Strays

Urban Soul, Book 2

De: Garrett Leigh

Narrado por: Dan Calley

Work, sleep, work, repeat. Nero’s lonely life suits him just fine until his best friend Cass asks him to take on a new apprentice - a beautiful young man who’s never set foot in a professional kitchen. Despite his irritation and his lifelong ability to shut the world out, Nero is mesmerized by the vibrant stray, especially when he learns what drove him to seek sanctuary on Nero’s battered old couch.

Lenny Mitchell is living under a cloud of fear. Pursued by a stalker, he has nowhere left to run until Nero offers him a port in a storm - a job at the hottest restaurant in Shepherd's Bush. Kitchen life proves heady and addictive, and it’s not long before he finds himself falling hard and fast for the man who has taken him in.

Fast-forward a month, and a neither man can imagine life without the other, but one thing stands in their way: a lifetime of horrors Nero can’t bring himself to share with Lenny. Or can he? For the first time ever, happiness is there for the taking, and Nero must learn to embrace it before fate steps in and rips it away.

©2015 Garrett Leigh (P)2020 Garrett Leigh

Good.

Good, but after Misfits I expect more. The story had so much potential, but seemed a bit flat.
Love the change in narrators, I prefer separate couples to have different narrators.

Another Great listen by Garrett Leigh

Strays, the second book of this series, was as good as Misfits which is saying a lot. I loved that Tom Jake and Cass were an important part of this story and we got to spend a little time with them. I loved the whole premise around Urban Soul and that it was the bedrock for both books. Now on to Lenny and Nero....perfect couple! I thought the progression of their relationship was realistic and Beautiful. Their imperfections fit perfectly together and the unveiling of Neros past was paced well. The story pulled me right in as do all of Garrett's books and provided tons of cozy feels and the sense of spending time with friends you are invested in. Dan Calley did a fabulous job as narrator and added that spark of life to each character to.make listening an unforgettable experience.

An Emotional Ride

This story was amazing the first time I read it, but Dan Calley’s narration added another level to the story that allowed me to connect with the story even more than before. Lenny and Nero are part of the Misfits crew and they both have their issues but they need each other and don’t realize it until they meet!

My original review:


I devoured this book... Nero and Lenny are so perfect for each other! I can’t get enough is the Urban Soul series and its characters. Garrett creates a world that is so real you actually feel like you are a part of it. Between the horrors in Nero’s past and the horrible things happening to Lenny in the present, watching them navigate their fragile friendship and eventual relationship is heartwarming and, at times, frustrating, but it’s the perfect story. You can see how much they need each other but Lenny needs more from Nero and Nero has to figure out how to give it to him. I need more of this world in my life! I just loved it!

Waifs and Strays ...or at least one of each

In this aptly named Strays, we have the second book in the Urban Soul series. Nero seems to have been an earlier stray taken in by Cass. Now he’s being asked to return the favor by sheltering the waifish Lenny from a stalker. That means sharing the apartment above the Shepherd’s Bush restaurant that Nero runs.

The second book can be enjoyed entirely on it’s own. Nero has a haunted past that’s frequently referred to, but not fully explained, until late in the book. Having not read the first in the series, I found myself continually wondering about how much (if anything) I’d missed by not reading book 1. I’m now convinced that I hadn’t missed much. Nero is just so closed-off due to his life experiences that few ever learn his back-story. It’s really a satisfying relief when Lenny finally breaks through that hard shell.

However, a semi-spoilerish Trigger Warning is required: Nero is a ex-convict and a survivor of child abuse. These issues are recounted in some detail toward the end of this book and explains much of his behavior and attitudes. Despite the amount of time that has passed, some readers may still find this too intense.

Lenny on the other hand is much more open about his life, and brings a good deal of light into what would otherwise be a pretty gloomy tale. Together the two make an amazingly romantic pair and their tale is surely as sweet as anything in the artisanal bakery they’re working so hard to open in Vauxhall.

Dan Calley narrates this, the second book in the series after the first was narrated by Craig Beck. I love Calley’s narration style, and I’ve enjoyed other books he’s read but for this one I find myself listening at a slightly reduced speed in order to understand the words. I’m guessing it’s the East-end London accent. As usual Calley brings a good variety of local accents to the book which adds an element beyond what’s in the story itself. Professor Higgins wasn’t that far off when he lamented that “An Englishman’s way of speaking absolutely classifies him. The moment he talks, he makes some other Englishman despise him.”

*** Note: I received a free copy of this title. This is an honest review ***

Food & love

This is my first book by the author. I found it enjoyable once I settled in to the rhythm of it. It was interesting because despite both guys having some traumatic pasts that came up regularly in their thoughts, the book wasn’t mired in angst, mostly because they threw themselves into commercial cooking. I found this lack of wallowing refreshing. I enjoyed following them while they cooked and created. It was nice reading about a couple of regular blokes who started rough but managed to create an average, but interesting, enjoyable life together, with some friends.

I liked how Lenny’s artistic flair was incorporated into the food production and he learned cooking backwards plating from rather than forcing him to start from his deficits. I liked how Nero was protective in a way that didn’t burden Lenny. The scene where Nero forbids strangers in the kitchen, it’s his choice, there’s no tossing Lenny’s issues in front of other staff. Even though Nero was grumpy, I was glad he wasn’t abusive. Difficult and prickly, yes, but he didn’t go after coworkers.

My quibbles, which may or may not resonate with other readers:
- Lenny seemed to have no friends from his past at all. not from uni, not from dancing, not from restaurants, not from childhood. I get that he wouldn’t have felt safe staying with dance friends any other restaurant friends but for such a personable guy, how did he have none? I get keeping a character list tight, but friendless orphans feel like quitting before you start. Especially contrasted with Nero’s inability to make friends, having all of the friends be Nero’s felt unbalanced.
- Nero’s instalove was clunky. That they spent a lot of time together before acting on anything saved it. I get having chemistry when meeting. I get that Lenny needed to look under Nero’s grump. But it seemed to be taken as a done deal from day one that Nero would provide infinite chances for Lenny, and Lenny would overlook grumpiness. And it wasn’t wrong, as such, it just felt like a shortcut that wasn’t necessary given how much time they had to grow together. Why start at all in?

Steam: Low. Mostly off page M/M starting with a slow burn then ramping up.

Narration: My US ears took a while to acclimate to the accent. It felt mumbly. I listen at +25%, though, and didn’t slow it. I did rewind a couple sections multiple times. Maybe it was my unfamiliarity or maybe the narration was just mumbly.