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For Real cover art

For Real

By: Alexis Hall
Narrated by: Paul Berton, John Hartley
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Summary

Laurence Dalziel is worn down and washed up, and for him, the BDSM scene is all played out. Six years on from his last relationship, he's pushing 40 and tired of going through the motions of submission. Then he meets Toby Finch. Nineteen years old. Fearless, fierce, and vulnerable. Everything Laurie can't remember being.

Toby doesn't know who he wants to be or what he wants to do. But he knows, with all the certainty of youth, that he wants Laurie. He wants him on his knees. He wants to make him hurt, he wants to make him beg, he wants to make him fall in love. The problem is, while Laurie will surrender his body, he won't surrender his heart. Because Toby is too young, too intense, too easy to hurt. And what they have - no matter how right it feels - can't last. It can't mean anything. It can't be real.

©2015 Alexis Hall (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about For Real

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Excellent

Usual fun filled Alexis Hall; a bit raunchy but a very romantic story. Very sweet

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  • Overall
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Flawless

Absolutely, almost painfully beautiful, from the first word to the last. Touched me in all the right places, and taught me things I never thought I needed to know. And the wonderful narrators did justice to wonderfully written, intense characters.

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So good!

A beautiful deep and sometimes moving exploration of an age gap mm relationship. You will laugh and cry, you will become part of Laurie and Toby's journey, you will experience and understand the innocence of discovery and the power of dominance. This is a no holds barred story of raw love in it's many forms, familial, physical and sexual.
The eA beautiful deep and sometimes moving exploration of an age gap mm relationship. You will laugh and cry, you will become part of Laurie and Toby's journey, you will experience and understand the innocence of discovery and the power of dominance. This is a no holds barred story of raw love in it's many forms: familial, physical and sexual.
The expert and emotional interpretation and reading by Paul Berton and John Hartley made this story so much more than just another romance. Their voice acting was, for me, spot on. Thoroughly enjoyed everything! xpert and emotional interpretation and reading by Paul Berton and John Hartley made this story so much more than just another romance. Their voice acting was, for me, spot on. Thoroughly enjoyed everything!

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Absorbing listen

Enjoyed this a lot and immediately went and bought other books by this author. I also like how they tackle and approach living with mental health issues and it felt more real rather than some stories that just do it for the sake of a storyline.

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I listened to this again immediately after finishing it

I liked the portrayal of a BDSM type relationship that has so much more nuance than things like 50 shades. it was beautiful and intoxicating.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Just brilliant!!

Alexis Hall is an absolute wordsmith, and I have been waiting for the audio book of this, my fave story of his. Not sure how much input he had in choosing the narrators, but Paul Berton was fab as Tobermory although his 'voice' was a little more upmarket than I expected for someone from Shoreditch, which is definitely East End London. As for John Hartley's Laurie, well I couldn't make my mind up whether he's Australian or South African trying to read as an Englishman, but there were several phrases that gave him away, in particular I'd which came out as Ah'd, but it didn't detract from this wonderful story. Thrilled to bits with it.

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13 hours of brilliance

Loved every second of this - the dual narration worked well here and Laurie and Toby each had their completely separate personalities blended superbly. A great story well narrated.

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Captivating

Alexis Hall's books are a joy to read but seem to be made for audio. John Hartley and Paul Berton really bring the characters of Toby and Laurie alive

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wonderful.

loved this book could not stop listening and didn't want it to end. so good!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love this story

It has much food for thought - and I love some of the mind games that Toby plays with Laurie.

My only moan is about the younger narrator, who makes quite a few glaring mispronunciations, for instance, calling an Aga (cooker) and A G A.

It seems that there hasn’t been an editor listening to the different narrators and comparing them for consistent pronunciation- which tbh seems sloppy.

Nonetheless, this was a story that I didn’t want to stop listening to most of the time.

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