At the End of It All by Rae Lyse
A Review By: DWP
Endings.
Everyone and everything has one. They’re inevitable, right?
At twenty-one, Ason ‘Ace’ Williams Jr. knows all about inevitable endings. He’s formerly famous, a popular rapper’s muse, the son of a three-time NBA champ, and a little… complicated. After a disturbing scandal and loss rocks his world, he’s left to deal with both in a city that doesn’t quite feel like home. It’s a place filled with old family friends he’s never met, reminders of all the endings he’s had to endure, and even worse—he’s stuck there after his dad takes a job no one ever imagined him taking.
Eighteen-year-old Lourdes ‘Phat’ Hines doesn’t think about endings because she’s too busy dealing with the now. She’s a part-time college student, full-time caretaker, and worst of all, a lowly freshman on a campus she doesn’t have time to get accustomed to. After a tense run-in with a boy she’s sure she’s supposed to hate, the endings she’s been running from catch up to her at full speed and she faces a question he seems to have the answer to: What happens at the end of it all?
Review Notes:
Audio Book Publication Year: 2023
An installment in a Series? No
Narrator (s): Jakobi Diem, Wesleigh Siobhan
Rae Lyse never fails to deliver an awe-inspiring book. Ace and Phat had such a sweet and genuine love story. It was truly two fractured souls coming together to make one perfect spirit.
Jakobi Diem, Wesleigh Siobhan: When you see either of these two names on an audiobook, you know they are going to perform; so, seeing them together on the same audiobook means it’s about to be next level greatness. Wesleigh and Jakobi played these college-aged kids so well. They made you believe they were truly young adults on the cusp of a new experience, falling in love. Both of their performances with these characters evoked so many emotions. I never wanted the book to end.
Jakobi Diem did his thing as Ace. As a young 20-something who’s experienced a lot, he was well versed in life, but still had so much to overcome. Jakobi captured Ace’s essence so well, and as usual, he gave all the other male characters voices of their own. His voice was consistent with all the characters, and he caught the charm, innocence, drama, and tragedy of the book.
Wesleigh Siobhan understood the assignment when it came to Lourdes. This girl had so many emotions and thoughts dancing inside her head, and Wesleigh delivered at every turn. She had you feeling the emotional depth of her character. She had you falling in love with the characters. She also gave each character their own unique voices. She did a great job.
These two together are an experience never to be missed. Rae Lyse did such a great job with the writing of this book and with picking these two narrators.
There was nothing not to love about this audiobook. Both narrators did a fantastic job with this book. It was a complete joy from beginning to end.
Reading Recommendation? Yes!
Rating: NORTH STAR RATING
Content Warnings? Human or animal loss, Physical abuse/violence, Sexual abuse/violence
