of months and concentrates on his writing – and although he’s
not completely sold on the idea, Harry agrees. Which is how he ends up driving
to a horse farm just outside Newquay in Cornwall where he’s planning to stay
for the next ten weeks.

Joe Carter is running Whisper Farm pretty
much single-handedly. His father is an alcoholic screw-up who lives elsewhere
and his sister Emma has anxiety issues that often prevent her from leaving the
cottage she shares with their mother, so although Joe has casual help for some
of the more menial tasks around the place, when it comes to keeping the farm
running, it’s all down to him. Money ‘s tight and there’s no sign of any
immediate improvement – if anything, things are getting tighter – but even so,
when Emma tells him that she’s arranged to rent out a room in the farmhouse to
a guy from London, Joe isn’t too pleased. He knows it makes financial sense,
but dislikes the idea of a total stranger – some poncy city boy – in the room
that had belonged to his beloved grandfather.

Harry arrives to a less than warm welcome
from Joe, but as the days pass, he begins to see just how much pressure Joe is
under and realises that the other man’s gruff manner extends to everyone and not
just to Harry. Gradually, he and Joe begin to spend time together, Harry helps
out and learns to do things around the farm, and both of them open up and talk
about things they’ve never told anyone else. But Harry’s life is in London and
Joe’s is hundreds of miles away, so anything that happens between them over the
summer is going to have an expiration date.

Their attraction heats up rather quickly,
going from a cautious interest to insta-love in almost the blink of an eye, but
they have chemistry in spades, and I enjoyed the level of trust built between
them. Joe and Harry seem to be polar opposites, yet as the story progresses,
they – and we – discover that they’ve far more in common than either of them at
first thought. Stressed out, emotionally bruised and intensely lonely, both men
yearn to make a genuine connection with someone, but relationships take time,
something neither of them has ever really had to spare. Yet now, with each
other, they find themselves willing and able to make time, and in so doing,
find the sort of love and support they’ve been searching for. The author keeps
the story moving and the tension building as we follow Joe and Harry through
some animal rescues (and be prepared for some descriptions of the effects of
neglect and cruelty on animals); as Harry has to confront his growing fears
about his ability to finish a book about well-being and mental health when his
own well-being and mental health aren’t in the greatest of shapes, and Joe is
continually confronted with money worries and neglected and mistreated animals
he doesn’t have space for but can’t turn away. I was engrossed by these parts
of the story and loved the way Joe and Harry become each other’s constant,
Harry providing a calming influence for Joe, and Joe helping Harry to face his
own issues and insecurities.

But a false note is struck near the end
when the plot takes a sharp turn into slightly bonkers territory and Joe reacts
in a way that doesn’t make a great deal of sense. And while the HEA ties everything
up in a nice bow, it’s just a bit too
pat.

Having already listened to Dream, I was prepared to experience
similar issues with Shaun Grindell’s narration – principally with the way he
delivers the narrative portions in the story in an almost ‘sing-song’ manner. His
intonation and inflection in dialogue are absolutely fine, but in narrative,
they’re unnatural and he frequently puts the emphasis in the wrong place, or in
some cases, emphasises too many words in a phrase, so that a sentence such as: “I turned my back on the horsebox and
crossed the sand-dusted road” – where I’d expect two stresses (on the words
“back” and “sand”), actually has four: “I
turned my BACK on the HORSEbox and crossed the SAND-dusted ROAD.” (That’s
the best way I can explain it in writing!) I’d imagined I’d be able to get past
it more easily because I knew what to expect, but in fact, that wasn’t the
case. I don’t know if it was the addition of the West Country accents for Joe
and the other Cornish characters, or if there was more narrative than dialogue
in Whisper, but that particular quirk
was more noticeable here rather than less so. In other respects, Mr. Grindell
acquits himself well; he’s an experienced narrator, so his pacing, vocal
characterisation and differentiation are good, and his Cornish accent, while
perhaps a bit generic, is consistent and easy to understand. But it’s pretty
much impossible to hear past the weird emphasis and intonation, and I’m sure it
impacted on my enjoyment of the story. I’ve discovered a new author to enjoy in
Garrett Leigh, but I’m probably going to stick to reading her books in future.