Loved the story, loved the performance!

I am a huge fan of Hamish Long's audio performances, and I love Jay Northcote's stories, so accepting a copy of Into You for review was a not at all a hard decision. 😊

I loved this story about two friends who kind of became enemies and then find their way back to friends who eventually become lovers. They get some help from a mysterious older neighbor lady who added a bit of mystery and magic to the story.

Into You is different from anything else I've read by Jay Northcote. It's a cute body-swap story with some added conflict because Scott's father is homophobic. I haven't read all of Jay's backlist so I don't know for sure if he's written anything else like this; if he hasn't, I think he should! 😊

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A modern day fairytale

I always enjoy Jay’s stories and the various characters and situations he creates. This is a lovely modern day fairytale. It’s a high school romance, fun and sweet, with some angst yet steamy enough for the storyline.
Hamish Long has become a favourite narrator of mine. As always, he did a remarkable job with narrating the story and helped me keep track of who was who, even when Olly and Scott had switched bodies.
Into You is a wonderful friends-to-lovers story where each of the main characters get to experience what it was like to live in the shoes of the other.

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Intriguing and sweet

This was different from Jay’s usual books in that there was a magical twist. It worked really well as the body swap allowed the characters to see things from another perspective. I love second chance stories and this one delivered on all fronts. It was very funny in places, had just enough angst but finished sweetly. I loved it and will definitely re-listen.

The narrator is one of my favourites. He is so good at having different voices and I just love listening to his voice. He makes it very easy to follow the story.

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LOVED IT!

This is such a different book for Jay and I absolutely loved it. I don't think I've seen a body swap in this genre before. The story is sweet and I enjoyed every minute. Highly recommended.

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Fun story

I don’t normally listen to YA stories, but since the bulk of the book takes place with them being 18, I thought I’d give it a go. I knew Jay Northcote would weave his personal touches throughout, and he did not disappoint. He created two young characters that were easily likable, and had more to them that meets the eye. They are the kind of characters you feel like you know, and it’s a given that you root for them. On top of that, he adds a touch of magic by having them switch bodies for a while. Watching them learn things about the other one, that they normally wouldn’t, and see things from each other’s POV was really interesting. I felt like the story was well written, and despite being in the fantasy category, it wasn’t over the top. There was a touch if realism to it, which I really enjoyed. Hamish Long does a great job bringing this story to life, through his voice. It was easy to tell who was talking when, and you could feel their emotions through his performance.

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1 person found this helpful

MM freaky friday!

Jay Northcote is a "safe" author to me. Everytime I pick up one of his books, I know what I'm getting, I know that I'll like it. Into You is a story about two friends that stop being friends because of a misunderstanding, so fate did a little push. I loved this story, is so sweet, caring and heartwarming. They have different lives so they don't know what they are getting into when they change bodies, it was a scary situation beautifully portraited by the author. We can see theirs struggles with their "problem" and with their feelings for each other.

Hamish Long did a good job bringing this story to life. I must say this is the best narration I heard from him so far.

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A clever, thought provoking story, brilliantly executed by Hamish Long

Regardless of what he writes, Jay Northcote always manages to touch on important issues which affect people in their everyday lives whilst still writing enjoyable love stories with HEAs. On the face of it, the premise of INTO YOU appears fairly light and fluffy; a mysterious elderly lady with a black cat, a long misunderstanding between two best friends and a body swap. This premise has been done before but rarely have I enjoyed such a story as much as I did this one.

Olly and Scott had been close from their early days, promising they would stay friends no matter what, until a misunderstanding separates them. They’ve reluctantly got on with their lives, avoiding each other so far until a confrontation in the road near their homes is witnessed by their elderly neighbour. Fate is given the thumbs up to sort out their differences once and for all.

Enough is enough, these young men were always supposed to be together so they’re given a fait accompli - or at least that’s how it seems to them - when they wake up in the body of each other. As they struggle to cope with hiding their secret, each must try to behave like the other whilst never knowing if the situation will ever be reversed. Obviously joint cooperation is key to the boys successfully hiding the situation from their parents’, teachers and friends. As a result they find the friendship… and more, that they’d thought lost for ever.

This is a sweet story of finding lost friendship and a love that Olly has always felt but that Scott needs to wake up to and learn to be comfortable with.

My head was reeling with how the story plays out, I had to keep pausing to make sure I was in the correct mind/body whilst listening, so how Hamish Long kept it straight whilst performing, I have no idea. He’s an extremely talented young performer and it shows very clearly in his performance of Jay Northcote’s lovely story. Olly has a lighter, sweeter voice but he’s in Scott’s larger, athletic body and has to interact with Scott’s football friends so we hear him with Scott’s voice. But when the friends are interacting alone together, they’re using their own voices. Conversely, when Scott is interacting with the drama group he’s using Olly’s voice but is internally ‘worrying’ in Scott’s voice. These are not criticisms, I’m merely trying to explain how both the author and his narrator did such a fabulous job with a very complicated but clever storyline. I loved this book, the performance and everything about it. Well done Jay Northcote and Hamish Long.

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Mix-up teen rom-com

This is a fluffy teen take on the body-exchange romantic comedy. Two boys who grew up as best friends stop being friends over what's basically a misunderstanding. They're both hurt by this and secretly wish they were still friends, and maybe more, but neither know that the other feels the same.

Some sort of magic makes them change bodies at age 18 and they have to live the other boy's life, including navigating a girlfriend, frienda, and parents. I like that they grow and learn from this experience, not only in regards of their understanding of each other, but they grow as human beings as well.

Hamish Long is great at distinguishing between the voices, I knew exactly who's head I was in at all times. His narration added to the story.

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Another brilliant romance story

OK, I knew this would be good, as Jay doesn't write bad stories, but I wasn't expecting the magical twist and teen angst. Great plot and superb narration with distinctive character voices.

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Twists and turns

This is a delightful tale about two lads who were best mates, then they weren't and now they are best mates again and boyfriends as well. The story, with it's original twists and turns, is very well written with humour and a dose of magic included. Just right for these troubling times.

I love how redeemable everyone is...even Scott's homophobic father. It is great to see an effort being made to be more understanding rather than a family breaking down. This is one part that really stands out for me, though there are other instances too.

Hamish Long is one of my favourite narrators. He is wonderful here with the adult Olly and Scott's voices, and then he has to make them younger too! As usual, he brings it all together perfectly.

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