Brilliant

This is such a magnificent book from Lily Morton. It's one of my top five favorite books ever, and I read A LOT. I have reread the book several times as well. When the Audiobook came out, I immediately purchased it. First because I adore it, and Second because it is narrated by the excellent Joel Leslie, who is my favorite narrator. His performances are always spot on, reading the book exactly as the author wrote it, with true feelings and how you hear it in your head when reading the book. Often even the other narrators with great voices come off as wooden and flat, missing the realistic feel of the story, the flow of authenticity. More like cold sight readings of a book, missing warmth, angst, tenderness, fear at the appropriate moments. Joel Leslie nails every book, every single time. And I'm so happy that Lily Morton has him for all her amazing Audiobooks. She has written several of my very favorite books, and she and Joel bring these stories to life so greatly.

That being said, I do have a big complaint on the Audio for this, and a few other books. Volume consistency. When I mainly listen to Audiobooks is when I turn in at night. Sometimes I read, but other nights I'd rather listen. The problem is the way the volume goes from normal speaking volume, to barely being able to hear, to blasting your eardrums and scaring the crapola out of you! I seriously have to feel around in the dark for my Kindle, feel for the volume button to try to turn the LOUD down ASAP (characters shouting, or sudden danger), before my neighbor in the apartment above me thinks I'm fighting with someone or I'm in danger. Or when its a sad/somber/poignant moment. So low you can barely make out what's happened or been said. Those times I have to feel for Kindle to sign back on to wake the screen, so I can hit the "back up" button a time or two to be able to hear and understand what was missed while messing with Kindle. And these are usually the most important parts of the story. Sure does detract from fully enjoying the ride. At lease when it's a story I'm already familiar with I can let it ride and just control the volume button for the LOUD moments. I'll know the gist of what's happening. Being able to set the timer for the length of listening time keeps me coming back. But I wish Audibooks or Editors would listen to these inconsistencies and do something about them.

Again, the fabulous Joel Leslie and the truly gifted and magnificent Lily Morton are a dream team. Keep them coming! (Can y'all do Spring Strings next please?) Much love.

2 people found this helpful

One of the Best Books I've Ever Listened to

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series as each book just gets better. This is a truly original storyline and I just loved Felix and Max's story. Outstanding narration from Joel as he absolutely nails each character's accent which made listening that much more enjoyable. Highly recommend!

1 person found this helpful

Highly entertaining

Lily Morton's books all have a certain kind of typical British vibe - the humor, the wit, the snarky and quirky characters, who are often overly grumpy or overly sunshine. They are often opposites in a lot of ways - rich/poor, white collar/blue collar, famous/ordinary and so on. And yet, they all are highly entertaining and diverse enough to enjoy each book for their own characters and their story. A Lily Morton book has some kind of trademark in a way that, as a reader, I'd always recognize her books, even when I would't be aware of the fact it was written by her.
I love her writing and her story telling. From the first book I read by her, she's been one of my favorite authors. An auto-buy, one click author, and most of the time all I need to know is that it's her newest book, not even caring to read the blurb.
Of course I enjoyed some of her books more than others - even from a favorite author you can't always have a 5 star read at hand. But overall, there hasn't been a book yet that has really, really disappointed me.
'After Felix' is one of those that I clearly put in the category of the ones I really loved! It was one of the first of her books that I listened to, and even hadn't read as an e-book yet. It was on my tbr for quite some time, but you know how that goes - that tbr gets longer and longer, and sometimes books just move further down, until you sort of lose sight of them and later come to realize you haven't read them yet, even when it's from a favorite author. So when I got the opportunity to listen to the audio, I took it.
I loved how Joel Leslie portrayed Felix - his English, posh accent was just wonderful. He really brought him to life with all his sassiness and his snark. I enjoyed Max's character as well - so different from Felix, but it shows how well Joel Leslie does different characters, giving them their own distinctive voice.
When they meet at first, Felix and Max are in a Waterstones bookshop in London, and there's an immediate interest there. They hook up and it's quite the steamy hotel room meeting! So, that's where it all starts - a casual hook up that becomes a regular one. No feelings, of course, because Max doesn't do relationships and Felix knows Max isn't interested in more than just sex.
Along the way, however, Felix has to admit he's grown quite fond of Max and their escapades. And when Max reveals he's been in love with one of his best friends and former reporter colleague Ivo
(who has his own book in the Finding home series where he gets his hea with Henry), Felix discovers he doesn't like the way Max behaves when Ivo's around. He starts to question if what he feels for Max could ever in the future, lead to something more than just a hook up status, something he, surprisingly, really wants.
After a terrible night with miscommunications and assumptions and all the things that could go wrong, did, in fact, go wrong, Felix decides he's had enough.
That's when the 'After Felix' part of the book starts. When Max finally sobers up long enough to realize what he's lost. And so he starts on a journey to win Felix back. But Felix isn't that easily giving in. He's guarding his heart, protecting it with an iron fence and a thick wall. He doesn't trust Max, and so Max has to do all he has in his powers, to convince Felix things have changed. That he has changed.
I really enjoyed how Max did everything he could think of to woo Felix, to charm him, to convince him things are different now. And I also enjoyed how Felix responded. He was deeply hurt, and I understood his reluctance to fall for Max's attempts at winning him back. But Max, well, he certainly went deep and did everything he could to convince Felix!

This audio was highly entertaining - I think there's something magic between Lily's words and Joel's performance. For some reason they fit perfectly. I really can't wait to listen to more of their collaborations!

1 person found this helpful

Getting lost in this story a second time is great

After Felix is one of my favorite books by this author, and it was such a treat to get lost in the characters and story a second time. The narration is very well done—complete with a light, upbeat tone and a great rhythm to bring this story to life.

Max and Felix are wonderful and well-developed characters who intrigued me all on their own. Together, these two are fire, with amazing physical and emotional chemistry. I once again felt completely swept away by their romance.

On top of a great love story that has excellent timing and a gentle unfurling of feelings, After Felix boasts fantastically witty banter that often left me grinning. If you have yet to fall for these characters, I urge you to give them a try. If you’re like me and want another chance with them, I definitely recommend this audiobook.

1 person found this helpful

A Sweetly Snarky Second Chance Romance

This third entry in the Close Proximity series has an angstier feel than the previous two stories, which were great fun, but it was just as enjoyable a listen. As with those audio books, the cheeky British characters and their snarky banter were wonderfully brought to life by narrator Joel Leslie.

Here, a steamy one-time hookup between Felix and Max leads to casual repeats and - in a surprising turn for both - feelings. After things go awry (for reasons), Max realizes in hindsight that Felix is the one who got away and goes about winning him back when their paths cross again years later. Their chemistry is undeniable and flirty banter delightful (Felix is hilarious), and is balanced with some genuine emotional depth.

I liked how we're taken along for the ride of Felix and Max's relationship from start to HEA rather than just the latter that's typical of second chance romances. It felt like a fresh take on the trope, and deepened the story and connection to characters as a reader/listener.

Fair warning that there's a h0m0ph0b¡c parent who spouts slurs early in the story. I received this free review copy audio book by request and have left this honest review voluntarily.

Totally enamored with Max And Felix -

I have now listened to all of Lily Mortons books in fact some of them more than once - There is some so wonderful about her guys and there road to finally finding their happily ever after. There is alway fun snark, a lot of misunderstandings but no so much angst that I get tense. I love to kickback and let the story flow. I am somewhat new to the mm romances and when I discovered Lily Morton I found that her romances often (well I guess always) outshine and FM romances I have read

After Felix is no different - we have a lot of snark ,silliness hot sexy scenes mixed in with some serious commitment issues and lonely guys . I feel sort like both Max and Felix could be or perhaps maybe are new friends of mine - both are so likable but have a lot of depth as do all her guys .

It is so fun to bump into all the guys from her other books even just in passing It is sort of like catching up with friends you have not seen a while
I think Joel Leslie is the best possible reader for her books and once again did and incredible job with this book

Waiting for Max

Felix and Max get HEA.
The narration. I consume audiobooks almost as much I read them on my kindle. The narration for this book felt flat. Joel Leslie is very good at his job; it’s just I have heard all his voices too many times before. I own all of Lily’s books on audio and unfortunately Joel sounds the same. I have had to give relisting a break because I am unsure what book I am listening to. Joel seems to have a softer voice and a raspy deeper voice. It also runs into secondary characters. I would recommend this audiobook because it’s Lily Morton, but not for the narration. I am hoping a change-up will happen in the future.

Made for each other

Max and Felix are, of course, made for each other, though it takes time and a few tears for them to figure it out. But it takes only a few lines to understand that Lily Morton and Joel Leslie are a match made in listening heaven. Joel gets the heart of Lily's men, and gets her trademark humor. I loved this book in both print and audio formats.

a beautifully snarky romance

This is a wonderful second-chance romance full of snark, humor, angst and all kinds of feelings. Felix and Max are so engaging. All of Lily Morton’s characters are fantastic, but I think this couple is the best one written. Also, Joel Leslie’s narration was perfect.

Felix is a perfectly snarky character

I loved this story of second chances between Felix and Max. Felix and Max hit it off and sparks fly with an agreement of no strings attach meet ups that end up with a bit of tangled mess. There's a two and a half year gap between Felix walking away from Max the first time around and when Max begins his get Felix back plan. I did like how even though the two weren't together, it is mentioned that they did come across each other during that time. Felix is such a fun character with quick comebacks and an edge to protect himself. Max takes a while to understand his feelings but I liked how he always rolls with Felix's punches and there's lots of laughter between these two. Joel is awesome as always and I loved how he breathed life into these two. They definitely have their own unique feeling an Joel is amazing at voices. This is a very feel good read with lots of fuzzy feelings but also a depth that's sneaky.