Face the Music

Replay, Book 1

By: K.M. Neuhold

Narrated by: Kenneth Obi

Lincoln
I thought there was only one thing I needed to make me happy. I was so sure becoming a rock star would heal the dark corners inside me. But every time I walk onto the stage, with a roaring crowd screaming my name, all I can think about is the boy I left behind. All I want to do is rewind and make a different choice.

Jace
I thought I hated Lincoln when he ghosted me 10 years ago and destroyed my heart. I thought I hated him when he wrote a chart-topping hit about our idyllic young love. But I’ve never hated him as much as I do right now, standing in front of me like he has every right to be in my world again. He’s not the rock god I thought he was...he’s still that same lost boy I used to love. Can I ever trust him with my heart again?

*Face the Music is the first book in the Replay series. Each book in the series will focus on a different band member getting a second chance at love. Each book can be read as a stand-alone. This book contains descriptions of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and sexy times.

©2018 Kyleen Neuhold (P)2018 Kyleen Neuhold

So good! So heartfelt!

This book is definitely near and dear to my heart. No one understands how hard it is to love someone with bipolar disorder. Ms. Neuhold, you managed to give a voice to the person that has to witness the highs and lows. Thank you! Plus, their love is epic!!

Loved the story, so so narration

I essence, I absolutely loved and adored this story. I'm always partial for a scarred man, second chance stories and when combining that with a famous musician, I'm over the moon.

This book opens up with present day Lincoln, rock star extraordinaire in the band Downward Spiral. An apt name if there ever was one as all of its members are spiralling fast out of control in one way or another. Lincoln is a bit worse for wear, drunk and passing out in the cold and almost freezing to death. He basically couldn't care less. He's numb, and the only way he feels anything is by self-harming, cutting. The only thing in his mind is remembering Jace. The love of his life. The boy he walked away from, broke, ten years earlier when his music career really took off.

After another close call with Linc's life, Archer the band manager, cancels the upcoming tour, orders all the band members to a mandatory break to get their heads back together And hopefully by the end of the break, there will still be a band left to save. Linc decides to go back to the one place in the world where he was truly happy, the place where he met and fell in love with Jace. What he doesn't count on is standing face to face with Jace once more. A freshly dumped Jace who don't want anything to do with him anymore.

Face the Music is a second chance story. It's told from a dual POV in more ways than one. We get both Linc's and Jace's perspectives, but we also get the past interwoven with the present. So we are there watching Linc and Jace fall in love, the first kiss, we feel the sweetness, the giddiness and hope for the future. But we are also there for the hard parts, Linc leaving and Jace realising that the love of his life has left him. We are there for the pain as well as the happiness before it. We can relate to them both, understand the motives that drove them. We understand the heartbreak that are still present ten years later. We know the love that lurks underneath the surface, ready to bloom once more.

This book drew me in from the start and I couldn't put it down but listened to the whole thing in one go. I just needed to know how Linc and Jace finally got back together. Needed to see the journey, the forgiveness and healing. I'm also partial to characters with any kind of mental health issue, to Linc ticked a lot of my boxes. And while I didn't always agree with his actions, I could understand why.

Kenneth Obi's narration of this book is a bit of an oddity for me. He has different voices when narrating the different characters - which is always a huge plus for me. It makes it so much easier to follow along with the story. He also adds in feelings to his words, emotions and is not simply reading the words in front of him. Despite all that, he still manages to sound bored though it all. It's a bit of a mystery to me to be frank. On the other hand, that would fit when he narrated the fist part of the story from Lincoln's POV. It fits with his depressed, moody and "who cares" attitude. But it doesn't fit with the rest of the book, when the feel of it is happy. I did feel like even during the happy moments, there was still a wall between the characters and the listener, we weren’t quite there.

Face the Music was a beautiful second chance story. I loved everything about it, the plot, the characters and the amazing love that Linc and Jace shared. The narration was a bit off for me, which might be just me, so you should definitely have a listen to the sample to decide if this audio is worth trying. If not, you need to pick up the book, because this is a story you shouldn't miss.

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

Fantastic

I loved reading this book and listening to Kenneth bring it to life was a delight.

Great Start to Series

This is one of my favorite books. K.M. Neuhold knows how to write broken characters and those are my favorites to read. This is a second chance book and is amazing. Jace left years ago to chase his dream of becoming a rockstar, but is now spiraling out of control. Can a second chance with the love of his life save him? I adore this one.

This was my first Kenneth Obi listen, and I was hooked. He is amazing and I loved the story and narration,

I liked it

I liked it. But the flipping back and forth between past and present time was a bit confusing to get hang of.
Good book good start to a series.

freckles!

loved the nickname freckles! this was a great story! i loved it all. can't wait for the next one!

outstanding

Lincoln and Jace were best friends since childhood, only seeing each other in summer at their families' vacation cabins by the lake. As children they were best friends and as the teenage years progressed they became boyfriend's and lovers, vowing to be together for ever. But when Lincoln's band Downward Spiral gets discovered, he disappears from Jace's life and breaks his heart.
Ten years later, Lincoln and his band are at a crossroads. The demons haunting each man in the band is taking its toll and their name becomes prophetic - they are on a downward spiral and need to find ways to fix it. Lincoln is caught in a cycle of depression and self harm, leading to another bear miss with death. The band decides that they all will take some time away before deciding their fate as a band. Lincoln decides to head to the lake house and face his demons. When he gets their he encounters much more than memoreies.
Jace has tried to move on. But the love he shared so long ago was a powerful thing and although he hates Lincoln for what he did, his heart also aches for him. After a breakup caused by his inability to move on completely, he decides to go to his family lake house to face his past and get closure. He never expected to find Lincoln in the cabin next door. And he never thought Lincoln would still be the boy he fell in love with years ago, begging for a chance to explain why he left and asking for a second chance.

I loved loved loved this book about old lovers finding their way to love again. It had me feeling a wide range of emotion. Sadness for the two boys who lost out on 10 years together because of lack of communication. Happiness that they find each other again and still feel that magic connection. Hope that they can find a happily ever after. Tingles reading about their sexy times. I was caught up in this book and did not want to put it down.
This book is well written with a touching story and relateable, loveable characters. I highly recommend this book.

Kenneth Obi narrates this story and does a phenomenal job at capturing the personalities of the characters. tge story really shines.

A beautifully heartbreaking portrayal of what it’s like to struggle with mental illness

I love K.M. Nuehold’s writing, but this story has become my absolute favorite. She does an amazing job describing the feelings and emotions that go through a person’s mind when struggling to accept their diagnosis, especially when having had negative experiences with another person who has the same. The romance genre gets a lot of flack for having vapid cheesy stories, but Face the Music proves that is not the case. Forewarning: there are triggering scenes, but I feel Neuhold handled them in a respectful and careful manner, not vilifying mental illness. This is a beautiful story and I highly recommend it!

Second Chance Romance

I really enjoyed this audiobook. It’s a heartbreaking story that, at times, was difficult due to the heavy subject matter of mental illness and attempted suicide, but I couldn’t stop listening. It’s well-written and well-narrated.
Kenneth Obi does a good job differentiating his tone and voice to suit each character. He also gave this subject the proper respect and gravity necessary to portray the emotions of each mc as they figured out their way back to each other.

Love this series!

I absolutely love this series! What a great way to start it out!
Kenneth Obi does an AMAZING job on this one. His voice is so calming and easy to listen too.