The Real Baxter

The Baxter Chronicles, Book 1

De: Lane Hayes

Narrado por: Michael Ferraiuolo

The silver-fox and the faux bodyguard....

Sebastian

Who’s the true hero behind the Hollywood heartthrob, crime-fighting, adventure-seeking international man of mystery? Me. I’m the real Baxter.

Well, I wear the suit and let the action play out onscreen. You want to know the secret of my success? Sell the story you want to tell. Even if you have to bend the truth a little.

Okay…a lot.

Trust me, no one will notice. Except Trent, who seems to notice everything. And for some reason, I like that. I like him. I’m just not sure what to do about it.

Trent

Look, I’m not exactly killing it. I’m a typical struggling actor-slash-waiter, hoping for a break. And boom…in walks Sebastian Rourke. He’s a cutthroat, wickedly charming silver fox, a Hollywood legend in the making. No joke. You’ve got to sell a piece of your soul to get in this man’s orbit. Or fake a British accent, then take a job playing bodyguard to fool the press. As one does.

I know I should take advantage of the very strange situation I find myself in, but I’m not sure I’m cut out for it. However, I’m willing to take a chance, ’cause I want the real Seb.

Even though it might cost me everything.

The Real Baxter is a MM age-gap, bisexual romance featuring the man who has everything and the actor who’s willing to show him what’s real.

©2022 Lane Hayes (P)2022 Lane Hayes

it was a fantastic book I enjoyed every word

it was a fantastic book I enjoyed every word I've read it several times so far and hope to continue to read it again

One of my top audiobooks for 2022! 5+ stars!

When I read The Real Baxter back in March, I got so much more than I had been hoping for. Calling my expectations "lofty" would be an understatement, but then this was Sebastian Rourke's story we were talking about, and he has been on my wish list for secondary characters to get their own books for what feels like forever. For anyone reading this and isn't familiar with Lane Hayes's writing in general or Seb in particular, he was first introduced in the Starting From series. While his ex-partner--and still best friend--and older son have found true love, Seb hadn't been quite so fortunate during that series run. But now, we've got his story, and it's what kicks off Hayes's The Baxter Chronicles series. If the rest of the books are as fantastic as this one, then dare I say that this series could give my favorite from Hayes, Leaning Into, a proverbial run for its money.

Suffice it to say that Sebastian Rourke is complicated, but then I expected as much. His back story had its heartrending moments, and it was those that shaped him most. He's a good father and a good friend, and there's no denying he's a powerhouse when it comes to work, but the guy was a master at self-sabotage. And then Trent Mackay came along and everything slowly but surely changed for both of them. This story had some angst and some wit alongside age-gap and fake relationship feels. But what wasn't fake was the romance, and it's something that Lane Hayes has done quite well here, adding layers to well-worn tropes, making them feel fresh and original. Add in the always amazing Michael Ferraiuolo, and well, the guy is one of my favorites for good reason. He made what was already a wonderful story even better, and I didn't think that was possible. Five-plus stars for the story, five-plus stars for the narration, so in short, all the stars for The Real Baxter.

So glad to find out Seb got his story told.

This story is about two men who are in the business for actors. One is wanting to break into the business the other owns the business. They start out as a fake relationship with benefits. Then slowly work their way to more.

a really good story

Seb and Trent’s story was full of humor, vulnerability, and sweetness. I wasn’t sure at first if I actually liked Seb but he eventually grew on me and I ended up whole-heartedly rooting for Seb and Trent’s HEA. And, of course, Michael Ferraiuolo’s narration was perfect and made this story even better.

Great story and great audio performance!

I read and reviewed the ebook of The Real Baxter in early March. At that time, I was pretty sure that the audiobook would be coming soon and when I later learned that Michael Ferraiuolo would be performing it, I was so excited! Michael Ferraiuolo is one of my favorite audiobook performers and I knew he would be perfect for this story; I wasn’t wrong.

I love it when a not-so-nice character gets redeemed (we met Seb in Starting from Zero) and now we finally get to learn Seb’s backstory and learn what makes him tick. He’s still a bit of a jerk at the beginning of this book but I had complete faith in Lane Hayes’ ability to make me love him.

Seb has been kind of a broken soul for too long and he really deserves the HEA that Lane Hayes has given him in this story. Trent is pretty much an ordinary guy and Seb… is not. Trent is an aspiring actor but he’s having a tough time landing parts so he tries his hand at being a stunt man…and gets fired. Seb is a movie mogul and through a series of events, Trent ends up working as his fake bodyguard.

Now this is a romance so it’s not hard to surmise that Seb and Trent end up together but the journey that Lane Hayes took me on to get to their HEA was delicious. It was at times a bit funny, hella hot and sexy, and just a darned good love story!

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me at my request but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.