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In Off Balance, the first book in her new series of contemporary romances, author Jay Hogan takes a big geographical leap from one end of New Zealand to the other, from the lakes and mountains of the Southland (the setting for her recent Southern Lights books) to the coastal region of subtropical Northland at the northern tip of the North Island, and the small town of Painted Bay. It’s an emotional, powerful story about two very different men who end up back in their home town following tragedy and heartbreak, and how they learn to come to terms with the past and move forward with their lives while also working out how – and if – they can manage to do that together.
Judah Madden got out of Painted Bay as soon as he possibly could, having spent sixteen years never fitting in because he was too flamboyant, too gay and too unwilling to be anything other than who and what he was. His ticket out was his talent as a dancer; his parents supported him both morally and financially, and helped him to follow his dreams of making it as a ballet dancer, and when we meet him, he’s twenty-five and has already made himself a name as a world-class performer. But his world comes tumbling down when – during a performance – he has a severe dizzy spell which causes him to fall and then pass out. Shortly after this, he is diagnosed with Menière’s Disease – a chronic illness which affects the inner ear, causing (among other things) vertigo, tinnitus and potentially, hearing loss. It’s a condition for which there is no cure.
With no alternative left open to him, Judah returns to Painted Bay to lick his wounds and try to work out what to do next. The Menière’s means his future employment prospects are severely limited – he can’t drive, he can’t operate machinery – and in any case, the only thing he’s ever trained for, the only thing he’s ever been good at is ballet… which is no longer an option.
Around five years before this, another man whose life had been devastated by tragedy arrived in Painted Bay, needing to get away from the suffocating concern of his family while he worked through his grief. Fisheries officer Morgan Wipene lost his wife Sally to a particularly aggressive form of cancer, and it hit him hard, but over the years, he’s learned to process his grief and accept her loss, and while he still feels her absence at times, it’s a gentle comfort rather than a searing pain.   After five years, he’s ready to move on; he’s always known he’s bisexual, but has mostly been with women, and had certainly reckoned without being knocked sideways by a gorgeous, smart-mouthed, but obviously deeply wounded (and much younger) man who is not coping well with whatever has brought him back to Painted Bay.
The sparks fly between Judah and Morgan from their very first meeting, and the pull between them only grows stronger as they find out more about each other. Both men are at difficult places in their lives and know that trying to fit in a new relationship is almost certainly a recipe for disaster, yet the attraction between them is so strong, the chemistry so intense that they also both recognise that they’re not going to be able to keep their hands off each other for very long. Their mutual attraction builds quickly, which happens often in this author’s novels, but she always takes the time to develop a strong emotional connection as well, so that what starts out looking a bit like insta-lust (and sometimes the mental lusting is just a tad overdone) grows organically into something deeper.
Both characters are well-rounded and skilfully drawn. With the life he’d envisaged for himself in tatters, Judah is struggling to work out who he wants to be and what he wants to do with the rest of his life. He’s pissy, self-absorbed and narcissistic, full of hate, despair and cynicism, a complete contrast to the confident easy-going individual he used to be. And he doesn’t know how to pull himself out of the downward spiral. He isn’t taking care of himself properly, he’s depressed and won’t accept help or let anyone in. He hates being back in a place that so obviously hated him growing up, and worse, he’s come home broken rather than as a man at the top of his profession. Morgan is able to relate – to an extent – to where Judah’s head is and to his desire to push everyone away, because he’s hit rock bottom, too, and knows what it takes to be able to climb out of the pit. Yet although he’s put the past into perspective – and I really appreciated the way Sally’s presence in his life is handled in the story – there’s one niggle at the back of his mind that’s holding him back.  They’re at different places in their lives, but both men are dealing with a lot – Judah especially – and the way each is able to provide the support, comfort and understanding the other needs is truly uplifting and immensely satisfying to read.
The first book I read by Jay Hogan, Digging Deep, also featured a character living with a chronic illness, and here, as in that book, the author does a spectacular job when it comes to painting a realistic picture of the way Judah’s condition affects him and the long road ahead of him in learning to adjust and live with it.
There’s an engaging cast of secondary characters (some more likeable than others) including Terry, one of Judah’s few friends from his schooldays and Terry’s nine-year-old daughter Hannah, who has juvenile arthritis, and Leroy, Judah’s brother, who has always resented him and who seems set on making his life even more of a misery. There are some intriguing relationships being set up and characters I’m hoping to see more of later in the series.
Off Balance is a poignant, angsty and passionate story about love, loss and new beginnings, about finding the strength to overcome adversity, and the importance of knowing when and how to accept help. There’s family drama and a bit of suspense (as Morgan works to bring down a local poaching ring), and as in the author’s Southern Lights series, the locations and scenery are described in such a way as to be almost characters in the story themselves. All in all, it’s a terrific start to this new series, and I’m really looking forward to my next visit to Painted Bay.
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Grade: A-
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 15/10/20
Publication Date: 09/2020
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
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This is the third book by Jay Hogan that I’ve read (First Impressions and Flat Whites and Chocolate Fish being the others) and it’s the one that I enjoyed the most. I think that’s because Off Balance focuses very strongly on relationships and the suspense plot is minimal – it was that aspect of the other two books that I had reservations about.
I really liked both Judah and Morgan and enjoyed seeing their relationship develop, and particularly enjoyed everything ballet-related – loved the tights fetish! I had no idea that Meniere’s Disease was so serious and found learning more about it interesting.
The secondary characters were great too and I look forward to reading more about them in the future. I agree that Leroy, Terry and Kane seem to be crying out for stories but I’d also add Fox and Jam to the mix! The next book is called On Board so I’m guessing Leroy as MC….. or Fox ….or could also be Patrick……or some combination of them!………………
Like several others I discovered Jay Hogan as a result of one of your reviews Caz and bought and read this one as soon as it was released. I love her writing and feel she writes really rounded characters many of whom you would like to get to know. Also in this one and Digging Deep she really gives an insight into the difficulties of living with chronic illness and also what that means for the sufferer’s prospective partner. She does not gloss over the potential problems and as a result you see the strength of the relationship between the protagonists. And of course as you say her descriptions of the New Zealand scenery adds yet another layer to the mix. Really looking forward to reading whatever she releases next.
I used to read HR almost exclusively but now find I am reading more and more contemporaries, mainly, but not exclusively,m/m which I did not expect to like as much as I do. I have not yet read any Gregory Ashe but that may be my next binge read!
Thanks to Caz I discovered Jay Hogan’s books earlier this year and have read all of them. My favorites are Powder & Pavlova (Southern Lights #1) and Up Close and Personal (Aukland Med #3). I bought Off Balance the day it came out and read it a few days later (had to wait for the weekend so I could read it in one sitting!). I completely agree with Caz’s review, especially the comparison to Digging Deep. In both books the main character’s illness wasn’t miraculously cured but rather a chronic condition that had to be managed within the context of their lives and their relationships. I thought Judah showed a tremendous amount of growth over the course of the book and I loved the career decision he made at the end. I also love reading about New Zealand – it sounds so beautiful! Caz, I agree that several characters are possibilities for the next in the series. I am hoping for Terry next. For any Jay Hogan fans out there, her most recent newsletter says Aukland Med book #4 called Against the Grain is coming soon!
Yes, and First Impressions is coming to audio with Gary Furlong narrating – I just got my review copy and I can’t wait to get stuck in.
I know next-to-nothing about dance (except I like to watch it), and I’m unfamiliar with Jay Hogan (although, based on this review, I’ve added her to my tbr), but one romance featuring dancers that I really enjoyed was Lynn Turner’s Pas de Deux. Heroine is a biracial ballerina based in France, hero is a Puerto Rican dancer/choreographer. I thought it did a great job of juxtaposing the joy of dance alongside the pain (the heroine’s bruised and battered feet, the endless rehearsals & constant striving for perfection).
I’ve reviewed nearly all of Jay Hogan’s books here and I don’t think I’ve given anything below a B. Her books are well worth checking out.
I bought ‘Off Balance’ the second I found out about it and stayed up much too late reading it. Am a fan of Jay Hogan (discovered her earlier this year and have now read all her books, some of them twice). Was bound to really like this one since I am a dance nut. I knew I could count on the author to deal with real-life issues realistically – no magic cures. Any time I find something with a dancer MC I cross my fingers that the challenges of a dance career are not hand-waved, and in this book they certainly aren’t.
Also liked the way the suspense understory was woven in. No magic cures there, either, which might be called setup for future books but is also, again, realistic. Investigations take time, and bad guys get away. Everything’s a process. :-)
There are elements of Hogan’s writing style that are quite different from anyone else I have on auto-buy, but maybe that is part of her appeal for me. Also: I’ve always wanted to visit New Zealand but it has rocketed to the top of my list.
It’s a terrific read and I’m really looking forward to the next in the series. I’ve got a few ideas as to who is going to be featured in the other books – Leroy, Terry and Kane seem to be crying out for stories!
I agree there’s something a bit different about Jay Hogan’s writing, or rather I should say, there’s something different about her writing to most American authors; as a Brit, I find the speech patterns and slang feel pretty familiar ;)
Local vernacular/speech/slang is one of the best things about reading (and listening to audiobooks). I’m so glad we’re moving away from different editions for different geographies. Translations – yes! But not region- or country-specific editions.
I’m very interested in a ballet dancer MC – this will join my TBR list!
Interestingly, I was just revisiting another book in which a ballet dancer has his career ended by chronic illness – Garrett Leigh’s Dream. If you haven’t read it, I’d definitely recommend that one, too.
Well, I’ve just bought Dream too – I got a shock when I read the sample and they changed trains at Stratford as I thought it was set in US! Made me nostalgic for when I lived in Essex – and for when we did things like go on trains…………
I’d got October pegged as a rereading month as there didn’t seem to be much new that I was interested in but I’ve bought 3 other new releases in the last few days, plus Him, so my TBR list is quite long at the moment!
Hah – I lived in Stratford for the first five years of my life – I recall another Leigh book in which she actually talks about the difference between Walthamstow and Waltham Forest, which is very much my old stamping ground. (There’s a new Joanna Chambers coming out at the end of Oct, plus another new Gregory Ashe, so make time for those!)
Wendy, I just read ‘Syncopation’ by Jodi Payne & Ba Tortuga – another ballet dancer MC. Liked that book too. :-)
Thanks, I’ll look at that too!