Conflicted

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at first. *Another* brooding immortal pining for someone unattainable? But *Conflicted* disarmed me within chapters—not with grand gestures, but with the way Lark Taylor writes longing as a physical condition. The protagonist’s voice is so distinct, so *tired*, that Dan Calley’s performance feels less like narration and more like eavesdropping on a confession. His delivery is masterful in its restraint; when the emotion cracks through (like in the scene where the protagonist watches their beloved choose someone else—*again*), it’s devastating precisely because he doesn’t overplay it. The audiobook’s production is clean, with no distracting edits, though I’ll dock half a point for a few odd pauses in the first hour that disrupt the rhythm. Where the story stumbles slightly is in its secondary characters, who often feel like vague sketches existing only to highlight the protagonist’s isolation. And while the slow burn is intentional, there are moments in the middle act where the circular ruminations on ‘why can’t I let go?’ start to drag. But the payoff—a bittersweet, open-ended resolution that refuses easy catharsis—makes the slog worth it. This isn’t a romance that promises healing. It’s a romance that asks: *What if the love that ruins you is the only one that ever felt real?* For listeners who crave emotional rawness over plot pyrotechnics, Calley’s performance elevates this from a solid read to an *experience*.