There's This Guy

By: Rhys Ford

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay

How do you save a drowning man when that drowning man is you?

Jake Moore's world fits too tightly around him. Every penny he makes as a welder goes to care for his dying father, an abusive, controlling man who's the only family Jake has left. Because of a promise to his dead mother, Jake resists his desire for other men, but it leaves him consumed by darkness.

It takes all of Dallas Yates's imagination to see the possibilities in the fatigued art deco building on WeHo's outskirts, but what seals the deal is a shy smile from the handsome metal worker across the street. Their friendship deepens while Dallas peels back the hardened layers strangling Jake's soul. It's easy to love the sweet, artistic man hidden behind Jake's shattered exterior, but Dallas knows Jake needs to first learn to love himself.

When Jake's world crumbles, he reaches for Dallas, the man he's learned to lean on. It's only a matter of time before he's left to drift in a life he never wanted to lead and while he wants more, Jake's past haunts him, making him doubt he's worth the love Dallas is so desperate to give him.

©2017 Rhys Ford (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press

Cute, but boring!

The author doesn't show. He tells. Over and over again, every little thing passing through the minds of our two heroes. They are adorable, but unfortunately, the story is so incredibly boring that I couldn't finish the book.

So romantic & heart warming

It may be cliche but those words sum up this novel! Brilliant, idiosyncratic and well informed writing and narration as is usual for a R. Ford/G. Tremblay combination are enjoyable. But the love between the characters in the face of hate is something to cherish now and in the future. Quick read because it was engrossing from the first word.

Why hadn't I read this earlier.

If you love Hurt/Comfort as a sub-genre of romance then "There's This Guy, " must count as one of the perfect examples of H/C. This is a tale of the courage one man has to walk towards a better self wrapped in a story of acceptance, love, and acknowledgement of how hard it can be to step away from a dark past.
Rhys doesn't drop an easy fix on us; she shows the growth, the development of trust, and the acceptance of self that are the cornerstones of healing.
Add Greg Tremblay and you have perfection.

There's this guy.

Would you consider the audio edition of There's This Guy to be better than the print version?

Not at all, each is fantastic on their own, each presenting itself as a different version of the story.

What did you like best about this story?

Dallas's unwavering patience and loyalty where Jake was concerned.

What about Greg Tremblay’s performance did you like?

Every-damn-thing! Not only does he give the characters a voice and bring them to life, makes them real not just words on paper. He puts his heart and soul into these characters in a way that the listener can feel their joy and pain along with them.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Jake finally opens the door and flies into Dallas's waiting arms.

Any additional comments?

Tams eBook Review March 2017...

Jake Moore tries very hard not to be who he is, deep down, inside. He spends his hard earned money on a home for his homophobic father who truly deserves to rot in a ditch. But Jake is loyal to a fault, he's also buried so deep in the closet that it takes an almost stagnant body, wrought iron calligraphy, a confident drag queen and Dallas to break down the door.

Dallas Yates buys the building across from the shop Jake works at with a hope and a dreamy, not even realizing that destiny was his buy two get one free. But anything worth having is never really free, it takes hard work and stamina, which Dallas has in abundance.

Dallas is patient and unwavering, as is Celeste, both hovering and holding Jake up as he figures out that he's finally found the family he's ached for. But daddy dearest doesn't make it easy, the emotional abuse and self loathing are painted on so thick that Jake's welder may not even be able to burn it off.

I always know when I get my grabby hands on a book penned by Rhys Ford it's going to be juicy, sexy, invigorating and there simply must be the obligatory body(s) hidden somewhere waiting to pop out at the exact right moment, like a jack in the box. Nestled somewhere in the middle is this young man that has been told since he was a boy that he wasn't right, that to be true to himself was deplorable and disgusting. Somewhere along the way, Jake started to believe it.

I think that the wrought iron and the bars on the windows was meant to be a healing aspect of the story for Jake. It was like, working on them, perfecting them, changing them, everything lined up with the steps he was taking in his life at the same time. Maybe I'm reading too much into that, but that's what I took away from this story when I finished. Super sexy, of course, flowed well from start to finish and seriously grabbed my attention from that first, awkward chapter to the end.

Poetry Masquarading as Prose

This book was simply wonderful and the performance by Greg Tremblay was magnificent. The words in this book were exquisite, The way Rhys makes dialogue come to life is absolutely fantastic. It was like listening to poetry about love, life, and the horrors some people live through to get to the beauty. I was moved beyond tears. The descriptions of the art that Jake made was brethtaking, I wanted to see it and I could in my minds eye.

Excellent!

I loved it. Wept like a 6 year old girl with a skinned knee, at the end. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!

Outstanding!

What can I say? This book was heartbreakingly beautiful. I hope we get more of these characters from Rhys and I hope they're brought to life once again by Greg Tremblay. Loved it!

Beautiful

A sweet romance, some personal struggles, learning to accept. Jake really left an impression on me.

Greg Tremblay is amazing!

Would you listen to There's This Guy again? Why?

Yes

What did you like best about this story?

It's a story that a lot of people can relate to.

Have you listened to any of Greg Tremblay’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first and Im blown away by his talent.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh and cry.

A dark story that grows lighter

I feel like I can’t write a review without first listing the potentially triggering things I noticed, so trigger warning for: flashbacks of child abuse, homophobia, brief allusion to conversion therapy, suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts, flashback of rape, Alzheimer’s, misgendering and deadnaming (though it’s not done in a malicious way. It’s mostly mentioned in memories of before a character started transitioning). There might be more, but those are the things I noticed.
I cried more than once listening to this. It was the kind of book I couldn’t stop listening to, and I stayed up way too late. There aren’t really any outside threats, the conflict and the journey all come from Jake’s struggle with his trauma and depression, but it’s more than enough to take the story along. Greg Tremblay is a wonderful narrator as always, making you feel like you’re almost there with the characters. The only thing I would change about this book is that I’d love to have seen more of Dallas’ family, as they seem like a fun and interesting bunch of people.