• Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams

  • By: Brent Hartinger
  • Narrated by: Josh Hurley
  • Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (431 ratings)

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Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams  By  cover art

Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams

By: Brent Hartinger
Narrated by: Josh Hurley
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Publisher's summary

"There was no way moving to Los Angeles was going to make me give up my soul. After all, I'd already seen all the movies about Hollywood. I knew how things worked."

Twenty-four-year-old Russel Middebrook and his boyfriend have moved to Los Angeles so Russel can try to make it as a screenwriter.

Almost right away, in a forgotten old house off of Sunset Boulevard, Russel meets Isaac Brander - a once-famous film producer who is convinced he can turn Russel's screenplay into a movie.

Russel knows that success can't possibly come this easy. After all, most of Russel's Los Angeles friends are so desperate to make it that it's downright scary. His ex-boyfriend, Otto, is trying everything to become an actor, and Daniel, the sexy neighbor, doesn't even need a casting couch to get naked.

So what's the catch with Mr. Brander? Could it be that movies about Hollywood don't tell the whole truth? But what does that mean for Russel's soul?

Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams, a companion book to Brent Hartinger's The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know, is a fast-paced, funny story about the price of fame in Hollywood: the hilarious lengths people will go to achieve it, and the touching secret to survival when things don't work out exactly as planned.

©2015 Brent Hartinger (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A sharp, canny, highly engaging tour through a Hollywood of cunning characters and colorful intrigues, guided by the clever voice of Russel Middlebrook as an eager young screenwriter trying to bust in. I was charmed by every sly, sexy page." (Barry Sandler, screenwriter of Making Love and Crimes of Passion)
"With his trademark wit, warmth, and economy, Brent Hartinger brilliantly captures what it's like to move to L.A. and try and make it Hollywood: the highs and the lows, the friends and the phonies, the fun and the frustration. And by the way, is it too late for me to be Russel Middlebrook when I grow up?" (Dennis Hensley, co-screenwriter of Testosterone; author of Misadventures in the 213)

What listeners say about Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Couldn’t finish it

I enjoyed the first book, although it seemed to be a book about literally nothing. But then this one comes along. I didn’t even get 30 minutes into it before I stopped listening. “Facial scars” does not make you disabled. Like, really? How can you even compare someone in a wheelchair or who has downs with someone who has facial scars? I both have facial scars and an uncle with Down syndrome, and let me tell you, there are ZERO similarities in the way we are treated. I even rewound the chapter to make sure I hadn’t missed something about Otto’s so called “disability”. I am in no way trying to minimize what burn victims go through, not only the trauma of the actual event, but the scars they are left with. But the way Russel describes Otto, it doesn’t seem that severe that, as an actor, he couldn’t cover it with makeup. Who knows, maybe I am missing the severity of it, but I just couldn’t stand to listen to Otto talk about the judgement of disabled people in Hollywood anymore.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Didn't connect to the story.

Any additional comments?

Having just listened to The Thing I Didn’t Know I Didn’t Know I was up to date on what’s been happening in Russel’s life. Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams picks up a few months after the first story leaves off, with twenty-four year old Russel Middlebrook and his boyfriend, Kevin Land, having moved to Los Angeles so Russel can try to make it as a screenwriter.

I wanted to like the story, I really did, but in truth I didn’t connect with it. Again told completely from Russel’s POV, I felt like he was a lot more self-centered in this story than the last.

I liked some things, but didn’t like others. I liked Kevin and seeing them together, but didn’t like the way Russel treated Kevin for most of the story. I liked Otto and was happy to see him succeed. I didn’t like or see the point of Daniel’s storyline.

I felt like Russel’s ambition in this eclipsed his relationship at times, and I’m sorry to admit the whole storyline of his screenplay and broken dreams just bored me.

Also, I didn’t understand what happened to Russel’s friends Gunnar and Minh. No phone calls or even a single mention? What happened to them?

Once again though, I really enjoyed the narration. Josh Hurley really does an excellent job with the different character voices, and he tackles the different emotions of the story well.

I’m looking forward to more of Josh Hurley’s narration and spending time with the whole gang in the third (and final?) story in the series, The Road to Amazing (Russel Middlebrook: The Futon Years #3), which will feature Russel and Kevin’s wedding weekend in Washington.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

A flop

Honestly the story was really bad. I read the book before this one and like russell is a character that is hard to root for or care about and kevin doesn't get any page time so I actually have no idea who he is besides that he fucks russell. The way it describes disabled people, the elderly and how life works is so shallow that i could not actually take it seriously

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Josh Hurley’s performance is again top notch

Came close to giving the story a two stars, but three stars is fair. Hartinger is a good writer, at least I think he is. While I didn’t love the previous book in this series, it did gain momentum by the end. This book was mostly pointless, wasting time and opportunities. The timeline was ridiculously fast, and Russel was an infuriating sap much of the time. I think Kevin needs more page time, the lack any meaningful storyline for him was unbelievable. As entertaining as the outlying characters are, the big plot point with the producer was so silly, I can’t believe it was used. The bones of a better story were there the whole time - but the nonsense won out.

I will probably slog through the third book because it is free with my membership, and I hope to see some other characters return.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Was looking forward to part 2, couldn't finish it.

Like the narrator, he did a great job in telling a not so great story.

Book 1 wasn't super incredible but I liked it enough that it wanted to follow the story. Book 2's storyline was rather boring and seems to create lines it didn't intend to finish. What did it for me was Daniel's, I could not continue to listen after the descriptions of having sex with your boyfriend and thinking about a 17 year old(doesn't matter his birthday is on Sunday) and then to say that all gay people think about someone else while doing it with their partners.... nope. Hard stop. Not going to continue, and it doesn't seem like I'm a odd man out of this one.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A good follow up

In general, I liked the story although Russell did drive me a bit crazy at times with him being so neurotic. I would have liked to have more of Kevin in this story though. The narration was so well done.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Two for two…

Once again, the🎙️ was spot on and SO well done. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, especially the care that’s put in to the supporting characters. The difference between this and the first 📕 for me is that the supporting characters in the first 📕 are certainly far more likable and redeeming than it’s sequel, but then that makes sense because there are a lot of sad, broken and desperate people in the “city of broken dreams”, which is why it has that moniker.
The relationship between Russel and Kevin is far more front and center in this sequel, but then that would make complete sense now that they are back together and having relocated to Hollywood, putting the focus on them primarily, as opposed to the will they, won’t they of the first 📕.
As an aside (which is going to make me sound lecherous), the character of Zoe’s brother, Daniel, was really, really hot, ripe with sexual tension, even more so because Russel and Kevin didn’t fall prey to it, even as titillating as they found him. A wonderfully unexpected addition to the 📕…

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Russell is a Terrible person.

Russell is a Terrible person. I mean that kind of sums it up, but he is an awful character. He uproots his hardworking boyfriend so they can go live in (EXPENSIVE) LA. His boyfriend (who he is awful to) left a stable and good-paying job to come to do work he is overqualified for so that Russel can try to make it as a Holly Wood screenwriter.

Along the way, the book throws a young kid away, who Russel had the opportunity to help or mentor, but who he gives up on and leaves to his fate, basically because he fails to identify with him or see him as human. The kid ends up being preyed upon by porn producers and in the end, Russel just sort of shrugs it off.

We also get a character that tries to villanize elderly people who are mentally ill and some kind of half-hearted attempt to sympathize with people who are disfigured.

I was just so underwhelmed with what this book *could* have been, and it was just not worth the disappointment and utter disgust I have fo the main character.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great series

Completely enjoying this series looking forward to number three. I love the narrators versions of his characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome

Great book, kept my attention all the way to the end, amazing audio delivery, loved it. Will be reading again, every chapter was received amazingly do recommend you give it a read.

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