Infamous

By: Jenny Holiday

Narrated by: Michael Fell

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

All that up-and-coming musician Jesse Jamison has ever wanted is to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. When a gossip website nearly catches him kissing someone who isn’t his famous girlfriend - and also isn’t a girl - he considers the near miss a wake-up call. There’s a lot riding on his image as the super-straight rocker, and if he wants to realize his dreams, he’ll need to toe the line. Luckily, he’s into women too. Problem solved.  

After a decade pretending to be his ex’s roommate, pediatrician Hunter Wyatt is done hiding. He might not know how to date in the Grindr world, how to make friends in a strange city, or whether his new job in Toronto is a mistake. But he does know that no one is worth the closet. Not even the world’s sexiest rock star. 

As Jesse’s charity work at Hunter’s hospital brings the two closer together, a bromance develops. Soon, Hunter is all Jesse can think about. But when it comes down to a choice between Hunter and his career, he’s not sure he’s brave enough to follow his heart.  

©2017 Jenny Holiday (P)2018 Riptide Publishing

A fantastic friends to lovers romance

What did you love best about Infamous?

I tried this book on a whim and it ended up being one of the best things I've read in a long time. Jesse is an up and coming rock star who gets caught by the tabloids kissing a guy. His agent tells him that if he plans to make it big he needs to push his bisexuality aside and only date women. Jesse decides success is totally worth the sacrifice.

What Jesse doesn't count on is Hunter. The two had met a few years before and Hunter works with critically ill children and has asked Jesse to visit one of them. From there the two men become good friends. At some point Jesse realizes he loves Hunter but he's not sure he can give up his career. Hunter loves Jesse too but he's not willing to go back in the closet for anyone.

I absolutely loved these two and their relationship. It was such a well written friends to lovers story that I was able to put my dislike of that aside. The slow burn here was great. I loved that the author had them take the time to really build a solid friendship and relationship. They're not an official couple until the end of the book but you don't really notice that because even their time as "just friends" is so loving and sweet. There are a few really romantic scenes that made me all swooney.

This was narrated by Michael Fell and he did a fantastic job. His narration really added to the story and made it more emotional in places. I particularly enjoyed the way he did Jesse. There were a couple scenes where Jesse's pain comes across so well it made my eyes tear up.

This is a totally new author for me and I'm really glad I tried this. It was one of the better written stories in this genre and I can't wait for more from this author. I'm also going to go back and read the first book in this series which is a m/f romance. The narrator is excellent and really added to the overall vibe of the story. I highly recommend this story. It's a gem.

Swoon Worthy!

I’m sitting here wondering how many ways can I convey “omg! I love this book! It’s amazing! Listen to it!!!”❣️

Because I really do. This book made me laugh from the first chapter.. made me smile.. made me frown.. made me feel giddy.. made me blush.. made me frustrated.. made me weepy.. made me feel Hunter’s hurt.. made me yell at Jesse.. made me swoon.. made me so hard, its not even funny. 💕

The story is beautiful. The pacing and the flow is just right. The development of the story and conflict and the resolution is so well done. The characters are relatable. The overall feel of the book is fantastic.👍🏼

I’d seriously recommend this to everybody who loves best-friends-to-lovers love story, who also loves rockstars and doctors falling in love. 💖🤟🏼

Michael Fell did a great job bringing the characters to life!

I wish the author wrote more M/M romance novels. Her writing style is something I’d read again and again!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Sweet story

Infamous was my first Jenny Holiday book and is the second book in the Famous series. It can absolutely be read as a standalone, I can't say for sure but I don't think there is any connection between this book and the first book in the series.

Jesse Jamison is an up-and-coming musician; he's also a bit of a spoiled brat and doesn't care much about anything and definitely not about being faithful. That is until he's caught kissing someone who isn't his girlfriend. His only lucky break is that no one knows that he wasn't kissing another girl - but another guy. The ensuing scandal promptly gets him dumped by both his girlfriend and his manager and serves as a wakeup call. If he ever wants to make it truly big, he needs to change - and fast.

Hunter Wyatt is on his way to a new life in Toronto. Freshly out of a long-term relationship he's starting over in a new city and a new job. On the train ride there he meets an intriguing young man, Jesse and the two strikes up a conversation. By the end of the ride, a tentative friendship has formed and information is exchanged before they part ways and both move on with their lives.

This book spans several years, there are a few time jumps to move things forward a little bit faster so we get to the good parts and leave out some of the non-significant parts. Anyway, some two years after the train ride and in hopes of fulfilling a sick little girls' fondest wish, Hunter seeks out that email address for the now very much famous Jesse and reaches out to him. He hopes that Jesse might still remember that train ride and Hunter from so long ago and would want to come and say hello to his favourite patient. This signifies the start of, as they say, a beautiful friendship. Sure there is tension between them, and there has been from the very beginning, but it's not the starting point of their romantic relationship. Their romance is a slow burn one. And it's good.

One day the tension and wishful thinking get the better of them and leaves them scrambling for a bit. They both want more, but Hunter is done being in the closet and Jesse cannot come out as bisexual so anything between them seems impossible. Even if they want each other to distraction.

I enjoyed this story; it was straight forward, mostly fluffy and a sweet read. It's not a new trope by any means, but hey, I love my rockers, and add in a paediatrician with a big heart and I'm sold. Jesse and Hunter worked really well together, they complemented each other and I believed in them as a couple. All in all - a win.

Not only was this my first Jenny Holiday book, it was also the first time I listened to Michael Fell. I have to say I really enjoyed it. He had a very pleasant voice to listen to and fit the story well. It was easy to follow along with the story and he added emotion to his reading, which really brings the story to another level. So this might have been my first book by fell, but it wasn't my last.

Infamous was an overall cute and sweet story. It's perfect for when you want something light and fun to read. Definitely recommended!

A copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

so good!

this was delicious! apart from The Chemistry Between the appealing leads, I think my favorite part is that the author seems to understand that queer people have rational, perfectly explicable reasons for not coming out that are not rooted in self-loathing or extraordinary trauma.

Formula at it utmost meh

You can tell when a romance writer takes the time to add a dash of authenticity to a preposterous storyline. That didn’t happen here. This story starts with the slightest hint of promise but ultimately goes with the “everything and the kitchen sink” direction. It was made worse by a rather disjointed narration by Fell. The MCs voices were awkward, and not always consistent. That “rock star” Jesse often took on a slightly femme tone seemed at odds with the swagger he was described as having. The story itself could have better utilized the time jumps by pushing even more time throughout the story. The plot also suffers from never fully utilizing a villain, Holiday goes to the trouble of creating obstacle characters but rather than really developing even one of them, they instead pop out like a cuckoo from a clock on the hour to flap their wings, then go silent again.

Was it all bad? No. Hunter was thoughtfully developed and generally true to himself, the internal monologues moved his story along. He is especially authentic at the requisite break, his reaction and subsequent actions are well done and work to propel the story. His consistency suggests this book could have been better, and why the story grudgingly received a 2 star, instead of a 1 star rating.

I give this genre a lot of creative leeway, and acknowledge that an author has to hit the beats at the right time. It is quite the juggling act. However, I have less goodwill when the author can’t support the two paragraph synopsis with an actual story to match. This book cost me a credit - the same value credit as any of the Outlander books, or Dune, or any of thousands of amazing titles that make that credit such a value. To know that this title received so many 4 and 5 star reviews tells me that people are too effusive in their praise and reviews can’t be trusted. I don’t know that I’ve ever given a full 5 star to any Sarina Bowen, Roan Parrish or Kiera Andrews book - and they have written some amazing romances. This title is listenable, but It would be far down the list of titles to recommend.

A little unbelievable, but sweet

Okay, I had a couple problems with this book overall, but in the end I really enjoyed it. The video reveal alone makes it worth reading. It ended up being a really sweet story with, mostly, believable characters. I found some of the decisions made to be more than a little stupid, and Jesse could have tipped over into a Mary Sue character, but I did love him and Hunter together. The secondary characters, mainly the band members, were fun. I kind of think the whole storyline about Jesse's sister could have been dropped because her and her son were basically there to move the plot along, but it would have made for a different story so ... men. I would have enjoyed a little more nuance, but I also would listen to this again if I was in the mood for a rockstar story.

Audio: mostly good, the voices were distinct, but the women's and children's voices were awkward. Still I'd listen to other books narrated by him.

GREAT FRIENDS TO LOVERS STORY

Great heartfelt friends to lovers story. I didn't like the narrator's performance or rather lack of performance. He had a nice voice but that's not enough to bring a story to life.

Excellent

I loved everything about the story and the narration.
The evolution of friendship and its progression to love, between Jesse and Hunter was a beautiful thing to listen to. Also, the angsty parts are so well done that that there is little time to be sad.
Michael Fell does a wonderful job with the pacing and inflections of the MCs and the secondary characters.
Highly recommend!

Love this Story!!

This story was GREAT!! I loved the characters and the setting the concept of the music. Everything about their love story was amazing & had me wanting more. Would definitely recommend this book to anyone who’s into opposites attract type scenarios & can relate to a relationship like this!!

Loved it!

Loved Jessie and Hunter. How they met, became friends and eventually lovers. Really a beautiful romance. They were hot together.

Great friends to lovers/second chance story....

Overall rating 4.5 stars. There were some niggles in the recording of the audio...namely, the narrator getting confused over who was speaking when, and dropping the wrong name into the narrative sometimes together with mis-pronunciations of words BUT overall, after my initial concerns over [new to me] Michael Fell, I really enjoyed his 'performance'. 4.25 stars.

The story made me cry and shake my head in a sad and knowing way [and when you get to that part, you'll understand why]. Hunter, a popular pediatrician, out and proud and refusing to do the whole 'going back in the closet' thing again. Jesse, secretly bisexual and closeted rock star extraordinaire...well he needed a really good kick up the backside on several occasions, but the video and his words at the press conference afterward were definitely a disgrace. No-one, especially Hunter, deserved that sort of treatment from someone who was allegedly your best 'friend'. Jesse was a coward, and very lucky that Hunter spoke to him again...at all. Is there a HEA?? Find out for yourselves 😉.

Very nice narration

Loved the narration. The novel was alright. Nice main characters but the story was nothing special. Except the catholic agent in chapter two. I was so annoyed by this ridiculous chapter I thought about not finishing. But I took a break and after that the story drifted calmly to its ending.