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

Witty!

Very witty, embarrassing, sweet, heartfelt, but above all that...funny as shit ("language!" lol - reference only understood after you finish the book 😉.) I laughed so much that people at work wanted to know what book I was listening to so that they could join in on the fun. Thanks TJ Klune for this wonderful world of characters and narrator Michael Lesley for doing them justice.

New favorite author!!!

5 stars for my third novel by TJ Klune! I'm heavily addicted to his sarcastic, flirty, fun and amazing characters! Read, laugh, and be merry lol, while listening to his fantastical tales of love and courage and wild hilarious stories. Also, the narrator is pretty cool in all his voices, fierce drag queens and laid back boyfriends his voice and pace was spot on!!

Really good m/m romance :D

4-4.5 stars

This was a really good story. I liked both Paul and Vince and enjoyed seeing them get together. Fair warning, this book had parts that were so funny I found myself laughing so hard that my eyes were actually watering...so you might want to keep that in mind if you're reading this story in public.

Paul is a gay man that lives in Tucson, AZ and works for an insurance company. Paul grew up in Tucson and figured out he was gay early. He lucked into finding his BFF, Sandy (aka Helena Handbasket) when he was young and they helped each other through the rough parts of their lives. Thankfully, Paul's family was supportive about his homosexuality.

Vince is hot and gay but not very smart. He grew up in Tucson but went to college in Phoenix and got a job at an insurance company there. Vince recently got a transfer in his job from Phoenix to Tucson so he could be back home. Vince's family lives in Tucson but never accepted his sexuality so they're not very close.

Paul is kind of "husky" and quiet and he hasn't had much experience in relationships. He doesn't have a high opinion of himself, which means he doesn't see why anyone would actually be interested in him which has just ensured that he's stayed single. Sandy is more outgoing and tries to push Paul out of his comfort zone, thinking that if he can get Paul some attention, maybe others will see what a good guy he is. Unfortunately for Paul, he tends to say what ever comes to mind when he's shy/nervous and the weird things he says just ensures that people get uncomfortable and leave. One night when Sandy is doing his drag show at the club, Vince sees Paul and is very interested. Paul notices Vince noticing him but thinks Vince can't actually be interested in him. And when Vince makes it obvious that he is interested in Paul, Paul automatically thinks Vince must want to date him because of a bet or dare (think Freddy Prince Jr.'s character in the movie "She's All That") and it'll all end badly for Paul.

Nothing happens that night at the club but Paul encounters Vince much sooner than expected when he finds out that Vince just transferred to his office and they'll be seeing each other often. Paul's shyness confuses Vince at first but soon he realizes that Paul is just shy and he makes sure Paul knows he's not going to give up easily. Vince isn't a brainy guy but he knows he's got his looks on his side and is willing to use them to get a chance with Paul. I want to say that it took some time for this to happen but things in this book actually happen in quick order so it doesn't really take that much time...it just seems like more because so much happens in the book's timeframe. There's drama, angst and such but things do turn out well, ending with Paul and Vince starting on a well deserved a HEA together.

I really enjoyed this story. Paul was such an interesting character. Some of the things that came out of his mouth were so unexpected and/or weird but usually hilarious, that I looked forward to seeing
what he'd say next. Paul was a little to down on himself but he was also a very sweet guy and I'm glad he found someone to show him his worth. Vince was also a sweet guy. He was a little cocky about his looks but that mostly seemed to be because that's where most of his confidence was. Vince knew he didn't have a lot of brain power but was smart enough to use what he had and not give up on what he wants. I also loved that Vince was able to see something special about Paul, even when Paul was trying to hide from the world. I really liked the characters and their story was very good (and funny), keeping me interested throughout, so I'd definitely recommend it. :D

* note - I did notice a couple editing issues. Twice, I noticed an overlap in words (like they didn't splice the part together quite right and part of a sentence was repeated) but this didn't bother me much because it only happened twice. The main editing issue I found kind of annoying was that the pauses between sections tended to be overly long (like at least 5 second or more). It made me think that the audiobook had stopped without warning at first and then I realized it was still playing and it was just an issue with the editing. It didn't mess up the story but it's best to be aware that the pauses will be overly long before starting the story so you know what to expect.

Great Book, Very Poorly Read

If you could sum up Tell Me It's Real in three words, what would they be?

READ the book

Would you be willing to try another one of Michael Lesley’s performances?

probably not. his talents seem to have been stretched very thin with this one. his performance as the main character (Paul) was great,, but the rest of his voices were a mess. maybe there were too many characters for him to juggle? most were spoken too low, too breathy and monotone to be understood. there were many times when he didn't seem to understand what he was reading and put the wrong emotion/emphasis behind it.

Who was the most memorable character of Tell Me It's Real and why?

the main character/narrator. He's funny, down to earth, hystrionic and overly-dramatic; in short: the prototypical 30 year old gay white man.

Any additional comments?

the pauses between chapters are terribly long. the 1st few i had to check my iPhone to make sure it hadn't shut off on me.

Funny, sweet, and a little over the top.

Funny and sweet story that was, yes, slightly over the top at times, yet still very enjoyable. TJ Klune can definitely bring the laughs, but there were 3 separate times during my listen that I found myself with tears streaming down my face.
I really liked both Paul and Vince's characters- they were so different but equally entertaining, and each had their flaws.
There were some really funny scenes in this story, some minor drama, and some definite tear-jerker moments. All-in-all, this was an entertainin listen.

I loved Michael Lesley's narration in the Tales of Verania series so I was excited to listen to something else by him. I like how he's able to give such distinct voices to each character and make them his own. He really is a terrific narrator.

I did have an issue with the sound quality of this audio. When Michael was voicing Paul the volume was fine, but when he'd speak as Vince at times I'd have to turn the sound way up, which got to be a little irritating, especially when I'd have to turn it right back down. It wasn't as bad when I was using my earbuds, but in the car you could definitely tell the difference.
And I'm not sure what the deal was with the chapter breaks, and scene breaks- but the prolonged pauses were looong.

Totally loved it!

I can’t believe how good this book was! The book was so sweet & had such endearing characters that you fall in love with. Yet, it’s not so sickeningly sweet, due to all the dirty jokes that make you laugh out, surprising others around you. I’m going to listen to this one all over again!

Incredible Story

This story was absolutely wonderful! T.J. Klune is my favorite author. They brought both laughter and tears to the story. A brilliant love story for loving others and yourself.

It's Real! ❤

I'm a baby Klunatic and just loved this book and the series. Michael Lesley is amazing and hilarious. I can listen to him read anything because he has mastered the art of bringing a story to life.

Hilarious!

I kept laughing out loud listening to this book! This is my second time with this book, but my first listen. Michael Lesley is one of my favorite narrators....but he was less than stellar here.

Fantastic story and characters! And a definite must read if you go on to the amazing The Queen and the Homo Jock King.

A beautiful hilarious train wreck, worth reading.

It's a beautiful train wreck. Hilarious and sweet, you will probably need to put it down several times some time for laughing so hard, sometimes for cringing equally hard. But you will soon pick it up again. The more you read the more you like it.