This Is Not a Love Story

De: Suki Fleet

Narrado por: Hamish Long

Duración: 9 h y 6 m

Resumen del Editor

When 15-year-old Romeo's mother leaves one day and doesn't return, he finds himself homeless and trying to survive on the streets. Mute and terrified, his silence makes him vulnerable, and one night, he is beaten by a gang of other kids, only to be rescued by a boy who pledges to take care of him.

Julian is barely two years older than Romeo. After running away from an increasingly violent home life, he makes some difficult choices and ends up selling himself on the street to survive. Taking care of Romeo changes him, gives him a purpose in life, gives him hope, and though he tries to be strong and keep his troubles with drugs behind him, living as they do is slowly destroying him, and he begins to doubt he can be strong enough.

This is the story of their struggle to find a way off the streets and stay together at all costs. But when events threaten to tear them apart, Romeo knows he must find the strength within himself to help Julian (and not let their love story turn into a tragedy).

©2014 Victoria Machin (P)2022 Victoria Machin

Reseñas de la Crítica

LAMBDA Finalist

Rainbow Award Winner

Stunning, painful and beautiful

I am broken hearted that I need to leave these characters. This is one of those stories that you wish it would go on and on. More importantly, you would pay good money for the author to write more about them. Suki Fleet writes so tenderly about the brutal life on the streets of London. Julian and Remy claw and themselves forward minute by minute together and apart. And then life happens and they loose precious ground they had gained. There is definitely a HEA, but the journey is just plain raw. Get the audio. You will never regret it. Hamish Long’s delivery is touching tender and just plain real. It gets my highest recommendation.

stunning, emotionally soaked prose

This IS a love story, about a bond so strong the lovers allow themselves to descend into hell, one Dante circle at a time, just to be there for the other. When circumstances tear them apart, it becomes a gut-wrenching search for the person at the other end of that bond. The story will leave you devastated. Keep plenty of tissues around as well as a pair of dark sunglasses if you will be listening to this tear-jerker in public. Then give yourself at least a couple of days to recuperate.

Needs a sequel

Amazing story. Hamish Long is fantastic. Just be forewarned that after such a long hard fought battle to get off the streets of London the hea is wrapped up in 2 minutes. Literally. It almost ruins the story but Romeo is so lovely and strong that you're left happy and hopeful for him just with a bit of a book hangover.

A Gripping, Emotional Gut-Punch of a Love Story

Don't let the title fool you, this is a love story, and a deeply moving one at that. I knew I'd be in for some angsty feels based on the blurb alone, but this riveting hurt/comfort story was a heavy emotional gut-punch from the start that I couldn't look away from.

Narrator Hamish Long is an absolute marvel with the full range of emotions and unique character voices he brings to this performance. He "made" this story for me - I felt it right along with the characters - as much as the author's beautifully written words.

This is a single POV story (which is very effective) as told by Romeo, a mute young man who's secretly in love with his best friend, Julian. They are both deep-feeling characters who have become each other's shining light amid the darkness of a difficult existence.

Romeo and Julian's feelings are mutual as is their utter devotion, but sometimes love alone isn't quite enough when facing impossible choices (and yet, it is...). I appreciated the author's raw honesty in not sugarcoating their lives on the streets - the dangers, the fear and frustration, the hardships, and the desperation in doing whatever necessary to survive day-to-day.

The only thing they really have, all that really matters, is each other - so yeah, this is most definitely a love story. Romeo and Julian's HEA is hard won, perfectly understated, and hopeful. They have been through so much and deserve all the happiness they can find, together. I received this free review copy audio book by request and have left this honest review voluntarily.

Beautiful, heartbreaking, emotional, full of love and hope.

15 year old Romeo is mute, homeless, trying to survive on the harsh streets of London. The only person he trusts is Julian, a boy only a couple years older than him who does whatever it takes to protect and take care of Romeo. The boys are always on the move, always trying to find a safe place to stay, fighting to stay together when everything in their lives keeps trying to tear them apart.

This story is a heartbreaking and emotional read, but the writing is so beautiful, you can feel the love these boys have for each other bleed through every page. The brutal realities of their lives are laid out in unflinching detail. Prostitution, violence, drug use, hunger, illness, always out in the cold, never safe. A warm bed only comes with a price that they would only pay at their most desperate. Reading this book for the second time I kept asking myself, “Why do you love this book so much? It’s so sad! Why do I enjoy torturing myself?” I’m still not sure what the answer is other than that there is just something so beautiful and compelling about these boys. Their love for each other and Romeo’s never ending hope that they will find a way to a better life someday. Romeo must have enough hope for both of them because Julian has just been mentally and physically beaten down at one point that he shuts down. That was definitely the most painful part of the book to get through. I just had to remind myself that despite their struggles, these boys do get a happy ending.

My only complaint is that the ending is too abrupt. I really could have used another chapter or two at the end when they are finally safe and happy, living their lives together in peace. Their happy ending is so hard-won, I would have liked to enjoy it a little more before it was over. (If you read WIld SUmmer, you do get to see more of Romeo and Julian’s happy ending, so definitely check it out. It’s a novella about Crash.)

I’ve read the book before, but this time I listened to the audiobook which is beautifully narrated by Hamish Long. I could not have asked for a better narrator. His voice perfectly captures Romeo (even though in the book Romeo is mute), you can feel all of Romeo’s pain and desperation come through in Long’s performance.

This story and these characters–not just Romeo and Julian, but Cassey, Gem, Estella, Pasha, Crash, and Kay–have made a permanent mark on my heart and will stay in my thoughts for a long time to come. I absolutely love this book and recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind getting their heart ripped out before the happy ending patches it up again.

*Note on reading age*
I think this could possibly be ok for 16+, but there are a few scenes with explicit sexual content. I don’t think it’s written in a way that’s meant to be titillating, it’s written more to show their love and their desperation to hold on to each other. Add to that the profanity and possible triggers–just keep all this in mind before letting your teenager read this.

CW: SA (off page), prostitution, needles/drug use, violence, abduction, abandonment, thoughts of suicide

Heartbreakingly beautiful!

I loved this story sooo much!! This is a definitely a must listen! The story sucked me in and didn't let go until it was finished! It gutted me all the way throughout the story, I had tears rolling several times. But overall, the story is fantastic, beautiful and filled with so much heartbreak. Hamish Long did such an outstanding job with the narration, well done!!