the audio production of this is amazing. the narration and the Foley absolutely top notch. however the story itself does not live up to the production value and calling it a thriller is a reach few Olympians are capable of achieving.
This is a book about an acting cult. Anytime you encounter a group with "a super secret elite level that lives high in the mountains and doesn't communicate with the rest of us" you have a cult. But even the cult aspect of this was weak because people came and went. This is a story about actors trying to deal with trauma (and really just one actor in particular) and doing so very poorly. I will say that the identity reveal toward the end made a ton of sense and closed the loop on motives. The story has entertainment value because of the production quality, but it left me feeling disappointed.

thank you to NetGalley, the author Anna Downes, and Macmillan audio for my ARC of this audiobook.

Amazing!
While not the typical thriller, there was enough tension to make you feel on edge and want to keep listening. This book needs to made into a movie!
I love the different narrators.
I must say I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, however it was a huge plot twist I wasn't expecting and I must applaud the author.
I rate it a 4.5 (it lost points due to the surprising ending lol)

I struggled to stay invested with this one. I didn’t really think it was a thriller. I think the audio is well done with the acting and the extras and podcasts. Very theatrical but I didn’t love the story.

Very cult like feel. When student are indoctrinated and suggested and pushed into sharing their feelings. The narrators were great and I think a lot would be missed in a physical book.

Thank you NetGalley and McMillian audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

3.5 voted up. I thought I knew what was gonna happen... I was wrong. I like that. I enjoyed the POV of character and the Podcast..... wasn't sure where it was going.- in a good way!



How far would you go for greatness?

After years of seclusion, the once-celebrated child star Georgia Lane moves to Los Angeles, determined to make a comeback. But as auditions elude her and bills pile up, she quickly realizes that beneath the glitzy facade of LA lies a ruthless and unforgiving city.

That is, until she meets Henry, an aspiring actor, who sweeps her off her feet, connects her with his agent, and brings her to audit a class at the elite acting studio he attends. It’s here that Marianna, The Studio’s head teacher, takes a special interest in Georgia. As she steps into the intense, ego-driven world of The Studio, she finds herself challenged and invigorated by its unconventional methods, which promise to unlock her full potential but demand much more in return.

The more she commits to its ways, the more The Studio transforms into a battleground of ambition, jealousy, and psychological warfare. With each step forward, she feels the grip of her past tightening, Henry’s love turning on her, and Marianna’s mentorship becoming all-consuming. And as the lines between the pursuit of art and the survival of the self begin to blur, everything Georgia holds dear starts slipping away, revealing the true price of a dream. Break Me Down is a testament to the power of art to heal, destroy, and ultimately transform.

I was excited to listen to the audiobook Break Me Down by Anna Downes when I saw it had a full cast. It follows an actress, Georgia, who moves to LA to pursue her acting career and then meets Henry and starts taking classes at “the studio”. This psychological drama quickly escalates as Georgia becomes obsessed with her studio work. All the narrators (there’s 11!) did a fine job. I’d say overall it felt quite over the top and dramatic but maybe that’s just the nature of this actor storyline and the audiobook production was good but sometimes the narrator’s performances took me out of the story especially the acting coach Marianna. The bonus conversation at the end with the author and some of the narrators was interesting.

Break Me Down is a superb audiobook work. I'm a huge audiobook lover/fan and it's not often that I come across such a WELL DONE audiobook. Having a huge cast of charactors/narrators doesn't always mean the audio production will be good - it depends solely on each individual doing their best work. Fortunately, this does happen in Break Me Down. It's an exquisite production. Flawless, even, in my opinion.
The story itself...can be put into debate.
Personally, even though I was initially curious for the main character's past as well as the acting training lessons, I realised I didn't care or relate to any of the characters. I cannot pinoint anything essentially wrong with it. It just didn't speak to me.
And I'll be honest: if it weren't for the expectional audiobook production, I'd have DNFed this book.

I highly recommend this audiobook if you're interested in the story. It is very much worth it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the ALC.

Break Me Down by Downes just never captured my full attention. I loved the multi narrators; they did a fantastic job. The story just left me a little confused and not connected.

Creative Audio -Book with many actors playing each character. The variety of voices and the layering with podcasts and reports made this very enjoyable to listen to.
The premise is that a child actor named Georgia falls in love with Henry and they get involved with an acting coach. Marianna is extreme in her methods, controlling and critical but everyone swears she is the best.
Things start to get a bit weird with other characters such as Lola, Marianna's loyal assistant, flashbacks to Dusty- Georgia's mom who managed her childhood career, and relationships are strained. The acting retreat/resort has a bit of cult vibe to it and as a reader I was wondering how they afforded to stay there and never take an actual acting job.
The plot twist with a characters motive reveal at the end is rewarding as you can't help but now that she was a bit of a lunatic throughout the story, but couldn't explain why. Also, the use of acting skills during a murder investigation is an interesting perspective.

All in all, I thought this book was done well as an audio listen. The variety of character voices and the extreme techniques of the acting coach were really evident in this format.

Recommended: adult due to abuse of a minor content
Topics: actors honing their craft, relationships, trust

#netgallery

As I finish this audiobook, I'm not quite sure how to feel about it. This was my second try with a full cast audiobook narration, and I loved it once again for the most part. There were a few annoyances (aka hearing Georgia's same voicemail over and over again), but I loved it overall.

I think my problems really stem from the story itself. I didn't really have any expectations going in, as I was mostly just excited for the full cast narration. And yet as the story unfolded, it seemed to fall flat for me. I grew to be intrigued by the way Marianna was getting in everybody's head and making them feel crazy. And I DEFINITELY did not expect that plot twist. But the ending seemed abrupt and didn't seem to wrap the story up in my opinion. I wanted more closure with the sudden past about Marianna that was unveiled and Georgia's relationship with her mother.

Overall, this was definitely still an enjoyable story and I want to try some of Anna Downes' other work!

I loved listening to Red Road River last year and was excited when Macmillan Audio reached out with Anna Downes’s new audio thriller.

The full audio production was wonderfully done! There were several voice actors, sound effects, 1st person narration, clips from fictional podcasts and news outlets, and dialogue caught “on camera”. All the actors recorded separately, not as a group or in pairs, which makes it all the more impressive to me. (This tidbit was shared in the bonus interview with the author and actors at the end.)

I could HEAR the emotion, but couldn’t FEEL it. I didn’t connect with the characters or the story. It didn’t feel cultish to me. The build up felt like it solely focused on the struggling actor aspect. The deeper themes did not shine through as intended. Maybe this will hit differently for those in the Hollywood world and I’m just too out of the loop.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
for this ALC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date Aug 19 2025

First of all, the full cast narration of this book is fantastic. I love cult documentaries and books - so I really enjoyed the cultish aspect of this book. Where it kind of didn't quite do it for me though was in a thriller I am looking for more of a purpose or motivation or orchestration for the murder (or whatever bad thing the villain of the story is doing). So maybe it is just a genre mismatch for me. In this book there is a death, but it really more seems like an organic extension of the environment than some kind of masterminded crime. It is still an engaging and good story, it just has less thriller vibes than I was expecting. But as a book exploring some of the traps aspiring actors find themselves in or as an exploration of how people join cults it is great I give this one 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this book for review.

I was excited to listen to this book, the story was most interesting. however there were just too many narrators, to much sound effects and music.

I was not able to finish and decided I’d thank NetGalley and Anna Downes and Bianca with the publisher for the opportunity.

If you’re into psychological thrillers with culty vibes but as an immersive audiobook, this one's for you! I loved it, and I'm surprised by the mixed reviews. While I understand the storyline itself wasn't 10/10, it was the voices that brought it to life.

Georgia Lane, a former child star has decided to come back to Hollywood, and gets drawn into the world of her boyfriend's acting group. The Studio is a prestigious acting school that is downright cult-ish. Led by Mariana, The Studio breaks it's actors, rebuilds them, and breaks them all over again. What starts as an opportunity turns into a nightmare fueled by jealousy, ambition, manipulation, and mental unraveling.

This full-cast audiobook doesn’t just tell the story—it pulls you inside of it. There are not just different actors for different characters, there are also realistic sounds (voicemails, podcast and news broadcasts, text tones, and the like). The standout performance goes to Yael Stone who voices Marianna. The entire book genuinely feels like you’re eavesdropping on something you shouldn’t be hearing. The format works incredibly well here—it builds suspense and keeps you questioning everyone’s motives, especially as Georgia’s life starts to fracture.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC!

Break Me Down is one of the most intense and immersive audiobook experiences I've ever had - hands down. The stellar cast, sound effects, and the inclusion of a fictional podcast made the story feel incredibly real and alive.

The plot follows former child actor Georgia Lane, who returns to LA in hopes of reviving her acting career. A chance encounter with fellow actor Henry at a coffee shop leads to a fast-moving relationship. Things escalate when Georgia audits a class at “The Studio,” an intense acting workshop Henry attends. There, she’s immediately drawn to the enigmatic and magnetic instructor Marianna - and from that moment, the intensity only ramps up.

I’m giving this 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. The storytelling is gripping, and I loved how scenes from classic plays were skillfully interwoven into the narrative. However, the ending felt a bit underwhelming - less twisty than I anticipated. That said, I found some emotional closure in the author’s interview with the voice cast, and the open-ended finale hints at the possibility of a sequel, which I would absolutely devour.

Overall, Break Me Down is a standout listen that raises the bar for audiobook performances. Highly recommended.

I am a huge Anna Downes fan and have read all her previous books, but Break Me Down was not her best - good, solid, recommend - but not necessarily one I'd pick up again. Main character Georgia, a now grown child star tries to get back into acting and once she meets fellow aspiring actor Henry and a group of actors in The Studio, things take a dark turn.

What I did ADORE was the full cast narration and feeling that this one really wanted to entertain. As a listener of audio since the 1980s, I truly appreciate multiple narrators. That level of cast makes you feel immersed in the story. I highly recommend this one on audio.

If you're drawn to psychological thrillers centered on obsession, toxic mentorship, and media manipulation—and you love cinematic audiobook productions—Break Me Down offers a lush, intense experience. It may feel like sensory overload if you're after a more minimal audio format, but for immersive storytelling, it's a standout.

Perfect if you're looking for a binge-worthy thriller that uses the audio medium to its fullest—just be ready for a full-cast, multi-layered journey into Hollywood's darker side.

I did not like the voice of Mariana (sp?). I enjoyed the twists at the end, but that you got a bit of an inkling along the way of what was going on. I don't particularly care for the ending, but as obvious as the last little bit of the book seemed to me early on, I found the book entertaining. I feel like there was a lot of information wrapped up in a smaller book. I picked this up as a thriller (it even says on the cover), but I don't think that it necessarily is. I would consider this book more of a general contemporary novel.

The fact this was a sub 8hr audiobook and you were able to get such deep character development was impressive.

This was given to me for free from Net Galley, so thank you Net Galley to providing me early access to this very interesting novel.

Georgia, a former child star who left the limelight years ago, has decided to return to LA to try to break back into acting. With no friends and very little money, she finds herself joining an acting collective and begins to build her community. While the group seems exclusive and helpful at first, it soon begins to reveal its darker underbelly.

I really wanted to like this one. To be fair, acting isn't something I have a passion for or interest in, but I *do* love cults and weird groups and I've enjoyed this author's other work, so I was excited to jump in. I think the main problem is that the book is billed as a thriller and it's absolutely not. The pace is much, much closer to general fiction or literary fiction until the very end of the book and the dark angle doesn't really develop until nearly 60% through the story. I expected a naive former child star accidentally ending up too deep in a nefarious cult and what I got was romance for the first 50% and a mean girl acting coach for the back half. I don't think the story is the problem, the author is a good writer, I just think saying 'thriller' sets people up for a super quick read and this wasn't that. The end of the story came around and I enjoyed it but I was hoping it would be creepier.

I also absolutely hated the narration. I love the full cast and the sound effects ect, but the Marianna character is SO breathy and over dramatic it was almost hard to listen to. Instead of coming off as a powerful, mysterious, nefarious cult leader she came off as a bratty bully and I absolutely hated her and not in a good way. I found it hard to believe that anyone would willingly spend months with her but I guess if someone wanted to pay off my debt and let me live rent free I'd have to at least try.

Overall I think the story is interesting but the category v story discrepancy in combination with the irritating narration for Marianna just didn't work for me.

Well… I wanted to live this dramatic audio, especially listening to the author conversation with the cast that comes at the end of the book. You saw how much of herself (the author Anna Downes) put into the book and what she was going for. However, the execution just wasn’t there.

First, the narrators: Aimee Horne, Airlie Dodds, Alan Chu, Angela Tran, Elisa Colla, Jeremy Waters, Lyanna Kea, Remy Hii, Taylor Owens, and Yael Stone, did a great job with their performances. While this was classified as a full cast dramatic audio it is not a typical one and or that I was grateful. There were sound effects and the use of podcasts and voicemails etc.. that sounded like they were what they intended to be with the sound engineering. It had a full cast of characters but they didn’t sound like they were “acting” and going overboard in the way that dramatic audios usually do (unfortunately). They sounded like typical narrators just with sound effects and such.

So for the audio production and narration it would be a 5⭐️ production. The problem lies in the prose. I had read Ms. Downes “Red River Road” and really enjoyed it. It was well reached and well written. While this one is well researched it struggles with cohesiveness and didn’t meet its intended goal.

It is described as a thriller and while there is an underlying suspense unfolding, you don’t feel that. It comes across like a bland biography. The narrators talk about the depth of the characters and the industry and all great things that would make a great read but it’s not shown in the work.

I want to stay away from spoilers so I’m not going into depth but I felt like the author had this vision that she could not quite capture. The only emotional movement personally that I got was questioning who was based in reality or not. The ending was really abrupt and makes the reader feel really unsatisfied. You know so how some books that never find their footing can be described as “meandering”? Well this was the exact opposite. While the material wasn’t the layout was repetitive and lacked an arc.

I’ll leave it at that as I can’t say anything more without spoilers . This book comes out August 19th 2025 in audiobook only. I do think the format is correct for the type of book it is . And while I was frustrated with it there was part of the experience that ai enjoyed . My suggestion is to listen to the authors “note” at the end. It gives so context that can help the reader power through the book.

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again