The Weight of It All

By: N.R. Walker

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

After being dumped by his long-term boyfriend for being overweight, Henry Beckett decides to make some drastic changes. In a vain attempt at getting his boyfriend back, Henry does the most absurdly frightening thing he can think of.

He joins a gym.

Reed Henske is a personal trainer who isn't sure he'll ever be ready to date again. He's sick of guys who are only interested in the perfect body image, never seeing him for who he really is.

As Reed tortures Henry with things like diet and exercise, Henry enamors Reed with recipes and laughter. As the friendship lines start to blur, Henry is convinced there's no way Thor-like Reed could ever be interested in a guy like him.

Reed just has to convince Henry that life isn't about reaching your ideal bodyweight. It's about finding your perfect counterweight.

Contains mature themes.

©2016 N. R. Walker (P)2017 Tantor

Surprised

I was really surprised by this book, I had passed by it so many times. Recently finishing a book narrated by the brilliant Joel Leslie I needed more of him. The story was great, funny, witty, sweet and I enjoyed the message the book sent. Henry found himself again, made good healthy choices - but for himself. Although he may have originally been pushed by someone else I liked the tone of the book - be who you are and comfortable within your own skin.

Lets talk about Joel Leslie ;)!!!! I am going to stalk his narrations, so talented - he puts so much emotion in his work, again I am swooning over him.

Gales of laughter!

I loved this book when I read it, but Joel Leslie brings the characters to life. His ability to change character voices and accents will never cease to amaze me.
Henry and Reed are perfect together. I can totally relate to not having a filter.

So much fun!

I absolutely adored this book, from the first sentence to the last. One of the reasons why I love N.R. Walker’s books is that she writes about genuine people. Her characters are flawed and lovingly human. They are you and me, they are the everyday people that you meet at the grocery store – or at the gym. They are people you can relate to.

Henry, freshly dumped for being boring and overweight, decides to join a gym to get his boyfriend back. Enter Reed, a personal trainer with the body of a Greek God and you have a set up for very clichéd story. But this story is anything but. While questioning whether the elliptical machine violates the Geneva Convention and the purpose of kale you will get to know some amazing people and have a lot of fun doing it. Right off the bat there is a genuine friendship between these two men, they just click, they make sense and they balance each other out. The love between them develops slowly as they spend more time together – at the gym and outside it.

Looks and weight are very sensitive subjects for so many people in the world today. It’s loaded with so many landmines you need a sniffer dog to even think about approaching or navigate through the subject. Body image is also something I believe most, if not all, people have struggled with at one time or another during their lifetimes. So to write a book about this subject is, in my humble opinion, is very brave.

N.R. Walker didn’t just write about it. She wrote about it in such a brilliant and accurate way, that it never put the blame or tried to guilt anyone. Not only that, she wrote a truly humorous book about an obese man falling for his personal trainer. And reading or listening to this book you will laugh, and you will laugh a lot. No, we are never laughing at someone. We are laughing with them, at the antics, the jokes and the many, many filter-less things that Henry blurts out (#PrayForHenry). And having such a wonderful time with these people you never want to leave them.

Joel Leslie did a brilliant job narrating this book. He truly captured the essence of it and the people and his performance of Henry was just perfect. He is the best narrator out there for quirky characters, he just nails them every time. He made this book a true joy to listen to and as always I’m always looking forward to listening to more of his narrations.

The Weight of it All was a beautifully written about a man determined to change his life to get back what he lost. Along the way he found what he never realised he’d lost – himself, self-confidence. But he also found true love and new friendships. It was just such a feel good book and one I know I’ll listen to over, and over again. A great read and I truly recommend it to everyone. It truly is a must read!

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes

Fun

I liked this book but for it still it equates being slimmer with being fitter. It tries hard not to. It almost makes it. That said, aside from Henry throwing an “it’s all about me” fit, that does get resolved right away, the book is filled with good friends and good colleagues so it’s a fun place to hang out for a while. His whingeing is mostly funny.

Personally, I was able to do something similar to our protag (work out, slim down, run 6K slowly) twice. I was also able to slim down with meds, once. Then I developed medical issues that actively caused me to tear tendons, gain weight, & sleep despite *hundreds* of hours with personal trainers. So if you *can* get fitter and/or slimmer with exercise, congrats, your body works properly. You will probably like this. Some people still can’t. And those people may still like this book, but like me, will still see the impossibility in the “eat right & exercise is great and works for everyone” and know that we live in a fat phobic society that is rude to larger folks even fit ones, no matter how much we accept ourselves.

Steam: Med-low. M/M sexytimes partly on page. Focuses on how bodies feel more than the details of doing.

Narration: Narrator & production value are good

5 Stars for the narration!

Light-hearted story about a man getting his groove back after the end of an eight year relationship.

Joel Leslie shines in his performance. The character voices are great, his timing with the humor is spot on, and the pacing was perfect. 5 Stars for the narration!!

Henry's humorous outlook and how easily and completely he and Reed fit together make this a very sweet romance.

Low angst, humorous romance with a sigh-inducing HEA.

Sheer brilliance

I already absolutely adored this book, and Joel Leslie's narration totally kicked it out of the ballpark in terms of adding to it's brilliance. His Henry is hilarious, from the self-depreciation through to his adoration of Reed, he translates NR Walker's wicked sense of humour into something that is warm, sweet and laugh out loud funny. Recommended!!!

I sighed, I swooned, I snorted...

Some readers collect book boyfriends, while your girl collects book best friends. And the newest addition to that club is Henry Beckett from The Weight of It All by author N.R. Walker. I was suffering through a weeks-long book funk, and this story rescued me. Henry and Reed’s story consumed me, and this was some of the most fun I’ve had with a book in a while.

Walker presents real issues in an engaging way, touching on self-esteem and body issues that almost anyone, man, woman, straight, gay, and anyone in between, can really relate to. She tackles these through the lens of Henry and Reed, and I love the fact that she impresses upon us that fat or fit, no one is immune to this problem.

Henry is laugh-out-loud funny, has no filter, and I think we would make great friends. His journey of self-acceptance and love was a pure joy to read. Well, listen to. I adored his interactions with Reed, as well as his circle of friends. I can’t get enough of him. He needs his own web series or podcast or something so I can keep up with him!

N.R. Walker tells a sweet and swoony story, a slow burn romance that left me warm and fuzzy. Her storytelling is wonderful; I never felt like I was being told a story. Instead, I felt like I was experiencing everything right alongside Henry.

Joel Leslie’s narration is once again top-notch. I would listen to him narrate the copier manual at my office, I swear. (I’d probably finally learn how to work the stapling function) He’s incredibly expressive and delivers such an immersive audiobook experience; I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who tells a story better.

If you’re a fan of m/m romance, a fan of true-to-life stories that will warm your heart, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

Amazing author. Stupendous story.

N. R. Walker is my new favorite author. This is the fourth book I've read. Joel Leslie is a top notch narrator. scratch that. He is much better than top notch. He's two or three notches above that. Yes I know that doesn't make sense. You just take a listen and you'll see. Mark my words. I'm off to buy all the N R Walker books I can get my hands on, especially of Joel is the narrator.

So good

This is one of the greatest books! Wonderful love story and fantastic narration! Highly recommended.

Love love love this book so much ,So funny

5 stars for narrator ,five stars overall , I have a weightloss problem also so I find some good tips also

Very entertaining p, A much audible

I pre ordered this book, as I really enjoy the ebook. It was outstanding very enjoyable listening, but then this ebook is my favorite, Joel Leslie was as always fabulous, with his take on Henry and Reed, his voice for Henry's mum was very funny.
I don't think NR Walker has written a bad book, her characters are so very well written p, With Henry no filter, and Reeds quite demeanor, utter fantastic.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, Glad I ordered it.

I enjoyed this one...

Ironically, I read this just after Christmas and it got me back into my own diet and exercise program.
However, the story itself was a great read. It's basically about a man who is feeling pretty down on himself after being discarded by his boyfriend because of his body weight. He has his world turned around when he meets his new health trainer, Reed. The narrator isn't new to me, and his performance was top notch as usual.

Want a laugh

This story has loads of humour and if you are a little down this should give you the lift you need, it's another NRWalker gem 😀😀😀

Henry Beckett is the best friend everyone wants

Reed is lovely, but Henry is an absolute darling and Joel Leslie brings him to life with his usual effortless skill. I keep rereading this book and weeping with laughter. I want to meet Henry! Life would be so much better with a Henry in it!

Excellent all round

N R Walker's stories are almost always excellent and this is one I've come back to several times and still loved it. It's a funny book and Joel Leslie's excellent narration does the story justice.

So funny

I loved listening to this book. The story was sweet and one of the funniest stories I have listened to.

Great choice

The topic was interesting but the description not very appealing to me. Luckily I read some of the opinions and I decided to pick the book. It was a great decision. The book is very funny and the story so touching, Henry and Reed are both adorable. The narrator is amazing too, I found the book because of him.
Besides, I’m related with the physical activity word and I’m not at all ofended, the jokes are great and Henry’s thoughts pretty real 😂.
Oh, another good thing, they are not saying the word "fuc*" all the time, a nice change for once.
Highly recommended! I’m buying the paperback version too.

hilarious

this is a hilarious story Brilliantly narrated well worth listening to. it will make you laugh out loud.

Great listen

I really enjoyed this story and the narration. The storyline and the characters were great, there was a lot of humour in it and I found myself laughing out loud. Really good I will definitely put it in my favourites and enjoy listening to it again.

Brilliant book and narrative loved the humour

loved it Joel did a really good job of making the humour real and the fun thoughts and feelings of Henry.