Best audio book of the year.....or possibly ever!

Where on earth do I start. I was so excited for this audiobook to to be released as the two lead narrators are the absolute best in the business and I couldn't wait to hear what they could do together. OMG I was not prepared for the utter brilliance of Shane East and Joe Arden as Dean and Fitz. They made me laugh and swoon, and then they made me cry, they gave me all the feels. The words of Lauren Blakely were simply sublime and I literally could not stop listening to the story. The whole cast was amazing and I loved the interplay between Dean and his dad, voiced by Ron Butler. This is most definitely the best audiobook of 2020 and it may even be my favourite one ever. Bravo to everyone involved in the narration and production of the book. Please Ms Blakely, can you write some more?!

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I didn’t want it to end

I have to admit I’m an avid Lauren fan but this book, this book, just wow!!!! I just didn’t want it to end. I cried, I smiled, I laughed and I got that warm fuzzy feeling. I know the actors / narrators were in mind when Lauren wrote this book but bravo. The story and the cast made every moment of listening an absolute pleasure! It will definitely be reread numerous times over.

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Wow

Such a beautiful story, so many tender moments, lots of humour, what’s not to love?Bought to life by Joe & Shane they did an amazing job and totally drew me into this book. I know I will listen to it again and again. 🤩😘

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IT'S A HANDS FREE HOLY HOT AS F*&K BOOK!!!!!

This is a first-class unapologetic romance story that will take you on an emotional workout and leave you totally speechless!!
After all love is love!
💜💙💚💛🧡

WHAT AN ABSOLUTE GEM OF A BOOK!!
There could never be enough stars...

Lauren Blakely has created an absolute epic love story with
" A Guy Walks Into My Bar" It's such an exquisitely written love story about finding that someone who is totally unapologetic, doesn't censor themselves, who makes love to your thoughts, slowly takes down all your walls that you've built up around your heart so you can let them inside...

This book has an outstanding cast lead by Shane East and Joe Arden as Dean and Fitz who are such respected narrators in their own right, but together they are an absolute phenomenal partnership who both gave an extremely captivating no holds barred performance that was both intimate and heartfelt throughout...and I thank you for that.

Thank you to Lauren and all involved for an unforgettable love story. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜

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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.

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1 person found this helpful

Shane East has another fan.

I enjoyed the reader so much more than the book. I'm not sure how I would have found the book with a different reader.

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Loved it!

I'd give this 10 stars if could lol.
Loved this story from first word to the last as I have with all Lauren's books. Thank you 😘
An amazing performance from all the cast. It's just like listening play. 😊

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BE STILL MY HEART !!

This story was epic in every sense of the word ...
The sexual chemistry, oh my lord !
The heart melting declarations of love...
The utter beauty of whole story...
As for the narration, it was spot on, smooth and sexy as hell...

Absolutely fabulous !

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A truly romantic, endearing and sexy audio

James Fitzpatrick and Dean Collins, holy moly! The Brit and the Yank. Oh hell yes!! The inked, bearded, cocky, charming and addictive hockey player and the sexy, sarcastic, strong and stubborn British bartender (their words), are everything I needed in this fun, romantic and truly endearing m/m novel. All the fun, flirty, Lauren Blakely banter I have come to love. Add in the wonderful writing, the fab story and of course the sexy characters and witty and snarky remarks and we have a world I can truly fall into. I couldn’t get enough of them, their friends, their family. I loved their honesty, their vulnerability and their openness. What an enjoyable, addictive and extremely sexy romantic comedy. As usual, LB has the best narrators, all my favourites, with Shane East as Dean and Joe Arden as Fitz. Add in Vanessa Edwin as Maeve, Emma Wilder as Emma and Haven, Ron Butler as Martin (Dean’s father), Zachary Webber as Ransom, Vikas Adam as Naveen and Taron, Jacobi Diem as Sam, Maxine Mitchell as Penny and Anya, Sebastian York as Leo, and Stella Hunter also makes a cameo appearance in and amongst. Keep listening, as there’s a wonderful interview with Shane and Joe, followed by an additional bonus scene inspired by Twitter, AND the blooper. All utter audio perfection. Keep ‘em coming Ms Blakely.

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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!

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