Loving Jay

By: Renae Kaye

Narrated by: Dave Gillies

One thing Liam Turner knows for sure is that he's not gay - after all, his father makes it very clear he’ll allow no son of his to be gay. And Liam believes it, until a chance meeting with James "Jay" Bell turns Liam’s world upside-down. Jay is vivacious and unabashedly gay - from the tips of his bleached hair to the ends of his polished nails. With a flair for fashion, overreaction, and an inability to cork his verbal diarrhea, drama queen Jay must have a screw loose.

An accident as a teenager left Liam with a limp and a fear of driving. He can’t play football anymore either, and that makes him feel like less of a man. But that’s no reason to question his sexuality... unless the accident broke something else inside him. When being with Jay causes Liam’s protective instincts to emerge, Liam starts to believe all he's known in life has been a convenient lie. From intolerance to confrontations, Liam must learn to overcome his fears - and his father - before he can accept his sexuality and truly love Jay.

©2014 Renae Kaye (P)2014 Dreamspinner Press

This is a great little love story

What did you love best about Loving Jay?

The fun descriptions of how J behaved and his personality. The way he and Liam interact and the protectiveness awakened in Liam are too fun.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Loving Jay?

The bashing of J and Liams' reaction were very touching. The you tube video bit caused tears in my eyes.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when Liam comforted J in the kitchen after his grandma passed.

Who was the most memorable character of Loving Jay and why?

Jay himself was the most memorable character. He is a fun person who would be great to have around.

Any additional comments?

In the past I have returned a book read by this narrator. He was awful on that one. Here he is very good. If you too have heard his reading of Tigerland and been put off him, give this book a chance. Where that one had little differentiation between the different characters this one is easy to tell which character is talking.

Jay and his Knight in Shinning Armor!

Oh this story was so dang on adorable! Liam was so sweetly clueless and Jay was of course fabulous. A great feel good read!

Great book

I've been waiting to experience this book for months and am happy to report that it was well worth the wait and I will be happy to listen to it again in the future.

Very Sweet and Light Hearted

What made the experience of listening to Loving Jay the most enjoyable?

I loved the narrators accent.

What did you like best about this story?

Jay is an amazing character, his so called "verbal diarrhea" is hilarious and endearing. I also love that this book takes place in Australia, it is a different setting from most of the other books that I have listened too.

Which scene was your favorite?

All of the scenes when Liam try's to get Jay to quiet down from his nonstop rants. Very sweet.

Very genuine, very sweet!

This book caught me off guard with how much I loved it. It's very sweet, and genuine. I loved the characters and how each one had a distinct, clear voice in the story.
One of my favorite things about the whole book was Jay's character. In many LGBT romance novels, the love interest is described to be "anything but the stereotype". They write the boy to be "normal" and not in the gay scene. But what I loved about Jay's character was that he was realistic. Sure, there are a number of gay men who hate on us effeminate boys ("Str8 for similar, not into fems, sorry it's my preference") but we still exist and people still love us. Reading this was extremely refreshing and I absolutely loved every second of it.
I also loved how realistic the build up was. Nothing felt like it was over the top. Liam's internal struggle didn't drag on to the point where I wanted to stop reading like in other stories I've read. His character made me think of my own boyfriend, and it just made the story all that more heartwarming to me.
Renae Kaye, I bow down to you. You are a goddess among us, and I look forward to reading more of your amazing stories.
Sending love from Las Vegas, Nevada!
xx

Loving Dave Gillies

I worried about listening to this book for awhile, I’ve had bad luck with Australian accents in the past, but this narrator was excellent! He did such a good job with both characters and I can’t wait to listen to more by him.

As for the actual book, it was just as fun as everyone said it was!

Loved it, so much fun!

I love this book. It is sweet and fun and light-hearted to listen to. There are just so many times I found myself smiling or outright laughing at the antics in this book. I loved every minute of it!

This story is told solely from Liam's POV. A young man who knows who he is and what he wants from his life - or at least he thought so. Until he meets that beautiful guy he's been looking at every morning during the train ride to work. Maybe he hasn't got everything figured out as much as he thought.

Just like for Liam, you couldn’t help falling for Jay, quirky and over the top as he was. Normally I have zero patience for drama-queens, but it really worked coming from Jay – you can’t help loving him for who he was. He brought happiness and a bit of colour to my life during these ours I spent listening to this book.

Dave Gillies was a new to me narrator and he did a wonderful job bringing this story to life for the listener. The voices he had for the different characters fit really well with their personalities, and none more than his voice for Jay. Add in the Aussie accent and you have a winning combination.

Loving Jay is probably my favourite book by this author and one I know I come back to over and over. It's the book I pick up when I want some happy in my life. So if you haven't yet, pick up this book and meet Jay, I promise you won't regret it.

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

Sweet romance

The characters were interesting and compelling. So often I don't get why the characters fall in love, but these two very different men felt made for each other. This is the kind of book that makes you want to fall in love. Dave Gillies brought the characters to life.

Cute story

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

Yes, it is an Aussie book, so expect the narration to go with that, but very sweet book about family, coming out, and being accepted.

What did you like best about this story?

Jay!

What about Dave Gillies’s performance did you like?

His voice was perfect for the characters

Who was the most memorable character of Loving Jay and why?

Jay!

Loved it

Dave Gillies did a wonderful job. It brought the book alive. Jay was a living and wonderful character. Just a fun and lovely book.