Tell Me It's Real

By: TJ Klune

Narrated by: Michael Lesley

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Paul Auster doesn't. Paul doesn't believe in much at all. He's thirty, slightly overweight, and his best features are his acerbic wit and the color commentary he provides as life passes him by. His closest friends are a two-legged dog named Wheels and a quasibipolar drag queen named Helena Handbasket. He works a dead-end job in a soul-sucking cubicle, and if his grandmother's homophobic parrot insults him one more time, Paul is going to wring its stupid neck.

Enter Vince Taylor.

Vince is everything Paul isn't: Sexy, confident, and dumber than the proverbial box of rocks. And for some reason, Vince pursues Paul relentlessly. Vince must be messing with him, because there is no way Vince could want someone like Paul.

But when Paul hits Vince with his car - in a completely unintentional if-he-died-it'd-only-be-manslaughter kind of way - he's forced to see Vince in a whole new light. The only thing stopping Paul from believing in Vince is himself - and that is one obstacle Paul can't quite seem to overcome. But when tragedy strikes Vince's family, Paul must put aside any notions he has about himself and stand next to the man who thinks he's perfect the way he is.

©2013 TJ Klune (P)2014 Dreamspinner Press

truly a delight!

Aw man, this was amazing. Emotional, hilarious, sweet story. I laughed (more like "cackled like a loon at my desk at work"), I cried, I suffered intense second-hand embarassment. I fell in love with the characters and I cannot WAIT for the sequel with Sandy/Helena and Darren.

The narration was PERFECT. Michael is a gift.

Pretty much perfect

This book breaks every romance novel stereotype, and it makes you love it because of that, not despite it.

The protagonist is a physically imperfect, seriously pessimistic person, who spends his time planning worst case scenarios in his head. The object of his affections is beautiful, but not a genius, and not a millionaire. Their relationship moves fast, but makes no attempt to pretend that's normal - in fact, much is made of the fact that learning all about a person and learning to love a person are very different things.

There's a lot of humor, from the epic GPS to the hippo video, but the book does just as well on the emotional side, as with Sandy's story from high school, but it does this without going into the melodramatic, or focusing for too long on just the drama aspect. Very well balanced.

One of the best romances I've ever read.

Laugh Out Loud Funny!

This is one of the funniest books I have read/listened to in a very long time. Paul was uber snarky and the most politically tactless man with bouts of oral diarrhea and he made me laugh out loud more times than I can count. Vince was not "as dumb as a box of rocks" like the blurb states. He just has a different way of looking at things and was incredibly sweet and loving. Helena/ Sandy were awesome and I think I see another book coming with Darren as the love interest. I hope so anyway.

A Hilarious Delight, I've Never Laughed So Much...

I've been hearing raves about "Tell Me It's Real" for what seems like years and finally bought the audio, and I ADORED it. I'm not overstating in saying this is literally the funniest rom-com book - M/M or otherwise - I've read/heard to date. This story was written nearly a decade ago, and it completely holds up...other than perhaps the Freddie Prinze, Jr. references, the one-liners remain as fresh as ever (and the GPS scene is still on-point!).

Paul is an absolute treasure - gloriously sarcastic, over-the-top dramatic, and self-deprecating - and he and wonderfully droll Vince are an opposites-attract match made in comedy heaven. They're also quite sweet together, and underlying all of their zingers is an endearing and understated love story. The secondary characters, including Paul's hilarious parents and Nana, really shine too. And everyone should be lucky enough to have a BFF as fabulous as Sandy. Bring on his HEA in Book 2, I can't wait to listen.

Speaking of listening, narrator Michael Lesley delivered a fantastic performance with zest, truly embodying the characters and capturing every ounce of the fun and funny in this story. I highly recommend experiencing this book in audio, if for nothing else than to hear Nana's sardonic parrot...golden.

It's Real!

This book is fucking AMAZING! (Language!)

I don't know how TJ Klune did it, but one second I was laughing my ass off and the next I was crying my eyes out and then laughing again, and then crying again, laughing, crying, laughing, crying... You get the gist.

I loved EVERYTHING about this story, the neurotic rambles of Paul, the swoon-worthy and sweet simplicity of Vince. The progress of their relationship. Their interactions with family and friends. The way each chapter made me feel every single emotion to its fullest.

It's been a while since I come across a book so incredible, that I couldn't let It go until I finished it, and when it did, it only made me want more... So obviously, Im getting more from this author.

It's real.

On the narrator: Oh. My. God!!!! He is unbelievable! This Is the first time I hear Michael Leslie, but Im a fan now, and everything he's done is already on my wish list. AWESOME!

Sweat Balls! did TJ Klune wrote a fanfic of me?

after listening to the Lighting-Struck Heart & Wolfsong, I was calling in love with TJ Klune. this book.... being an out of shape guy in the gay community, I relate too much on the insecurities Paul faced. I found myself saying and thinking the same words as Paul, to the point, I was scared Klune read my diary, if I had one. great to read a story of a character that is someone I can relate with. Like his other series, I look forward to listening to the rest of this one. great work TJ Klune, and we need to talk about you reading my diary

I laughed out loud and smiled while on my walks that I looked crazy! Lots of fun…with a good storyline. Excellent narration.

I enjoyed it all - the pace was good. The characters fun. Especially Sandy/Helena. Listening to that book now!

Hilariously Perfect!

This book was surprisingly hilarious. There were parts I could not stop laughing. And Michael Lesley delivered an outstanding performance as usual.

Good Story

Michael Lesley is great. TJ always pens a good tale with fun twists and great dialogue

Awesome and Hilarious

This is amazing. The narrator didn’t awesome job. I loved it. You should definitely get it