Guitars and Choices

I’ll admit, I went into *Guitars and Choices* expecting another ‘brooding cowboy finds love’ trope-fest, but Dorine subverts that from the first chapter. Asher isn’t just brooding—he’s actively *terrible* at relationships, and the book doesn’t let him (or the listener) off the hook for it. The romance with Shawn simmers in the background for much of the runtime, which might frustrate some, but the slow burn feels intentional. This is a story about Asher confronting fatherhood first, love second, and Higgs’ narration sells that tension brilliantly. His voice has this gravelly weariness that makes Asher’s resistance feel earned, not just stubborn. When he finally cracks—like in the scene where he plays guitar for his son for the first time—the rawness in Higgs’ delivery gave me chills. That said, the pacing isn’t perfect. The middle act drags slightly as Asher circles his own guilt, and a few secondary characters (like the ranch hands) feel underdeveloped, more like set dressing than fully fleshed-out folks. But the trade-off is a protagonist who feels *real* in a way most romance leads don’t. The fight scenes, too, are a standout—Higgs’ breath control during the cage-fighting sequences is impressively physical, making you feel every hit. The audio production is minimalist, with no frills, which suits the story’s stripped-down honesty. If you love narratives where growth hurts, and narrators who don’t just *perform* but *inhabit* their characters, this is a must-listen. Just don’t expect it to be easy.