A Guy Walks Into My Bar

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.

2.5 stars. Hmm... very mixed feelings on this one.

First of all, if you're gonna pick this book up and if you listen to audiobooks at all, you have to read this through audiobook. It's got a full cast of narrators and is a delight to listen to. The two main narrators of this story also have a conversation at the end of the audiobook after the actual story ends, and for some reason I realized that the chemistry and banter between the actual narrators—Joe Arden and Shane East—was much more wholehearted and funny and full of wit than the actual main characters the romance was about. Yikes.

This, unfortunately, made me realize in hindsight that the romance in the book felt too scripted and artificial and overly manicured. I don't want realism in romance books, I want something escapist, but even as a work of fiction this story felt too scripted. I was LOVING the first few chapters, there was a playful push-and-pull dynamic brewing, but afterwards the characters jumped the gun so fast. I just could not find it believable how much they claim to have fallen for one another,

This is not a bad story by any means. I know this story will check a lot of boxes for people. I just need my romances to feel believable and I could not convince myself that the main characters here blossomed a relationship that was worth declaring such copious amount of commitment and love over within such a concerningly short time frame (5 days!).