Smoky Mountain Dreams

By: Leta Blake

Narrated by: John Solo

Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Sometimes holding on means letting go.

After giving up on his career as a country singer in Nashville, Christopher Ryder is happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee. But while his beloved Gran loves him the way he is, Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. Even when he's center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.

Bisexual Jesse Birch has no room in his life for dating. Raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children's mother, he doesn't want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn't want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.

©2014 Leta Blake (P)2017 Leta Blake

✫✫ 5 Stars ✫✫

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The characters were realistic & a little flawed, the love story was sweet and a little heartbreaking and the lives of each of these men were hard but it only made them better. This was a sweet but still a very emotional listen for me. I loved that one of the main characters has children, that always pulls on my heart strings.

The narration was fantastic. He really became these characters and did a fabulous job at giving everyone their own voices.

Love this emotional book by an amazing author!

I don't have enough stars for this review i need like a 1000 more!

This story is gripping, emotional and unique, the length of the book compliments the story and makes it that much better. Each character develops through the book and is depicted with so much life and realness. I was constantly at awe with each chapter, in a roller-coaster of feelings and lyrical writing that had me begging for more!
Christopher is such a sweet man and I love his very human faults, Jesse is a sexy man through and through yet he is also a father- that contrast makes him so appealing and thrilling to me. I love how each man has his own history, and how both the good and the bad are depicted. The way Leta describes Jesse's emotions regarding his wife, both how she looks physically and his marriage to her is so touching mostly because of how real it is. Her writing not only brings life to each word, but color, smell - this is a full body experience book.
And let's not forget the sexy bits, because let me tell you- you will need to call the fire department to put out the flames after reading this book. Both the eroticism in their physical relationship and the added emotions they have and build together is just pure magic!!! The complexity of Jesse's life, how they fight to make the relationship work and the rawness of feelings that you can just connect to because they are so very real-life. This story had high drama potential, and yet it cleverly kept it down to earth and, again for lack of a better word, real.

Now let's talk narration for a bit- this is the best audiobook I read EVER also because of John Solo. This man, is not one man but many, men and women that, that each has color, voice, hopes, fears and dreams. I have never felt more pure emotion listening to a book in my life. There are truly not enough words and ways I can say how the narration elevates this fantastic story. Solo can manipulate his voice to wring out every lest nuance from a scene, line, laugh and smile. I am still a bit starry eyed about this book and would gladly read any Leta Blake book I can get my hands on. Solo's narration was the cherry on top of the mountain. If you like MM, Romance or just like a story to touch your heart, you need this book!

Just about as perfect as the book!

I read Smoky Mountain Dreams for the first time three years ago and I fell in love with it and has remained one of my favorite books ever since, so of course, I was going to jump at the chance of listening to it.

Let me tell you, if I loved it the first time around, finding it "a fantastic, emotional rollercoaster read!", I absolutely adored it this time around, too.

I cried, I laughed, I drooled over the fabulous sex scenes (especially the one in Jesse's workshop office, damn I'm never going to look at pearls the same way again!), but above all, I fell in love with Jesse and Christopher, with Brigid and Will, with Jackie and Joe and their children, with Christopher's gran and even with Gareth! They were all such well-rounded, tridimensional characters, with good and bad things and everything in between, making them so much more realistic to me.

Christopher was definitely my favorite character. He was so loyal and loving, only wanting someone to really see him and love him because of who he was, always willing to forgive, and be second-choice, which broke my heart several times. I'm so happy Jesse could give him what he needed in every sense, to be part of a family.

"Life's too short to waste it arguing about whether or not you're sorry enough for something I damn well know you're sorry for." That has to be one of my favorite quotes from the book and I think it shows a lot of Christopher's character. Even when Jesse messed up (several times, I might add), he was always willing to listen and forgive, perhaps not quite forget, but he tried to understand Jesse's motives.

I loved Jesse, even if he could be selfish and I wanted to throat punch him at one time, at least he actually realized he'd messed up (with some help from Amanda and Gareth) and made up for it, putting Christopher first when he needed him the most.

The chemistry between Jesse and Christopher and the progression of their relationship as they fall in love, was natural and organic and their love transcended the pages.

John Solo did a fantastic job with the narration, perhaps the kids' voices could have been a bit better, but it was still very enjoyable. He has a lovely tone of voice and he managed to inject it with the appropriate amount of emotion during all the scenes to translate Leta Blake's words to audio. One thing, though, if you're listening to the last, say, 4 or 5 chapters while driving, you might start crying so beware. Other than that, it was as perfect as the book. Highly recommendable!

Story: 5+ Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars

Excellent story, superb performance

Some choices can change your life forever...
After trying his luck at Nashville and being told he lacks what is needed to succeed as a professional singer, Christopher Ryder is happy performing at Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park. A gift for his beloved gran brings jewel designer Jesse Birch into his life. Jesse turns out to be his greatest fan, and the spark of their instant connection soon changes into an all consuming flame…
Jesse Birch’s life turned out to be completely different from what he expected. Openly gay as a teen, he ended up marrying his best friend Marcy and having two kids with her. Then, a tragic accident ends up with Marcy in coma in a hospital. Jesse has been struggling to raise his kids and fighting to give Marcy a dignified death, not having time for himself. When Chris enters his life, Jesse realises sometimes life gives you second chances at love...
Wow! Beautiful, intense story here. There are really many things going on, all important. This is basically a hurt-comfort story, where both characters have deeply emotional issues they have to get over in order to find happiness. On Jesse’s side, his anger and his guilt at what’s happening to his wife is his main problem. On the other hand, Chris has attachment and self-esteem problems that come from a dysfunctional family environment, where his extremely religious step-father has always abased him. This brings out another of the topics in the story, the religious zeal of many of the characters and how it affects their views on life. There is a lot of opposing views and anguish related to this. Another interesting thing is the matter of Jesse’s bisexuality and how it is viewed by the people surrounding him, and even by himself. All this topics combine with a really intense romance to create a wonderful, unique story where feelings are raw and consuming.
John Solo’s narration is amazing, simply superb. His ability to bring those characters alive, to convey the feelings and intensity is incredible. I must recognise he made me blush, smile and even cry sometimes. His performance turns a very good story in a memorable experience I can’t recommend enough.
Excellent.

where to begin

first of all let me just say do not fall in love with the grandmother character,she is just as bad as the bullies in this story. This was probably one of the most boring stories I have read in the genre in a long time and if not for the great narration I would have asked for my money back. I read all the reviews for this book and everybody said it was a wonderful book I'm not sure where they got that from. this story was probably 10 chapters too long. also there are moments in the store where I really wanted the main character Christopher not to wind up with the other main character Jesse because he was that much of an ass. also I felt like there were too many issues to deal with and the author did not do a good job letting them out.... you've got religion you've got bullying you've got death.
And the whole thing with his wife being in a coma, I see both sides of it but in retrospect you can't have it both ways. You can't want to be in a relationship with someone else and still technically be in a relationship with someone else. Religion was so heavy in this book that I couldn't help but think if you're so big into Jesus why are you keeping this woman from Jesus. all in all I would not recommend this book and I'm not sure if I read anything else by the author.
PS if you're looking for a book with good sex scenes this is not one of them. I have read many sex scenes in this genre and I have never once cringed at 1 and I cringed in this story.

Started slow but I'm glad I stuck with it.

This one took me a bit to get into. At first, I didn’t really care for the vocal performance and there were a couple of things in the story I didn’t like (which I’ll get to in a bit). I’m glad I stuck with it because I really liked the story!

The vocal performer underwhelmed me at the beginning…and it’s hard to describe but his voice just bugged me (sorry I know that’s not very descriptive). However, as the story progressed he changed my mind and I was pretty impressed with his performance. He had several voices – both male and female and I really felt the emotions of every character. His voice for Jesse was SEXY and perfect!

This story has several subplots so there is a lot going on. First and foremost are Jesse and Christopher forging a relationship however all the subplots touch and/or affect their relationship. Christopher broke my heart more than once. His parents were awful to him (and OTT holy rollers). His mom is unbelievable. He struggles with family issues until almost the end of the story. He’s never been anyone’s priority except his gran’s and he desperately wants that. He also has very low self-esteem and self-worth. He’s a super sweet guy and has a good outlook even though he’s been mistreated most of his life. Jesse is SMITTEN with Christopher from the beginning. He’s been a silent fan of his for a couple of years through his theme park performances. When they meet, the chemistry is off the charts. I hurt for him for what he’s going through with his wife and kids. He was pretty awful to Christopher at one point and I didn’t feel like he made amends sufficiently (but that’s my hang-up). I do love them together and think they make each other better and stronger. Jesse’s kids play a role in their relationship that goes through a huge struggle but Christopher actually ends up reaching Jesse’s daughter when Jesse couldn’t. Jesse’s in-laws are awesome. Gran is awesome.

Although I liked the story, I did have a couple of issues. My biggest issue is with Jesse and his wife. The flashback to how they got together was…frankly, terrible. And I didn’t like anything about that scene. I also would have liked to understand how things started to fall apart for them before the accident. That would have helped sell the ‘I’m actually gay, not bi’ storyline for me because Jesse seems to still be in love with her at times. Another issue is there was a super quick touch to the possibility of some bdsm between them that was completely abandoned. My last issue is the book is LONG and there are a couple of dangling plotlines that need to be finished.

Overall, I recommend the book – whether you read or listen to it.

Loved Chris and Jesse's scenes

At almost fifteen hours this is a long story with many supporting characters and plenty of backstory to discover about Chris and Jesse that has a bearing on their future together. It’s not all dumped in one go, but is subtly woven into the narrative.

Anticipating Christopher finding out the truth about Marci’s vegetative condition overshadowed their early relationship for me as I knew there’d be some fallout from this. And when he realised, I loved the angst that followed. It was from this moment on that I was gripped by the story and I particularly enjoyed the second half of the story. It culminated in a wonderful ending with some unexpected happenings.  In fact, I went back to listen to the first half again knowing the direction the story was headed, and appreciated the events and characters more as a result.

This is a story of finding your family and accepting who you are, who you love and want to spend your life with. There are some very touching moments, as well as some scenes that will no doubt make you angry with the characters. Christopher is a wonderful, considerate, caring person, and the way his parents and his ranting step-father treat him is heartbreaking.

Chris and Jesse are perfectly matched and fall swiftly for each other. I was surprised they hadn't really encountered each other beforehand. Luckily, they manage to snatch some alone time and their sex scenes are smoking hot. The parent in-laws are great, as are Joe and Gareth who are supportive of Chris. I also liked Jesse’s children and how Brigit gradually comes to accept Chris. Her paper crane project definitely tugged on the heartstrings.

So yes, it’s a long story with lots going on, but the main relationship is given plenty of focus and time to develop. The story is well written and the character interaction is in depth and excellent throughout.  The dialogue comes across as real and the conversation at the Thanksgiving meal had me laughing out loud at one point.

John Solo’s narration is superb. He gives each character their own distinct voice that matches their personality and he portrays the emotion perfectly within each scene and with such feeling. I particularly liked the sexy, husky voice he gave Jesse. The descriptive writing built up a clear image of each setting and with John’s storytelling it made for easy and very enjoyable listening.

love this book and so will u

this book has happy and sad and some good sex I used a credit on it and it was worth it I wish there where more of leta blake book on audible I have both that are on here and I love them

Hmm

The story was nice, though felt a little overdone sometimes. The narrator killed me. I think when you’re going to be a narrator then you should really do some research about the pronunciation of places if the book you’re narrating is based on real places. Sevierville is said like severe with a ville on the end. And Appalachia or Appalachian has a LATCH sound in it. So Appa latch a. There were a few more though the book too and as someone who grew up in East Tennessee, it was SO irritating!

Exactly what I expect from Leta Blake - Superb!

If you could sum up Smoky Mountain Dreams in three words, what would they be?

Beautiful love story

What was one of the most memorable moments of Smoky Mountain Dreams?

The chemistry between Jessie and Christopher is fantastic. They have so much to overcome but you could feel the love they had for each other shining through.

Have you listened to any of John Solo’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't but I will be searching out other books he's narrated. I loved reading the book but John Solo breathed extra life into Jessie and Christopher for me.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Everyone deserves another chance for love.

Any additional comments?

I have so far enjoyed everything Leta Blake has written, her books are completely different from each other but they have all the feels! If you haven't tried this Author yet, I would highly recommend

More like this plz

I have now listened to the book twice and enjoyed even more the second time. Such a great character depth and story telling.

More like this plz

Musrt read!

A great story that evolves with fully developed characters and will push your emotional buttons.

Love in the works in the Smoky Mountains.

This is a great read by Leta Blake about two men who are a bit damaged by life but find a love between them that is strong but also hot and sexy. Christopher and Jesse have there share of hurt in their life and find each other, not without up - en downs when forging their new family with Jesse his children.
I recommend this book to readers who like an indepth development and background to their characters. This book spans all the emotions so be prepared for it

I my opinion this one of John Solo his best narrations.

A happy sad happy sad happy story

All the ups and downs of life in this story beautifully written and narrated story and shows that tempee is a very bad thing.