Going Up

By: Amy Lane

Narrated by: Paul Woodson

Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Every dreary day, Zach Driscoll takes the elevator from the penthouse apartment of his father's building to his coldly charmed life where being a union lawyer instead of a corporate lawyer is an act of rebellion. Every day, that is, until the day the elevator breaks and Sean Mallory practically runs into his arms.

Substitute teacher Sean Mallory is everything Zach is not - poor, happy, and goofily charming. With a disarming smile and a penchant for drama, Sean laughs his way into Zach's heart one elevator ride at a time. Zach would love to get to know Sean better, but first he needs the courage to leave his ivory tower and face a relationship that doesn't end at the "Ding!"

©2013 Amy Lane (P)2014 Dreamspinner Press

Cute story!

I enjoyed listening to this book while I worked around the house. It’s on the short side at only 2 hours and 39 minutes but the story was really good. It’s fairly light reading/listening and that’s what I needed to distract me from the mundane task of household chores.

Zach and Sean are really opposites and Sean helps to bring Zach out of his lonely shell. I liked the great cast of secondary characters, too. This wasn’t my first Amy Lane book and it won’t be my last. 😊

The narrator was pretty good, too. His voice seemed just right for this somewhat quirky and enjoyable book.

Paul/Philip is ACES in this!

Zach is thirty-something. He’s a union lawyer living in a high rise owned by his father. He’s gay but only the rent boys he frequents knows that about him. He’s socially awkward and shy and …he’s lonely. Very lonely.

Sean is a substitute teacher also living in a high rise, but he’s got 5 roommates! He’s colorful, quirky, out-going and spontaneous. He sometimes dates, but mostly works – trying to make ends meet.

They meet when the express elevator breaks down and Zach is forced onto the regular elevator that runs for those not in the pent-house. Zach is enthralled by Sean. Sean is color in Zach’s black and white world. Heat to his cold, chaos to his order.

Over a year these two meet for thirty seconds of “dating” on the elevator. It takes a lot of effort. If Zach is too early or late he’ll never catch a glimpse of Sean and he has to ride Sean’s elevator which isn’t his norm. In fact he gets a bit conflicted when he makes friends with Jace and Quent (yay!) who also ride the express elevator so he splits his time between the two elevators. But he doesn’t approach Sean for more. Sean has to invite Zach over for a party for the two to actually start something real.

Zach sees Sean as his knight in shining armor, come to rescue him from his tower of loneliness and bring him to the land of the loving.

Fortunately, Sean is a knight in shining armor and he does and it’s wonderful!

**

This story is quirky, funny, sweet, tender and heart-breaking. My heart broke for the inner dialog in Zach’s head. He’s so lonely and feels so useless. Sean is his polar opposite and they mesh so beautifully together.

I love Amy’s “light” fare, because she always gives us at least a taste of the angst, but without the horrible separation/death/bad decision making/curse that the heavier stuff includes. The chemistry is pretty hot, but mostly it’s tender and touching. Sean isn’t a perfect model of a man, but he’s absolutely worshipped by Zach. Zach who probably fits that model definition to a “T” but he’s so broken on the inside.

The secondary characters are superb. Zach’s secretary and her girlfriend are a hoot! We get to see a glimpse of my all time favs Jace and Quent and then there’s all of Sean’s roomies living in a two bedroom with 6 people!

This is vaguely a holiday piece as there are some Christmas scenes but really, it’s wonderful any time of the year.

My only complaint was that I’d have liked more time with them together working on their relationship. I’d have loved to see more of Zach transformation from lonely shy guy to coupley “out” guy, but the ending was terribly sweet anyway.

The audio says it’s by Paul Woodson, but you’ll recognize the voice of Philip Alces who does Amy’s Knitter’s series. I’m not sure what the deal is with the name, but it’s gotta be the same guy. I LOVE what he does here. His emotions are spot on and he absolutely brought Zach and Sean to life for me.

I pretty much adore any of Amy’s books, but this one along with Gambling Men go near the top as some of her easiest reads. Just fun and sweetness and gooey happy endings – huzzah!

Cute story

Would you try another book from Amy Lane and/or Paul Woodson?

I love Amy Lane's books. I really love her much more intense broken but not shattered guys, like in Chase in Shadows, Racing for the Sun or Mourning Heaven - unfortunately they have not made those titles into audiobooks yet.

Would you recommend Going Up to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, if they wanted a light, cute read.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes

Do you think Going Up needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not really, the story wrapped up well

Cute but boring

This is a warm and fluffy listen about two men who meet and fall in love during elevator rides. That's it, that's the whole story. No drama, a little angst, but nothing else. If you are looking for a nice light mm romance, get it as a sale purchase. Not worth a credit.

Made me smile

Zach is the son of political, rich parents who really don’t care much for their son except as window dressing. He’s the lonely prince in the tower (the penthouse of one of his father’s buildings) who rebelled just enough to be a lawyer who protects people but not much else. He works, he has no friends and he calls in escorts for those times that his loneliness gets to be just too much.
When he meets Sean, substitute teacher, on the elevator dressed as a cowboy, he is bemused. He’s a bit socially awkward, our Zach, but Sean doesn’t mind. So begins the strange relationship of Sean and Zach via the elevator. Admittedly, it’s an odd way to get to know someone but it’s probably the only way Zach would have been able to. While Sean is the younger and definitely poorer of the two, he is by far the more confident and life experienced.
We get to know a little more about Zach and it’s heart breaking, really. When Zach tells the story of the train I wanted to squish him. We get to know more of Sean and when Sean dresses as the conductor I wanted to clap and was happy.
This is the Amy Lane that I love. Solidly on the side of the sweet, with MC that will just grab my heart and twist just a little because I want so much for him, and then make it happy. "You were going to be my dessert." I wanted to reach into the book, pull him out and just hug him. Awesomesauce.
I was a little worried because this was a new to me narrator. He is now firmly on my list of positives because I thoroughly enjoyed his voice and it added just that much more to a fairy tale story.

What a Sweet Delight!

Any additional comments?

Oh, this was a short but adoringly sweet, feel good audio! 5 stars to a Prince finding his Knight in Shinning Armor on an elevator!!! -happy sigh-

Very, Very wonderful story

I just love this story. It is more than just a love story. A story about breaking out of your shell, and finding happiness.

Of course this is good, it's Amy Lane!

What did you like best about this story?

I love Amy Lane. I cant often handle her because she knows just how to break my heart but I love reading her nonangst. This was a sweet short story. What you see is pretty much what you get. Secondary Characters are amusing. And it's overall a great way to spend an afternoon.

What does Paul Woodson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

HIS VOICE! I almost crashed my car at that sex scene. No Lie!

cute story

I've read this several times, and now have listened to it several times as well. Love the way the characters meet - and meet- and meet. it takes them a while to get their lives lined up, and it makes a great story!

Going Up

Would you listen to Going Up again? Why?

Yes, it was a fun and happy book. It had a Happy Ever After ending that I like.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The lead character and his love interest.

What does Paul Woodson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The enthusiasm for life and change. The fun of learning how to be a friend and lover.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Learning to live.

Any additional comments?

This was a really fun book and I have listened to it several times.