Believing in Bigfoot

By: JC Miller

Narrated by: Gary Galone

Reeling from his failed comeback and ruined marriage, washed-out actor Ian James (née Isaac Janowitz) flees Los Angeles for a two-week respite in Northern California's remote Marble Mountains - Bigfoot country. His time alone in the wilderness begins to peel away the layers of his Hollywood persona. After a fateful meeting with a beguiling woman, Ian begins to question his heart. In a moment of clarity, Isaac ditches his publicist and finds himself in Redding, living with invisibility at the Vagabond Motel.

Professor Ruth Hill is burnt out teaching photography at Redding's Shasta College, eager for her upcoming retirement. But for unexplained reasons, despite weekly therapy sessions, her panic attacks have escalated. Her artistic slump persists. Looking back, she regrets a life without risk; looking forward, she dreads a meaningless future. Going over her proof sheets one morning, she stumbles upon a series of striking thumbnails, reigniting her passion and creativity.

Listeners will root for Isaac and Ruth as they grapple with their chance encounter on the mountain and search for meaning in their repellent, yet intense attraction. Their paths do cross again, but when confronted with the possibility of enduring love, Ruth's cynicism creeps in; Isaac's self-defeating beliefs take hold. For these two damaged souls, it just may be too late.

©2014 Jeanne Miller (P)2017 Jeanne Miller

Older woman, younger man. A beautiful love story

Romance author J C Miller has written the book I didn’t know I wanted.

Each of Miller’s novels are unique, finding no plot template amongst them, but this! Believing in Bigfoot breaks the stereotype of romances by providing a refreshing and rarely found cast of characters in an angst-ridden love story with depth.

Despite the title, Believing in Bigfoot is not about romancing a Sasquatch but about love sparked in the Marble Mountains of Northern California, home of the mythical yeti.
Close friends Ruth and Meg go backpacking for the latter’s 60th birthday. When Meg falls and breaks her leg, she is helped by a grizzly mountain dweller. Ruth, who is in her mid-50s and desperately in need of glasses, initially mistakes the dishevelled beast for Bigfoot until she gets a closer look at the muscular man, Issac, who has come to their aid.

From here, Miller’s story begins a romantic rollercoaster of a younger man and an older woman struggling with issues of loneliness, independence, changes in life and fame. Issac was once a successful actor named Ian James, who revives his failed career when he comes off the mountain. Ruth is a retiring professor and a rising star in photography.

The friendship between Ruth and Meg is at the heart of this story, just as much as Issac and Ruth’s struggle to believe in each other and find their place in a new world. Almost equally so is the changing relationship Ruth has with her son, Sam, who is walking his own path in life. The relationships are beautiful and identifiable. They flesh out the characters and the central romance, adding a complexity and depth to the storytelling that doesn’t seem to be present in most romance novels.

Narrator Gary Galone puts a lot of heart into his storytelling, although it seems an odd choice to have a male narrator when the central characters are female. He does a fine job overall, although the falsetto voice he provides for Ruth is distracting at times, particularly given that he provides such natural voices to other female characters. Don’t let that dissuade you however. Galone is engaging and sweet and makes every character enjoyable. He is particularly good at fleshing out the fabulous plethora of character personalities created by the author.

I’ve enjoyed reviewing two other audiobooks by J C Miller on my audiobook site at SaidNotRead dot wordpress dot com and is this is by far the best. The writing seems more mature and the plot is equally as unique and delightful as the others. Miller is an author to watch out for because the stories are consistently good and each one is so very different from the last.

Loved this

Great story of middle aged love and lifetime friendship.
Narration by Gary Galone was perfect for this story.
Absolutely adored this story.

Great Storytelling from JC

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

One of the reasons I like this book so much is the extreme places the story takes you to--from the Marble Mountains of Northern California to the slick movie crowd in Malibu. Miller captures both California scenes.

Good Story with humor

If you could sum up Believing in Bigfoot in three words, what would they be?

Humorous, Fun, Unexpecting

Any additional comments?

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost."

Wonderful character story and romance

I started reading this on a whim because I was intrigued by the title, and I almost instantly fell in love with this book and the characters. It's a charming late-middle-age romance--which itself is pretty unique--that pulls a lot of unique and interesting elements together (Ruth is a world-class photographer, and Isaac is a big star actor on the outs, plus, well, bigfoot!). The story manages to be deep without wallowing, the people in this story are wonderfully rounded and real, and the dialogue was just wonderful. The narrator's voices felt spot-on to the characters, too. And if anyone's wondering if the bigfoot elements are cheesy--nope. They are perfect. This book is firmly grounded in the real world with some icing on the cake. I'd definitely recommend picking this up!

I received a free audiobook at my request and voluntarily (and happily!) left this review.