Influenced

By: Felice Stevens

Narrated by: Declan Winters

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

A million likes vs. one true love.

Bryce Bauman is one half of a famous influencer couple...until his boyfriend dumps him and puts the whole ugly scene online.

Several months later, Bryce is at the end of his rope—he’s lost all his endorsements, along with his so-called friends. Licking his wounds, he escapes to the tiny town of Serenity, Pennsylvania, where he’s surrounded by too much nature and quiet. And...the hot as hell owner of the bed-and-breakfast who makes him think there might be life beyond what’s on a screen.

Matty Wilcox has no time for spoiled brats or social media. He must keep the business running, his grumpy grandfather healthy, and himself deep in the closet. In his little town, there’s no way to come out to his friends and family and have things stay the same, so he’s better off alone.

Except life is complicated now that Bryce is staying at the bed and breakfast—he’s entirely too tempting and not as silly and shallow as Matty first thought. Giving in to his desire could only muddy the waters of the life he’s so carefully built. Any slipup would be dangerous for his business, his friendships, and most importantly, his heart. Besides, there’s no place for small-town Matty in Bryce’s big-city life. The two of them, together, don’t make sense.

Then again, since when does anything make sense when it comes to love—the greatest influencer of all?

From Lambda Literary Award-winning author Felice Stevens comes a sexy, slow burn small-town romance full of heat and heart. And a few groundhogs. And maybe a snake. But it's a little one...really.

©2022 Felice Stevens (P)2022 Felice Stevens

A sweet small town romance

I'll be honest, I've been in quite a dry spell lately when it comes to audiobooks. Influenced, by Felice Stevens, is the first book in a relatively long time that I've listened to from start to finish. With just a couple issues, the book was a sweet and entertaining, well-narrated romance novel.

Bryce is a social media "influencer" (barf) who is part of an Instagram power couple. In the very beginning of the book, he is dumped by Grant, the other half of the couple, for one of Bryce's best friends. Grant and his new boyfriend are unreasonably cruel to Bryce (their motivations for this are not particularly clear), and he goes into a downward spiral that finally reaches rock bottom, whereupon he is referred to a country bed & breakfast in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania, where he meets the proprietor, Matty, and the two embark on a tentative relationship.

Matty is a quiet, reserved, small-town, closeted man who is trying to hold his business together after the tragic death of his parents. He has a girlfriend, Emma, and lives with his crusty, ailing grandfather. He is, at least to me, altogether more likable than Bryce, who can be a bit strident and preachy and sometimes becomes sort of a political mouthpiece for the author. The difference between the way Bryce lectures Matty's grandfather midway through the novel and the way Matty talks to him toward the end is perfectly illustrative of why Matty is a better character than Bryce. Incidentally, this problem has become ubiquitous in m/m romance novels written in the past couple years; I wonder if straight romance novel readers have to put up with a side of social commentary in EVERY novel they read?

The book is sweet and well written, and I mostly like the peripheral characters, except for the ones I'm not supposed to. I wish some characters got more comeuppance than they do (cough Grant cough), but I suppose that isn't really the point. I also love the setting, both the B&B as well as the town itself. It's not really a criticism, but the protagonists run into more gay and bisexual men in this small town than is probably realistic, and I'm not even counting any of Bryce's friends from New York.

Some complaints: the book goes on for about two hours too long, and certain plotlines, especially a few that are introduced close to the end, are extraneous and didn't need to exist, particularly the scene that happens in the diner just before the end of the book. Look, I'm gay, I've always lived in small towns, I'm... let's say, a few years older than the characters in this book, and I've never once had any problem with harassment. If you expect me to believe that in the course of a few months, not one but TWO rather major anti-gay incidents have happened to one of the protagonists, in a year close to the current one, you're stretching my credulity a bit.

Anyway I knocked a star off my review for that combined with Bryce's (and the author's) occasional shrill moralizing, but in general I really did enjoy listening to this book. Declan Winters is a reliably good narrator, and Felice Stevens is a good author.

LOVED

I don't think it's possible to describe just how much I loved Influenced.
The small town setting was perfect. I love the sense of community and support that came with this setting.

I thing what surprised me the most was just how much I loved Bryce. At first glance he seems to be a shallow, frivolous person who only values the attention of strangers and material things that come his way. When he is stripped of all of that he is lost, unsure of who he is without all the trappings.
I loved the journey of self discovery he takes. His true self really emerges, like a butterfly from a cocoon. Seeing him realize his true worth is truly amazing.

Matty has his own journey to take towards being his true, authentic self. Having spent years hiding who he is makes it very difficult to switch gears. He knows it is worth it in the end but fears who and what he will lose along the way.

The connection and chemistry these two share is wonderful. I love how supportive Bryce is of Matty's coming out process. There is only compassion and empathy, no judgement.
Influenced is full of terrific secondary characters that add so much depth to an already outstanding story.
Of course I am left with wanting more. I'm hoping for a Levi story!
Declan Winters does an amazing job of bringing this story to life!

Great story

Cute low angst story! It started a little angsty but as soon as the main couple come together it’s nothing but a great love story! Loved the town and excited to read more about it. The narrator was great!!

Swoon 💕

Another hit, as usual by Felice Stevens. She is one of my go to favorites and I know I’ll love any of her books. Original and realistic storyline with swoon-worthy love and interesting, lovable characters. Loved the added bonus of the grumpy, snarky grandfather and his fatherly mentoring for both MC’s. First time listening to this narrator and he does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life with genuine emotion and distinctive character differences. Makes it that more exciting and fun to listen to. Highly recommend!

See the Truth

Bryce has been knocked to the bottom of the barrel. But a chance encounter gives him the chance to restart. Matty has been hiding including from himself. But together they both begin a new life for both of them.

Big City meets Small Town

Influenced is a low angst, Small Town Romance, city mouse/country mouse scenario.
I love Bryce and Matty’s characters. They fit well together like two opposite poles of a magnet, although they have their differences there is no denying their chemistry.

Bryce is so trusting of people especially stranger. He’s so innocent to the world and what people would do just to get their 15 minutes of fame. I hated when he would go out, get drunk and don’t know what happened afterwards until pictures of his escapades were all over the internet. I think I cried a few times while reading.

To me I felt like there was a lot of edging when it came to these two characters. I was just screaming at them. One minute they were getting close, then I thought, yes this scene is when they will have their first kiss and then nothing, all I kept saying was, “come on just kiss,” which prompted me into singing the song Sebastian sang from The Little Mermaid, all now it’s still stuck in my head.
“Yes, you want her. Look at her, you know you do. Possible she wants you too. There is one way to ask her. It don't take a word. Not a single word. Go on and kiss the girl.”

The scene with the snake almost made me scream, I just hate snakes Influenced, but in fact made me laugh.
Earl is a sweet-heart. Although he gruff and seems put off at everything and everyone around him, that’s not the case. I immediately caught on to the phone thing when Earl kept mentioning about the people and their phones. What happened was so sad.
As a reader I try to figure out the plot of books before I even finish reading and as I read, I figured that Earl knew something was up with Bryce and Matty, that is why he kept saying about men should find a nice girl, settle down and have kids. His reaction was not surprising in the lease when he realized his suspicions were right, but he got over it fast and accepted what is.

Felice did a wonderful job on this Matty and Bryce’s story, the secondary characters were no exception, they were all great. Casey and Grant were the exceptions.
Emma was a true friend to Matty, although they were together for few years, they had no hard feelings towards each other. She kept his secret and at times she would try to push Matty and encourage him to go out and met someone.

Thank you Felice for allowing me and the others readers out there to read your lovely work, whilst enjoying the lift of your characters wishing we were there in the story as well…

Thank you Felice Stevens, enjoyed every word.
Thank you Declan Winters for giving these wonderful characters a voice.

Love it!

This is such a cute listen! I love Bryce and Matty! They are opposites of each other but have amazing chemistry together. I love listening to their romance story. Declan Winters does an amazing job with this narration. I love listening to the voices of each of the characters. Brings so much life to this story.

Social Media can suck

I really liked this story. The actual love story between Bryce and Matty was sweet and pretty low on the angst meter, a treat to read. The backstory of the toll of social media on not just the influenced but on the influencer was pretty eye opening. The self discovery and acceptance for Matty of his true self as well as the acceptance of those around him was heartbreaking and gratifying at the same time. Highly recommend. The narrator of this story did a great job of representing the characters and made them individuals.

Small Town Firsts

I am so glad I first experienced this book in audio, because the narration was fantastic! Declan Winters was a new to me narrator, and he really made this story shine! His narration and range for the characters was wonderful and I felt so immersed in what was an equally wonderful story. Bryce, a fallen social media influencer, does a restock of his life at a bed and breakfast. This small town bed and breakfast is run by Matt, who had never been with a man before. Cue the romance and the many wonderful first times these two experienced together! First times is my favorite, and Felice Stevens did a wonderful job with the steam and emotions behind it all. Felice has a way of making me fall in love with her characters, and Bryce and Matt were no exception!

excellent journey

Grant was such a user and manipulator that he made me furious! His skeevy actions later in the story made my blood boil!!! It was nice to see Bryce slowly develop into a better version of himself after the devastation he went through. I was happy for Matty being able to be himself and comfortable with himself. The ending was so sweet it had me tearing up. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a great job bringing the characters and story to life.