AUDIO REVIEW: Stupid Dirty by Erin Russell (Possum Hollow #1)

STUPID DIRTY

Possum Hollow - Book One

by Erin Russell

Release Date: January 26, 2024

Audio Release Date: August 27, 2024

Review

A fantastic read. Real people. Real struggles. And so much emotion.

My first read by Erin Russell definitely won’t be my last. I love a story that doesn’t just have a lot of emotion between the MCs but the town, the environment, the whole story.

I love the angst within themselves and between each other. Assumptions and familial pressures got them to this point, not liking or really knowing each other.

But when they finally get to know the person behind the persona, it’s brilliant. I love that these two find love in a world that seems determined to keep them down.

It was also a really good audiobook. With dual narrators (always my favourite), Alexander Cendese and Max Meyers, you get to experience all the emotions in full colour.

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Synopsis

CADE

I always thought of Silas Rush as my biggest rival on the track and a stuck-up loner off it. But he and his fancy pro career left our crappy hometown in the dust before high school even finished, and then I didn’t think of him much at all.

I was too busy trying to keep my little sisters from turning into addicts like our mom, and myself from turning into a rage-junkie like our dad. All while keeping food on the table.

Now he’s back, reminding me of all the things I don’t have, just like he always did.

Except now we’re both adults. And when I… y’know… talk to the guy for once, it looks like my teenage self might have been too distracted to see all the things that Silas didn’t have as well.

After catching him at his lowest possible moment, my heart goes out to the guy I used to hate. All my anger turns to guilt, and instead of a rival, I somehow end up with a socially-awkward new best friend that’s just as screwed-up as I am.

Which I can handle. I can admit when I’m wrong. As long as things between us don’t get any more complicated or confusing, I can handle it.

SILAS

I have a very camera-ready smile. Dad always told me if I wanted to make my pro motocross career stick, I needed to get over all the awkwardness and anxiety that ruined high school for me and learn to act like a real boy for the public.

Never mind that I didn’t want to be a pro rider, or smile for the camera, or live life with Dad on the road and never know what it’s like to have a real friend or - gasp - relationship. Years and years of motocross training, publicity training, and all-the-rest-of-it training; I still don’t have a life and one stupid mistake has left my precious career in the toilet.

The last person I expect to pull me out of this hole is Cade Waters. I’m pretty sure everyone hated me in high school, but Cade was front and center. Which sucked, because with everyone else, he was sunshine personified. I was always the only person who sparked that anger in him, and I never even knew how I did it.

So, when Cade not only swoops in to help me in my darkest moment, but decides to abandon our childhood rivalry and adopt me as his newest bestie/pity project, I’m not sure how to take it.

What I do know is that after a lifetime of having nothing I really wanted, all it takes is one glimpse of Cade’s life to get me hooked. He’s a mess, sure, just like I am. But all that sunshine… I want to grab onto it with both hands and never let go. No matter how confusing that feeling may be.

Stupid Dirty is a high-heat, high-angst M/M romance about dirt bikes, childhood trauma and figuring out how to love someone the best way you can. It contains explicit sexual content as well as potentially triggering themes regarding mental health, and is not suitable for readers under 18. Please see the content warning at the beginning of the book (included in the sample) for more details.

About Erin Russell

Erin Russell is a queer author living in Los Angeles. They love to write romance and horror, which overlap more often than you’d think. Especially when reality is the real horror story. Stupid Dirty is their debut novel.

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