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Summary

Laurence Dalziel is worn down and washed up, and for him, the BDSM scene is all played out. Six years on from his last relationship, he's pushing 40 and tired of going through the motions of submission. Then he meets Toby Finch. Nineteen years old. Fearless, fierce, and vulnerable. Everything Laurie can't remember being.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful.

loved this book could not stop listening and didn't want it to end. so good!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absorbing listen

Enjoyed this a lot and immediately went and bought other books by this author. I also like how they tackle and approach living with mental health issues and it felt more real rather than some stories that just do it for the sake of a storyline.

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love this story

It has much food for thought - and I love some of the mind games that Toby plays with Laurie.

My only moan is about the younger narrator, who makes quite a few glaring mispronunciations, for instance, calling an Aga (cooker) and A G A.

It seems that there hasn’t been an editor listening to the different narrators and comparing them for consistent pronunciation- which tbh seems sloppy.

Nonetheless, this was a story that I didn’t want to stop listening to most of the time.

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

13 hours of brilliance

Loved every second of this - the dual narration worked well here and Laurie and Toby each had their completely separate personalities blended superbly. A great story well narrated.

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Serin6
  • Dunmow, United Kingdom
  • 07-10-16

Careless errors, wrong accents, uneven performance

What did you like best about For Real? What did you like least?

The writing is brilliant, characterisation complex and sophisticated. There are no easy familiar scenes or patterns to this love story - more than almost any other writer, this one ignores the reader's expectations except for giving us an occasional burst of hope and a share of the characters' joy. The characters' pain is vivid as well , but never unbearable to hear about as there is always enough optimism from somewhere to keep going - Toby, one of the two protagonists, is irrepressible but also fragile while Laurie is emotionally weathered, outwardly and inwardly tough but still vulnerable. Insight into both characters comes through very explicit descriptions of their sexual involvement but also their inner thoughts in the first person. A book which I finished and immediately started reading again.

What other book might you compare For Real to, and why?

"Glitterland" also by Alexis Hall; Stacia Kane's Chess and Terrible novels;

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Sounded under-rehearsed, ill-prepared and sloppily-executed, For example - the narrator of Laurie's first-person sections gave Toby a feasible East London accent (we are told Toby's mother has an "East London" voice) but Laurie's voice is oddly theatrical and overly precise - he sounds like he is trying very hard to speak properly and it lacks spontaneity (this might be right for the character sometimes, but not when we are hearing his internal monologue surely). It is also rather expressionless and in many places there are spoken words followed by e.g. "his voice [was] breaking.." or other descriptor - when the words had not been spoken like that at all!
The narrator giving Toby his first-person voice made him sound like Prince William with a bit of estuary English with a glottal-stop "t" - sounded just like every ex-public-school 20 year old you've ever met, but this did not seem right for the character as written. A good performance but then he mispronounced not only "AGA" (the cooker) as "ay gee ay" and unforgiveably Laurie's surname "Dalziel" as "dall zeel" when IN THE BOOK on page 2 or 3 the pronunciation is subtly indicated - correctly of course - as "Dee-ell".
As often happens when actors are underprepared, and are, in effect, practising as they begin the recording, the performances improved somewhat as the actors learned their characters as time went on, but the basics of accent and characterisation by the two performers were simply not the same - did they talk to each other about it? Did anyone play each of them the other's performance? If not, then this is just cheating the listener with a second-rate performance - I felt both actors prevented from giving their best work.

Did For Real inspire you to do anything?

Pay more attention to who produces an audible recording. This writer's earlier book "Glitterland" was narrated by Nicholas Boulton who I think really gave a perfect performance.Even "Waiting for the Flood" was pretty good. In both cases the narrators had to produce two different male voices with different accents and personalities. They did pretty well especially compared to this one.

Any additional comments?

Although the narration overall was no worse than many, compared to the skill of the writing it is woeful. Audible has seriously undermined the impact of this beautifully-written book. The book itself won a RITA award and is brilliant MM erotica.

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Just brilliant!!

Alexis Hall is an absolute wordsmith, and I have been waiting for the audio book of this, my fave story of his. Not sure how much input he had in choosing the narrators, but Paul Berton was fab as Tobermory although his 'voice' was a little more upmarket than I expected for someone from Shoreditch, which is definitely East End London. As for John Hartley's Laurie, well I couldn't make my mind up whether he's Australian or South African trying to read as an Englishman, but there were several phrases that gave him away, in particular I'd which came out as Ah'd, but it didn't detract from this wonderful story. Thrilled to bits with it.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating

Alexis Hall's books are a joy to read but seem to be made for audio. John Hartley and Paul Berton really bring the characters of Toby and Laurie alive

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • R_K_87
  • 14-04-16

Just picture me screaming into the abyss forever

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Everyone. Forever.
Why? Because its a piece of art that's why.
Listen, BDSM is a hard thing. It's hard to participate in, its hard to watch, it's hard to understand and its hard to portray. Yet with For Real, it felt effortless. Laurie and Toby pulled me into their world of dominance of submission and trust and care with the ease of a fish gliding through water. Of course there were stumbles but not for one moment were you ever thrown out of the moment. It was, as the title said, For Real. Toby and Laurie were whole realized and complete people. They were strong and sure and beautiful and vulnerable and interesting all on their own and it made their coming together. I would've been fascinated by their relationship even without kink to be honest.

Plus, as someone who spent a bit of time in the London Underground Clubs scene many many moons ago, it was lovely to hear clubs I knew name-checked every now and then. But that was mostly a bonus for me. ;)

What other book might you compare For Real to and why?

Good lord. Not a book but maybe the movie Secretary if Maggie Gyllenhall and James Spader switched kinks but everything else stayed exactly the same.

Which character – as performed by John Hartley and Paul Berton – was your favorite?

Laurie and Toby were both divine but I felt far more comfortable with John Hartley's Laurie than with Paul Berton's Toby because I am closer to Laurie's age than Toby. That's not a sign on his performance, just a sing that I'm getting old *sob*

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Old enough to know better. Young enough not to care.

Any additional comments?

This book was brilliant - both in the sense that instilled joy and pleasure and in the sense that it was in fact intellectually brilliant. Toby was so smart I wanted to reach into my Audible app and shake him with his poetry and literary criticism and creativity and emotional maturity. Everyone in this book was there for a reason. There were no extemporaneous characters. Everyone, even the incidentals, had a purpose. I walked away feeling like I learned something even as I'd been entertained. It's been a long time since I've felt that way about a book. It's lovely to feel that way again.

Now who do I have to bribe to get the rest of Hall's works audiobooked?!

14 of 14 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • M. Jones
  • 14-04-16

Highly Recommend

I chose the book because I've read nearly all of the books by Alexis Hall and enjoyed all of them. This one really touched a special place for me dealing with confusion, loss, low self- esteem and just wanting to be loved no matter what your station in life.

One of the best books I've listened to in a long time.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Cynthia Shepp
  • 06-08-18

Loved it

Yet another enjoyable read from Alexis Hall. And it definitely doesn’t hurt that the narrator could read the dictionary and I’d still listen. 😉

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Joseph Lance Tonlet
  • 26-10-16

Effin' Perfect

The absolute best D/s book I've ever read! Hands-down! Never has an author captured the essence of being a submissive more accurately. So effin' perfect it almost hurts when the last words are uttered and the book has concluded! God, I want MORE of these two and their beautiful relationship. *goes to knees* Please, Sir, more.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Amazon Customer
  • 24-05-16

Superb narration for superb story

As much as I enjoy reading Alexis Hall's excellent prose, this time I enjoyed hearing it even more. These narrators brought the characters to life by dramatizing the story, not merely reading Hall's beautifully literate prose.

I highly recommend this production, and know I will listen to it many times.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • GEG
  • 22-05-16

Get this right now!

I loooooooooved this book when I first read it. And now I love it even more. John and Paul's voices were absolutely stunning, true to the character I pictured, and had me swooning with love for these characters all over again.
This is one I will listen to over and over again!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Book Babe
  • 24-07-18

Nothing short of perfection

There's no way to properly review this book or audio, because it is in a class all it's own. For Real is a master class in m/m romance, a delicious foray into some light BDSM and an honestly lyrical love story. The narrators are perfectly chosen and add even more depth to Alexis Hall's prose, which I hardly believed possible. I will continue to sing/scream the praises of this book until my last breath. I'd put it in my top three favorite audiobooks of all time. Please do yourself a favor and just try it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Sophie Smeenk
  • 11-07-18

Stop everything. Listen to this or read this now!

But preferably listen. I don't know the original audible narrator, but Paul Berton and John Hartley do a magnificent job with this book. Laurie and Toby come to life in the best possible way.

This is the most moving, choking-up, funny, real, kink-sex love story I've ever read or listened to. And that's saying something for someone who for decades thought she wans't into kinky sex. But then it's so much more than that. It's about growth, building bridges, being true to oneself, being true to one another, I have almost listened to it in one go.

I won't put anything in here that could be a spoiler. Just take the book and read it. And listen. it's staggeringly beautiful.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • JD
  • 05-05-18

loved

I really enjoyed both narrators and their portrayal of the characters. I feel like the voices are spot on.
love the story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Amy
  • 30-03-18

Absolutely amazing

What did you love best about For Real?

The author’s ability to get inside the characters’ heads. The depth of the characters’ emotions is staggering. Absolutely loved it.

What did you like best about this story?

Toby. For all his confidence and bravado, he’s just an innocent, Uber-sweet kid.

Which character – as performed by John Hartley and Paul Berton – was your favorite?

Honestly they are both so very good that I cannot choose one over the other. Both voice actors were amazing. I loved their performances and the accents were lovely. I could listen to them forever.

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

Laugh mostly, but it was extremely touching as well.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful