Leaning into Forever

Leaning into Series, Book 7

By: Lane Hayes

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Geordie De La Rosa is a legend among wine lovers in Napa Valley. His ultra-fabulous style paired with a penchant for leading impromptu sing-a-longs has made him a star attraction at Conrad Winery. Co-owning a well-respected winery was never Geordie’s aspiration but he likes the niche he’s made for himself. He won’t deny that his job and his friends have helped ease his heartache and grief after the death of his longtime partner.

Levi Yeager excels at the art of reinventing himself. He’s been a minor league baseball player, a college coach and now a restaurant owner. The problem is he doesn’t know anything about the food business. And when his chef quits unexpectedly, he’s afraid his new venture is doomed. But Levi isn’t a quitter. It may be the only thing he has in common with the beautiful, sassy man from the neighboring winery who agrees to help get his new business up and running. Neither man counts on their fast friendship or the wild attraction they feel for each other. However, they know they won’t stand a chance until they let go of the past and lean into forever.

©2018 Lane Hayes (P)2018 Lane Hayes

An uplifting and beautifully written romance

I adore this series, the characters, the set-up, the audiobooks. In fact, it is one of my favourite series.

This is the last book in the series. I would advise reading/listening to Nick and Wes’s story (Leaning Into the Fall, #3) to gain an insight into Geordie’s backstory and his current situation.

I’ve had a soft spot for Geordie ever since he shared his tragic past with Nick at the end of book 3. He had me in tears then and he did many times during this story.

Geordie is such a wonderfully portrayed character; from his lip gloss, eyeliner, and floaty chemises to his penchant for belting out show tunes for the vineyard’s visitors. He comes across as a diva at times and I could picture him being Mike’s ‘queen of the castle’. Geordie swings from his grief to his flamboyant nature. After four years, he’s still heartbroken by the loss of the love of his life. Lane Hayes certainly knows how to wring out all the tears in this one. And yet somehow, it’s not a sombre, downhearted story. Yes, it’s a tearjerker in places, but it’s also uplifting, amusing and full of hope. It’s beautifully written by Lane as always, and is a delightful romance involving two more mature men.

And that’s mostly down to Levi. Geordie finds a new love in Levi and, although it takes time for Geordie to accept this, he eventually feels he is ready to move on and no longer has to face a bleak future alone. Levi is patient and caring, a thoughtful friend and lover. He gives Geordie the space and time he needs as their relationship develops. Because of him, Geordie finds the strength to move on with his life without erasing his memory of Mike.

The story is mostly set in the winery, with familiar names and faces from the previous stories. It’s great to see more of Wes and Nick and cameos from the other couples.

Nick as usual narrates the story superbly. His voice as well as his storytelling style draws you into each scene and holds your attention. You feel Geordie’s heartache in his voice and the full range of emotions experienced by the characters. Great job.

Awesome story, awesome performance

This story is simply too precious. It soothe my soul. I love every single moment from the beginning till the end. I'm guilty to admit that I'm not a devoted follower of the series and I don't remember Geordie much, so I kinda went into this blind and treat it as a standalone. But what a remarkable and absolutely joyful read.

Geordie is a still living up to his diva lifestyle despite nearing middle age. He's 43 and showing me how to be young at heart. Geordie is fabulous, quirky, a goofball and the life of all parties. He can also be melodramatic and a total hot mess. Bottom line is Geordie is a rare unicorn that I need to protect at all cost. However, behind his bravado hid an empty soul that is still mourning for his dead lover. 

Levi is the new restaurateur in town that don't know much about setting up a restaurant, which led him to seek out help from Geordie and his partner, Wes. Levi is an ex-jock who can pass for a straight man, a total opposite from Geordie. Levi is the kind of understated hero that is just so chill no matter what happened. He's a total sweetheart. He's so kind and patient and funny and sexy. He's just perfect.

What I love most about this story is the comedy aspect of it. Geordie is very comical and provide much laugh out loud moment. Most of the time, I feel like I'm in Levi's shoe, unable to come up with a response to Geordie's antics. Levi is definitely the more relatable one here. In the midst of all the humor in the book, there is also the emotional aspect of it which came from Geordie's way of dealing with grief. I remember there was one scene in the beginning when Geordie reached home, which make me burst into tears. Even though I never read about his dead lover before, I can really feel the lost along with him. Anyway, this is not a pity party and I don't feel that the dead lover overshadowed the romance here, absolutely not. In fact, with everything Geordie went through, it makes his new budding relationship with Levi much more meaningful. They have so much fun together with Levi reminding Geordie how to live his life to the fullest again. I'm just so happy for Geordie in getting his own second chance at love.

The narration is awesome. Nick really did bring Geordie to life. Geordie sounds exactly like I imagined while reading it. A little melodramatic and all the sass. Nick's voice for Levi is deeper than I prefer, but after awhile I warmed up to it too.

Excellent story and excellent narration!!

Leaning Into Forever is one of my favorite reads. Nick Russo rocked his narration of Geordie He had me laughing out loud one minute and in tears the next. Excellent audible and I highly recommend it. Can totally be read/heard as a standalone!

All the stars for Geordie and Levi!

5+++ Stars!!!

I loved when I first read this book, I knew going in that this was going to be an emotional read for me, I loved Geordie from the moment I met him and especially so once I learned of his backstory. Reading how deep his grief went after losing his lover, Mike, was heartbreaking. His pain was so raw and poignant, despite him turning up his flamboyance to try to hide it from others that I just wanted to make it better and see him thrive. I adored Levi from the first moment, he was so swoon-worthy and perfect for Geordie. He was patient and understanding and supportive. Really, the man deserved a medal, LOL. And I just adored him and Geordie together, the progression of their relationship was so natural and organic that when Geordie came to realize what was happening, he was deep into it. Their chemistry was scorching and despite being opposites in several senses, they complemented each other.

Nick J. Russo did a fantastic job with the narration, especially with Geordie. He managed to bring forth the wealth of emotion that a character like him needs and deserves. And he also did great with the rest of the characters. He took Lane's words and somehow elevated them and made them even better.

Overall, this book was an emotional rollercoaster for me and be it on e-book or audio, you just can't miss it. (FYI, you'll probably need tissues for this one, so stock on those beforehand. 😉 )

Hands down, my favorite of the series

The vocal performance is good. Mr. Russo also performed Nick and Wes' book and I found it interesting that I was able to recognize their voices in this book...I love the consistency with the characters' voices.

I feel like we’ve been waiting forever for Geordie’s story and honestly it was worth the wait. This story is damn near perfect.

Ms. Hayes could not have written a more authentically flawless match for Geordie than Levi. He is sweet, patient and kind. He doesn’t try to change Geordie or ‘tone down’ Geordie’s fabulous. He is over the top silly and entertaining. I absolutely loved how quickly Levi’s able to tune into and read Geordie and be exactly what he needs to start living again.

Geordie absolutely broke my heart…over and over again. His grief is a living, breathing thing…almost a separate character in the book and my heart physically ached for him. His history was sad at times but I loved learning about him moving to LA and everything that lead him to where he is now.

Levi and Geordie have off the chart sexual chemistry but the emotional chemistry is not to be discounted. Their banter is entertaining and their sweet moments are swoon worthy. Simply put, they are perfect together.

We get appearances from Wes and Nick of course, as well as Ryan and Danny. There is also a quick mention of the rest of the crew. We meet a couple of new characters we may see again.

This is probably my favorite series by Ms. Hayes and I’d venture to say this is my favorite of the series!

This is how all audios should be like! 5+ stars!

This was such a beautifully written story of not just Geordie's first love (because hey, there are no age limits when it comes to first loves), but what could also potentially be his last love. I loved that Lane Hayes didn't take the expected direction of Levi being apprehensive about Geordie's fabulousness (aka flamboyance, but I prefer my label for it) because that would have been the all-too-easy way to go about it. There are quite a few surprises that Hayes does have up her sleeve in terms of story development and direction, and that's just one of the reasons I love this woman's writing. She's brought in a number of familiar characters from the previous Leaning Into books, but she thankfully doesn't give time to steal the spotlight even as their appearances are notable ones. Then there's Nick J. Russo's narration, which, can I just say, is probably one of his best? The nuances in the voices he gives both Geordie and Levi aren't overly done; they're subtle but so well done. I've still got my fingers crossed for ONE more audiobook from this series and I seriously hope Hayes and Russo team up. Five-plus stars for Leaning Into Forever. ♥

Comfort read

This is a great story and narration to match. I listen to it often. Highly recommend.

Definitely my favorite of the series

I've been waiting for Geordie's story since book 2 and it was so worth the wait, Levi so patient and sweet. This was a fun and emotional listen, with great banter and of course a wonderful cast of characters. I do wish a bit we had some of Levi's POV but that was just a minor hope this was Geordie's story to tell. As for the narration Russo did a fantastic job I love that he didn't go over the top narrating Geordie, it was just as I voiced him in my head.

Moving On is never Easy

First I'd like to start off saying that I have not read any other books in this series and Lane Hayes is a new to me author, now that I have that out of the way I will say that this book can be read as a standalone and I didn't feel as if I was missing anything but I am sure for those that have read the series and knew Geordie and Mike when they were together before his passing this story will pull at their heartstrings much more. I did shed tears believe me, I went through quite a few tissues but I am sure if I knew Mike when he was alive and was now watching Geordie make the steps to move on it would have been much more emotional. I had the pleasure of listening to this audiobook and I have to say that the narrator Nick J Russo did a wonderful job with the story. His voice inflections were great and I could really get a better feel for each of the characters because of it.

Levi, can I just say this man stole my heart right from the start. He knew that Geordie lost Mike almost four years earlier and he was so sweet with him, he gave him the space he needed to work through things but made it known that he wanted him in no uncertain terms. Geordie had a lot of guilt in his desires towards Levi but I'm sure everyone goes through that after they've lost a partner they had been with for so long. I loved the over-the-top flamboyant Barbara loving Geordie, he was Mike's Queen but I am so glad he was going to give Levi a chance.

This was an emotional read at times so I would advise you to make sure you have tissues handy because you never know when you'll need them. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good LGBTQ read that has the heat factor rather HIGH. Things were very spicy between Levi and Geordie and not always in the kitchen ;) Happy Reading or Listening!!!

**I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers/Listeners Copy of this audiobook**

what an amazing audiobook!

this audiobook knocked my socks off. The narration is spot-on and absolutely drew me into the story. I haven't read the book by itself, but I have a feeling he made the story even better. And the story! Absolutely on point. Loved everything about it and loved the characters too