Spencer Cohen Series, Book One

By: N.R. Walker

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Spencer Cohen is the guy who gets answers to relationship questions. Playing the role of the new lover, his job is to make his client's ex realize one of two things: he doesn't want to break up or he really does. Either way, his client gets answers.

The ex would either apologize and beg, or turn and walk. But in the end, Spencer's client won. If he wanted his ex back and got him, it was great. If the guy walked away, then as hard it was for the client, he knew it was over. Regardless of the outcome, Spencer's work was done.

Andrew Landon's ex left him without so much as an explanation. But his sister can't stand to see him miserable, so, much to Andrew's dismay, they hire Spencer to be Andrew's new boyfriend to get the ex back.

For Spencer, it is never personal. Merely a business transaction. No emotions, no strings, no complications. Yeah right. Even a blind man could see how this would end.

Contains mature themes.

©2016 N. R. Walker (P)2018 Tantor

Critic reviews

"If you're looking for an unusual, touching romance with beautifully-rendered characters, this book should be at the top of your list." (Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews)

Intimate. Slow Burn. Heart-Touching.

I had a wonderful time listening Joel Leslie narrate the beautiful and romantically written Spencer Cohen, book One .

This very intimate story is a very slow burn; I mean, heroes share just one kiss in the entire 5 hours and 26minutes of this audio. Yet, the anticipation, chemistry between Spencer and Andrew was off the charts hot.

Will I Re-listen?: No
Recommend: Yes

#ListenedOn2020 #Audible #AudibleEscape #KindleFire

So. Nice.

I really appreciate good character development. And a story that doesn't have to depend on drawn out and over written sex scenes is refreshing. Don't get me wrong. This book had lots of build up and wasn't prudish. A winner. Looking forward to a prolific series.

An eccentric Aussie fake boyfriend

I am a huge N.R. Walker fan, so when ‘Spencer Cohen’ was released on audio, I seized it. And with Joel Leslie narrating? Heaven!

That being said, this wasn’t my favourite N.R. Walker audio, but given that several of hers are at the top of my all-time favourite list, it would have been hard to achieve those heights. ‘Switched’ and ‘The Weight of it All’ are always on my recommendation list.

I did enjoy the book. Other readers have spoken highly of the series and I can see why. Spencer is an Aussie transplant who has a backstory that is slowly revealed as the story progresses. It’s a story that is, unfortunately, all too familiar to gay teenagers.

America, and Los Angeles in particular, has been good to Spencer. By a stroke of fortune, he met his landlords Emilio and Daniela when he went into their tattoo and piercing shop to get his first tattoo. He met his best friend Lola and her beau Gabe through a series of unusual events, and in the process, found a creative employment solution – “Dial-A-Boyfriend”.
I have to admit, it’s a unique endeavor. Women and men hire Spencer to help them get their ex-boyfriends back. Spencer’s primary weapon is jealousy – following the logic that if the dumper sees his ex with a new lover (Spencer), he will start to appreciate what he let slip through his fingers.

The story is told entirely through Spencer’s point-of-view, common with N.R.’s books. He is a lumbersexual hipster with full-sleeve tattooed arms and a short beard. He has a crew: Daniela and Emilio as well as Lola and Gabe. They rally around him, helping him with his clients, and as Spencer says, he’s ‘f-ing good’ at his job. The crew have a shorthand name for all of the clients so it’s natural for them to nickname Andrew Pianoman.

For reasons he doesn’t understand, that irks Spencer. He sees Andrew as himself, not as a moniker. This is the first sign that Spencer sees Andrew differently from those who have come before him. Andrew is a good-looking man whose ex-boyfriend left him after they had been living together and had even agreed to marry. Andrew is completely baffled as to why Eli left and wants him back. Spencer’s job is simple: get Eli and Andrew back together.

To be effective, Spencer needs to get to know his clients. He has a VETO policy – if he asks a question that is too personal, the client can say ‘veto’.

Andrew is adorable. Slightly geeky and completely unable to see his own worth. He’s sexy – although he doesn’t show off – and he has a great personality once his shyness gets set aside. So Spencer spends time getting to know the real Andrew. And that goes both ways. Spencer loves Jeff Buckley’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah (one of my all-time favourite songs, and although I listened to Jeff’s version, the best one out there is Patricia O’Callaghan’s). For Andrew, it’s Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Given his ability to play piano, this isn’t a surprise. When Spencer digs deeper, though, Andrew admits to his true love. And the image of Andrew playing for Spencer. Wow.

There are other adventures to be had. Spencer invites Andrew to hang around with him – to get to know each other so Eli will believe they are a couple. There is a great scene in the tattoo parlour where Daniela asks Spencer, “what about a Prince Albert?” Spencer’s reacts by thinking that his ‘dick retracted into his body’. This is just one of the doozies that goes through Spencer’s inner monologue. I love him. He is self-deprecating and brutally honest. Sometimes he manages to keep his thoughts to himself, but sometimes he just blurts them out.

And, when it comes down to it, he understands that a good portion of his job is building up the self-esteem of the client who has been dumped. And he does this brilliantly:

“Jesus, Andrew, if there was a magazine called Sexy and Cool Cartoonographers who play jazz funk piano and watch Stanley Kubrick films, you would be on the cover of every issue.”

By this point, Spencer has moved from just seeing Andrew as a client to seeing Andrew as a man who Eli clearly did not appreciate. And as he gets Andrew closer to getting Eli back, he sees that he is closer to getting his own heart broken. Spencer has known heartbreak. The one VETO he uses is when Andrew asks about the tattoos. Spencer explains that there is something cathartic about having scars inked into your skin. That insight spoke to me. He tries to come across as a happy-go-lucky guy, but there is depth to him. Those depths are stirred when he meets Andrew.

When the plan works and Eli asks Andrew to talk to him, Spencer sees his own life falling down around him. I empathized with him on that as well.

The good news? There are THREE more Spencer books including, ‘Yanni’s Story’.

Finally…Joel Leslie. What can I say? My lovely Joel Leslie. He does Australian brilliantly (having voiced N.R.’s series Red Dirt Heart) of course, but he’s also comfortable with an American accent as well as a Spanish inflection. And I adore his voice for Lola. I grinned every time Lola spoke, seeing her in my mind’s eye. And the image of her driving Cindy Crawford like Evel Knievel in Los Angeles? That is one of the reasons I love this book – N.R.’s humour and Joel’s delivery. Another perfect book.

4 1/2 Great Stars

This is a great mm romance and I give it 4 1/2 stars. Spencer and Andrew was such a cute couple. Joel Leslie did a great job with narration.

Good Story

The narrator did a good job. I enjoyed Spencer and Andrew, the storyline and the secondary characters. This was an emotional book.

Excellent performance!!!👏👏👏👏

Joel Leslie and NR Walker are a pair impossible to follow.I cannot wait to listening the second part.This book rock it!!!!

Arrrhhggh now I have to wait for 2!

I fallen in love with NR Walker's writing. The stories are always so interesting without resorting to the characters falling in to bed at the drop of the hat. She takes time to build characters and they're more than just their appearance.
This story is a very slow build and is almost all tease. It's all about the main characters getting to know each other. I CAN NOT wait for the second instalment. If I had time to read I'd go out and buy it. But then I'd miss out on the narration. Joel Leslie is a great narrator and puts real emotion in to his reading. Not to mention diversity of accents. While he's seemed to wobble with the Australian accent at the start of other audiobooks I've listened to, he hits his stride right away with this one.
The characters are loveable but I just wanted to know more of the emotional responses from Andrew. I'm hoping we get to understand more of his thoughts in book two!

Spencer and Andrew's beginning

This is the beginning of Spencer and Andrew (which will span 3 books). Spencer is an Aussie in L.A. for reasons and he works as Fake boyfriend to help men and women get closure with the significant other that left them. either they get them back or not. Andrew is his most recent client but from the first moment he is different that all the other clients Spencer had and by the end he becomes so much more.

N.R. Walker drew me in, got me hooked on these boys, gave me all the feels as she always does and can't wait to get to the next part of their story.

Joel is magic.

One of the best books I ever read!

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, narrated by Joel Leslie.

I like to start every year with a new-to-me book, series or author. I've read a few books by this author before but this was the first time I've read the book. I read several reviews that warned me that there is virtually no heat in this book, so I was prepared. I typically like books with heat so had to take heart that those reviews also said that the lack of heat didn't matter because there was so much else there. They were right. There is so much more to this book and relationship then bedroom activities. It is full of tension. Told in the POV of Spencer it details how attracted he is to Andrew, how conflicted he is because Andrew is a client and his job is to see if Andrews Ex wants to get back with him. It shows how he hates the insecurities that Andrew has and shows how his own past has hurt him. It shows heart and healing and found family and love.

This audiobooks was so much more than expected. It was an amazing first new book of the year, and has cemented NR Walker as a favorite author.

Joel Leslie did an amazing job with his narration. He is able to bring the characters to life and helps the world they live in feel real. He brought so much heart and emotion to the story that I was lost in the unfolding relationship and love.

Get One and Two Together

A wonderfully written setup to a terrific series with exceptionally entertaining narration by Joel Leslie.

Told from the POV of Spencer, a fix it man hired by people who have been dumped to make their exes jealous and restore the relationship or prove once and for all that the relationship is over. Spencer is great at his job, mainly because he excels at keeping an emotional distance.

When Spencer’s takes on Andrew as a (reluctant) client it’s pretty clear from the start Spencer’s emotional distancing isn’t really working with Andrew. One of the best parts about this series is getting to know both Spencer and Andrew’s emotions and pasts.

IMO you should really listen to Book One and Book Two together. I think the two books work best together because Joel is a maestro who give a great performance with emotional nuance that I didn’t want to stop listening to.

But two things you should know before starting: there’s no sex, only a single kiss, in Book One. This works perfectly as the characters are set up and getting to know one another, and you get tons of sex in Book Two. Another reason you should read/listen to them back to back is Book One ends almost abruptly, but if you pick up Book Two immediately after it flows brilliantly into how the relationship between Andrew and Spencer grows.

Low angst, fun, funny, with great feels and wonderful narration.