The best yet!

These are two of my favourite narrators and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed them as Dean & Fitz in this M/M romance. I have to say they nailed it, and having read the book I knew they would bring the heat and chemistry alive.

I was not expecting to have so many feels, it was romantic, tender, funny, so sexy, in fact one of her most scorching reads to date. If this is m/m from Lauren, then give me more.

3 people found this helpful

Fan Service mostly.

Rating it 2 stars because of the story. I listened to this book on Audible and I really believe that the whole thing was better because of the narration of Shane East and Joe Arden. Why 2 stars? Because I'm rating it in comparison to other MM novels, judging it by the depth of the characters and plot. In that regard, there was nothing really there. Man meets man, falling in love, and everything happens so fast it was just... not relatable, not realistic. And I think I immediately lowered my standards after the first two lines of the book, stating something like "there is no homophobia in this world". I believe that stating something like that from the get-go, just aids the author to express the relationship without having to take into account any hurdles the couple could face. It just simplifies everything. There was no real character development, no real, strong emotions, nothing to think about after finishing the story. I'll probably forget it within 1 week. On the other hand, if anyone is looking for just something hot and simple and rom-com kinda story, totally go for it. The x-rated scenes were fairly good, there is love, there is happiness. To summarize, I believe that this book is just fan service. Hot guys, hot scenes, happy ending.

2 people found this helpful

Did not finish

This is so boring. They meet, they talk. That's it. Wait, they have sex too. Why read this? I need some conflict, please? Or does the author expect me to be enthralled by the question whether they end up together or not?

2 people found this helpful

A lovely romance

Some books are just good for the soul, and I believe A Guy Walked into My Bar is one of those books. This book is just full of goodness, and light, and a joy to listen to. It opens with a letter from Lauren about the fact that the book contains no homophobia and the reason why. The short version, love is love. If you don't believe that, this isn't going to be the book for you. And I'm probably not the person for you, either.

As always, Lauren Blakely not only entertains so expertly but hits you in the feels too. How much of those feels were Lauren's words or Joe Arden's delivery of them remains to be seen, I'm sure it's a mixture of the two. The story has very little conflict and drama which was a nice pace, and I love how communication resolved the little spat they had. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, Lauren is a master at the male PoV.

Dean and Fitz are so perfect together, they really were a match made... in a bar, (I know, I know, don't judge me) For me, this story is about two people that meet and have a connection. Even though one of them tries to fight it, it doesn't last long. Some couplings are evitable and this is one of those moments. The steam factor is high in this book, and it worked. What else do you do on a holiday romance? It gave their relationship that sense of urgency, knowing it was for a limited time. And that was also the case with the touristy things they did together, I loved seeing that. Now, there were a couple of instances, as a Brit, that I raised an eyebrow and said, really? But that could very well be a regional issue as opposed to not being a British thing and it didn't really affect the story.

The narration was superb. Shane East and Joe Arden in a duet narration was something I didn't know I needed in my life. Their chemistry and banter really bled through the headphones. Joe is one of those voice actors that is extremely expressive during the emotional scenes, I swear, he can make me choke up with the way he performs them, that was something that I didn't expect with this book but it gave it that sense of realism too, that Fitz was feeling all the emotions. Shane was brilliant as Dean and really brought that cheeky aspect to the story. Shane's alpha voice made a nice appearance, and I'm sure many listeners swooned. They seemed to work off each other well and it took the audio to the next level. Part of that, I'm sure, has been the buildup of their bromance over on Twitter, it was the best marketing ever. The production was wonderful with no issues.

The audio also included a full cast, personally, there were some characters that I felt didn't need to have a 'voice.' Especially when it was just a line or two. But that is just personal taste. I thought Vanessa Edwin's British accent was done really well, I love that she's becoming more sought after. I just love her. Emma Wilder was as fabulous as always - #GirlCrush and Jakobi Diem, sigh, you don't even want to know my reaction when I saw his name attached to this project, and he did not disappoint. At all. If you're not enjoying him in your ears yet, you need to fix that. Stat. There was an extended epilogue with Vanessa & Jakobi that hinted at a story, and I'm telling you, right now, I AM HERE FOR IT!

The audiobook has some bonus features. A fireside chat between Stella Hunter, Joe Arden, and Shane East. Bloopers. A bonus scene that the Joe and Shane bromance Twitter fans will adore. And a clip from Birthday Suit. I want to acknowledge the bonuses because I'm usually not a fan of them, but this fireside chat just filled my heart and restored a little of my faith in humanity, why you ask? Joe Arden. His stance on several of the topics raised was so heartfelt and sincere that it just buoyed me up. If he was in front of me, I'd have given him a standing ovation or bowed. The world would be a much better place if it had more people like him in it.

A little sidenote, and this isn't meant to offend anyone or put anyone down. And taking nothing away from Shane East because the man is bloody brilliant, but based on the description of Dean, I would have liked the narrator to have represented the character's ethnicity. It is wonderful to see more diversity in romance books, I'd just like to see that being taken further and voiced too. In addition, I had already written this when Lauren Blakely announced her stance on diversity and future casting. As always, she is a class act that is working towards a better future for all.

1 person found this helpful

incredible

I literally felt tranfixed into another world, the chemistry behind the main characters is so witty, charming and romantic. It's nice to read a story with no homophobic issues going on in this created world. It's really refreshing, beautiful and certainly a a incredible story. 5 out of 5 for me easily!

Great cast

Loved this book. The depth of characters and especially loved how a full cast made everyone come to life.
The extra scenes at the end getting to know the narrator’s was fun to!!

loved this!

A steamy romance story with a wonderful cast narrating it. I recommend it very much if you are looking for something fun.

loved it

loved the characters and the performances. made me laugh, smile and I'm about to rewind and listen again.

🎧 Dean and Fitz 🎧

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MY UNPOPULAR OPINION AND MINOR SPOILERS

An enjoyable, if unrealistic, and slightly repetitive MM romance. In the intro listeners are told that there's no homophobia, which is great because homophobia is bullshit.
It's also unfortunately a real-world factor, and its absence along with the simultaneous, life-changing snap decisions the guys made, meant that this story had a lot of really hot sex, virtually no drama, absolutely no tension and an utterly predictable outcome.

Even before listening to the "Fireside Chat" which comes after multiple, mundane epilogues, I was also constantly aware that this was Shane East and Joe Arden "performing an MM romance together", rather than being absorbed by the characters and their story.
It all felt a little too contrived, like it was a vehicle to showcase the narrators' enviable skills and to preview the author's upcoming release. I love it when there are connections between LB's characters that help direct the reader what book to pick up next, but this one involved a random character who only appeared in one scene, and it was just so awkward and clumsy. 😟

I know this audiobook has been a huge hit with the majority of listeners, but it just missed the mark for me.

A smokin hot romance...

My first Lauren Blakely novel and certainly will not be my last!

I have listened to this book repeatedly since purchasing it. The first listen felt a bit odd as there were no "evil" characters no angst or other negatives to drive the story arc. It thoroughly succeeded in the opening mission statement prefacing the book. So I listened to it again and just let the gorgeously hot romance sink in. The narrators are superb. The chemistry is palpable and wholly believable. The full cast for additional characters has raised the bar on my expectations for future audible novels.

As a member of the LBGT community who has and still does experience all the homophobia, prejudice and hate that being born different attracts I want to send a heartfelt thanks to Lauren and Everyone who worked on this production. A story free of these is a joy to listen to <3

A personal request to Lauren, please, please, please write another M/M story for Teddy Hamilton and Aiden Snow to dual narrate together they are a fantastic combination (and as many other m/m combinations as you and your magic pen can write for).

I am going to treat myself to some extra credits for a few more of Laurens books!