So here's the thing. I came into PAH! expecting a cute enemies-to-lovers romp - something light to get me through a brutal stretch of four night shifts in a row. The 4.8 rating had me thinking this would be easy listening, the audiobook equivalent of comfort food. And then Cora Rose and E.M. Lindsey decided to rip my heart out in the hospital parking garage at 7:15 AM while I was too tired to defend myself.
I was sitting in my car, engine off, sunrise hitting the windshield, and I could not make myself go inside to drive home. Carlos texted me twice. I blamed allergies.
Rome and Dex Deserve Better Than My Ugly Crying
This is book three in the Deaf Hearts series, and Rome and Dex's story hits different when you work in healthcare. The deaf-hearing dynamics aren't treated as a plot device or an obstacle to overcome - they're just... life. The way communication barriers show up in their relationship felt honest in a way that most romance novels fumble. As someone who's actually worked with deaf patients in a trauma setting, I notice when authors do their homework. Rose and Lindsey did their homework.
The bisexual awakening arc for one of the leads could've gone so wrong. So easily. But it's handled with this raw, messy authenticity that reminded me of conversations I've had with friends who came out later in life. No neat epiphany. No dramatic declaration scene that wraps everything up. Just a guy slowly figuring himself out while also falling for someone who challenges every wall he's built. That slow, uncomfortable process of self-discovery without a tidy resolution reminded me of what Midnight Library does with its protagonist - another character who has to sit with who they are before they can figure out who they want to be. The found family elements threaded through - the way the friend group from previous books shows up without taking over the story - that's hard to pull off in a series, and they nailed it.
The heat level is high, fair warning. Like, I had to pause during one scene because a coworker knocked on my car window to ask if I was okay. I was fine. I was just... very awake for someone who'd been up for fourteen hours.
Zachary Zaba - The Narrator You Either Love or Want to Fight
Here's where it gets complicated. Zaba is clearly talented. His voice work for different characters is strong enough that I genuinely forgot it was one person during a group scene. His accent work - particularly for Mikael - is specific and consistent, which matters when you're listening at 3 AM and your brain is running on caffeine and spite.
But. There were moments where his delivery ran hot in a way that didn't match the emotional temperature of the scene. A quiet, vulnerable moment between Rome and Dex would suddenly get this burst of energy that pulled me out. It's like when a new nurse panics during a routine procedure - the instinct is good, the execution is just a little too much. I've seen reviews calling his style "exaggerated" or "childish" for certain characters, and I get it. I didn't hate it, but there were two or three spots where I wished he'd pulled back about thirty percent.
At 8 hours and 10 minutes, the pacing is tight. No padding, no unnecessary subplots eating up runtime. I listened at normal speed and it felt right - don't speed this one up or you'll lose the emotional beats that make the second half land.
Who Should Listen (And Who Should Skip)
If you've read the first two Deaf Hearts books, you're already here, you don't need me. If you haven't - you can probably start here, but you'll miss context for the found family dynamics that make this one richer.
This is not the book for you if narrator intensity is a dealbreaker. Zaba's style is a love-it-or-tolerate-it situation. And if you need your romance to stay light and breezy, the emotional weight in the back half might catch you off guard the way it caught me.
Charting My Final Note
PAH! surprised me. I went in expecting background listening and ended up parked in a garage having feelings. The representation is genuine, the romance earns its payoff, and the writing trusts you enough to sit in uncomfortable moments without rushing to fix them. The narration is good - not perfect, occasionally too big for the room - but good enough that I'll pick up whatever Zaba does next with this series. My mom would love this (she still thinks I should've been a doctor), but she'd also cry, and then she'd call me at work to talk about it, and I cannot have that at 2 AM.
