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How to Be a Normal Person
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Being a hit man has its perks, but I never thought getting an accidental mooning by an attractive PI while he’s caught on a fence would be one of them. While it’s not exactly love at first sight, he’s captured my interest and won’t let go. Suddenly, I find myself caught in a game of cat and mouse, determined to attract the attention of Jackson, the PI who should be my enemy. He pretends like he’s not flattered by my flowers and the mentions of my totally-not-fictitious blow-up doll, Randy (or was it Dandy?), but I know better.
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5 out of 5 stars
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In the small mountain town of Amorea, it's stretching toward autumn of 1954. The memories of a world at war are fading in the face of a prosperous future. Doors are left unlocked at night, and neighbors are always there to give each other a helping hand.
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5 out of 5 stars
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That's Amore
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Getting into the vampire-only detective unit was the easy part. What’s going to be more difficult is dealing with my new partner - an ancient vampire who keeps threatening to eat me. The unit has never had a human in it. Marcus - or, as I like to call him: Fangy McFangface - would really prefer to keep it that way. He’s grumpy, short-tempered, and broody, but I have a way with words, and I know he’s starting to like me, even if he swears he’s not.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant
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Seneca is the complete package. He's smart, sexy, and confident, much to Chevy's annoyance. They've worked with each other for two years, and even though Chevy might secretly find his partner charming and attractive, playful harassment is all they have. Chevy was born with a unique gift that allows him to go into the memories of others. As detective, he uses this ability to find peace for victims who have been hurt or attacked. But neither Chevy nor Seneca are prepared when they are asked to go into the mind of a serial killer in hopes of finding survivors.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Tedious with horrid characters
- By elly gausden on 30-07-20
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 70
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When Felix lands a job taking care of a man recovering from severe injuries, he thinks his life may have just turned around. Anything has to be better than the place he's leaving. There's something about Lane that draws Felix to him and makes him question if this place could finally become a home for him. But when someone begins stalking Felix, he is left to question who Lane is and what actually happened to him. Together, Felix and Lane will be forced to see just how far they will go to protect each other.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant story, expertly performed
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Summary
Gustavo Tiberius is not normal. He knows this. Everyone in his small town of Abby, Oregon, knows this. He reads encyclopedias every night before bed. He has a pet ferret called Harry S. Truman. He owns a video rental store that no one goes to. His closest friends are a lady named Lottie with drag queen hair and a trio of elderly Vespa riders known as the We Three Queens.
Gus is not normal. And he's fine with that. All he wants is to be left alone.
Until Casey, an asexual stoner hipster and the newest employee at Lottie's Lattes, enters his life. For some reason, Casey thinks Gus is the greatest thing ever. And maybe Gus is starting to think the same thing about Casey, even if Casey is obsessive about Instagramming his food.
But Gus isn't normal and Casey deserves someone who can be. Suddenly wanting to be that someone, Gus steps out of his comfort zone and plans to become the most normal person ever.
After all, what could possibly go wrong?
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What listeners say about How to Be a Normal Person
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kallie Harris
- 10-03-17
Wonderful
I've got a fair few of TJ Klune's books on Audible and I do enjoy them immensely but this is the first book I've listened to with this narrator and it's taken it into a new level of enjoyment. This is simply beautifully performed and I know that as soon as I've finished (one chapter left!) I'm going to go straight back to the beginning and start it again. The characters are so easy to like, the love story unusual and compelling and the narrator does an equally wonderful job of comedy and pathos. Yes it's long (it seems to be TJ Klune's trademark) but this is the first book of the author's that I haven't got a little bit impatient with as the story played out and I put that down to this brilliant narrator. I'll definitely be seeking out more of his work and can throughly recommend this as one of TJ Klune's most outstanding works.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- kindleaddict
- 08-03-17
A fabulous book
Made all the better by a Stellar narration. I'm sure other drivers thought I had a screw loose with all the laughing I've done. The tears however are another subject! Tj Klune is a master wordsmith.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Laura Hdt
- 28-12-18
love it
I must have listened to this book about 10 times already and it's still makes me laugh. it's just amazing, the story is perfect, the narration is fantastic. I'm so glad that there's a second book now, which is just as good.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- C. Fern
- 14-09-16
Amazingly Amusing Amorous situations
Absolutely loved it, couldn't stop myself listening to this very compelling story.
The narrator was on point to pull off all these diverse characters. My favorite parts were involving the recorded calls and both Mitzi and Mytzy. Also, whenever Gus was going 'what the hell' and 'oh my god' which he does quite a bit.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lisa Hughes
- 05-03-20
My favourite book of all time
This book is perfection. It's abnormal and awkward and weird and I couldn't love it more. TJ Klune is such an amazing author and in this book he explores what it means to be normal with so much warmth, humour and sass, yet there is great depth in the narrative too. Derrick McClain is magnificent and I have listened to him read this book over and over again.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Book addict
- 23-06-19
Enjoyable book
This probably would have been a 5 star book as I love a-typical characters in books and liked Gus, but I couldn’t fully get into the dopey slightly dim stoner type character who was Casey. Don’t get me wrong, their relationship was sweet and I liked how different they were to each other, but I think I like a bit more mental spark to characters in books. Great story, though! TJ Klune is very talented and I love many of their books so will definitely get more of them.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fortuna
- 25-05-19
TJ is a true Genius!
Oh Gustavo, what can I say.....I was rooting for him from the beginning. What a fabulous character and a super human being. Casey is so imperfectly perfect for him and their crowd of friends are lovably bonkers! A fantastic supporting cast.
TJ’s character development is second to none, he takes you through every emotion whilst you fall in love with everyone involved. I gobble up everything he writes, each book or series completely different but with that TJ excellence shining through.
Derrick McClain is a new narrator for me and I thought he was fabulous. His stoned and sweet Casey voice was fab.
I’m desperately now waiting for the release of How to be a Movie Star which I know will be another corker!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- spencear
- 30-03-19
Relate-able feels
With this book, TJ Klune has reignited in me a love for the gay romance. The characters here are in no way cookie cutter or the sort of cut and past personalities that seem to be used in this strain of fiction that I have read over the past years. Here the individuals live and on more than one occasion I had a twinge in my chest, a catch in my throat, or tear of joy attempting to escape the corner of my eye. Gus embodied every awkward feeling and action that all of us feel to some degree, and who hasn't used the internet to research a perceived upcoming problem, Oh just me then. I haven't felt this way with characters in fiction since 'The Front Runner', which I read when that burst onto the literary scene back in the mid-seventies. This is on to take to your heart.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- alex
- 17-07-16
Would be better read by Michael Lesley
Have got quite a few of TJ Klunes books. The best being lightning strike heart. There are bit of that in this one, though unfortunately Derrick McClain completely misses the point, and any humour is lost, There's a gay couple, one of which is 'an actor' but not an ounce of camp anywhere..
Michael Lesley would have brought the characters to life but as it is the story plods along in a very dreary fashion.. A shame really..
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marius F.
- 12-05-16
Hooked
Quirky, warm, funny, mad, unexpected.
Loved it. This would be the third book of TJ Klune so I think it's safe to say I'm hooked.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- pj
- 06-02-17
How to frown like a normal person ;-)
I have a definite preference when it comes to M/M romance and or M/M paranormal fantasy and this story is definitely abnormal for me as a choice, but am so very glad that I did take the chance and brought it into my library.
I, as a rule, do not write reviews as I feel everybody has their own set of filters or ground rules that shape their own criteria of what constitutes a "good story".
So maybe if I give a little background someone of a similar disposition will find this helpful...
I did a tour of duty for 8 years and then got out of the Army. I never regretted either joining or leaving when I did, proud of my service and got an Honorable Discharge and all that...
My childhood was split between Alaska and Washington and consisted of fun, hard work, hunting, fishing; surrounded by first a fishing environment and then a farming one, both environments promoted a definite ideal of accepted sexuality and/or masculinity....
Given all that, I found myself smiling, laughing, mourning and quietly rooting and cheering on Gustavo and Casey.
The idea of building a friendship and relationship where the focal point is just that -- the friendship and relationship -- and where the carnal physicality is not the core or predominant element as a romance story is probably a tough story to sell, but TJ Klune does a wonderful job in this story with Gus and Casey....
All that to say, give this book a try, you may find yourself quietly but delightfully surprised.....
Also,
Need to give Derrick McClain his due as well, I think this is the first time I've had the pleasure of one of his performances, for what it is worth I will start to watch for his name on other titles, I thoroughly enjoyed his interpretation and performance as a story teller.
pj
24 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Belen
- 17-04-16
ALL THE STARS FOR THIS. ALL OF THEM.
Any additional comments?
Oh, Derrick McClain, you hit a home run with this one.
He brought Gustavo Tiberius to life, made Casey Richards so much more than just an asexual stoner hipster, and I loved what he did to make Lottie and We Three Queens so real.
ALL THE STARS FOR THIS. ALL OF THEM.
This. This was...awesome and fantastic and wonderful and heartwarming and touching and sad and funny and just...I want to fangirl all over this so hard. But in a totally not gross way.
Gustavo Tiberius is not normal. After his father, Pastor Tommy dies, Gus settles into a his daily routine. It's very much a wash, rinse, repeat kind of life until the day he and his ferret, Harry S. Truman, walk into Lottie's Lattes and he meets Casey Richards, a stoner hipster who turns his world upside down.
Gus is immediately both repelled and fascinated by Casey...but more time spent with Casey makes Gus want something he's never really thought to want before: he decides he wants to be "normal" so he can be with Casey. What follows is both touching and hilarious as Gus sets about trying to be the best normal person he can be with some interesting results.
This story about a man who accepts everyone, even if he's snarky about it, gave me so many feels. I got a total heart boner. Seriously, this story good touched me all over my heart.
There are three things I expect from a TJ Klune story: 1. To laugh. Oh, how I laughed. I laughed a lot. 2. To have wookie-cry-face at some point. Yep, that happened too. The laughs and the feels in this are more muted than in other TJ stories, but no less magnificent. And 3. To learn something. Which I did. I learned a little more about acceptance, asexuality, and being true to yourself.
I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS ENOUGH. Buy this book. Now. Go. Seriously. Go get this book right now!
32 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Smitten with Reading
- 10-10-16
A rating overall...
My Review:
Overall: 4.5
Performance: 5.0
Story: 4.5
This story was epic in just how fun and funny it was. I can't imagine reading it could be near as much fun as listening to it, because the narrator was amazing. His inflections for Gus and Casey were absolute perfection. Through his voices, he managed Gus's disdain, Casey's stoned cluelessness, and the We Three Queens astounded and confounded comments perfectly. I LOVED listening to this book.
And, wow, I don't honestly know what else I can say about this book. I can pretty much guarantee that it's like nothing you have ever read before (TJ Klune's brain is a bizarre, but fabulous place). There are moments when it's twisted. There are moments when it's sweet. And there are moments when it's heartbreaking...Gus's remembered moments with his father slayed me. I can't imagine what an incredible man he was to raise Gus to be completely okay with being this VERY off-the-wall character.
And yeah, Gus has his moments of self-doubt...thus the online "Normal" lessons.
Oh. My. God.
The things that came up in the narration of these lessons literally kept me laughing out loud and rolling with laughter.
It's a fabulous, feel good book about two men who learn to love one another despite and because of their differences. I'm so glad that I listened to it. I HIGHLY recommend it!!
5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tom(C)
- 26-09-16
Truly Great
TJ Klune's How To Be A Normal Person is almost as good as rainbow colored cotton candy at a gay pride parade. Wait a minute I don't like cotton candy. Make that almost as good as rainbow colored pizza. Hmmm. Wait. Forget that stuff. It's a book that is funtastic and sure to be one of your all-time favorite Audible audiobooks.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lulu Miami
- 22-04-16
All the laughs
Would you listen to How to Be a Normal Person again? Why?
Oh yeah. For a good laugh, without the cheap silly jokes.
What did you like best about this story?
you feel inside the story. Able to imagine the places the characters are in.
What does Derrick McClain bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The narrator. he made the story come alive.
Who was the most memorable character of How to Be a Normal Person and why?
the MC. He is weird, in a 'is he serious?' way. He is like one of these aliens who land on earth, and need to learn how to live with humans like a human :)
Any additional comments?
fun book. You laugh, and though sometimes feel sorry for the MC, its not really heartbreaking. Maybe black comedy?
5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David F. Leary
- 04-11-16
Wanna make yourself happier? Listen to this one!
What did you love best about How to Be a Normal Person?
The character "Gus" and how the narrator absolutely brought him to life!
What other book might you compare How to Be a Normal Person to and why?
I have never read another book like this. It seemed like a quirky premise for a rom-com, and boy was it a refreshing read!
What does Derrick McClain bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He brings all the characters to life, but in particular, Gus, Casey, and the customer service rep. at the monopolizing phone & cable company. : )
Who was the most memorable character of How to Be a Normal Person and why?
Gustavo Tiberius, because he is so socially awkward and so decisively contrary to nearly everything in the world! He is one very unique and somewhat sheltered guy that the book revolves around.
Any additional comments?
This book is a work of art! It has got to be the funniest, most enjoyable book I have ever listened to! I don’t know how many times I just laughed out loud at that quirky character, Gus, and I could just picture Casey, the "asexual stoner hipster” that Gus fell in love with. I will definitely be recommending it to friends for a feel-good, fun read! This one will be worth reading and re-reading, as well! Before I was half way through, I had already bought 3 more of Klune's books, and I am really, really looking forward to it!
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leah
- 14-02-18
Beautiful
This has everything I love in an audiobook. Made me laugh out loud, smile, cry, and feel just about every other emotion. Well written and wonderfully read. I’ve listened to this book more times than I can remember.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrea @ A Starry Reader
- 05-02-18
My favorite TJ Klune book
Who was your favorite character and why?
Gus is the ultimate grumpy hero!
Gus was so great to read about. He’s quiet, a little strange, and very snarky. He also has one of the kindest hearts, he is one of the most accepting characters I’ve ever read about. He loves his life (as boring as it might be) and his routine, but one day everything gets turned upside down when he meets Casey. Gus is what made this a five star read, I LOVED HIM SO MUCH. *cries*
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I listened to it over a few days!
Any additional comments?
What first caught my attention about How To Be a Normal Person was that the love interest is asexual (this is so rare!). Casey is an asexual stoner hipster. When he moves to Gus’ hometown of Abby, Oregon, and starts working at his favorite coffee shop, he instantly knows that he and Gus will be best friends (though this idea horrifies Gus).
It did take some time for me to get used to the way Casey talked at first. Everything about him was so exaggerated when we first meet, but he compliments Gus in the best possible way! His outgoing personality and sense of humor is the perfect contrast to Gus’ introvert ways. Their romance was so cute to read about.
If you like any of the following things, you should give this a try:
-character driven stories
-snarky humor & characters
-slow burn romance (it’s all very cute!)
-well-developed main & secondary characters
-amazing dialogue & banter
The humor of this book was a lot more subtle than Klune’s other works (basically the opposite of The Lightning-Struck Heart). It’s low-key and well-timed and it’s impossible to read without smiling. All the characters are fantastic: Gus, Casey, the We Three Queens… There’s not really a lot happening in the ways of plot, the characters are what makes the story so interesting.
This book made my heart happy. It’s about self-acceptance and accepting others, it’s about love, family, and friends. Its most basic message is: it’s okay to be yourself, you’re exactly who you’re supposed to be. Ahh, this is just a beautiful book
2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 02-04-17
Good book
It's a good book but I didn't feel it was a romance. I felt that it was like a dudelit (chic lit but guys). I felt like Gus' self development was the major thrust of the story with his and Casey's relationship a secondary plot. I wonder if I felt that way because of the lack of physical aspect of romance or it that was the goal of the author. I did enjoy the book but won't classify it as romance.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kennedy
- 26-04-16
Super.
This book was amazing, start to finish. I couldn't put it down (or, turn it off). The humor and sarcasm made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions, and the realness of the characters made them so relatable. The narration was on point and gave an extra "pizzazz" to the whole thing. I highly recommend it, as you will learn valuable life lessons without even realizing it. Will definitely be reading more of TJ Klune's books.
6 people found this helpful