There was something very different about this audiobook, as I started listening to it, I felt like I was at a play reading and was thinking that this would be a difficult book to read because so much would be missed with sound effects and the narrator's voices. I did not know that the author, Anna Downes, went to drama school to become an actor. It was obvious to me from the beginning, as I believe the author intended, to show how actors are exploited by some teachers and coaches and that this practice is somewhat normal for the industry. I also believe the author is showing how predators indoctrinate their students into a cult like following. If reading about an individual spiraling downwards and a 'play-like' tragedy is something you would enjoy, I definitely suggest listening to this story.

Once-celebrated child star Georgia Lane moves to Los Angeles determined to make a comeback. She meets Henry, an aspiring actor, who connects her with his agent and invites her to audit a class at The Studio, the elite acting studio he attends where Marianna, the head teacher, takes a special interest in Georgia. 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.

With a cast of at least 11 narrators, sound effects, a fictional podcast, voicemails and newscasts, this is like no other audiobook I've listened to. It made me think of what "old tyme" radio soap operas must've been like except that I doubt they would've used such language in those days. It was very impressive at any rate. Every time Marianna spoke I pictured Nicole Kidman in her role in Nine Perfect Strangers.

As for the story itself, I was less impressed. It was good but not great. I think I was expecting more of a creepy cult vibe and I thought the ending was a little flat. I was actually surprised that it was over. Also, to be honest, I got a little tired of hearing Georgia's message on her answering machine every time someone called her. The audiobook is followed by a conversation amongst the author and some of the voice actors which was interesting.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, via Netgalley, for approving my request to listen to an early edition of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: August 19, 2025

This was such a unique and immersive listening experience. It was my first time trying a full-cast audio drama like this—with sound effects, voicemails, a fictional podcast, and news clips—and I was honestly surprised by how quickly it pulled me in. I wouldn’t call it a full-on thriller, but the story kept me curious and engaged the whole way through. I ended up finishing it in one sitting because I just had to know what would happen next.

The story follows Georgia, a former child star trying to rebuild her career in LA. When she joins this elite acting group called The Studio, things start to get intense in a way that’s both inspiring and unsettling. You can feel the pressure and manipulation building as she gets pulled deeper into this world, and I thought the audio format really brought that to life.

Yael Stone as Marianna was such a standout—her performance was both captivating and chilling. And the bonus interview with the cast at the end added a nice behind-the-scenes perspective.

Overall, Break Me Down was creative, well-performed, and unlike anything I’ve listened to before. If you enjoy character-driven stories with a dark edge and a unique format, it’s definitely worth a listen.

I found this unlistenable (real word?) due to one of the narrators' fake whiny voice. I feel bad reviewing when I DNF'ed, but it wasn't good.

Thank you @NetGalley and @MacmillanAudio for the ALC. Georgia Lane was a child star until she gave it up. She decides to leave Australia and move to Los Angeles to reignite her career. She realizes how hard it is without her momager but she meets Henry an aspiring actor who leads her to an acting coach. Marianna is a popular, exclusive and believes in getting to the pain of acting and she is just what Georgia needs to be on top again. This was a nail bitter to the end.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3!

Overall I think advertising this as a thriller is an extreme disservice to this book and will likely result in a lot of missed expectations. The podcast elements of this were very well done and immersive and I enjoyed the full cast of narrators, but the story itself just fell pretty flat for me. If you enjoy romance stories and plots about child stars as adults, you may enjoy this one.

Talk about some plot twists! It took me a bit to get into the beginning, especially with the entire situation starting due to wanting to get surgery done on a dog. But the more I listened the more hooked I was. Told from several points of view and multiple timelines. This book was a roller coaster of surprises. Well done. Well narrated.

The audio production of this one was top tier, with all the sound effects, voicemails, podcast but the delivery of the plot just did not work. It was definitely unique and interesting but also highly confusing and weird. I think everyone will have a different enjoyment of this one and it will depend how they perceive the audio.

I can really appreciate the level of work that was put into producing this story with all of the narrators, sound effects, etc. I love an audiobook with all of those details, so I was really looking forward to this one!

In the beginning, I was really into this story and thought I had a pretty good idea of the general direction it was going to take. Unfortunately, soon after she met Henry, things kind of went off the rails and not in a good way. The plot was lacking in this story, and maybe too much attention was given to the finer details of the audio production rather than the story itself. I can't say I enjoyed this one, and I spent a lot of time deciding if I was going to even finish it or not, which I did.

All in all, this one was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.

Break Me Down was compulsive and immersive. I struggled with what to label this as — it’s more of an audio play than an audiobook; which I loved.

Child star Georgia returns to LA, in hopes of reviving her career. She meets an amazing guy and gets swept away in the lifestyle at the Studio - an elite actors school.

Knowing Anna Downes (I’m a huge fan!), I knew something sinister was going to happen… I just wasn’t sure what! I loved that it kept me guessing. I also loved how there were so many different characters, and the bouncing between the podcast, news reports, and voicemails — it kept things very interesting.

I ended up finishing this in just under 24 hours - I couldn’t get enough! The ending felt a little rushed, and I would have loved a little more there. It wasn’t AS good as Anna’s other stories - which might be an unfair comparison. I might have rated this higher had I not fallen so deeply in love with A Safe Place!

A solid listen for this summer!

2.5 Stars

Well, this was definitely different... I'm not sure what I listened to but it's not something I'm gonna forget for a long time. In three words this was - Next Level Obsession.

As much as I wanted to like this. I just plain didn't. Not a win for me but also not a DNF, I had to see where it was going.

If you're looking for something completely different and a little crazy - this one is your jackpot.

Fast paced and super engaging! I enjoyed the transcript/found footage aspect of the story— the true crime podcast girls were perfect!— and the plot twists unraveled well!

2.5 stars

Whether or not this reading experience is positive will be up to each individual audience member, but what I expect MOST readers will agree to is that it is unique.

After reading _Red River Road_ a few months ago, I came to appreciate this author so much that I decided to read this newest book simply because of its author and did not bother to look at any additional information. Had I done that, I think I'd have still jumped in since the premise is pretty interesting. Also, as a lifelong resident of the LA area, I've had a weird amount of contact with folks who frighteningly resemble some of these characters. Still, the execution just proved a challenge.

Georgia is a former child actor who meets and immediately begins a romantic relationship with Henry, who is an aspiring actor. Henry is a student at an acting studio that has a truly disturbed individual at the helm. That's not a spoiler. The second Marianna (aka Morello - IYKYK) starts talking, it's clear that she is not quite right. This woman has either been watching late night Max and dreaming of starting her own midnight volleyball league, or she is a typical LA caricature who takes (enunciate it with me now) ACTinG way too seriously.

In some ways, this is an interesting depiction of how folks are impacted by their trauma and how good others are at manipulation. But overall, this is really strange. It's giving first year creative writing class, which is both unkind and also confusing, since I enjoyed this author's previous work so much. I actually stopped reading on two separate occasions to confirm that this was truly the same writer. It felt that unbelievable.

Upon finishing the audiobook, I learned that there is a fairly lengthy author's note and discussion with several of the narrators. Downes begins by noting that the inspo for this book is a personal connection to acting. Maybe I'll have a totally different perspective of what this is when I finish the interview, but right now, I recommend checking out this author's earlier writing and holding off on this one.

Wow, this was a weirdly slow experience! "Thriller" feels like a misnomer, as there was zero thrill to be found. The production of this audiobook was the sole reason I finished it. I kept hoping the content would lean less into the strange and more into a clear, captivating mystery. But seriously, the production was top-tier – the inclusion of voicemails, voice recordings, and a genuine True Hollywood style-podcast was incredibly well executed. It's just a shame the story itself felt so underdeveloped and pointless. Excitement barely registered until near the 80% mark, and even that was underwhelming. I'd absolutely love to see more audiobooks with this level of production quality, just paired with plots that actually deliver.

"Break Me Down" by Anna Downes had a promising start conceptually, but overall, it ended up being a pretty bland listen. My biggest takeaway was how much I enjoyed the comprehensive storytelling through voicemails, voice recordings, and that authentic Hollywood podcast feel.

3⭐
Pub Date: August 19, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillian Audio, and Anna Downes for this advanced listener copy. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Break Me Down is one of the few audiobooks I've had the pleasure of listening to that have a multicast of narrators and also sound effects. The squeak of a door, breaking news alert jingles, intro/outro music for podcast clips, etc. It definitely added to the overall experience. The storyline was fast-paced but easy to follow, the narrators were fantastic, and the ending had a twist I didn't see coming. Plus, an interview featuring some of the narrators was included. Highly recommend!!!

This was so engaging for so much of the book, but the ending *really* didn't work for me (as in it felt like it was missing a true climax) so I can't give it more than a 3.

Premise - a former child star, Georgia, moves to LA to make a go of acting, this time on her own terms, but soon realizes her 'moment in the sun' is well and truly over. On the heels of some pretty painful rejections, she has a meet-cute with a sweet wannabe actor, Henry, and before long the two are an item. Henry brings her along to an acting class at The Studio with the demanding-to-the-point-of-sadistic Marianna. As the two get deeper and deeper into study with Marianna, her psychologically unsafe approach to Method acting causes both to unravel. Tensions build and not everyone will survive The Studio.

This had so much going for it! Cult infighting? Check. Huge personalities? Check. Attempted redemption? Check. It felt like it was vaguely referencing Shia LaBoeuf's experimental acting school, but then in a final voice memo Henry reveals something that made me sure I'd figured out the twist. I was so excited for it! But then it just... ended? Sure, there's a [spoiler] murder and that can be considered the climax but there was another, way more interesting climax/confrontation that could have followed and not addressing that at all felt super abrupt and disappointing to me. Bummer! This had *so* much that appealed to me and I'd definitely read another story from the author, though I'd hope for more satisfaction to finish.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Aimee Horne; Airlie Dodds; Alan Chu; Angela Tran; Anna Downes; Elisa Colla; Jeremy Waters; Lyanna Kea; Remy Hii; Taylor Owens; and Yael Stone. It was an audio play as much as an audiobook and a delight to listen to! Especially given the topic, this collaborative format was a perfect fit for the story.

Thanks, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The audio for this book was great! There was sound effects and a full cast of voices which made the story more realistic. The narrators were good too. I liked the storyline of the manipulative acting coach. I’ve also read “Red River Road” by this author and really enjoyed it.

First the good:
The production for this audiobook was incredible with a full cast, exciting sound effects and mixed media inclusions. The narration was well done, and I loved the execution.

With that said, the content of the book itself was quite slow and didn’t capture me until it was almost over.

In the end, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I liked it but didn’t love it.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really wanted to like this, since it had a full cast and it was really well done and entertaining. I just thought it was too slow, and I had a difficult time keeping my attention with this book. It was slow and definitely not something that I wanted to continue reading. I made it more than 50% through, but realized I was doing more day dreaming than listening.

I like most books by Anna Downes, but this one was just not for me.

Thank you to the Author, narrators and publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick read for me and I love that. The way the audiobook is set up is really neat. I really enjoyed it. I loved how the book was a movie in my head. We hear phone calls, podcasts, video recordings, and more.
Georgia Lane is a former child actress who left acting and went into hiding staying out of the limelight. Until one day she decides she is going to move back to LA and try her hand at acting again. She meets this guy named Henry and they hit it off right away. He takes her to an acting school where she starts attending classes.
Eventually the teacher invites Georgia and Henry to these special class in her mountain home. Things just start going downhill from there. There is a huge twist that I didn’t see coming. Really good book.
I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest review.
This book comes out August 19th 2025