Narrated by Joe Arden, Shane East and a full cast

A Guy Walks into My Bar is the latest contemporary romance by the massively popular author Lauren Blakely, and is the first book by her to feature a romance between two guys. It’s very much a ‘star vehicle’ for the two highly talented narrators, and the author freely admits that had it not been for her love and admiration for the work of Joe Arden and Shane East, she might never have found the inspiration for this story of the hockey star who does, indeed, walk into a bar – and finds the love of his life.

Dean Collins co-owns a popular London bar called The Magpie with his best friend Maeve. They work hard, but they love it – the place is doing really well and Dean enjoys working behind the bar, pulling pints, mixing cocktails, having a laugh and chatting with customers… but definitely NOT chatting them up – he and Maeve have a rule about not taking customers home for the night. In any case, Dean isn’t looking for love – in fact, love is the last thing on his agenda; the fact that his mum left his dad for someone else years earlier and is now on husband number four isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of couple-dom and he’s happily single with a lively social life, good friends and a great relationship with his dad.

NHL star James Fitzgerald – Fitz – is in London for a few days to help his sister settle into her new temporary home (she’s doing a prestigious Art course at the University of London), and one of his friends from new York – an ex-pat Brit – has mentioned The Magpie as being somewhere worth checking out. He walks in and hasn’t been there long before he is immediately struck by the good looks and easy charm of the very hot guy behind the bar, and he sets out to flirt with him… and if he’s lucky, maybe get to do a lot more than flirt.

Well, Fitz and Dean certainly get their flirt on, the crackle of attraction between them palpable and burning hot right from the start. Fitz is a no-nonsense kinda guy and wastes no time inviting Dean back to his hotel, but Dean – reluctantly – turns him down. He and Maeve don’t want The Magpie getting a reputation as “that” bar and in any case, he’s focused on his business and doesn’t want any distractions. The trouble is that neither man can stop thinking about the other for the rest of the night and into the next day – and when they bump into each other at a food and drink fair the following afternoon… well, resistance is useless. Not even the threat of having to do all sorts of horrible chores for the next month as ‘payment’ for breaking his and Maeve’s agreement is enough to deter Dean from wanting to be with Fitz. So with Fitz due to fly back to the US for training camp in a matter of days, and Dean not interested in anything more than some fun and hot sex with an attractive guy, the pair agree to a no-strings fling for the few days Fitz has left in London.

Well, Romancelandia, we all know how THAT’s going to play out!

What starts out as ‘just sex’ very quickly morphs into much, much more. Dean and Fitz discover they enjoy spending time together out of bed as well as in it; Dean agrees to take Fitz around the city to see some of the sights and they end up spending almost all of the next few days together, sharing meals, talking about their lives, spending their nights having mindblowing sex and falling asleep together. (Fitz is a self-confessed snuggler!)

It’s the very definition of a whirlwind romance, an intense few days during which those initial sparks of attraction develop into a deeper, more intense connection to another person than either man has ever known. But Fitz’s home is in New York and his schedule during the hockey season is manic, and Dean is firmly rooted in London; his family, his friends and his business are all there. How can the couple have a future together when there’s an ocean and thousands of miles between them?

A Guy Walks Into My Bar isn’t going to win any prizes for originality, but it delivers exactly the sort of frothy, sexy, low-angst story the author is famous for. There are a LOT of sex scenes and plenty of dirty talk (for anyone who wants to know about such things!) and the fabulous chemistry between the leads is undoubtedly enhanced by the real life friendship between the two narrators (who have a wonderfully snarky bromance going on on Twitter). It’s quite a long audiobook – nearly eleven hours – and I found some aspects a bit repetitive and felt that some of the navel gazing later in the story in particular got a bit irritating and felt as though it was there simply to delay important events and declarations. I really liked how honest Dean and Fitz were with each other – I just felt as though the getting there was sometimes dragged out unnecessarily.

The guys themselves are likeable and charming; opposites in some ways with Fitz being more impulsive while Dean is more of a planner, but with a lot of common ground, too, in their dedication to their work and the importance of friends and family in their lives.

This is the first full cast audiobook I’ve listened to and I have to confess that I’m on the fence about this manner of audiobook presentation. On the one hand, it eliminates the need for a narrator to find numerous ‘character voices’ and differentiate between them, to portray characters of the opposite sex, and, (as in a normal dual narration), achieve a degree of consistency between each narrator’s interpretation of each character. On the other hand, the switch from one voice to another can be quite jarring, and I did notice some differences in sound quality, although nothing too horrendous. Given the book was recorded remotely via Zoom, it may have been more difficult than usual to get a more evenly balanced ambient sound.

In terms of the performances, however, Joe Arden and Shane East aren’t at the top of the list of Romancelandia’s favourite male narrators for nothing. They’re both extremely talented and skilled at what they do, and as I said earlier, their ‘off screen’ friendship really enhances the emotional connection they develop and convey between Dean and Fitz throughout the story. I enjoyed their performances a great deal (as I don’t listen to many m/f contemporaries, I don’t listen to either of them very often) – their timing as they bounce the banter back and forth is excellent, and the more emotional moments in the story are delivered perfectly, with just the right degree of expression. Both narrators are on top form, and I’m not playing favourites (!), but I have to say that the amount of conviction Joe Arden can convey in just a few words completely floored me on more than one occasion. (No, actually, I am going to play favourites, because Joe pronounces the word “scone” correctly!)

The rest of the cast includes Ron Butler as Dean’s dad – their scenes together are great – Vanessa Edwin as Maeve, and Zachary Webber, Vikas Adam, Maxine Mitchell, Jakobi Diem, Stella Hunter, Emma Wilder and Sebastian York in smaller roles. Minor niggle – a book set almost entirely in London only has one British performer? Mr. Butler and Ms. Edwin do a more than decent job with their English accents, but they’re still a bit wobbly in places.

A Guy Walks into My Bar is light-hearted, fluffy fun with a deeply emotional, passionate romance at its centre, performed by a pair of narrators at the top of their game whose engagement and enthusiasm shine through with every word. Fans of author and narrators alike are sure to love it.

This title includes a short “fireside chat” with Joe Arden and Shane East, a short story ‘extra’ and a blooper reel.

MEET THE CHARACTERS OF A GUY WALKS INTO MY BAR by #1 NYT BESTSELLING AUTHOR LAUREN BLAKELY

We are so excited to bring you a special sneak peek this week of the characters from Lauren Blakely’s, A GUY WALKS INTO MY BAR!!